Social Media and the Generations

I was born in 1996 and stand on the border between Gen Z and Millenials (Gen Y). Some people would consider me one of the youngest Millennials, while others might see me as the oldest member of Gen Z. However, I feel like I am too young to fully relate to Millennials but too old to fully relate to Gen Z. I remember a time before complex Apple products. My first phone had a physical keyboard. In elementary school, my classmates and I used iMac in the computer room. By the end of high school, I had my own laptop and iPad. I had a MySpace account for less than a year before I moved on to Facebook and Instagram. I spent my childhood playing outside but lived my teen years on a screen. Skinny jeans still have me within their grip. I understand Gen Z canceled the skinny jeans, but the boot-cut and straight jeans went out of fashion when I was in elementary and middle school. But Gen Z uses technology and social media like I do. With all the conflicting generational identity crises, I decided to explore the social media and technology usage statistics among the generations. Although I will primarily focus on Gen Z, I will provide some information on Millennials. 

What are the Most Popular Social Media Platforms?

Image Source: Pew Research Center

In the article, The Changing Age of Self Learning, McCrindle states that people are turning to social media like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to acquire knowledge. 48% of Gen Z use TikTok, and 46% use Instagram to learn something new. 29% of Millennials rely on TikTok, while 28% use Instagram. On the other hand, people of all ages use YouTube to access information. 42% of Gen Z and 41% of Millennials turn to YouTube for self-learning every day. The findings from the article match with a PEW study called Teens and Social Media: Key Findings from Pew Research Center Surveys. According to this study, a majority of teens use social media like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The most popular platform is YouTube, where 95% of teens ages 13-17 report using it. Two-thirds of teens use TikTok, 62% use Instagram, and 59% use Snapchat. However, Facebook use among teens dropped from 71% in 2014-2015 to 32% in 2022. The majority of teens use YouTube (77%), TikTok (58%), and Instagram (50%) every day, and some use them almost constantly. 

Image Source: Common Sense Media

I have a lot of social media accounts. I am on Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, FaceBook, and Pinterest. I use them to entertain myself, to connect with others, to destress after a long day, and to feed my curiosity. However, I barely use Facebook and Pinterest. Out of all of them, I use TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube constantly. I believe Gen Z and Millenials like these platforms because they offer the video format. According to an Infographic from the Common Sense Census, watching online videos is the favorite media activity of both tweens and teens. I like the video format because I can multitask and have options on how I interact with content. When TikTok and YouTube videos have captions, I can watch them with the volume off. On the other hand, I do not necessarily have to view the video if I only want to listen to the story. Overall, I like the combination of visuals, audio, and text. Plus, the video format is just so convenient. I love using social media to learn new skills and try out new recipes. Why would I read a digital cookbook when I can watch a video of someone walking me through the process? I can also watch shorter videos on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok if I only want basic information like the measurements, ingredients, and cooking time. Time is of the essence, and sometimes I only have time (and the attention span) for short videos. I also like videos because they do not always have to be picture-perfect. With all the heavily curated images I find on Instagram, reality seems unattainable. Sometimes, I want relatable and relevant content where the creator does not look like they are trying so hard. Most of the time, I get that with TikTok videos and Instagram Reels. 

The Good and the Bad of Social Media

So far, we have seen that Gen Z and Millenials unsurprisingly use various social media platforms. Social media helps people connect with friends, families, and professional peers. They turn to social media to learn new things, find information, or learn about events. The Pew Research Survey also states that 80% of teens feel more connected to their friends' lives, 71% use social media to express their creativity, and 67% feel that their social media community supports them through hard times. However, social media can also be a place with harmful activities. Students can be cyberbullied and be easy targets for scammers and identity theft. They can also experience mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and loneliness. 23% of teens say that what they see on social media makes them feel worse about their lives. Plus, social media is addictive. Children can spend so much time on social media that they do not have enough time to focus on school work or connect with those they care about. 

Not surprisingly, spending too much time on social media is concerning for parents. The Pew Research Survey states that 42% of parents worry that their teens are wasting too much time on social media, while 38% feel that social media prevents them from completing their homework. What surprised me the most was that parents of teens were more concerned about the possible explicit content their teens may come across on social media and the time management problems that their children may have than the mental health issues that social media may cause.

Image Source: Pew Research Center

However, social media is not the only source that parents should worry about. They should also consider the amount of time their children spend using entertainment screen media. Using screens is a normal part of our lives. However, children spend way too long on their devices. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, school-age children should spend no more than an hour or two with a screen daily. However, reality says otherwise. Common Sense Census states that the total entertainment screen use per day (average) for teens is 8 hours and 39 minutes, while the daily average for tweens is 5 hours and 33 minutes. Despite the large gap between expectations and reality, children can have a healthy lifestyle if they balance screen usage with other activities.

In order for children to use screen time in a healthy manner, parents may need to set expectations and goals with their children to reduce screen time. Parents can use apps and iPhone settings to monitor and limit usage for specific apps. These helpful tools can aid children to create a good screen time balance. However, these rules can only go so far. Children learn through modeling, so adults must also model good screen time behavior. Adults have to watch how often they use their devices, too. Children will question why they must follow the device usage rules if they see their parents' faces constantly buried on their phones during family time. However, if they see adults following the rules, then they will be more likely to follow their examples. By watching usage, parents can avoid the "do as I say, not do as I do" argument. 

Teaching Children about Good Social Media Use

Social media is here to stay. The use of social media is growing among tweens, with 38% saying they have used social media. However, 34% of parents are worried about their teens sharing too much about their personal lives. While teachers cannot stop their students from creating a social media platform, they can teach them how to use them wisely. One resource I like is the Social Media Profile & Post How To package by For The Love of Teachers Shop. Social media posts and profiles can tell a lot about a person. Therefore, students should be responsible creators of social media by knowing what is appropriate to post and what is not. This source can guide students in creating a social media profile and posting appropriate content and images. The package includes social media profile guidelines and checklists to revise social media profiles. Students can take these checklists to critique examples of sample profiles and posts. 

References

Common Sense Media. (2022, March 9). The Common Sense Census: Media Use by 

Tweens and Teens, 2021. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2022-infographic-8-18-census-web-final-release_0.pdf

Eye Promise (n.d.). Screen Time Guidelines by Age: As recommended by the American 

Academy of Pediatrics.

https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/155527/Screentime-Recommendation-Chart-Final.pdf

For The Love of Teachers Shop. (n.d.). Social media profile & post how to. TPT. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Social-Media-Profile-Post-How-To-3660973

McCrindle. (2023, August 9). The changing age of self-learning - McCrindle. McCrindle.

           https://mccrindle.com.au/article/the-changing-age-of-self-learning/#:~:text=Social%20Media%3A%20Learning%20hubs%20for%20younger%20generations&text=Almost%20half%20of%20Gen%20Z,Baby%20Boomers%20relying%20on%20TikTok.

Pew Research Center. (2023, June 12). Teens and social media: Key findings from Pew 

Research  Center surveys | Pew Research Center.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/