Join the Revolution!

Hello! My name is AB, or Annabelle. I would like to give you a warm welcome to the revolution! What is the revolution you might ask? Let me explain in my own words:

When I was younger, I had no idea what social media was. I had no experience with a phone other than the few family contacts I had on my device. Mostly, my phone was used for communicating pickup times with my parents. I’m sure that we’ve all been here at some point in our lives (if you’re about my age). Everybody relied on their parents to help them get together. Time spent outside, playing board games, drawing, was time well spent indeed.

But when did that all change? When did life become “digital? The earliest experience with social media that I can remember is fourth grade. I vividly remember the day that I had my birthday with some of my best friends. We were on the way to one of my favorite restaurants, and the girls were talking about how Miley Cyrus looked naked on the cover of an album she had just released. I had never heard of Miley Cyrus, or how “artsy” artists could get with their covers. All I could think about was why. Why hadn’t I ever heard of this lady? Why didn’t I understand what they were talking about? I felt so left out. All of a sudden, I was sitting alone at my own birthday party as the rest of the girls scrolled through something called “Musical.ly”. Definitely one of my worst days ever.

This day led to many conversations about this new concept- social media. My mom told me what she knew, what she had researched for me. I learned that the age for usage on these apps was, generally speaking, 13 years old. At the time, my friends and I were only 10 and 11. I didn’t understand why or how these girls had gotten on to these apps without being the proper age- but I soon realized that all they had to do was check a box. Lie. That’s only the tip of the iceberg.

I don’t know what it was exactly that shaped me into the person I am today. Still left out at times because I still don’t have social Media. Some people say that it’s all my parents’ faults- telling me that the apps are “bad” and that I should stay off. Some agree that it’s solely my choice. Almost everybody asks me why. They ask me why I don’t just go behind my parents’ backs and use it. But I believe, especially now, as a teenager without social media, that I am bettered by this choice. I see my friends around me struggle with self-Image. I see them argue and say horrible things about others around them. I see them completely disregard everything we have been taught about friendship to this day.

So what is the revolution? The revolution is a program that we decided to start; a website for teens like me, and unlike me to learn about the dangers and blessings of our modern, digital world. I hope to inspire those who feel outcast due to a lack of online presence to join me and help create a community of teens who choose to live without