A Few Thoughts with Ava

By Ava Fineza

How are you doing? A lot has happened in the past few weeks. Personally, many thoughts have been running through my head as I have been able to experience one of the craziest periods in time in decades. I’d like to share a few with you, and together we can take the time to recount the first few weeks of June, and think of how to proceed with our lives in an uncertain and ever-changing future.

The Impact of Social Media

Even though I’ve grown up with apps such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, I’m still amazed by the impact of social media. What started off as a way to show your friends and family what you were eating for dinner or how your dog looks after a haircut has grown into an industry, with people basing whole careers off of an Instagram platform or a twitter page. People turn to social media for news, information, gossip, conversation, shopping, so on and so forth. We are living virtually, and the beauty of social media is definitely there - for instance, a worldwide movement kickstarted by a simple post. But social media can also be a very ugly and corrupt power. Misinformation, cyberbullying, beauty standards, the comments section, all very real things that can degrade you emotionally and mentally because the bottom line with social media is that you can control and craft what you want to show to the world, and what you want to keep hidden. I guess what I’m trying to say is to please be careful. Don’t take everything you see on social media to be true or realistic, as it can be found in many cases that it isn’t. When researching politics, news, or statistics, balance your time spent on social media with your time spent doing research online with trustworthy sites and sources - don’t let yourself become misinformed on a cause you care about. Final thoughts: learn how to enjoy and use social media in a healthy and smart way, and it can be something that helps you, rather than hurt you.

Last words, brought to you in Paragraph 1 bold because I was told the whole thing looked too short. I know, I know, the title says “a few thoughts,” but I might need to post these once a week, at least until summer school ends :/. Have to s t r e t c h that content out, you know? I hope you enjoyed this, sorry it’s sort of short, but who knows, maybe this’ll(um, that doesn’t look right) become a Thing. See you later!

Ava :)