My name is Ashley Marino. I currently live in Stow and I am an early childhood education major. I have a very big Italian family and I am also a server at a restaurant called Paninis. I have always loved children and hopefully will have my own family one day. I enjoy summertime, vacations, animals, concerts and spending time with my boyfriend, my family and my friends. I love to read and to color. I love trying new things and helping people when I can. I am so excited to pursue my future career as an educator.
Reading the article, "A Teenagers View On Social Media" by Andrew Watts, I agree with a lot of the points that he makes. Being a teenager myself, I can connect with his views and loved to see what he thought about each social media site. Personally, I only use certain social media sites, but the ones that I do use, I use them pretty frequently. I currently use the four main sites: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat. Social media is everywhere in the world today. Children now, know how to use the internet by such a young age. They understand how an IPhone works and can probably successfully manage their own social media accounts. It is now the way the world works, Technology is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity.
Instagram: Instagram is by far my favorite social media site that I use. Instagram is my generations Facebook. I love how I can edit my pictures and make them my own. Using Instagram, I have my own personal profile with all my chosen pictures that I want my friends to see. No more embarrassing pictures with that forbidden tag from Christmas at Grandmas. Instagram brings out creativity in people and it gives them the opportunity to be themselves and to explore other pages all over the world.
Twitter: The little blue bird. One of the first things you might think of when you think of Twitter. I have a Twitter account but barley ever use it. I used to use Twitter a lot when it first came out, but I lost interest in the site. I find myself only going on Twitter when I get bored and once I have ran out of my Instagram or Facebook feeds. I only tweet once in a while, and will occasionally will post a selfie for all my Twitter followers.
Facebook: One of the oldest social media profiles that almost everyone has. A lot of my older relatives and long lost friends are on Facebook. I use Facebook to connect with them, and say "hello!" after so many years. I also like how I can organize all my photos into separate albums. Watts says "Facebook is dead to us." I believe some may think Facebook was "cool" in middle school, and it has decreased in popularity over the years, but I believe that Facebook still has great qualities that the site provides!
Snapchat: The newest social media site to become one of the biggest craves. Everyone had to have it. Androids, unfortunately cannot get the real Snapchat experience. I love Snapchat. It is my second favorite site to use. Knowing I can send a really embarrassing picture or video, and it hopefully is never seen again is some what comforting. Snapchat has recently updated and added a bunch of new features like adding "My Story" where you can have multiple pictures there, and the new funny selfie faces. Snapchat is for all ages and is very fun and interactive.
I try to represent myself as a very happy person thru my social media accounts. Trying never to post anything sad or angry, but posting things to make someones day better. People also have to keep in mind that most or all of these sites are public and anyone, like professionals, can see whatever you post. Most people do not think about what they are saying before they post things. Making yourself seem professional at all times on social media is important. Social media can also be very dangerous. Young children meeting others on the internet is what everyone hears about nowadays. Keeping an eye on children while they are using social media is crucial to make sure they are using sites correctly and safely.
Social media, technology, internet, television, all of it, is not going anywhere. If anything, it is going to keep growing and keep evolving and getting better. Using technology in classrooms can be very beneficial. I am not sure if the type of social media sites, I listed above, are appropriate for younger age groups but certainly finding educational apps to use in class can help students learn and become more familiar with certain technology. Once I become an educator, I will most definitely research to find different tools and exciting, interactive social media sites to use in my future classrooms to get my students to become successful later on in this technology filled crazy world.
