Social media tends to rule the modern world and plays a prominent role in the majority of teenagers’ lives. As with anything, there are benefits and consequences to using the platforms that have arisen.

 According to a Solon High School student poll, only 33.9% of students said social media made them feel bad or overwhelmed. 

“I use social media mostly to communicate with my friends and see what’s happening in the world,” SHS senior, Trevor Halley said. 

Social media’s ever-growing popularity has left the administrators to handle more than a few negative experiences when it comes to student usage of the platforms. 

“Social media has really been the bane of every administrator’s existence, at least in the last decade, since it really blew up,” said Solon High School principal, Erin Short. “Clearly there are very positive ways that social media can be used, but I think the problem is that when you combine high school students who tend to be impulsive… they do things that come back to haunt them in the end.” 

According to the survey, the most common negative experience shared among Solon students on social media was some form of bullying. The top three responses were sexual harassment, racial harassment and rumor circulation. 

“I have definitely seen some horrible things come from social media… lost scholarships, college acceptance, broken relationships and even suspension all because five minutes of fame was more important than their future,” Halley said. 

Ms. Short said that she deals with at least one social media incident a day. If these issues are not brought to her attention directly, they are sometimes reported anonymously through the Safe Schools HelpLine. 

Although issues regarding student social media usage do exist, the majority of Solon students said social media is primarily a source of their entertainment. Solon students value apps that can hold their attention for a long period of time. 

“I often stay up late laying in bed watching YouTube videos and looking at people’s Snapchat stories,” Halley said. 

The most popular apps used by Solon students are Instagram(85.1%) and Youtube(84.9%). 

Overall social media tends to positively affect (65.9%) SHS students. Good or bad, social media is here to stay and play a significant role in the lives of our current and future Comets lives.