In my social circle, social media influences our beliefs and attitudes the most. Mainly, TikTok and Instagram influence us the most. The majority of us don't like to read newspapers or books. We depend on social media to get news every second. On the “For You” page, we often receive real-time updates and clips of news reports that reflect the younger generation’s opinions. For example, people post their reactions to current events and even create memes that relate to these events. Because these posts are often extremely opinionated and one-sided, our beliefs toward these world events can be easily influenced by these social media posts.

Social media provides us with more than just news updates. We get to discover the latest fashion and beauty trends. Before using social media, my friends and I only wore T-shirts and jeans, and we thought that was stylish. After using social media, we have truly improved our style. We began to wear more neutral-colored clothes, crop tops, and high-waisted jeans. My group of friends used to hate cutting their hair short. We thought we looked dumb when our parents forced us to cut the signature Asian short hair with bangs. It was not until we saw Charli D’Amelio’s TikTok where she showed off her new short hair that we finally understood the charisma of short hairstyles. We even dyed two strands of our side hair pink to match Charli’s.

I believe social media has even matured my social circle. My friends and I disliked drinking coffee. We never understood why grownups drink it, and we thought drinking coffee was just an old-people thing. However, our thoughts changed after watching Emma Chamberlain’s YouTube videos. She constantly posts videos of her brewing coffee in her kitchen and drinking iced lattes in her car. We were very inspired by her daily routine and wanted to drink coffee like her. We began to follow her coffee recipe, which consists of half a cup of unsweetened almond milk, half a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and some vanilla-flavored creamer. We are not kidding when we say that this is the best thing we have ever tried in our lives. From then on, we have brought our coffee to school every morning.

Social media is very popular right now and it influences people a lot, especially teenagers of Generation Z, like my social circle. Every day, I have to prioritize checking any updates on my phone so I can be updated with the latest trends from social media. Social media has truly influenced our beliefs and attitudes and made me aspire to live within its world forever. It has helped us become more aware of our surroundings, elevate our lifestyles with delicacy and high fashion, and helped my friends and I grow to become mature young adults. In the future, I aspire to become a TikToker who provides fashion tips and positive influence to everyone watching my TikTok videos.