In 1997 the first publically classified SNS was sixdegrees.com. The site was based off of the concept of six degrees of separation, as its site-name suggests. It met the SNS requirements of profile creation, adding friends and viewership by the users. In 2000, the site was purchased for $125 million, but shut down in 2001. (Andrews, 2012, p. 146)
Since then Myspace, Facebook and Friendster have all led the way to the popular Twitter and Instagram.
According to Twitter.com/aboutus, Twitter is an online social network and blogging service whose users can send and read up to 140 characters per “tweet” or micro message. As of 9/5/2012, statisticbrain.com notes that Twitter had about 500,250,000 users with 150.000 users signing up each day.
Millennials utilize Twitter to post about their lives, sometimes daily. I often wonder if some of our millennials are utilizing social networking outlets to try to attain the acceptance and self-worth and esteem they sometimes seem to feverishly seek.
In this age of cyber-bullying and “mean girl” attitudes, today’s youth need to go old-school and follow the “safe use of SNSs” rules; be yourself and stay private. (Andrews, 2012, p. 148)
Social networking sites can also provide an arena for fights. A new surge of something called Twitter fights range between celebrity and celebrity, celebrity and fan or everyday user and everyday user. For example, teen.com reported on July 27, 21012 that Drake Bell, a 27 year old American celebrity, had a Twitter fight with Justin Bieber, a popular 18 year old Canadian born pop star.
Instagram is a social network that allows people to communicate through mobile pictures. It fits the same concept of Sixdegrees.com, Facebook and Twitter, only through images. Instagram was created by Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, both graduates of Stanford University.
A current trend on Instagram.com is Rich Kids of Instagram, or hashtag rkoi. This is a Tumblr based blog where “rich kids” post their pretentious, materialistic and excessive lifestyles for the world to see.
This particular blog may slowly process the degradation of the lifestyle of a middle-class millennial. One Rich Kid of Instagram, Tom Ierna, who described himself to Heather Kelly, a CNN web writer, as a 19 year old “entrepreneur, New Yorker, blogger, mogul.” said “I believe that the people who are outraged” by the Rich Kids of Instagram blog “may be a little jealous.” (Kelly, 2012, para. 4)
Kelly believes that the public is fascinated by these kids. This fascination and trend on Instagram allows our everyday middle class or below middle-class millennials to recognize the class system in which they exist. This can further the negative effects of social networking.
Commonsense.com's 2012 media research study found that there are teens who report that social media positively impacts their lives and emotional well-being. Some do not think they are affected either way. However, most can agree that it can help them and keep them connected with friends, family and others to which they need to be connected. See commensense.com's 2012 statistical graphs on the effects of social networking below.
References
About Us รข ¢. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://instagram.com/about/us/>.
Andrews, Dale, BA, BEd. "Social Networking Sites." Digital Overdrive: Communications & Multimedia Technology. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 146-48. Web.
Kelly, Heather. "What's next for the Rich Kids of Instagram?" CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/tech/web/rich-kids-of-instagram>.
"Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives | Common Sense Media." Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives | Common Sense Media. N.p., 26 June 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life/key-finding-2:-teens-more-likely-to-report-positive-impact>.
"Videos, Entertainment, Fashion, Music, and Celebrity News for Teens | Teen.com." Teencom. N.p., 27 July 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. <http://www.teen.com/2012/07/27/celebrities/celebrity-news-roundup/drake-bell-justin-bieber-fans-twitter-fight/>.
