The new millennium brought a lot of changes along with it. The tech industry grew with new entrants, a new set of social networking platforms such as Myspace (2003), Digg (2004), Hi5 (2003), Facebook (2004) and Twitter (2006).

Before these platforms, there were Craigslist (1995), Netflix (1997), eBay (1995) and Yahoo (1994).

These platforms in the 90s provided a common ground for business owners/entrepreneurs to meet with prospective clients and business associates. In the earliest time of their creation, Facebook and Twitter were viable tools of business, communication and information.

Facebook was the platform that reconnected longs lost friends. Business and romantic relationships were built on the platform. A lot of young single people met their life partners on the Facebook platform.

As with everything that has merits, there are also demerits. Cases of fraudulent activities such as impersonation, identity theft, romance scam, money laundering, etc were rampantly reported to have happened on Facebook.

Fast forward to the late 2000s, social media users created movements and cultures some of which have shaped the reasoning of the average person using one or more of the social media platforms.

- The Cancel Culture

First among them is the Cancel Culture. It is a form of boycott of an individual, usually a popular figure, who has acted or spoke in a questionable or controversial manner. The cancel culture is usually carried out across all social media platforms. However, it has gained momentum most especially on Twitter. While it is effective in naming and shaming popular figures and celebrities who may have acted unruly without a thought of the consequences of their actions simply because of their celebrity status, it has also been known to be weaponized to bring down good and honest celebrities and popular figures by people who detest them.

One of such instances is that of Brazilian football player, Neymar Jnr. who was falsely accused of rape by a female friend who he had once been intimate with. He was quickly cancelled by so many social media users who believed the woman’s allegations. He lost endorsement deals as a result of the plenty petitions signed by social media users to strip him of the endorsement deals and had to rebuff the accusations by playing screenshots of his WhatsApp conversations with the woman to clear his name. That moment would remain one of the darkest moments in his life and career. He almost lost everything he had due to a false accusation and Cancel Culture.

- The Fake Life Culture

There is also the Fake Life Culture. With its origin from Instagram, the fake life culture has found its way to Twitter. The culture is about taking pictures in expensive clothing and jewelry, in expensive cars and exotic locations such as restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and holiday destinations and posting them online. These kinds of posts are usually captioned with motivational quotes. There are funny instances where airline passengers who originally booked economy class tickets would go aboard the airplane and take pictures in the first class section of the airplane, posting those pictures online under the guise of being a first class passenger. The fake life culture on social media has pushed a lot of young people into depression. In a society where money and material things are worshipped and are regarded the most important things in life. Many young people have gotten into crimes that have gone on to have devastating consequences for them and their families, all these as a result of the fake life culture. Some of the people who are usually ambassadors of the culture are called influencers and usually have a large following online.



- The GiveAway culture

There’s the GiveAway culture. Giveaway in layman’s terms is rewarding fans and followers of a particular celebrity or influencer with gifts, which can be cash or merchandise being marketed by the celebrity. It used to be a means of marketing for a particular product or show of appreciation to followers, but has now been hijacked by unscrupulous people who have used it to gather a huge following and create an online mob who do not hesitate to attack anyone who has a contrary opinion to that of their favourite celebrity.

- The Thirst Trap culture

There’s the Thirst Trap culture. A thirst Trap is described as a posting on social media that is intended to attract attention, often times with a sexual connotation. The term emerged on Twitter in 2011, around the same time as the rise of Snapchat, Instagram and dating apps such as Tinder. While we cannot tell people what to do with their bodies, the thirst Trap culture has had a lot of negative effects on young women. They usually feel less confident about themselves and their bodies after seeing pictures of other women online, who mostly modify their looks with the aid of in-app filters, editing plugins, high-end camera phones and good shooting angles.

Some of these women also go to extreme lengths to look good for the gram by going through dangerous body augmentation procedures which can sometimes have adverse long term effects. Sometimes this year, popular Twitter influencer Omotola Taiwo, popularly known as Omothee or Jesus Baby, called out celebrity cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Anu Adepoju of Med Contour for putting her life in danger during a liposuction procedures and she has to endure severe pains after the surgery was done.

- The Starboy FC

Getting an honorary mention is the Starboy FC. This is a group of social media users loyal to Nigerian music superstar, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid. The Starboy FC is like a cult with Wizkid as its unofficial supreme leader. These set of people believe that Wizkid can do no wrong and would go to extreme lengths to protect him. They bully, threaten and cancel anyone who has a contrary opinion on Wizkid’s ability as a great music maker. To them, Wizkid is greater than Michael Jackson.

Social media is a great place to learn, create, succeed, thrive and add value. I have made a lot of great friends and business partners across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As youths, we must learn that through our usage of these social media platforms, we leave digital footprints which can be traced and used against us in the future when we become responsible elders. The generation before the creation of the internet could afford to be stupid and get away with their stupidity because there were no Android phones, nobody was taking pictures of them to send to gossip blogs. A lot of these people became governors, heads of service, presidents and royal leaders.

This generation does not have the luxury of being stupid and getting away with it. Please think twice before you post that picture, tweet that abusive words or come up with false allegations.

The internet never forgets. Stay safe, protect yourself. COVID-19 is real.

Follow me on Twitter: @kehindeshoots, Instagram: @kennymanthegame

Source: https://www.naijagig.com/the-21st-century-youth-and-the-use-of-social-media/

I really like topics like this , I'll need a minute

Social media really influence our life and this is true. Many people see only disadvantages of it, I see also the advantages. First of all, you can find a person on a dating site on the page here and it is quite easy. Now we have more opportunities to get acquaintances