The Spiraling Increase of Social Media Use In The GMS Community
October 30, 2020
In this time of social isolation, it’s extremely important that we take advantage of technology, especially the endless list of social media platforms that we can use. Staying connected and up to date with news is very important at Glasgow Middle School. Ever since the quarantine began, students at Glasgow have reported that they have used social media to learn new hobbies such as drawing, staying politically “woke” and active, and connecting with their friends, much more than the beginning of the coronavirus. The spiraling increase of social media use through Glasgow has also taken a toll on many social media companies. In fact, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram relished in a 40% mid-March usage spike as a direct result of Covid-19.
Students at Glasgow mainly use two social media apps; a video-telephony app called Zoom, and a video sharing service called TikTok. Not only do social media platforms have an increase in usage, but also the amount of screen time students spend on these platforms a day. The majority of responses reported a 75% increase in screen time since the quarantine started, and 25% usage stayed the same. On average, students spend 2 – 5 hours on social media a day, during and after school. Using our data, we found that students that have phones generally spend more time on social media. The convenience of these social media platforms can take away from students’ learning time. Social media platforms are specifically designed to grab people’s attention and keep people on for as long as possible on a never-ending journey filled with surprises and treats. This intelligent marketing tactic will keep students using their platform for longer periods of time, and will distract them from completing their school work.
Student’s social media usage also affects their lives outside of school. The increase in screen time leads to less time spent with family, friends, and pets. Students do get to connect with people on social media, through posts and comments, but they do not get the in person social experience.
Social media can be fun and entertaining, but once in a while, people learn or experience negative things on social media. Students responded that there are a lot of hateful posts and messages on social media, concerning Covid-19, body images, and other global news. However, social media can have it’s positive aspects such as people being supportive and kind, and being educated on global and environmental issues like, for example: the Black Lives Matter movement.
Misha Speede is an 8th grader in Glasgow Middle School. She is currently growing up in a very diverse and multicultural family; her mother is Chinese and she is African American. She can speak Cantonese and Mandarin, and she really enjoys eating all of the Chinese delicacies. Besides speaking three languages, she also enjoys writing, especially poetry and fantasy. She also really like reading, if she could live in a book fandom, she would live at Camp Half Blood. She is also in orchestra at Glasgow, and she plays the violin.
Brooke Ehmann - Jones (she/her), an 8th grader at Glasgow MS has been a writer for the Panther Post since the 2020 school year. She has lived in Northern Virginia all of her life and plays on a soccer team, loves playing music on her saxophone and the piano, enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and painting, and loves spending time outdoors on the many hikes she and her family have been on. Brooke is also very passionate about the environment and enjoys learning about nature, and volunteering to protect it. She has two cats at home, and loves traveling to national parks with her family.
