Evie Lou Writes

In my social media class, we are watching a documentary called The Social Dilemma, which talks about the impact social media addiction has on our daily lives. One of the things that stood out to me in this documentary the most was that social media addiction impacts people of all ages, not just kids. Even the adults on the documentary admitted to being addicted to their phones, and most of them owned or helped design the social media platforms. That concept alone amazes me. It also got me thinking: if the designers of the programs have a hard time, what does that mean for the average person?  Think of the young children who have access to social media and lack the emotional maturity and discipline to say “no” to their phones. How are they impacted by social media and screen time? Parents might not know how to work with their kids on these topics because the concept of social media and its impact on young kids is relatively new. We don’t have decades of research and past practices t...

It is crazy to think that YouTube first came into existence the year that I was born. That would be two entire decades ago. I feel like a lot of social media platforms have come and gone in the past 20 years, but YouTube seems to always be the same. They might have added new features and given a facelift to the aesthetics of the site, but the heart of YouTube has always remained the same — sharing video content online.  When I was younger I primarily used YouTube to watch music videos. My siblings and I always had a blast hooking up our computer to the television so that we could play our favorite band’s music. Sure, there were some ads that popped up every now and then, but my siblings and I mainly cared about listening to our favorite tunes, not the stuff that comes in between.  Here I am years later, still using the same app that I used as a child. I now use it for a different purpose than when I was younger. Music videos are fun to watch and listen to every once in a whil...

As someone who went from having zero social media accounts to several personal and business ones, I finally learned the importance of conducting a social media audit. This is important whether you own a small business like me or work for a larger company.   So what is a social media audit? A social media audit is when you analyze your social media presence as a whole and pinpoint what your strengths and weaknesses are. They are a great way for you to get a glimpse of the big picture and find ways to strengthen your brand online. The first thing that needs to be done for an audit is to have a spreadsheet created or some sort of writing tool that helps you stay organized. There will be a lot of information coming your way, and you’ll want to keep track of it effectively.  Next, you should open up all your social media accounts and take note of important information based on the first things you see: the profiles. Does each account have a consistent profile picture, cover i...

We are in a digital age where everything we see on social media is carefully manufactured to perfection. From famous influencers to our intimate friends, people tend to post the best of themselves. Every image is carefully selected and edited before it is posted so that what you see isn’t exactly reality. If I am being honest, I tend to doubt every influencer I see on my feed. I see fakeness in their stories, stiffness in their “perfect” relationships, and sadness through their smiles. I do not like thinking about other people this way, but I fear we have grown up in a culture that tells us “everything we see online is fake.”  Do you take everything you see online at face value? Do you immediately trust everything you see on social media? Consider these questions as I provide my preferred type of media. Despite the disappointment I find on mainstream media platforms, I tend to find comfort knowing that blogs still exist in the world today. I know that blogs can be edited and man...