My Own Experience Using Technology
I was born in 2005, which I consider to be one of the last years a child could enter into this world without having a screen shoved into your face immediately. I was fortunate enough to spend my early childhood years “in the wild” mostly technology free, aside from watching TV once in a while and I have zero complaints about it. However, as you grow up, the world evolves around you, and technology was gradually integrated into my life.I was in the fourth grade when my parents bought an iPad Mini for my brother and I for Christmas. Even then, I was never the kind of child who chose a screen over my dolls, so I was relatively “safe” from tech related habits early on. When reflecting on my personal relationship with technology, social media stands out as the most influential factor, which is the primary focus of this post.
When I entered the sixth grade, my parents gave me an iPhone because I had started walking to the bus stop alone and needed a way to contact them for safety. This milestone came with “the technology talk.” My parents thoroughly explained the risks and dangers of being online and set boundaries for me. My restrictions included, but were not limited to: asking before downloading any app, no social media accounts, leaving my phone downstairs before going to sleep, no phone use during school hours, and understanding that the device could be confiscated at any time.
By the end of sixth grade, however, the social pressure to join online platforms grew as all of my friends were using Snapchat, Musical.ly, and Instagram. With my parents’ permission, I downloaded Snapchat and Musical.ly. While Musical.ly felt completely harmless at the time, Snapchat carried far more risk. My mother established clear ground rules: no adding strangers and no sending explicit photos. Although I could not comprehend why anyone would do either, my mom explained how sharing explicit images could permanently impact my reputation and future. I soon observed that many of my peers either disregarded these risks or lacked a full understanding of the long-term consequences of their actions.
As I matured, my phone restrictions gradually loosened, and my time spent on social media increased. Musical.ly evolved into TikTok, Snapchat became my primary form of communication, and I eventually downloaded Instagram. While I generally understood the hazards of online spaces, my little teen brain got curious and eventually led me to accept friend requests from unfamiliar profiles. Most of the time, these were mutual acquaintances that I had not yet met in person, but knew of through friend’s. Occasionally I would add strangers, which consistently proved to be a negative experience. I encountered individuals seeking to exploit me, including men sending unsolicited explicit images. My response was always an immediate block and report to Snapchat, preventing further issues. Unfortunately, several of my friends faced far worse outcomes, enduring severe online harassment, cyberbullying, and damage to their reputations after private images were shared without their consent.
Technology and social media themselves are not inherently negative tools; rather, the true danger stems from individuals who choose to exploit these platforms to harm others.
Resources that can be used to learn about social media
This post was written by sahrysha and edited by Grammarly Generative tool
