From stalking profiles to retweeting relatable tweets, social media has become the newest hobby for students. With many platforms available to join such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat, people are opening themselves up to being in a vulnerable position.

However, these sites have made a positive impact on society by spreading news from around the world. Junior Hailey Baker is an active Twitter user.

“[Twitter] keeps me updated on what’s occurring within and out of Jackson,” said Baker. “There [can be] unnecessary drama and miscommunication sometimes.”

With social media, the main intention is for someone to be able to set up a profile, share information about themselves and communicate with others. However, a large number of users on these platforms are people under 18. According to www.pewinternet.org, less than 71 percent of students are under 18 and use social media.

People under the age of 18 are more likely to take advantage of these websites and use them to bully others. On Facebook, people have been reported to make fake accounts and message the person to bully them.

Twitter is very similar and has had accounts named ‘517 accounts’ made and ran by people in the ‘517’ area code. These people then allow others to privately submit messages about people and post them anonymously.

“I try to be one of the people that campaign positivity and to embrace who you are,” said Baker. “Pages like 517 accounts ruin that as they post with no filter and not care who they affect.”

Fortunately, these accounts are reported and deleted by people that do not stand for this kind of disrespect, like Baker.

Currently, Facebook has a balance between both adults and children on their site. Drama is a rare occasion because of the age range of users. Senior Cameron O’Connor is an active Facebook user.

“I like that I can chat with my friends whether I see them every day or not,” said O’Connor.

Facebook is primarily used for people to ‘friend’ each other and communicate with those people.

Social Media is used by students for numerous hours a day. With both the positives and negatives of these platforms, social media is not a healthy obsession for people.

“[Social Media] shouldn’t be your life,” said Baker. “Go outside, hang out with friends, go on adventures, and have fun. You have to enjoy these years you have while you can.”

With the internet becoming more and more useful, people can find themselves on these platforms more often than normal.