Invicta Vlogs
Staying in Touch – a Year 7 Perspective!
Staying in Touch – a Year 7 Perspective!
Hello, I am in Year 7 just like you! As any new member of Year 7 will probably relate to, I found social media a great place to get to know my new Tutor Group mates.
Because we all love social media so much, and the wonderful benefits it brings, this means we can sometimes become blind to the dangers of it.
In every Tutor Group, I am sure there is a way that students can stay in touch digitally. This could be a WhatsApp group or just texting one another. I could write about the age restriction for WhatsApp being 13, but that is not the message I want to get across in this Blog.
As wonderful as group chats and social media are, I do not think everything on these platforms is always entirely positive.
The negativity can not only affect our well-being but can also harm our ability to: stay positive, ignore the nonsense comments and not take offence so easily.
Some people get a bit disheartened if their ‘newest selfie’ does not get as many ‘likes’ as they think it should, or if someone says something negative about it - this is even worse.
This simple reaction to something, which, in reality, is so insignificant could actually cause something a lot more substantial and harmful as a result.
This could be because we depend on social media so much that we get upset by a single bad response to a message, or a post, or not getting enough ‘likes’. This could be because in some ways, we are now addicted to these platforms and this way of living. If we are not present on social media, we feel invisible; like we are not part of the conversation. This ends up making us feel a lot worse than we would have otherwise felt.
This in turn, can lead to a lot of unnecessary anxiety, stress and possibly depression. Of course, you will not definitely be morose just because you have an Instagram account but you need to be aware of the dangers that come with it.
I myself have had an experience very similar to what I have been describing. I was included within a WhatsApp group chat. The group were chatting about something very innocent and, wanting to contribute, I posted what I thought would be useful. However, what you say - particularly on social media - can be misinterpreted. My helpful intentions were misunderstood.
Furthermore, as time went on, I really got the impression that others in the group were deliberately setting me up. I got sucked in; it’s very easy!
There are two points to make on this. The first is that the subject matter was very innocent; just imagine if I - or any of you - were influenced by something we should not be involved in.
The second is that I felt really upset and let down. Very few of us - if any - would bully face to face, yet it is easy to do it on social media. But, as I said, my posts were misinterpreted, and I am sure there was an element of that in what I was reading.
So, with this in mind, let’s all try to ensure that we post, and react to other posts, with positivity.
My experience made me rethink what is important to me. Now that I am not so addicted to social media, I have been able to concentrate on more important things like school and spending time with my family.
Even if you do not feel like you are addicted, it is still good to get off your phone once in a while and do something different. Technology is great, but a good balance can be even better! All of these reasons are, why I for one, will be backing and getting involved in the Invicta ‘Set Your Hands Free’ campaign starting on Monday, 21 May. I wonder what amazing and different things I, and everyone else, will be able to achieve when we put down our mobile devices!
Jennifer, Year 7 Digital Leader
