Being a teenager in 2023, social media and technology hold a big role in all of our lives, whether you want to admit it or not. We are often called zombies, brainwashed, and stupid delinquents that can’t think for themselves.

Although Gen-X, Millennials, and Boomers may argue that the generation of Gen-Z can’t think for themselves, I beg to differ. With all of the advances in technology, students and children are starting to think in a more strategic and critical way because of our access to different resources. 

Many of the older generations will dispute this, saying that social media has and will continue to ruin this generation and future ones to come…if we last long enough… but personally, I think it’s just a miserable excuse to complain. 

Refuting the idea of being called idiots, social media platforms have given us a wide variety of sources to learn new things. Using online materials such as Youtube, a series of e-books, and online notes helps with studying and even just learning in general. 

Speaking from personal observation, TikTok has allowed an empire of professors, specialists, and educators to come out and start accounts to educate younger viewers like me! Some of these educators on TikTok go as follows; @quickmathtips (an account with numerous math tips for all different levels), @ryan.choice (an educator who teaches students how to prepare for SATs), and @sarahrav (Dr. Sarah Rav is a study expert who posts videos on how to study and help for acing exams).

As you can see, those are just a few of the experts and educators on TikTok that are easily accessible to students. Obviously, teenagers who’s ages range from 13-16 can not drive yet, so doing the old-fashioned going to the library is not always the easiest or most affordable way to go about studying. Using social media and technology is an accessible, hand-held way to gather information in less than seconds- something that older generations never even had the chance to experience. 

Something that the older generations were never able to participate in was communicating with people without being face-to-face… other than with a handwritten letter and pigeon. 

The creation of the telephone sparked something in our culture, but the furthering of this technology into the ability to send text messages and social media changed everything. Social media and text messaging don’t have a limit on the time you can spend on it. Now it doesn’t have to be connected to a wall at all times, it is way more convenient!

With social media and text messages, you can keep in contact with old friends, all while making new ones too. Dr. Martina Paglia, a Private Clinical and Counselling Psychologist, stated that Social platforms like Facebook and Instagram can not only help us stay in contact with the surrounding issues and state of the world but also link us with our family and friends who live far away from us.

A common issue with our generation is relationships involving longer distances, and social media helps with that! You can see what people are up to and see what they’re getting involved with. Communication is also so much easier with the increase in access to text messages. 

It being 2023, the news is one of the most broadcasted subjects on social media. From the ages of 50-64, their way of getting news is from TV, paper news, radio, and websites. Younger generations (ages 16-24) are using social media as their main form, and I personally believe that this is an even better way of staying connected to news. 

Social media is an open platform, allowing people to not only learn about current news but state their opinions on it. Which, conveniently, educates more people than during previous times. 

So sure social media gets a lot of backlash, especially from older generations, but what the older generations don’t realize is that this is our newspaper. This is our radio. This is our TV! 

Social media allows us to be educated in and out of school, connect with people in a much easier way than any time before, and overall just have fun.