Tag Archives: Teen Perspective

A Teens View of Social Media

Posted on by
Reply

One of the best way to understand teens, learn their perspectives on various topics and what the current teen trends are is to ask them questions and to listen to them. This is a point I share frequently because it is the key to understanding teens and to building relationships with them. Occasionally I will share thoughts and quotes from teens in my post or even let a teen share their views and thoughts on certain topics to help us gain insight.

This week I read a blog post written by a teen talking about her perspectives and thoughts on Social Media. I thought this was a great opportunity to see Social Media from the perspective of a teen. So I asked if I could share their blog post with each of you.

Let me first tell you a little about my guest blogger. Allie is a 19 year- old freshmen at the University of Connecticut majoring in English. Her favorite App is either Twitter or Instagram and her favorite TV show is Suits on the USA network. You can check out Allie’s blog where she writes about life and the transition from being a kid to an adult.

For Your Eyes Only, written by Allie.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, whatever. I love social media. Sosososo much, in facebookfact I spend 70% of my conscious time scrolling through various news feeds—in class, mid conversation, half asleep, I’m basically always online (except when you try to text me, you’ll probably get a response in 3 hours – 2 days). And after spending so much time this way, I’ve realized that a lot of people are misusing social media (or is everyone else doing it right and I’m LIKE TOTALLY using it wrong?!?!). But before I get into what I mean by that I’ll preface with an explanation.

In my opinion: sympathy sucks. I hate being babied, coddled, comforted, the works. Yes, even when I’m upset. Leave me alone. I don’t want or need the “I’m sorry’s” or “Are you okay” or “I’m here for you” especially the pitying looks that come along with it. In my opinion pity helps no one.

twitterTrue authentic friendship and all that jazz is unspoken. I’ll come to you. Likewise, if you’re upset don’t assume I don’t care, I do, I’m giving you the space I know I’d want and sparing the awkward pity exchanges. Again, obviously if we’re friends call me, text me, I’m here. But only if you ask, I’m not going to intrude on your grief, it’s not about me and I don’t want to make it about me.

So what, does this have to do with social media? Ahhh great question, and so you shall see… Cue the transition!

On Facebook I have 700+ friends (after the post graduation purge), 120+ twitter followers (I only follow like 70 people, so I’m pretty popular OKAY), 80+ Instagram followers (okay so instagrammy pictures just suck), and like 4 people who snapchat me regularly. Basically the epitome of popularity, RIGHT? Anyways, my followings and friendships are considered small. But seriously, are there really more than 700 people who I can call my friend? Or that I take interest in the happenings of their lives? Heeeeellllllll naw. Let’s face it, if these pages actually reflected my close friendships there’d be about 10 people on each (maybe fewer).

But is that what social media is really about? Facebook is a place to make connections with old and new friends. It’s for sharing pictures, videos, little tiny snippets of our lives to the people we’ve encountered along the way. Twitter is even less of that, can you really form or upkeep bonds in 140 characters or less? Again, I repeat: heeeeellllllll naw. I follow comedians, celebrities, parody accounts, NYC_Blonde (<3333), and sure my friends too. Twitter is about laughs, tiny nuggets of information, and the sharing of non-problems like tripping in public or complaining about the weather. And the same goes for Instagram and snapchat. These are public forums, and most times open to anyone and everyone.

So the problem is, that people are using these places to air dirty laundry and to express serious problems. I am definitely not saying that you’re problems aren’t real or that what you’re going through isn’t tough. Not at all. But I am trying to be realistic. Realistically, how many of your 100+ followers actually care? How many of them will actually want to help you. Oh yeah, I’m sure you’ll get plenty of “keep your head up” replies or “stay strong” comments. But how many of them are invested enough in your life to share your pain? How many actually have your phone number and can call you to make sure you’re okay?

And believe you me that I do not want even a fraction of my followers to try to comfort me. I sleep easier knowing I have Madison on speed dial and that Taylor will run across campus to see me. And that my other close friends, no matter how far away will sit with me in silence on the phone until I want to talk. Moral of this too long story: you have real friends, use them. Because when Facebook and Twitter go the same way as MySpace, most of your ‘friends’ will disappear.

A Teen Perspective on the MTV Video Music Awards Show

Posted on by
1

Each year I make an effort to watch the MTV Video Music Awards. I find that the awards show offers a glimpse into current teen culture.  What music is popular with teens, what actors and artists are popular, fashion trends and much more. When I watch the show and try to decipher what I am viewing and put it into context with where teen culture is at I am coming from an adult perspective.  One thing I have learned over my years working with teens is if you really want to understand whats going on with teens and more about their culture you need to ask teens themselves.  With that in mind, I decided to ask a teen who was watching the MTV Video Music Awards to write a guest post for me sharing his review and opinion as a teen.  Check out what 18-year-old DeQuan from New Jersey had to say about this years VMA’s.

So it was that time of year again. That time where the biggest names in music that appeal to most people under the age of 25 get together. That’s right I’m talking about the MTV Video Music Awards. This year marked the 29th anniversary of the ongoing award show. This year’s host was Kevin Heart, no doubt because of the well received reactions to the opening he did at last year’s show. Kevin was a laugh riot throughout the night making jokes about what is going on in the pop culture world.  

There was no huge disagreement amongst fans as to who won what this year.  Chris Brown taking home best Male Video while Nicki Minaj took home best female video. Best Electronic Video went to Calvin Harris while Drake and Lil Wayne took the award for the Hip-Hop category. If there was one complaint about this year’s show perhaps it would have been the fact that MTV doesn’t separate groups and solo artists.

One Direction took home the best new artist award and there was no doubt that they would. Since they debuted their hit single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” it’s been topping the charts everywhere. They even preformed it at the closing ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London over the summer. They were up against Frank Ocean whose performance was a surprise to everyone and became one of the most talked about performances on twitter with over 30,000 tweets. In my opinion, separating groups and solo artists, would allow some artist’s to stand a better chance at winning. Not that I don’t like One Direction, I enjoy them very much and I have their entire album, however others in that category were Fun and I wanted both groups to win. Perhaps if there was a category for best new groups it would give exposure to more groups and solo artists alike.

Other performances that took the night were those of Pink who played tribute to herself both with her opening song “Get this party started” and by swinging through the air as she did during her highly acclaimed 2009 performance. Also, one can’t forget Alicia Keys whose performances are always memorable and star-studded. She was nothing short of magnificent. Perhaps the most anticipated performance of the night and the one I definitely looked forward to was the performance of the absolutely flawless Taylor Swift. Her new number one smash hit, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” which became the most digitally downloaded songs only two weeks after its release.  Taylor’s performance was very upbeat and had the entire crowd ecstatic and hyped. It’s definitely one for the VMAs history books.

Overall I think we can all say this year’s awards went off without a hitch. There was even attention drawn to Chris Brown hugging Rihanna, really expressing that the vibe of the night was peaceful and just about celebrating music. Special nod to Kevin for really keeping the show flowing as well

On another note, this show does showcase a part of Teen Culture in terms of music as well as other mediums.  This was seen by some of the guests in the audience (Twilight Cast, Dwight Howard, Jersey Shore Cast). I would say that the MTV VMA’s is an accurate way to judge teen culture. Many of the presenters are popular among teen audiences, although many of them were there to remind us that they still exist and that they have an upcoming project.

As far as they way many of them act I feel that it’s just apart of the brand they’ve established for themselves (Nicki Minaj for example). The unfortunate truth is that we are a generation that likes to go uncensored and unfiltered. We like talking about topics and subjects that in the past would be considered very touchy. The problem is we don’t know where to draw that line. Rihanna speaking about wanting someone to be her “sex slave” was a bit much. However, most teens don’t realize the true messages behind the performances, for most of us it’s about the visual and the beat.

To an extent, as a teen it does bother me. I’m not angry with Rihanna, I love her as an artist. But the truth is in this society with the level of success and fame that many of the artists featured on the show have achieved the responsibility of being a role model. As an author of a series of books for young adults, I try very hard to ensure that the right messages are being sent out. The truth is songs like Rihanna’s are acceptable and are considered the norm among most teens. I think there needs to be a limit yes, moments like Kanye’s were frowned upon. And though it was wrong, yes I think promoting songs about sex and drugs aren’t that great either.

What it comes down to unfortunately  is that the MTV VMA’s promote artists that are popular, they have no control of what record industries allow to be put on the radio. But MTV does know that if they want ratings then they must feature those artists who are currently popular. I don’t think any artist is perfect but they should strive harder to send positive messages. An adult watching might get many mixed messages, but the truth is being a teen these days, that’s how our lives are. We get many mixed messages from the media

There you have it. The MTV VMA’s from a teens perspective. I want to thank DeQuan for his guest post. DeQuan will begin studying film making and screenwriting in January at the New York Film Academy. He is the creator and author of the Danger Kids Series with the first novel to be released December 12th. He is an avid blogger and blogs about thing that currently affect his generation from politics to media.