Daysha Humphrey
Senior Writer
Social media is a huge factor in the world today, and it entertains millions of people across the world.
According to Business Insider, older social networks like Facebook and Twitter are gaining older users, whereas new networks like Instagram are gaining younger users, especially college or some college students.
Several MUW students were asked questions about social media and how they felt about it.
Nikesh Acharya, a freshman biology major, says Facebook is his favorite social medium.
“Facebook is my favorite social media website as it has got huge features, so it works as a whole unit for different social interactions such as posts, pictures, videos, chat, video calls and so on,” Acharya said. “Facebook is easy to use, and it’s interesting too.”
In addition, he explains how he feels about social media in general.
“Social media websites are fun and informative to use,” he added. “They help to keep in touch with the people and also the news. But, one must be careful while using them so that he or she won’t get addicted to it. One should use social media sites wisely.”
Ebony Johnson, a junior speech-language pathology major, explains how she got involved with social media.
“I got started on social media in the spring of 2012,” Johnson said. “Everyone had one. I debated for a while, and finally, I just decided that I would join the crowd.”
She says that she doesn’t really need social media to communicate with her peers.
“It is an easy way to communicate with friends and family, but there are other ways to communicate before technology and the social media, so why can’t we do that?"
Kelsey Holland, a senior public health education student, says she enjoys Instagram and Snapchat just for entertainment.
“I love taking selfies,” Holland said.
However, she explains how social media can be effective for students, and how it affects students.
“I think that social media could be effective towards students because it could help students promote things that are going on in school and getting people involved,” Holland said. “However, it affects students because it causes them to procrastinate. I can attest to this because I would rather be on social media all night rather than reading a book for school.”
Halesha Anthony, a junior elementary education student, says her favorite form of social media is relatively new.
“My favorite social media is Instagram,” Anthony said. “I like it because there are not a lot of words, and you can’t post a status, just pictures. I really enjoy looking at pictures.”
Anthony said she feels social media is both good and bad.
“It depends on each individual. It is good when people post positive things such as promotions, engagements, wedding pictures and pictures of their kids’ accomplishments. It is bad when everything is negative such as cyber bullying and cursing. Overall, I think social media can be a great thing in its proper place," she said.
Anthony says that social media is effective because students can gain information and connect with people who are important. However, she says social media can have a negative impact on students.
“I think it can become overwhelming for some students when they focus all their time on social media,” she said.
Ramayla Ashford, a senior exercise science pre-physical therapy student, agrees with Anthony about social media.
“I honestly feel that social media can be good and bad,” Ashford said.
“I think that it can be a good way to communicate with friends, find old friends that you might not have talked to in a while and to find fun events to attend. I think that it can be bad for individuals that think it is OK to post a lot of their personal business.”
Regardless of what someone thinks about social media, it has affected the world in various ways. Time can only tell what the future holds for this form of expression.