Gen Z 100: Social Media

Social Media has changed the world as we know it and our generation has been brought up on various platforms where we learn about ourselves and our world, but also we express ourselves and what we believe in.

• Vine (Valeria Acosta)

“Hurricane Katrina, more like hurricane tortilla,” “ Road Work Ahead? Yeah, I sure hope it does,” and “Stawp, I could’ve dropped my croissant,” were all iconic quotes Gen Z know from Vine. Vine was an app released in 2013 that lets creators upload six-second videos for people to watch. Many kids liked the short funny clips, that turned into hours and hours of watching multiple vines. The more popular vines were quoted by teenagers and younger kids everywhere, even to this day when the app was shut down in 2017. Overall Vine gave Gen Z something to collectively laugh at.

• Twitter (Melanie Aguirre)

The growth of social media has come with a great increase of twitter users in the last decade. Twitter is known for its 134-character restriction for each tweet which in turn forces users to be very direct with what they are saying. The blatant honesty that Twitter causes our generation to use is either hilarious, raw and real, or raises awareness about issues happening all around the world. The app has grown in popularity because of the ease with which it is used compared to apps like Instagram which is known for perfect and artsy pictures. 

• For the views: Infamous YouTube Challenges (Myriam Alcala)

From the Cinnamon challenge to the Ice Bucket challenge, these trends flooded Youtube and inspired movies like “Nerve.” Although dangerous and many media took their time to warn parents against it, kids partook in these challenges as much as celebrities like Justin Bieber and Ellen. Remember the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge? Yep, our generation had a tendency to inflict pain on ourselves for views; needless to say, some of these trends are meant to stay in the past.

• Snapchat (Jayah Caley)

Snapchat has evolved so much since its original release date in 2011. With over 100 million users and over 1 billion snaps sent every day, it is safe to say that Snapchat is a defining factor of our generation. Snapchat connects people globally with its ability to share what is happening in one’s life for a 24-hour span. 

• Tik Tok (Jayah Caley)

Tik Tok is the fastest growing social media platform. Tik Tok is used to share short videos of people singing, dancing, preaching, crying, joking, etc. This platform allows for a more expressive way of sharing with the world who you are. Tik Tok is to thank for many of this generation’s challenges such as the 223’s dance, renegade dance, best friend test, and many more. 

• Instagram (Samrawit Kopessa)

Instagram is a free online platform with an online photo-sharing application. It was made in October of 2010 it is similar to Facebook and made by Facebook creators. Although in 2018, there were more than 100 million people active on Instagram. People like Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé, Barack Obama, President Trump, etc use this social media platform. Instagram is $120 billion and 5x as Snapchat.

• Hulu (Samrawit Kopessa)

Hulu is a United States-based subscription platform that people use to watch movies, TV shows, etc. It is fully controlled and majority-owned by Walt Disney with NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast. The price for Hulu’s demand is $5.99 – $11.99 and for Hulu’s live Tv service it costs $44.99 a month. On April 15, 2019, it was valued $15 billion. 

• Youtube (Ruth Mesfin)

Youtube is a video service that offers a diverse variety of subjects to a wide range of viewers. Videos are made and published by different types of people from experienced makeup gurus to extremely knowledgeable authors and professors who want to display their work to the world. The purpose of every video is different, which makes it a good place for teens to relax; many are solely to entertain the viewers, while others strive to share helpful knowledge with anyone who needs it.

• Amazon (Caroline Smith)

Generation Z has begun to use Amazon a lot. One of the things Amazon is used for is to order things that are delivered to your house. With Prime, there will be no cost of shipping, otherwise, there is a standard cost of shipping or a fast, express shipping cost. In 2017,  a feature was created by Amazon that allows teenagers, 13-17 years old, to create an account based off of their parent’s original account. Our generation has increasingly used Amazon over the years.

• Netflix (Caroline Smith)

Netflix has become a significant platform of media in our generation. Beginning in 2012, Netflix started creating their own original films and movies, which increased their amount of views overall. Many kids watch Netflix- when new shows come out, or a new season, everyone is posting about it on social media and talking about it. It’s mobile and accessible anywhere, so it makes it very convenient to access the content. Additional to tv shows and movies, there are documentaries and more. 

• Triller (Salmata Soulemane)

Triller is a recent social media app used to entertain people with dancing and enjoying the hottest/latest music. It trailed off from the other prominent apps: Vine, Musically, and inspired the most recently popular app Tik-Tok. The app is significant to our generation because it has caused more social media interaction, and created a space where people can show their creativity and more talent. The app has fallen under the radar lately, however, has impacted social interpretations of people.

• Google Classroom (Irl Paulalengan)

Clearly, Generation Z cares a lot about the environment: Just look at all the hyped stainless straws, Greta’s movement, and the terms, ‘save the turtle.’ In addition to that, who use papers for school anymore? Our generation is cultured by the Internet and technologies. Does anyone know how to manually cite a paper? How about formatting paper, printing them, and stapling them? No more teachers grading things on paper, because everything is on Google Classroom. No wonder kids’ handwriting nowadays is terrible; they are better at typing!

• Social Media Influencers (Brianna Sanchez)

“Hey what’s up guys! Yes!”, is a greeting used by Youtuber Shane every time he starts a video. There are many YouTubers, Instagramers, and Snapchatters that have been labeled as influencers for the sole purpose that they’re often looked up to and have gained a fanbase due to their authenticity. Gen Z has given rise to these influencers by allowing them to connect with us. We’ve watched millions of their videos so much so that they are starting to become people we praise and at times we even act like their people we know. Since they share their life online, we tend to do the same.