Blog 12

Social media and social networking have increasingly become larger and larger parts of our everyday lives and culture. When starting this assignment, the positive piece of information is that social networking sites help students do better at school. According to the National School Board Association, 59% of students with access to the internet report they use social media networking sites to discuss educational topics. In addition, 50% of students use these sites to talk about school. I find this source to be very reliable when reporting statistics regarding this issue.When looking at this in my own life, I have appreciated being able to contact fellow classmates through social media to discuss group projects or class assignments. Many of my school assignments involved using social media in positive ways to spread awareness about issues or gain technology skills. When looking at the negative aspects of social media, the one that I feel is most accurate to my life is that social media entices people to waste time. Statistics from kff.org state that 40% of 8-18 year olds spend 54 minutes a day on social media sites. I have never heard of this source, and therefore am not fully confident that it is reliable. However, this is very true in my own life. I find social media to be a good place to escape from the stress of the real world when I need a break. I enjoy going on Pinterest and Instagram. I also love reading for my own pleasure rather than reading for school, and do this quite a bit to escape the stress of school or my job.