Social networking sites are constantly evolving. People stop using one site only to start using another. The trend has users going from using MySpace to Facebook then to Twitter.
“I stopped using MySpace because a lot of little kids started using it,” said senior Sonja Willnat. “And then I stopped using Facebook for the same reason.”
Many students view MySpace as a middle school trend and Facebook to be more of a high school trend. Facebook also has more features that allow users to chat with others, make event and group pages, and “like” other postings.
Twitter has become amongst one of the most used social networks at South Lakes. Many students have made the transfer from Facebook to Twitter.
The use of Twitter is quite simple. Users publish tweets under 140 characters on either a computer or mobile device. Twitter revolves around the concept of followers.
When you chose to follow someone on Twitter, their tweets appear on your home Twitter page. The more people you follow, the more tweets you will see.
“I originally made my Twitter to follow famous people,” said junior Catie Skillman. “I tweet whatever pops into my head, even if it doesn’t make sense. I would say I probably tweet about 50 times a day. I stopped using Facebook and only use Twitter now.”
Even with the increased popularity, Twitter recently caused friction among students as group twitters talk about problems within the school and specifically target individual students.
“I don’t have a Twitter because it causes a lot of drama and people are always fighting,” said senior Sara Dalsheim. “I would just rather not be a part of it.”
Many students have even stopped using their Twitter accounts due to the unnecessary drama it has caused throughout the school.
“I stopped using Twitter because everyone is really negative and it puts me in a bad mood,” said senior Alex Humphries.
While some students are unhappy with the drama, other students enjoy sharing what they are doing or thinking with their followers.
“I love Twitter,” said senior Mitch Dempster. “I especially love subtweeting people. I tweet probably twenty times a day, mostly at night during prime time.”
Just as Myspace and Facebook’s popularity decreased among students, it is safe to say that Twitter will eventually do the same.