Juniors Mariah Tepper and Tori Thompson, sophomore Hope Barrow, and freshman Chazz Montgomery check their status on their social media sites.

By Reneh Gambrel

With social media being a part of current teenager’s lives, the question of whether or not it is more harmful than helpful is being brought up frequently.

Websites such as Twitter and Facebook have become more and more popular with today’s youth. Walking down the hallway, students can find many of their peers on their phones, tweeting about what has happened so far that day. Though social media is currently a big trend, that is not necessarily a good thing. As sophomore Hope Barrow said, “it’s actually kind of scary.”

Cyberbullying has been brought up a lot in the past year, and junior Tori Thompson says that, “there is a lot of cyberbullying taking place these days.” Thompson also says that social media exploits privacy and it is the cause of some cases of bullying. Behind a computer screen it is easy for people to say whatever they want and feel like there will be no repercussions to it. However, that security of anonymity is dissipating quickly. Even if students are at home when they cyberbully one of their peers, if it is threatening, harmful, or repeated, it is now a school issue.  Like junior Mariah Tepper said, “once it’s on the internet, it’s there forever.”

Sophomore Hope Barrow and junior Mariah Tepper both enjoy social media, but know that there are many disadvantages to it. Photo by: Reneh Gambrel

Tepper has had both good and bad experiences with social media.  She says that a downside of social media is that it is “incredibly time consuming.” Despite the bad experiences with social media, Tepper says she would not like to live in a world without it. Being involved with social media has allowed Tepper to maintain contact with friends and family whom she would not be able to talk to otherwise.

But as freshman Chazz Montgomery points out, social media has its upsides as well. With social media an individual can communicate with a community of diverse people that can relate to each other. A person can talk to others on the internet about something that has been troubling them and get positive feedback. While this can be helpful, it is also important to note that it is not a good idea to put personal information on the internet.  Montgomery suggests that people think before they post, as they do not want to post something they would look back on in shame.

Social media does have the ability to be harmful, but it also has the ability to be helpful. As long as individuals are smart about what they choose to share with the internet, being on social media can be a great experience.