Over the years there has been an upward trend in social media use when it comes to teens. This trend has not been one to pass over WFHS students. Throughout the grade levels and through various platforms, students have some contact with social media. 

Recent changes in platforms and inquiries into those platforms have raised attention to how teens are affected by social media. 

One aspect that is crucial in seeing how social media affects students is what platforms they have access to or use. 

“I use TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, pretty much all of them,” senior Adam Elradaf said. 

In our survey of 150 teens, the top four social media sites were Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter. 

More important than what they use is how they use the platforms they are a part of. 

“Snapchat, talking to all my friends,” sophomore Jackson Allen said. 

Not all students use platforms for connecting with friends. Some use them for what the platforms provide.

 “Youtube, I use it for academic purposes in addition to leisure,” sophomore Leianna Rawls said. 

Some students just utilize social media for their own entertainment, like senior Sammi Woloszyn.

“Probably TikTok because it’s just fun to scroll through it when you’re bored,” Woloszyn said.

One thing students have been looking at more in recent times, thanks to news coverage and greater public awareness, is what impact social media has on them. Opinions on platforms vary from student to student, showing the diversity that these platforms provide.

“The most positive impact, I’d say Instagram, just because you meet your friends there and you can see what people are up to. Negative, I’d say TikTok probably, just because I procrastinate so much with it,”  Elradraf said.

Even though they use social media often, some teens acknowledge that its use brings negative side effects. 

“I don’t really know if there has ever really been a positive impact on my life. I think TikTok is the most negative because there’s a lot of controversial stuff on there,” Wolosyn adds.

With all the effects that social media has, people are wondering if there should be more mandated age limits. How young is too young for social media?

“I think people should wait until their older because social media has some like really bad stuff for little kids,” freshman Badard Byadi said.