How Social Media Killed Innocence

I have heard it said, and in most parts it is true, that adults forget what it is like to be young.  That society moves on, technology evolves and teenagers grow more worldly by the hour. It isn't the same as in "your generation".



But while the generations before us have worried about bullying, underage sex, teenage pregnancies, getting drunk in the park and "falling in with the wrong crowd", the obstacles that teenagers face today can be far more dangerous.



I would not want to be a teenager today, particularly a teenage girl, if you paid me.

Image from Pexels

Let's focus for the subject matter of this conversation on 15/16 year old girls.

When I was this age, I was the chubby girl in high school, known for having large breasts.  That was my label.  Cones, the boys called me.  My best friend was naturally very slender and she had her own nickname, which isn't mine to share.

There was bullying, as goes on in every school in one form or another.  In my case, there was also sexual harassment, passed off by teachers as "boys will be boys, they have hormones" and "buy a bigger shirt Kitty".  But that is another story.  

Bullying when I was 15 was limited to school grounds and waiting outside at the bus stop.  It was not being invited to parties and being excluded from conversations.    You were made to be an outsider.  But, the bullying stopped when you entered your home. When you were not in the presence of your bullies, you had some respite.



Mobile phones for the mass market did not come along until around 5/6 years after I left school (this makes me sound 190 years old I realise).   Social media only really started to become popular when Facebook appeared and started to gain significant followers.



I for one am wholly grateful that my teenage years was pre social media.  Because I do not think I would have survived it.  I truly don't.  Because if you are bullied or fall out of favour, it never stops and there is no escape.



There is a clear parallel between the rise and popularity of social media and the rise of teenage depression and suicide.



It is more than just a coincidence that rates of depression in teenagers aged 14-17 has increased by more than 60% according to an American study. 

Unsplash image

These days I am addicted to Twitter, checking the site and messages many times a day, having continued and ever increasing conversations with many people.  There are internet trolls of course and people who can target you on your views, but the block button is your friend and you can remove yourself from conversations which give you stress or cause anxiety.



I regularly have anxiety and the fact that I can sign out, have a break and come back refreshed is something that I do regularly, though not as much as I should.



You do not get to do that as a teenager.  You lead as much of your life online as you do offline.  Probably more.



Telling a teenager to remove themselves from social media when they are being bullied or excluded is ridiculous.  It would take a very, very strong person not to want to know what their fellow pupils are saying about them and talking about them behind their back.



If you removed yourself from the multiple social media sites, many of which I probably haven't even heard of would only cause more bullying.  More worrying about what people are saying about you; and planning.



That is before you even consider what porn has done to teenagers.  With porn accessible with merely a click on the internet, the expectations of boys on teenager girls (not all boys, yes I know) are horrendous.



When I was that age, your first experiences of sex was generally two people who didn't really know what they were doing, but generally having a damn good time experimenting.  The thrill of an hour kissing session.  That look the first time your boyfriend felt/saw your breasts.  The first time of sex.



Now, teenage boys have had years to watch internet porn and their expectations of porn star women are projected on to their female peers.  Hairless vaginas, porn style blow jobs, anal sex.  The presumption that this is the norm.



The expectations on teenage girls to do and perform these acts is massive and peer pressure ways heavily.



While the internet and social media has given us many things, it has also taken away more.  A respite from bullying.  Safe spaces. Normal experimentation and most importantly, innocence.

Social Media Screening Is The Hottest Hiring Trend - But How Do You Screen Appropriately?

Upwards of 81 percent of the United States population owns and operates at least one social media account. Nearly three of every ten Americans report logging onto social media profiles multiple times per day. 

Even without considering these statistics, the widespread popularity of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, and other social platforms is likely already apparent to you. 

While most social media users are individuals, many businesses also maintain social presences. Such accounts are most frequently used to market products, services, and other offerings. However, another utilization is rapidly becoming more popular here in the United States, and across planet Earth - social media screening.

The Benefits Of Social Media Screening For Employers

Traditional background checks have been relied upon by businesses for decades, as well as checking up with applicants' previous employers and other references. However, those references could be applicants' friends or family members, simply acting as other people to help their loved ones land positions in the workplace.

Further, background checks are expensive, and rarely offer insights into the personalities or attitudes of applicants. 

Social media screening, on the other hand, is a go-to in modern applicant screening, as doing so is free, provides meaningful insights into applicants' personal and business lives, and helps employers discover who applicants associate with. It's cheap, readily available, and often provides more information than contacting references and soliciting background checks.

While the benefits of social media screening are well-established, not every employer knows the most effective, efficient, lawful, and appropriate means of conducting such background checks. 

Hiring Discrimination Risks Are Real

The United States government sets forth several protected characteristics that employers aren't allowed to base hiring decisions off of, including gender, race, and sexual orientation.

On traditional job applications, employers aren't provided with any information regarding these protected characteristics. When employers look to social media, however, it's possible to see their race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, and other characteristics that hiring decisions legally can't be made off of. 

As such, it's important for your business to segregate executive decisions regarding who gets hired from browsing through applicants' pages on social media. You can either do this by delegating the latter responsibilities to employees other than yourself, or hire an outside organization like Fama, a social media screening servicer, to browse through applicants' pages for you.

Don't Look At Applicants' Social Profiles Until As Late As Possible

After interviews have been conducted, it's time to look at applicants' social media profiles. Never look to these accounts before extending interviews, as applicants that don't get hired could argue that interviews weren't extended because of protected characteristics on their pages, like race or religion.

As such, it's considered most safe to look at social media pages as late as possible in the hiring process. Although social platforms can provide valuable insights into applicants' behaviors and attitudes, virtually every employer would rather be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

Document Everything 

If you find negative marks on applicants' pages, make sure to take note of them. It's always best to screenshot them, as applicants could make their pages private, remove posts, or edit them. 

Make sure that whoever is responsible for such screening duties knows to thoroughly document everything about information they uncover on applicants' pages.

*Collaborative post 

Pro Tips for Creating Video for Social Media

When it comes to putting your voice out there on social media, there are so many platforms to choose from.  

Everything from concise 140 characters tweets to an hour long video on Youtube.  Depending on what you want to say and the audience you want to appeal to; this may affect what platform you decide to use, although many use a combination.

Although I have been blogging for a few years now and have been active on Twitter, there is one social media platform that I have both eyed from a distance and toyed with from time to time.  Video.  It both intrigues and scares me at the same time.

Whilst your words on a page have an impact and can engage a reader, there is nothing like speaking directly to your audience through a video format.  This is the perfect platform for people who speak about beauty products as you can see in front of you how the product looks and how it was applied. 

Video is also a great format for anyone who likes to do opinion pieces or has a specific subject that they wish to talk about regularly.  It can be a great insight into someone's life and teach you things that you did not know before.

I particularly love Pamper & Curves Youtube channel featuring the fabulous Betty who talks about family life and her journey into all things vegan, including cruelty free makeup.

Toast TV have created a handy infographic which they have allowed me to share here today.  There are some fantastic tips such as what to do in the first few seconds of your video, the part where the viewer quickly makes up their mind as to whether they wish to continue viewing.

Check it out below!

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Look Where You Wish

I watched the Look Up video recently and have seen it quickly go viral all over the internet, the irony of which is not lost on me…. 

The fact that the video was created for the internet makes it nothing more than a cog, taking full advantage of the machine of which it is a part of.  The video is just a highly romanticised concept, practically begging to be shared across the social networks.  It isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know and I have seen similar such videos saying the same things.

Preaching at people that we should be less reclusive and reserved is all very well and good, but not all of us are naturally outgoing.  It is ok to be introverted; it is ok to be shy.  It is ok to be whoever you are.  Technology at its core is about making life better for people, finding solutions and improvements to whatever you need and social media is about connecting people in different ways which is a good thing.

I agree that sometimes we can be too connected to our phones and in a social setting it can be that everyone is on their mobile phones or on the internet; socialising with others yet ignoring the people around them.

But there is another side to the story.  (At this point I must mention that Big Fashionista has spoken about this subject in Look Down and you should definitely read it!).

For some, social media isn’t just a form of entertainment.  It isn’t just about playing Farmville or seeing how many likes you can get on your Facebook status.  It isn’t just about Lolcats or sharing your day on Twitter.

For some, it is an escape route.  For some it is a place where they can find a community of people that they don’t have in their offline life.  For some it is the place to go searching for answers when none can be found.  For some it gives you a voice where you had none.  For some, what you find on the internet ends up enriching all aspects of your life, both online and off.

Many of those reasons I can apply to myself.  I can pinpoint the exact point that my life started to turn around for the better.  I joined Twitter.  The small voice that I had, it got louder.  My opinions got stronger.  I found people like me, who think the way I do, who have experienced what I have. 

I know a network of people online that I could never have found offline.  A group of bloggers who are based all over the country who get exactly who I am.  They understand the way I think, why I think it and have lived similar lives.  This couldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the internet.

My offline life has been enhanced by the time I spend online and I have met some amazing people, some whom I have met face to face, others who I am yet to meet but feel like I know well.

The beauty of the internet and social media is that you can get out of it as much, or as little as you want.  It is a resource.   Yes we should probably spend more time off our phones when in company and should ring our friends more than we should text, but the benefits of social media are vast and shouldn’t be discounted or discouraged.