The Little Search Engine Who Could
No. I’m Sorry. It’s not AskJeeves.
Google.com is 22 years old. Still too young for me, but thats okay. It was created in 1996 by Stanford students and gradually became the largest search engine of all time. It now manages eight different products with more than 1 billion users each. For more history of Google, you can read this article by TheVerge.
Google plays an integral part in probably every internet users’ life. Even if you’re a Bing guy *eye roll*. I probably mention Google on average 7 times per day. At this rate, I should probably be married to the thing. No, but in all seriousness I chose to blog about the massive search engine because there are a few special ways it can be related to social media.
For starters, the term SEO (search engine optimization) refers to increasing the quantity of traffic to a website based on where it falls on a search engine. Every business who uses a website for the public wants to be high on the search list, or at least on the first page. Lyfe Marketing discusses how social media activities can boost your company’s SEO. For example, when you google WordPress, the first four search results are directly from wordpress and the last results include guides on how to use WordPress.
Another creative way that Google assists with social media has to do with the term “Catfish.”
A popular MTV show called “Catfish” shows two men, Nev and Max, going around the country meeting people who are suspicious about a person they have been “dating” online and want some help finding out if this person is who they say they are. In a lot of cases Nev and Max use a reverse Google image search to search a photo of a suspected catfisher to see if the photo comes up anywhere else online. You don’t have to be an MTV reality TV host to do reverse image searches on Google. Just google how to do it.
Aside from the MTV show, meeting people online can be a scary thing. Personally, to ensure my safety as much as possible, I will google a person that I meet online to make sure they are who they say they are. Google has the potential to open the door to a bunch of social profile investigators.
Google can also either be useful or damning for employers searching for potential new employees. Careerbuilder suggests that more than half of employers have found content on social media that has caused them not to hire someone. And this content mostly comes from a quick google search of someone’s name. Be very careful what you post out there, and adjust your privacy settings to make double sure.
Now, I’m gonna go head to the kitchen, eat some tacos, and reflect on when it is or is not appropriate to capitalize the word “Google”.
Come on Get Happy
Hi folks! Aren’t you all tired of me continuously blogging about the negative effects social media and smartphones have on children and teens? Yes? Me too! It could be the gloomy day we’re having, but I need a spirit booster for sure! Today, I want to write about many positive things adolescents can get from using social media and their smartphones. One thing being memes and gifs, like Carlton dancing up there. 🙂
Trying to find an article that lists pros of teenagers using social media without a list of cons associated with it is tough! Tipsy.net suggests that some pros are that social media can boost self esteem, keep kids up to date with the latest technology, and explore their creative sides.
Other positive effects could be a better connection with peers and family members. We all have that cousin who is like our age and we see them once a year at Thanksgiving. We awkwardly talk to one another because we aren’t sure if we have the same sense of humor because one of us grew up with trauma and the other in a four story house. Lindsey? Ryan? Are you reading this? Anyway, you guys get it. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can keep you constantly connected with the people you don’t see very often, so maybe you’ll have more to talk about than why it’s taken you eight years to get a bachelor’s degree. Or having to answer the yearly question “what are your plans for the future?” GET OFF MY BACK L.J.!
Many people use social media to promote their personal hobby or craft which is awesome for self promotion and self esteem. Using social media as a platform to show off the things you love to do is definitely a positive. I personally love seeing posts of friends singing, weaving, drawing, etc. Art is a beautiful thing and sharing with others is great. There are a lot of situations where people are discovered or introduced to better opportunities just by putting themselves out there online.
Develop Good Habits gives us 16 pros to social media usage.
Since March, when most of our country entered a stay-at-home status and businesses were closed down, I’ve seen an influx in the positive content online. People have used social media sites to reach out to others to show they care and have raised money for those in need. Celebrities have played a part in this as well. Some artists, who make a living from ticket sales have performed in virtual concerts and accepted donations. I’ve seen so many videos of BAKING! Seriously, some of my friends are master chefs.
Extreme Research discusses the spike in social media usage since March and how platforms are working effectively during this time.
Social media has been a huge lifesaver during this time of social distancing. Speaking of that, it’s time for my virtual happy hour! Bye. 🙂
Spammers, and Cyberbullies, and Trolls! Oh My!
While the internet gives us the most quality content we could ever ask for, there are pieces to the world wide web that are terrifying, especially for kids and teenagers. I talked about statistics on smartphone owning kids in the last blog and how most of their cell phone usage is spent watching TV and videos. Seems harmless, right? Sure. If you know what they’re being exposed to.
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In 2015, the app YouTube Kids was created to help narrow down videos to children’s content only to eliminate the chance that children would stumble upon something they shouldn’t see. Unfortunately, the app seemed to never stop having content issues like these. Some creators would post videos with popular children’s television and movie characters that seemed happy and safe, but throughout the duration of the video these characters would commit inappropriate acts. Thus, exposing children to things I’m sure their parents weren’t prepared for. An article by Polygon discusses this and other issues the app has had since its creation.
YouTube Kids is an app for children starting at age 7, who are more likely being monitored by their parents anyway. But what about teens and preteens? What about these 11 year olds who own their own smartphones? I will discuss the negative content that these kids might be exposed to, but I think we should first start looking at how the overuse of smartphones affects their mental health.
When you research how smartphones affect mental health, you’ll find a lot of words like “depression” “anxiety” “suicidal” “addiction” just to name a few. In any other case, if these were the results you found when researching the effects of an object or substance, you would probably think to yourself, “just stop using it.” But smartphones and social media are highly addictive. Some believe just as addictive as cocaine. Scientifically, this could be true. According to Healthline, we experience the release of our brain chemical, dopamine, when something positive happens or we engage in social interaction. Because smartphones are highly used for social media and conversations, everytime we see the phone light up or recieve a like or comment on a post, dopamine is triggered. Feeling happy staying connected sounds like a good thing though, why do people think smartphone usage leads to depression?
The overuse of social media, the need for constant affirmation via likes, and the existence of cyberbullies are just three things that could promote depression and anxiety in teens. You all know about my lack of social media when I was a child and I’m probably lucky for it. I didn’t have to log in somewhere, post my thoughts or photos, and read negative feedback constantly like some kids do now. Excessive screen time also takes a person out of the real world and can make it difficult for them to feel true connections that are not online. This NPR article discusses the debate over whether smartphones are fully to blame for these negative responses in teens.
Just like with younger children, teens and preteens are also exposed to inappropriate content online. However, it is probably easier for this age group to get their hands on it. This article by The Guardian suggests that parents might be too distracted or too trusting of their kids to know that they are being exposed to negative content. Parents seem to be at a loss for what to do to manage their children’s exposure to things they wouldn’t want them to see. Taking away the phone doesn’t seem to ever fall under a reasonable solution, though. We can’t necessarily blame the parents for giving a child a phone, and we can’t blame the child for using it to its full capacity. So do we blame the phone?
I’m Just a Kid
Ah, Childhood, the time of endless irresponsibilities. Think back to the things you loved to do as a child. For me, it was playing house with my siblings, exploring our 60 acre farm, and having as much dangerous fun as I could without getting caught or hurt. I actually didn’t have the internet until I was probably 11 years old. Even then, it was supposed to be for my parent’s business use only. My siblings and I would sneak in the computer room after dinner and use the powerful mind of Google to ask life’s most daunting questions. It wasn’t until I was 13 that I entered into the world of social media. But owning a smartphone? WhAt’S tHaT???
In an article by NPR in 2019, the author states that 53 percent of children own a smartphone by the age 11. Common Sense Media created an infographic that shows how smartphone ownership in teens has risen around 14% since 2015.
I don’t mean to brag, but four of my siblings and I had to share a FLIP phone until I was 15 and even after that, I didn’t get my first smartphone until I was 17. Now we might not be considered the average phone users, as we came from a rural town and a lower income family, but I could never have imagined owning what might have been considered a “smart” phone when I was 11. My 14 year old sister, however, is a different story.
The statistic that most phone owning children start around the age 11, is probably true for my baby sister. I can’t remember precisely when she got her first phone, but around that time seems accurate. My mom was hesitant to give her a phone, but we didn’t live in a small town anymore, she was doing extracurricular activities, and needed to be able to get in touch with someone. I mean, when I was 11 waiting to get picked up from after school programs or piano lessons… I. just. waited.
Parents now believe that cell phones improve the safety for their children because it allows them to stay connected to them. They think smartphones can be educational and they want their kids to stay connected with peers as well. SellCell did a survey on kids cell phone use in 2019 and found that 57% of kids use their phones for gaming, 50% for watching TV and videos, and about 35% for chatting with friends. While parents intentions for their children owning a cell phone are pure, children aren’t usually using their devices the way their parents hoped.
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS?
We’ll dive into that next week.
Social Media Madness
Before we get into it, I need to introduce myself. My name is Rebecca Woodfin. I am a junior at VCU and a transfer student. I received my A.S. in Mass Communications at John Tyler Community College and decided to attend George Mason in 2018. After realizing that NOVA wasn’t the place for me, I moved to my favorite city in the world and started at VCU last fall (where I should’ve been all along). I currently work at Atlantic Union Bank as a teller part time and will be hopefully getting an internship this summer with the social media manager of a small business I frequent.
Though I love writing about myself and personal experiences, I understand that this class is not simply just for that. I’ll be adding the social media flair with my focus on how social media has evolved and its impact on society.
CALLING ALL MY 90’S KIDS!
Technically, AIM came out in the 80’s, but whose really counting?! For me AIM was my first form of social media. Waiting for the joyful noise of dial-up internet to connect me to my virtual pals was the highlight of my younger years. God forbid someone had to use the landline. Does anyone else feel like AIM is an artifact from 100’s of years ago?!
I was kind of a social media nerd. When I found out about all of the different sites, I signed up for every single one: Myspace, Friendster, Blogger, Facebook, Foursquare.
YOU NAME IT!!
As a kid, I wasn’t actually allowed to use social media and my beautiful, perfectly HTML coded and magnificently placed playlist on my profile consisting of probably 30 friends who I actually knew from school was forced to be deleted by my mom. Then we start all over again.
I am one of 6 kids and the first five of us were placed under these strict internet rules until we were probably around 16, but the sixth sibling, who is 14 now, has been using social media unsupervised for at least two years. What makes social media okay for children now? Was it’s new and sudden presence during my childhood just too terrifying for parents to bear? How are children being affected by social media now? How are adults?
I want to blog about all of these questions and hopefully do some research and get some great answers; but for now, I am signing off, grabbing a slice of pizza and a glass of wine, and saying goodnight. Ahh.. I might check my notifications for a few.
The Social Ginger 