I agree with a lot of the claims of Jacob Silverman from Terms of Service. I think people subconsciously post things on social media for the small gratification and recognition they get from likes, shares, views, and comments. Instagram and Snapchat easily allow for you to show off to certain audiences where you’re at and what you’re doing. It’s almost like “we” need people to know we are having a good time without them, wanting them to wish they were here with us wherever we are. Social media even allows for some people to be so petty to the point where they will purposefully not like a post or view a snapchat. It gets that serious sometimes even though it should not be that deep at all. I am guilty of posting certain pictures just because I do want people to see what I have been up to, but I do manage to put my phone away to actually enjoy the event. I like to go through my pictures later and reminiscence on memories so documenting my nights isn’t a huge taboo to me, but if I forget it’s not the end of the world. It’s nice to see what other people are up to nowadays, especially since everyone is at different colleges, so I don’t mind people’s intention of posting certain pictures.

Since I came to UGA I have noticed people use Twitter less frequently, and they use Snapchat more. Every Snap Story you see from old high school friends is in a different setting with different people. Twitter cannot convey that through 140 characters, and like I said in my last blog post about media ecology, there is a different audience in college that you are “entertaining.” People checked Twitter back in high school because the tweets would be relatable since everyone you knew was in the same city; it acted like one big GroupMe. People in college don’t have time to check Twitter because they’re out making new friends, studying, or getting involved. Snapchat allows for people to give a look to old and new friends snippets of their life. It also serves as a self-gratification device because if we are going to be honest, the original poster will watch his or her Snapchat Story over and over again more than anyone else will. We put so much subconscious thought into our stories, wondering if people will think they’re fun or funny because we want people to know what we’re doing.

People still use social media for its original intent– interacting and communicating with others; however, there has been a shift in the way we use it. There is the pressure now of maintaining an internet reputation, an updated profile, and an exciting feed because it portrays your life in one screen to thousands of “followers.”