With increased technology and mobility, social media has become a staple of everyday life and teenagers and young adults this week in Tenleytown voiced their opinions about the positives and negatives of the trend.
A majority of people interviewed this week in Northwest Washington D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood use outlets such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook strictly for social interactions. Many said that they have become more aware of both national and international events because of these applications.
“With the burning of churches or police brutality, the youth are starting to become more informed because it’s always on Twitter first,” said Stephanie Reyas, 18.
For 19-year-old Gabriela Berrios, the positives of social media outweigh the negatives and it’s a personal accountability issue.
“If more people are intelligent with the way they use social media there wouldn’t be any problems at all,” Berrios said.
But, others interviewed stressed the darker side of social media including anonymous users causing harm. A 2015 Pew Research Center report on teenagers and social media found 11 percent of children aged 13 to 17 who own a cell phone use anonymous sites or apps like Ask.FM.
That had some in the district worried.
“You don’t know the people you’re talking to so it could get you in trouble,” said 25-year-old Jeff Ninson.
Olivia Renee, 14, saw social media as a gateway to cyber bullying.
“I have been a victim of bullying online,” Renee said. “If people don’t bully in person they automatically turn to social media. I think that’s a problem at my age.”
Renee is not alone.
According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report, younger adults are more likely to be harassed online than older users. But, regardless of age, roughly 40 percent of Internet users have experienced some form of online harassment.
Some interviewed this week in Washington D.C., believed that social media has become a way for children to isolate themselves and said kids have become too dependent on technology.
“They use it instead of communicating with people in real life,” said John Belisario, 17. “Kids text on their phones instead of going outside.”