• by elisabeth , September 12, 2011

The Beginning

AIM (Age: 13): My first AIM screen name was general49 which belonged to my father. He had to make sure I was using the Internet properly before he allowed me to roam the Internet on my own. I remember some of my ridiculous screen names: stickyham1234 and hyperloser18. My screen names were changing constantly because different screen names were used for different things. Like my screen name that all of my friends knew and then my chat room screen names. One time my friend and I found each other in a chat room, so I guess the instant messaging was a small world, at some point. Then it just ended.

Myspace (Age: 15): The coolest thing about Myspace was the background options. Teens thought they were a direct reflection of our style at the time. And the music player just completed the statement we were trying to make. When I reached my punk phase this helped my “angsty” persona reach an entirely different level. How many messages and wall comments you got was like a contest. Even then, the more friends you had the cooler you were.

Facebook (Age: 15): Myspace ended because Facebook began. As an eighth grader I knew was Facebook was; but I couldn’t get one because it was only accessible to high school and college students. That was the appeal with Facebook; no more creepy users. But then Facebook ruined the appreciated sense of privacy, time and time again.

The Middle

Twitter (Age: 19): I never post status updates on Facebook, it is too easily accessible for the way I communicate. So, I got a Twitter. At the time I had no idea why, maybe I was just jumping on a bandwagon. But over time I became fond of my Twitter. I used it as a witty writing tool; whenever I thought of some dry, sarcastic comment I could use in a post later on. But one thing I noticed is I am using Twitter differently than other users. Fifty retweets an hour is a bit ridiculous.

Tumblr (Age: 20): Quite possibly the stupidest social networking site I have ever signed up for. My intentions were to using it for a blogging site. The people on my Dashboard used it as a site to post pictures of themselves, or cute puppy pictures, or pictures of what food they wanted to self indulge in. I blogged two times before I removed Tumblr from My Favorites. I have been focusing on finding a more intelligent blogging site; something more my taste.

Linkedin (Age: 21): I had to be deemed an official young adult before I could get a Linkedin account. I had to start making a name for myself before I got a site to brag about myself on. Because let’s face it, Linkedin is just an electronic resume. I had to network, I had to meet people, I had to say I have completed things and accomplished things and went places in the working world. I take more pride in my Linkedin than I do my Facebook. That is the way it should be.

The End...