Every year brings new traditions and trends, from fashion to music to social media habits.  Everyone has their opinion on what social media they prefer to use and why they like it so much.  With our generation having all of these social medias at their fingertips, it is no secret that our generation is a little more dependent on them than previous generations, especially with the mobile apps available on Smartphones.

Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter have dominated the social media scene for quite some time, some more than others.  Most people would agree that Facebook is on the decline, soon to meet a fate similar to Myspace, which has died down dramatically.  Junior Eileen Tracy, however, said she uses Facebook more than any other social media because it is an easy way for her to be able to message her friends and share things she liked on her newsfeed with people she was friends with on Facebook.  Similarly, junior Shanna Brandt likes Tumblr because it allows her to “reblog” things she likes on her dashboard.

 Over the past couple of years, the use of Facebook has been limited to getting in contact with people.

 “Facebook has begun to lose its luster now that its concept of pulling people together is getting archaic, and the fact that many teens who use Facebook are ‘friends’ with their parents. What it’s really good for is making invitations to events. Its RSVP feature is useful,” said junior Matthew Vicencio.

 Other social medias that are rising are Twitter and Instagram, which have similar features to Facebook, but are slightly different in that Twitter is mainly a collection of 140 character “Facebook statuses” and Instagram is all pictures and videos.

 Junior Gianluca Grignoli said Instagram was his favorite of all of the social medias because “people post a lot of funny things and play pranks on each other.” However, the only thing he does not like on Instagram is seeing a clutter of selfies with girls writing ‘#nofilter’ as the caption.

 Another common trend on social media is the frequent Internet fights, rants, and general inappropriate posts.  Many people vent about their personal life on social medias like Facebook and Twitter, which sometimes makes things uncomfortable for the people who are “friends” with the person or following them.

 “That [people using Facebook and Twitter as a diary] gets really annoying, and I usually reject their friend request and their follow so I don’t have to read it, but if that’s the way they express themselves, then I can’t stop them from doing that,” said Tracy.

 Vicencio agrees with Tracy to some extent when he said, “I think ranting on social media is therapeutic for users.  I think it’s good, but I wouldn’t want to read them. It gets boring how people talk. I think fights on the Internet are just as foolish in real life. I interpret it as noise from my peers; it just wastes space on my feed.”

 Grignoli, however, looks forward to the Net fights on his feed.

 “I like reading them because it makes me laugh.  There are some really funny rants out there,” he said.

 The number of rants and Internet fights on social media go hand in hand with the amount of time we spend on social media.  Given the fact that most teenagers are on their phones a lot of the time, mobile apps have made it possible for people to stay connected even on the go.  Nearly everyone who has a Smartphone has admitted to being on the social media app more than the actual website because using the app is a lot easier and more convenient than logging onto a computer to Tweet or post something.

 “The computer seems more organized because it seems a little condensed on the app, but I feel like I’m on my phone so much that I use the app more,” said Tracy.

 There is no denying; teenagers are almost always on their phones and having the social media apps available makes getting in touch with different people much easier than it has been in the past.  It has gotten to the point where face to face conversation is not nearly as common as texting or Tweeting at each other.  Despite the advances in technology and how easy it is to use it, there is no replacing an actual conversation with a friend.  It is just as easy to put the phone down and have a real conversation as it is to pick the phone up and hit the “send Tweet” or “send message” button.