Tianna Bradford | Staff Writer
As society has changed, technology has become more prominent, especially in our daily lives.
New jobs are being always being created: The newly blossomed social media content creator, social media marketer, digital marketing manager. However, technology has begun to catch up with us.
People are becoming more intertwined with social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
Twitter has become the mecca of trends and latest fashion trends, while Facebook carries on humorous videos, fake news releases and catfishing. These apps have become a part of our daily lives.
But can we manage to hold our reality together, away from the world that we live in? Is social media becoming really addictive? Can you be addicted to the life of tweeting, snapping, posting and recording?
I asked Kyla Newell, a Hampton University sophomore biology pre-med major from Jackson, Mississippi, her stance on social media and the impact it has on society today.
“I personally think that society has now become obsessive and addictive to social media,” Newell said. “It has now become a part of our lives every second of the day. I think about the Black Mirror episode where how popular you were on social media and your rating determined how successful you were in life, what kind of house you owned and the car you possessed. This could eventually be society in five to 10 years.”
Social media has taken over almost every aspect of communication.
Most conversations are done through an app of social media, and a typical conversation starter is, “Did you see that video on Twitter?”
There are fewer discussions on the latest story in the news but instead more on funny videos of a child cussing to their parents.
I asked Kierra Nelson, a sophomore architecture major and graphic design minor from Arlington, Virginia, if she found social media as a positive or negative aspect in society.
“I find social media amusing and intriguing when I’m bored and I’m just on my phone,” Nelson said. “But I lack a connection with my friends when I want some human interaction and they’re stuck to the screen of their phone refreshing for the next big thing.
“However, I do understand how social media has flourished [in] society and definitely made people more alert and aware of differences. I learn more about what’s happening around the world from just checking Twitter, even though it could be fake news compared to what’d I get informed on from watching Fox 5 news for two hours.”
Social media brings awareness to ignorance but also gives the ignorant a viral stage.
Some balance between social media and reality can prevent the addictive trait social media apps possess.
The Hampton Script 