Social Media Presence: How Long Will It Last? (Manobo)

Modern era requires us to be more adept with technologies. As a Grade 8 student, it is important for me to have a social media account. This will increase my awareness and keep me updated of what's happening in and around the world. Having a social media account entails us to be a responsible person as well. I make sure that I use this wisely. In a way, we might be hooked with social media, but with the help of our parents and teachers who are more capable of giving us the proper knowledge on how to handle social media, we can be a responsible netizens.

In the modern era, having a social media presence is something that defines my generation. Having such a presence is important for me because it opens my mind to new ideas, such as feminism and awareness. It has benefitted me with such because I allow myself to be open to such ideas and statements, and nothing is technically wrong with that. Social responsibility can be shown when one would make friends with someone who is a million miles away, right on their computer/smartphone screens, or when they start a chat on a common interest with someone. On Instagram and Tumblr, I really felt welcome there since there were many other girls who had similar interests to mine. On the other hand, it has taught me to be a bit insensitive at times, especially when someone would disturb me while online. I tend to use 'po', 'opo', 'please', and 'thank you' less ever since I created my online presence.

Social media presence is something that is completely inevitable in today's times, especially if it's evident everywhere. It affects me as a daughter because there are many things online my parents have never even bothered to talk about, which made me question my parents' trust in me. As a friend, I've become more sensitive, especially since I have some friends with depression, etc. and I now know what to expect from them and how to help. Lastly, as a student, I've learned that the real classroom isn't the only "classroom". One can learn things online that they don't in schools, like how one can learn things that aren't taught or spoken of. In conclusion, social media's presence has created an impact on my life, and it will continue to in the next years of my life.

From my own personal experience, I can say that social media has made an effect in my life. It is not mainly one effect, but rather both. Social media has had its own benefits for me yet it also harmed me at one point. A benefit from social media is my social sensitivity or how I approach others surrounding me. As I created a social media account, being part of the process, I followed accounts. Some are official accounts, some are friends and relatives, and some are fan pages that normal teenagers use, which are the most common accounts I see on my feed. Upon seeing their posts, I have observed that they may be irresponsible users of that site, which means that they usually post irrelevant updates about their lives or whenever they want to rant. I have been watching these kind of posts silently, and not interacting with their troubles in their own lives. Although, I have studied their personalities and how they are, which gave me more awareness that there is not only one kind of person in this world, but rather, different ones and we all act differently. This made me more sensitive on how to treat different people the treatment they want. This helped me more in being a friend who thinks of her friends and others and as well as putting them first at most times instead of just thinking of myself.

Even if the internet has its benefits, it also harmed me in a way. When I first created and account (which is on Instagram), I immediately got attached and carried away with it, thus affecting my studies. My grades started to go downhill because I always lose my focus whenever I get home, and my time was not used wisely. My studies was not the only victim of my irresponsible actions, but my time with everyone else was affected too. Yes, I am technically socializing because the word 'social' is present in social media, but talking face-to-face was also important. This cut my time engaging with my family because I rarely talk because I have established an unbreakable bond with my phone. From what I learned, we do not always have to go with the direction of our generation which mainly consists of technology. Just because everyone spends their time on the internet it does not mean that we too have to glue our eyes on different devices. We can lean towards our old ways so that we can have a break from all the high-technology. Today, we cannot avoid how technology advances, but as it advances, us too should advance with our thinking on how we can manage 21st century technology.

As a grade 8 student, having social media is a big thing. For me, its harder without social media because I wouldn't be able to talk to my loved ones abroad and I use these social media accounts to be updated with the news about people, our country, my idols, etc. Although there are so much good things social media can bring us there are also bad ones. Social media can sometimes be a distraction to me and my studies so I really have to make a schedule and be wise with using my time. Social media teaches me to be more responsible because if we post something that might offend someone, we can bring ourselves to great troubles/fights.
Social media affects me as a daughter because sometimes I dont have enough time for my family because of this. It affects me as a friend because I spend more time talking to my friends online than doing the responsibilities I'm supposed to do. If I dont have social media accounts, life would be simple like it was but it would be harder because it would be hard to communicate with each other. If I didn't have social media accounts,Yes I would create one because even though this can lead us to bad things there are a lot more benefits we can get from it.

I relate to that statement a whole lot seeing as some people are very sensitive on the Internet and that even the slightest bad remark about their ship will have them rant about how great it is and how there are no flaws. I am one of those people.