nicole.sinon

Every morning, the first thing I do is check my phone. I’m aware that this isn’t exactly a healthy habit, but it’s difficult to ignore the constant buzz, ring, or just the fact that my entire life seems to be contained in and managed by a small handheld device. Digital media is something that has kind of overtaken daily life. When I was younger, it was strictly for entertainment or communication, like watching funny cat videos on YouTube with my mom, or talking to long-distance family members. Now, it’s deeply integrated throughout different aspects of our daily lives.

Personally, I am no stranger to most forms of social media; Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are my main choices. Starting in high school, Instagram and Snapchat were the main ways of chatting with my peers. It also provided a way to keep up with people without communicating through posts and stories. When Covid hit in early 2020, I downloaded TikTok just to have something to pass the time. I don’t use Snapchat as much as I used to, but Instagram and TikTok are still very prevalent in my day-to-day life.

Something I’ve noticed in popular social media platforms is that they’re all sort of melting into one. For example, Snapchat introduced stories in 2013, which are “… a photo or video you post to your Stories feed. Stories live for 24 hours, and people can view them as often as they want during that period. Once the 24-hour time limit is up, Snapchat automatically deletes the story,” (Moreau, 2021). This was a huge hit, especially with teenagers. In 2013, Snapchat began with 8 million users and jumped to 34 million users (Dean, 2026). In 2016, Instagram released Instagram Stories, which are basically exactly the same as Snapchat Stories; they deleted within 24 hours, allowed text and stickers on photos and videos, etc. 

This is not the first time that a social media platform has taken inspiration from another. When TikTok came out, their short-form, nonstop, algorithm-driven video content was a massive hit. In 2020, Instagram introduced Instagram reels, which was, again, exactly the same as TikTok. Snapchat and YouTube also have identical content formats to TikTok.

While I don’t believe it’s inherently negative that all of these platforms are taking ideas from each other, I do find that it has desensitized me to just constantly sitting and scrolling on my phone. All of these companies see how well different mechanics work, and they know that consumers gravitate towards short-form, nonstop entertainment. Social media algorithms are made to draw people in because it shows them exactly what they want to see. I definitely have noticed a decrease in my attention span since I started using TikTok and Instagram reels. Most of the time after I’m done scrolling, I think to myself, “do I even remember a single video I just watched?” Usually, the answer is no.

With all of that said, I don’t think it’s fair to only shine a light on the negatives of social media. It’s great to have a way to connect with friends and family, along with finding other groups who have similar interests to you. Being able to connect with likeminded people was really important to me during the lockdown. It’s important to be mindful when using social media. I try to avoid negative content or low-quality content that just “rots” my brain. I like to consume content that caters to my interests instead, like plant care, cooking, or animals. Simplicity is key when it comes to not overwhelming your brain with hundreds of videos a day.

Marketing through digital media is extremely prevalent. Businesses follow social media trends, and try to create an online persona that helps them further connect with their target markets. They try to be relatable and entertaining, or just more “human.” A lot of brands interact directly with consumers in comment sections. There are countless times where I’ve seen popular TikTok or Instagram videos that have verified brands commenting under them. 

All in all, digital media is unavoidable in this day and age, and it seems that it’ll continue becoming more and more used in the future. It’s important that we stay mindful with digital media consumption, and we are careful to not overconsume.

References

Dean, B. (2026, March 17). Snapchat Demographic Stats: How Many People Use Snapchat in 2021? Backlinko. https://backlinko.com/snapchat-users

Moreau, E. (2021, September 13). Here’s What You Need to Know About Posting Stories on Snapchat. Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-snapchat-story-3486000