I am a self-proclaimed social media addict and can usually be heard asking, “Have you seen this tweet?,” multiple times a day. Social media is great for a multitude of reasons, one being that everyone you know is on it. This gives us the ability to stalk people we may have never even met without anyone knowing. It also gives us all the information we need at our fingertips. After doing some research, I found that we may use these outlets for reasons other than those intended. I found the mission statements of the most-used social media platforms and gave them my own spin.
Facebook: “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”
Reality: Do you want to show your friends the boy that sits next to you in lecture? Search his name and you will find selfies of his dating back to 2007. Facebook is also your worst enemy when YOUR selfies from 2007 are resurrected. People you went to high school with will probably post things that will make you cringe; this is normal. For our parents, Facebook is a place to share excessively long statuses about their trip to the grocery store, where all their friends will comment with a “LOL!” (Sorry, Mom and Dad.)
Twitter: “To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.”
Reality: Twitter is the place where in a short 140 characters, you can complain about anything. The place where a screenshot of a conversation with your dad will get 50 likes. The place where a funny tweet with the right timing can give you your 15 minutes of fame. Twitter is also a great place to see live fights between celebrities (and maybe even our friends) before tweets are deleted. If you’re missing an awards show or are too lazy to look out your window for the weather, Twitter can catch you up within seconds.
Instagram: “To capture and share the world’s moments.”
Reality: I think Instagram’s mission holds true. Instagram is a great place to stalk our favorite celebrities and vicariously live through their lavish lives. Instagram is the place where everyone is a photographer through the lens of their iPhone. You would think that likes mean nothing, but having a bad like-to-minute ratio can ruin what you thought was a great selfie.
Tumblr: “To empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.”
Reality: Tumblr is basically the place you can be your really weird, true self and get away with it. You can post anything and rest assured that someone out there will agree with you/has posted something worse. Tumblr is the place where you can follow your fandoms and find entire blogs dedicated to things that you thought were something only you thought of. You will most definitely find everything and anything on Tumblr. And if you can’t, it’s up to you to put it out there.
Snapchat: "Snapchat isn't about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. It's about communicating with the full range of human emotion — not just what appears to be pretty or perfect."
Reality: Most of my
Pinterest: “The visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas.”
Reality: Pinterest is usually the place you go when you’re feeling creative, whether it be for recipes, crafts, art, or workouts. We usually feel inspired when we go to Pinterest, dedicating ourselves to the project we find and swearing we will complete it. More often than not, these projects are a failure, leading us to waste our time and money on something we thought would turn out perfectly.
