Social media has now become a part of everyday students’ lives, that being it can affect either in a beneficial way or harmful. Students share their thoughts about whether they view social media as a platform to benefit them with communication, collaboration, and access to information. Or distraction leading to stress, anxiety, and an effect on mental health.   

“I use social media a lot probably every day, and I use it to connect with my friends and family.” said Ethan Ross (11) “you can use social media to just connect to a lot of people and learn new things about the world.” 

Social media can be a powerful tool when it comes to connecting with people, and allowing students to receive instant communication through messages, video calls, and sharing information online.  

“Whenever you have free time, you can just go on social media it’s not going to harm you unless you make it harm you.” said Raya Hamdan (11) “limit yourself when using social media and don’t let other people cyberbully you.”  

Hamdan mentions how social media can be beneficial when used and not harmful if it’s not used to harm oneself, one way to do that is to take breaks from social media to recharge and focus on real life interactions.  

“I feel happy when on social media because, I like to see all these creative things that people can come up with, and how they impact the world.” said Ross (11) “I use social media to post things and connect with people, so it only benefits me.” 

However, students may disagree and say that social media doesn’t bring a smile to their faces when scrolling through social media for it’s said that 41% have had a negative experience because of using a social networking site. 

“When you feel stressful or need time by yourself you can go on social media, it won’t harm all the time unless you are doing the thing you like to do.” said Hamdan (11)