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mainewestm 6 in-depth/westerner Ma 3 posts 2,300 Maine West Media MAINE WEST STUDENTS SHOW OFF THEIR CREATIVI Instagram BY JAKE THVEDT old neighborhoods, faraway cousins, teammates from sports leagues, reporter or older friends and siblings away at college, Instagram can help overcome the distance Of the many online social media platforms, and maintain those connections. “I’ve moved a Instagram has become one of the most popular lot, so I have made a lot of new friends,” junior among teens. With the number of users on the Jessica Steingard said. “Instagram helps me keep site constantly growing, one might ask: What in contact with a lot of people that I don’t talk to kind of influence does Instagram have on teens? much anymore.” Just as teens have contributed to a vast body of Instagram is also a great way for teens to keep content on Instagram, Instagram is changing the up with the constantly changing trends and news way teens are seeing themselves and the world. in our fast-paced society. “I really like an actress It’s no wonder that so many people are choosing to use Instagram. Users can post pictures, named Barrett Wilbert Reed,” junior Lacey Argus said. “I follow her because she posts a lot of things videos, polls, and live stream in just a few simple about politics, and it helps me understand more taps. By doing so, many people have become almost like celebrities, gaining thousands or even and be more aware of politics, especially female rights.” millions of followers. However, for any users who are not interested Junior Lauren in posting pictures for all to see, it’s common for Sobjack has gained a students to create “Finsta” accounts. These are sizeable following, “I accounts for posting anything from selfies with make a lot of posts, your dog to rants about how hard that math test keep my account updated, and reach out was, and the best thing about it is that the account is only for friends to follow. to different people,” What is really special about Instagram is that Sobjack said, who it grants its users the ability to be whomever they currently boasts over want to be. In a world where bullying and putting others down is fairly common, Instagram is 2,000 followers. It’s not uncommon to a place where anyone can show the side of themselves they’re most proud of and find a commu- see pictures of fun and exotic places on social media. Instagram, which is known mostly for being nity of people where they fit in best with a simple a place for people to post aesthetic pictures, can hashtag. While this means Instagram accounts give some teens a nudge to see places they may may not be completely truthful, it gives users a not have otherwise visited, and it provides a great chance to forget about any perceived shortcomings and be who they want to be. “I feel like every way to save vacation memories and share them with your friends and family. “I like going to the account is unique to the individual because it’s beach, and when I go on vacation I take pictures what they are putting out in the world and what every day and then decide which ones I want to they want to show,” Argus said. post,” Sobjack said. Whether to keep in touch with friends from Tiktok BY SARIFF ALVISO reporter POSTS TikTok is a relatively new social media app that lets users post short videos of themselves with an audio clip, that’s up to 15 seconds long. Users can make duets, adding on to someone else’s original clip with their own. While hugely popular, TikTok has already generated global controversy. On April 3 of this year, a high court in India banned TikTok from being downloaded in India from the App Store and Google Play Store by new users citing concerns that the app exposes children to sexual predators and pornographic content. That meant that 1.3 billion people -- or almost 20 percent of the global population -- were banned from accessing it. After promises of enhancing safety for users, TikTok was reintroduced on April 24. The app has been downloaded 80 million times in the US alone and over 800 million times worldwide, according to mobile app researcher Sensor Tower. Helping grow this user count was the merging with Musical.ly in August. This brought over millions of new users to the app helping ush its popularity. A major part of TikToks’ appeal is that you can work on a video with a friend. Particularly, senior Daniel Daood films duets with his friends during orchesis rehearsals, at practices, and while hanging out, “They’re funny. I think the best part is seeing your friends make these entertaining videos and it’s
y 10, <strong>2019</strong> westerner/in-depth 7 edia followers Following 1 following TY AND GAIN A FOLLOWING WHILE INFLUENCING OTHERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TAGGED not too serious,” Daood said. “As more people have started to do it, people have seen that they’re fun to make.” Popular trends almost seem to reinvent themselves once a video is featured. Numerous other users remake it, usually with their own twist. “Other people in the community influence me; I see what’s trending and I try it out. I go through old videos and see if I can add funny music to it to make something cool out of it,” Costa Paschos, a user with over 1,000 followers, said. Michael Tran, an avid user who has amassed over 42 thousand likes, shares his strategy: “I just copy whatever trend is going on. It works all the time; that’s basically what TikTok is. Coming up with original ideas is very hard; not many people have them.” In a time where posts on Instagram or Snapchat are expected to meet a certain standard of quality, TikTok’s relaxed nature is a breath of fresh air. “[I like that] it doesn’t take too much thought. You don’t have to be super serious; most videos are 12 to 15 seconds long so it doesn’t take much effort to come up with an idea. They’re simple and not overcomplicated,” Daood said. For others, the upside comes with the creative freedom the app allows for. The option of music and lip-syncing or acting out lyrics empowers users to be inventive. “It’s not just a still picture, it’s a video clip that you can edit, and there are thousands of videos like it,” Paschos said. Although the fun of creating them is enough for most people, the result of seeing positive feedback is gratifying for others. “If I put a smile on one person’s face through a video, make someone’s day better or give them laugh, I feel good,” Paschos said. Youtube BY SAROSH KHAN assist. editor About 15 years ago, long-time friends Chad Hurley and Steve Chen came across what they believed to be a million dollar idea. The two former PayPal employees dreamt of creating a glorious online dating website where people could upload videos to advertise themselves as prospective lovers -- that concept of a dating website would evolve into what is now known as YouTube. As it turns out, it wasn’t a million dollar idea - it was deemed by Google to be a $1.65 billion idea when they bought the website in November 2006. From humble beginnings showing a video shot at the San Diego Zoo, YouTube has developed from a failed dating site to become a worldwide phenomenon where any assortment of people can post videos about any assortment of topics. One of YouTube’s most significant marks on the modern era is the way it has revolutionized the spread of information. Do you want to know what a black hole is? Watch a video on Youtube. Do you want to hear about how the Australians lost a war to emus? Watch a video on YouTube. As senior Samiha Ashraf puts it, “If you ever need to learn something or figure out how it works, you can always find what you need on You- Tube.” The availability of this information to the public is magnified by people ranging from college professors at MIT posting lectures to Michelin Star chefs posting cooking tutorials for otherwise ramen-dependent college kids. The fact that YouTube is only a few keystrokes away serves to widen the sphere of influence these sorts of videos have on people, and despite being usually informative and helpful, many of them perpetuate false conspiracies and rumors. Thus, it’s essential to be mindful of how and where information is gained. From the lives of Casey Neistat and the infamous Paul brothers, there is no denying that the rise of YouTube coincides with the meteoric rise of video blogs or “vlogs.” These vloggers post videos of their daily lives for others to enjoy. Senior Daniela Jaramillo, who regularly vlogs, encapsulates one of the strongest reasons people post on YouTube: “I want to remember all the crazy stuff I do with my friends and then when the time comes, I can show the videos to my kids too.” Jaramillo goes on to elaborate. “The thing about the internet, though, is that when you post something on there, it stays there forever.” Although the generally happy-go-lucky nature of these videos helps preserve memories and spread joy in other people’s lives, the availability of these videos to the public has a compounding effect on any slip-ups and mistakes. Senior Madison Kallio articulates the struggles of being on camera. “I have to try to watch what I’m saying on camera, it’s easy to upset people, and I have to try to avoid that.” The difficulty of maintaining the balancing act between being entertaining and offensive is something all three seniors agreed upon, and Jaramillo pointed out: “There’s always a dislike button.”
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