Social media use skyrockets during quarantine
With more hours spent on social media, social influencers standards change and broaden
Double Tap: Sophomore Ywjepheng Xiong scrolls on the main page of his Instagram. Before using Instagram, Xiong was on Snapchat and TikTok. “I usually use Instagram or Snap,” Xiong said.
Covid-19 has caused an increase in the amount of time spent on social media platforms, such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. This change in lifestyle has impacted people’s perspectives on social influencers, as well as the social standards set by them in a negative way.
Before quarantine struck the country, teenagers didn’t have as much time to use their phones and stay updated with social media apps. Now though, teenagers have more than enough leisure time.
“Yes, using my phone has increased. This is because I’ve been isolated by myself in my room and watching Youtube videos,” junior Michael Xiong said.
With more time spent on social media, most teenagers’ perspective on social media influencers has altered to a negative point of view. This altered perspective could have been caused by social influencers’ questionable actions during quarantine. For example, Jake Paul is doing a lot of questionable actions to gain popularity. Another example is Bryce Hall from TikTok threw a big party during quarantine, which didn’t sit well with most people. One of those people is a sophomore, Chimur Xiong. He doesn’t like how social influencers are abusing their power to gain popularity.
“TikTokers that pop up a lot, half of the time don’t do it for good intentions… and I don’t like that,” sophomore Chimur Xiong said.
With the change in perspective on social influencers, some teens have also changed their own opinion on social standards. Before quarantine, some teens cared about how they dressed, so they could meet the social standards. For example, you have to wear this specific type of clothing to “belong”.
But through this past year, some just don’t really care about these societal standards anymore. Sophomore Ywjepheng “Eric” Xiong used to dress up to standards before quarantine.
“Yeah, I think I’ve gotten more lazy with the way I dress because I don’t really see anybody,” Y. Xiong said.
Quarantine did have an impact on teenagers’ usage of social media, and their opinion on social influencers standards. Teens are now starting to have a negative opinion on social influencers due to their unreasonable actions.
