In the year 2016, social media plays a huge role in society. Social media sites, such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest -- just to name a few -- have taken over. Millennials are constantly getting nagged for checking their phones all of the time, and much of the reason they are inseparable from their phones is because of social media. There is always a new update to check-- if a new Snap story is not available, then someone probably posted an Instagram. No one wants to miss out or be left behind.

I'm not saying that the way society hovers around social media is a good thing, but because society does focus so much attention on it, kids these days need to learn how to use it. Many companies have began including a social media position. This entails someone who can tweet and post about upcoming events the company is running or attending. Social media keeps companies relevant because as the millennials grow older they are the targeted demographic of many products and services. Commercials no longer get people's attention because Netflix is overpowering many television stations (which is a whole other can of worms), and Netflix does not have commercials. Thus, social media is a key way to reach a company's demographic. Social media has become a key to success. Of course, this creates an endless cycle of generations growing up using social media and then companies needing to cater to them with advertisements via social media.

Again, there are a lot of pros and cons of the social media addiction that has stimulated society, but regardless social media is here and it is making an impact. Many people try to shy away from social media in an attempt to dodge the mainstream, but social media is now affecting people in search of jobs and internships. I say this from experience as a 20-year-old who searched for a summer internship. Multiple companies asked me which social media sites I use, and it was not so that they can stalk me and see if I partake in any inappropriate behavior; they followed up with questions about if I feel comfortable live tweeting events and posting statuses on LinkedIn.

However, because of the importance of social media, and its prominence in society, just saying you can use Twitter no longer gives you an edge. There are now sites, such as HootSuite, that allow people to post from multiple social media sites on one webpage and schedule posts. If you need something to post at 12 p.m., but that is when you plan on taking a lunch break, you can write it and schedule it the night before, even, and not have to worry about it. When a company sees that you know about this, it shows that you can master social media.

Social media is tangled into society in such ways that it is hard to separate it from most aspects of life, including work life. The demographic most companies want to reach uses social media. For this reason, it is important that kids grow up still learning social media in order to get a leg up in the market. Unless a vast majority of society decides to stop using social media, each individual has to keep up.