AK Internet Evolution

I can literally still hear the “beep beep beep” sound my cousins bulky white computer moniter made is it opened AOL mail. It was the most annoying thing ever. It was slow as hell, it was loud as hell, and most most importantly, it was ugly as hell. But, since it was their first computer so we didn’t really have anything else to compare it to. We got in to habit of pressing at least 3 different buttons in 3 different spots just to turn access the damn thing. On top of doing that, we still had to wait another two years for everything to start up just to use it. Using a computer back then was like warming up a car in the winter.

Whe the computer finally decided to cooperate with us, the kids of the house barely even used the internet. We started off occupying our time with the pre installed games such as minecraft and pinball. When we hit grade school, we interacted in the earliest social media site that presented itself in the form of an online game. We were able to interact with friends virtually by creating and online character and a unique username of our choice. We interacted with friends and strangers and spent hours online in a totally different world.

          As the years progressed,more advanced social media became a growing part of the everyday lives of teenagers everywhere. AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was the first big form of communication in my day. Sidekick phones were the hottest thing out. The phone had AIM as a pre-installed application so everyone used it. The great thing about it was it could be accessed from phone to phone, phone to computer, or computer to computer. Websites like MySpace and Facebook grew to be an important line of contact between close friends, distant relatives, and even strangers as well. Once instant messaging died out, creating a profile for yourself and others to see was the newest rave everyone wanted a piece of. It was so easy to use, adults and companies even started make use of it.

In the early stages of social media, teens were able to post pictures, statuses, and videos of anything they wanted. When creating my first facebook profile, I compared myself to all the pretty females with popularity on the site, and strived to look just like them. I searched through my mother’s makeup bag and took photos of myself in my poorly applied makeup. I uploaded my photos to my accounts and used the amount of likes I received as validation on how attractive I was out of my whole class. My mother eventually made a Facebook account and added me as her first friend. She saw the pictures of me wearing her eyeliner and mascara and lost her marbles! She saw how social media affected me and did her best to prevent me from comparing myself to unrealistic standards of beauty. The evolution of social media was interestering.