Social Media Autobiography

I’m Maxine, born in 1998. I’ve been a social media user for seven years. 

The chance for me to become a social media user was provided by my first mobile phone, I still remember it was a green Nokia and I really appreciated it. The reason why my parents bought me a phone is they thought I’ve already gone to the middle school, and I’m not under their comprehensive regulatory anymore, so there is need for me to have a communication tool to contact them. At first, I only use the phone to text message or make phone calls, and then I found I can access the Internet with my phone. Then I start my journey of using social media. The most frequent apps I used back to then was QQ (Chinese Skype) and Weibo (Chinese Twitter). Then I went to high school and started to contact foreign culture, so I signed up for Facebook and Twitter. Now I’m studying in Toronto, and now the top3 apps for me are WeChat, Instagram and Facebook. 

On the one hand, social media did bring a lot of conveniences for me. For example, I can join a Facebook group of my course and share ideas or notes with my classmates, although we may never say a word in the class. The group makes my study easier, social media allows we share information here. Besides, social media also changed my way of living. WeChat was designed as a chat app, but now it has become a lifestyle in China because it combine the function of Whatsapp, Facebook, Uber, Ubereats and even can be used as a wallet. In China, we don’t have to bring money or credit card because most shops can accept payment by WeChat. What’s more, users can send or receive money in WeChat, so many people sell goods through WeChat and start their business. The social media is becoming a part of our life.

On the other hand, social media also bring some negatives to my life. I came to realize that I was so obsessed with posting nice pics on Instagram, so when I am going out with my friend, I focus on taking pictures. I was in an autotomy, numbing with what’s happening around me. I definitely have missed so many experiences because of the autotomy. What’s more, social media makes me a boring people. If there is an excellent exhibition, the motivation for me to go there must be taking some good pictures and post them on Instagram. On weekend, I’d rather lie on bed and play phone than go walking around. Social media also fragmented my time, as I get along with the fragmented reading on social media, it’s become hard for me to sit and concentrate on a long reading. 

Although social media has some negative aspects to my life, the truth is I’m already can’t live without it, and I think most people are also like me. As it’s impossible to totally abandon it, I need to find a balance between social media and real life.