Social Media can be a beneficial platform for teens’ futures

By Josie Collier 

Editor-in-Chief

Nowadays, high school students have all been lectured about how to keep their presence on social media minimal and private so it does not affect their future careers. I agreed with this idea until recently when my perspective on the issue shifted. My English teacher, Bradi Everett, presented a lesson on how it is actually beneficial to create an appropriate public profile on social media in order to make professional relationships and connections for our post-high school lives. 

I think that the stigma about teenagers and technology, more specifically social media, results from the belief that we use it immaturely, therefore making it a waste of our time. However, with the ever-developing innovations in the technological world, the benefits of teenagers using social media arguably outweigh the negative aspects. 

According to a survey conducted by Career Builder in 2018, about 70% of employers use an individual’s social media accounts as a significant part of the hiring and screening process on many platforms such as Linkedin or Facebook. If students take the opportunity to create these profiles, they can display their experiences and accomplishments, which will show more information about themselves to their employers. 

Most teenagers are under the impression that whatever we do on social media, whether that be good or bad, it will follow us for the rest of our lives. This is why most of our parents warn us about what we should and should not post. But with the changing demographics of the workforce and hiring techniques, teenagers now are presented with an opportunity to advocate for themselves online using social media in order to expand connections in the professional world. 

I am aware of the stress that haunts most adults or students trying to find a job because of the idea that social media is a defining factor of our character. But we can look at technology and social media from a positive perspective now because it gives us the opportunity to present ourselves as professionals. I encourage students at Costa to take advantage of social media and to make a name for one’s self because it could definitely benefit them in the long run.