The Rise in Social Media

          New forms of technology are on the rise including social media and the ways teens are communicating. This is changing the lives of teens and the way they interact with each other. Ramesh Srinivasan states, “Yet they [social media sites] bind peoples and ideas not only across distance, but also in proximity.” (Srinivasan, 49). The idea of connecting with others through the web has lead to virtual communities where teens congregate and share their ideas. Nowadays, “The internet and digital technology encompass all communication.” (McChesney, 73).. Social media has definitely become the norm in today’s society and plays a major role throughout the world. Teens who resort to sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter turn to these services to socialize and is a way to escape the “real world”. With the development of social media comes the idea of networked publics where teens can find their place in society, gather, and socialize with their peers in informal ways. Teens only want a place to call their own free of control from their parents and teachers where they can just “hang out”. Through networked publics, teens are able to build a sense of autonomy and build an identity to present themselves to their virtual communities. Boyd delves into the two aspects of networked publics which is the space constructed through networked technologies and an imagined or virtual community comes into play with the result of technology and teens using it to build relationships. As a result, the impact of networked publics is astounding for many teens. They have more freedom and are able to be a broader part of the world. Teens want to participate in public life through Facebook and Twitter which opens up new opportunities for them. However, the downfall for many teens is that it does concern many adults, but with the growth of social media, and parents becoming more familiar, many of these concerns have subsided over the years.


Ramesh Srinivasan, "Bridges between cultural and digital worlds in Revolutionary Egypt," The       Information Society 29 (2013), 49-60.


Robert McChesney, "How can the political economy of communication help us understand the Internet?" in Digital Disconnect (2013).