One Teen Rates Best and Worst Social Sites

IMAGE BY CARISSA ROGERS

by Olivia Collins

As a teenager in 2014, social media is a huge part of my life. Whether or not my age group likes to admit it, social media dominates our existence. However, sites can gain and lose popularity at the drop of a dime if they don’t keep up with the ways we prefer to communicate. I’ve picked out a few of my current favorite and least favorite sites to share.

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FAVORITES

Snapchat - My favorite social media app would have to be Snapchat. Its growing popularity is due to the temporary feel of it. Unlike other social media sites/apps, not everything you put out there stays forever waiting to come back and haunt you. With their “my story” addition, you can put up a photo or video for all your friends to see which only stays for 24 hours. 

I really like it because I know exactly who saw what I posted, and if they screenshot it. Snapchat is made to feel personal between friends, unlike other social media sites where anyone can see what you’re up to.

Tumblr - First runner up for top social media site is Tumblr. Tumblr is home to over a million blogs where anyone can feel welcome and find people similar to them. Part of why Tumblr is so popular is because parents have yet to find their way onto it, and since you don’t need to supply much personal information, parents would have a difficult time finding you anyway. 

Tumblr is also so cool because there is a blog for everything. I even met one of my best friends on a One Direction blog on Tumblr, and even though she lives in another country, we still speak every single day. Tumblr is a great way to connect with people similar to you!

Twitter - The second runner up for my favorite social media site is Twitter. Twitter is a great way to get thoughts out, but due to the character limit people can’t get preachy like they do on Facebook. Another great thing about Twitter is most parents don’t use it, so teens can actually voice their thoughts. 

Unfortunately for me, my mother is on Twitter, and even made fake accounts after I blocked her, so I have to keep my Twitter private. Even so, I enjoy using Twitter because I can voice my thoughts no matter how unimportant they may be.

Twitter is also great for keeping entertained because there is constantly new information being put out to be read.

LEAST FAVORITES

Ask.fm - Ask.fm is by far my least favorite social media website. The concept is unoriginal and it basically gives people a free pass to cyberbully others. I remember when I was in eighth grade, everyone had a Formspring account, including me. Ask.fm is essentially the same thing as Formspring with a different name. 

Now that I’m in twelfth grade and that kind of website is making a comeback, I can’t believe I ever actually used/liked it. I can understand the appeal though; Receiving anonymous questions can make someone feel important and interesting. 

Unfortunately, I think Ask.fm is a cyberbully’s dream due to how easily one can hide their identity. I personally will not be jumping on the Ask.fm bandwagon because frankly, it’s none of my business what people think of me.

Facebook - Facebook is my runner up for least favorite social media platform. The concept of Facebook was really cool at first, but then along came the games. I’ll admit I played Farmville for a little while, but Facebook quickly went from a way to share thoughts and photos, to a place for people to rant – and for my great aunt to send me game requests every two seconds. The fact of the matter is, Facebook just stopped being cool. 

Another thing about Facebook: arguments.  And they don’t even occur between people my age! It’s all adults arguing about some controversial topic. Nowadays Facebook is more for adults rather than teenagers and young people. It is also blatantly obvious that they are trying to catch up to other platforms by incorporating hashtags and saying what’s trending, but the harsh reality is teens have already gone elsewhere.

Agree with my list? Sound off about YOUR faves/least faves below!