Why I got social media

Sixth grade seemed to be the year when everyone got a smartphone.  By seventh grade, most people who had a smartphone used social media.  Me on the other hand…I had none.  I’m about to graduate from eighth grade, and I very recently introduced myself to Facebook and Instagram.  

I deliberately refused to obtain a smartphone and social media when I was younger.  I believed that it would somehow inherently, and inexorably, destroy my grades.  The idea of social media itself manifested itself to me as an addicting form of communication.  Afterall, whenever kids in my grade got on a bus, they would be on their phones, 80% of the time, on Instagram.  I’d also read cornucopian articles concerning too much use of social media and all the negative effects of it on the developing brain.  Apparently, it taught bad habits, encouraged less face-to-face communication, and could attract bad guys.  I’m not denying that any of this is false…I’m advocating for appropriate and safe media usage.

Yet recently, while watching a Boys Varsity Tennis match at school, I met a the chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Initially, we were discussing some solar power installation project I was proposing to the school with my elective, but our conversation soon meandered into other topics.  Knowing me, someone who takes pleasure in indulging in business books and other books of such topics, I asked him for some recommendations [the chairman is a businessman himself].  Simply put, he told me this:  “too often, business books are outdated.  The tactics may be outdated, especially since technology has such a major stance in the functions of our society.  Recently, a new book called Thanks for Being Late by Tom Friedman came out, and he focuses more on the “new” world we live in.  Or more, how can we make the most of the old tactics with the implementation of technology?  You should read it.”

Of course, I couldn’t stop myself from reading this book!  It sounded like exactly what I needed…tools, tactics and stories to help me engage the 21th century.  Ways and strategies to make the most of technology and to avoid the common pitfalls.  So I purchased the book and I started reading it.  

In the first chapter, this is what I learned:  Right now, the speed of the growth of technology is increasing exponentially.  The only issue right now, is that humans are not adapting to its growth at the same rate.  Friedman met a man named Gordon Moore, who miraculously predicted many technological improvements, including downsized computer chips that were portable on one device [aka a smartphone/laptop  Computers used to be HUGE and unportable], microchips becoming smaller, faster and cheaper to make, automatic controls on a car [which is why we press a button to roll down the windows] among many others evolutionary developments.  

The blue line is the growth of technology.  The linear line is the rate at which we're adapting to technology's growth.  Educational systems should be improved to incorporate this into the curriculum to enrich student's knowledge.  The yellow dot is where we are right now.  Yes, you can ignore the words on the image…

After reading that, I was inveigled.  I needed to encourage myself to move along at the rate at which technology is increasing.  Technology is here to make my life easier, and it would be to my disadvantage to avoid using it.  I was further thinking about in terms of business promotion and marketing for a new startup.  I’ve read countless articles about the importance of social media usage in promoting a new business.  Not only does a company’s social media grow at the rate you want it to [leaving you in total control], it is also free and accessible almost anywhere [instead of a billboard].  

In the past, I’d also read about people using social media to drive social change [I wrote my eighth grade homeroom speech about that!], but it didn’t seem convincing to me enough at the time.  I knew social could be used in a positive way.  I had certainly heard many cases of social media promoting worthy causes, yet these didn’t appear to outway the possibility of social media being my grade-crusher.  I had also thought about the negative comments on social media.  Too many kids were cyber-bullied through social media.  I was a bit…frightened?

But now, as someone who is endeavoring to engage more with technology and keep up with the rate at which it’s growing and developing, I am here to say that it’s all about self control, and making rational decisions.  I know that I am liable to fall into the common pitfall of becoming addicted to social media to the extent where my grades start dropping [I really hope this doesn’t happen], but I can also show self control.  I suppose it all on the person.  I’m realizing that social media is not an inherent grade-crusher and avoiding it at all costs like I used to do is certainly not the solution.  Remember Ava, it’s about self control.  You are proactive and you are the pilot that drives your plane.