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The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

Social Media changes

Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter are now joining the “autocorrect club” on many devices due to the increase of social media use. According to a Sep 17, 2012 poll by PEW Research Center, 66 percent of all Internet users have some form of social media. Social media has mostly been popular to teens and young adults. In fact, 80 percent of all online teens have some form of social media. One of the most recent forms of social media is Twitter.

Twitter, for those of you who don’t know, is a website for sharing short (140 characters) message to the people who follow you, aka your friends. In the past four years it appears that the use of Twitter has increased greatly.

Junior Mckyla Chavez believes the use of Twitter has increased because “everyone left Facebook and nobody wants to be where no one is.”

She believes that there is no reason to stay on Facebook if no one uses it anymore.

Twitter is used for many different things: connecting with friends, getting the latest scores and the latest news update. For Chavez, it is a mixture of both.

“I like it because it is a good way to keep in touch with people and what’s happening,” Chavez said. “[I mostly use it] to communicate with people.”

Chavez believes that the whole purpose of social media is to connect with friends. Senior JD Ream has a different use for social media.

“I like it as a way to see and know the personal aspect of people,” Ream said, “[but] I don’t use it much of the time.”

Ream uses his Twitter account more as a news source than a way to connect with friends.

“It is a good way to get my news stories,” Ream said. “It helps keep people up to date on everything.”

Ream doesn’t use his account as much because he lacks a smartphone so he uses the online version of Twitter instead.

“[Not having a smartphone makes it harder] to keep up with all that’s happening as much,” Ream said. “It means that [online I have] an information overload [so] I use other sites like Reddit.”

The reason for the increased use of Twitter, in Ream’s opinion, is because “people are always looking for the new thing and [Twitter] fits with a fast-paced life.”

Other theories as to why the sudden use of Twitter range from privacy away from parents to society wanting things instantly. What is your opinion? Go to our website and comment on this story to let us know.

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