I chose to interview a friend who is a bit older, but very active on social media. I chose to interview her because I believe that she would have a different perspective on this topic because of the age group she is in and the level of maturity she has.

Technology – and phones in particular – have evolved a lot since the release of the first smartphone in 1992. In the early 2000s, Mxit made its debut as one of the first social media and messaging sites. Can you remember how old you were when you had your first social media account? What was your username?
I was in high school when Mxit first came out. It was just after the debut of the new Samsung touchscreen phones. I was in Grade 9, I think. My name was “Lady Bhencane” because I was short and “bhencane” was what short girls were called then.

Mxit paved the way for other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Unlike Mxit, these two sites shifted their focus more to images and the message they communicate. Share your experience as you transitioned to Facebook and Instagram from Mxit.
Transitioning from Mxit to Facebook was not hard, but it also was not too easy. Remember, the two apps are very different. The only time you would need to upload a picture on Mxit was when you changed your profile picture. On Facebook you uploaded pictures of anything randomly, but once you were on the app it was easy to navigate through it and finally get the hang of it. Instagram was harder. I think I went on Instagram much later because I just could not understand what it was about. Also I was not so interested in it, I only joined the app years later and I still do not like it. It is evident in the number of followers I have on the app – five years later.

As time went on, technology began to develop which means that smartphones now came with other added features that would later influence the use of social media as a collective. One said feature is the camera. How do you think this feature affected the function of these social media sites?
I think because at first the quality of the pictures was bad, the focus was not really on the images you uploaded. You would get more likes because you were popular – I experienced this because I was quite popular in our circle, therefore I had almost everyone you can think of on my friend’s list. As time went on and pictures became clearer the focus moved to looks and your images had to be more intentional. You had to be more intentional in the way you looked and where you took your pictures. With the further improvements, I believe the situation became worse. I don’t think I have the correct words to describe it, but now social media is mostly about the type of content you upload. The quality of your content will also be affected by the type of camera you use because people will focus on how clear and “beautiful” your content looks.

Technological development sees society moving to a ‘digital world’ where everything and anything is easily accessible on the internet. Besides the improvement in gadgets, how do you think we reached this point?
I think the amount of time spent on social media, coupled with the improvements that have been made to these social media apps has created a little dependence on these apps. A lot can be found and done on these apps. Truly speaking, social media has made a lot of things easier, therefore people are using it a lot more. I think the concept of a ‘digital world’ stems from how easily accessible social media has made things and how everything can be found online.

What are some of the things that you use social media for, besides communicating with your friends and family? Do you think you would be able to perform these functions without social media?
I am mostly online for fun, but regular use of the apps has exposed me to different types of people which works well for my business. Selling has become easier because you can reach a bigger audience by just performing a single action (posting your product). To reach the same amount of people, or at least half, in real life would require a lot more effort. I don’t think I would make the same amount of money I have made selling online if I was just selling in real life.

Social media has seen a growth in companies approaching normal people to partner with in advertising instead of going the traditional route of seeking the expertise of a professional marketing team. Do you think that this practice is fair on these professionals?
I don’t think this is fair because a marketing team puts in a lot more effort in getting your product out there. Getting social media influencers to work for you in advertising may help in terms of brand exposure because they have a large audience, but I doubt it has such a great impact on sales. The mistake these brands make is choosing influencers that have a brand or reputation that does not match that of theirs. For instance, beer brands sometimes choose girls that are known for flaunting champagne on their pages because they have a larger following. A marketing team would know to choose people that align with the company’s brand. I also think another thing that motivates big companies to choose these influencers is that they pay them a fraction of the money they would have to pay a professional marketing team or for traditional advertising.

One of the criteria to becoming a social media ‘influencer’ is posting content that gives an impression that you lead a certain life. Do you think this ‘pretence’ affects how we live in the real world?
I really believe that it does, a lot. People now try to incorporate these bogus social media standards into their real lives. Also, because social media is now centred on content creation, people spend most of their time trying to create content. Nowadays it is hard to just go out for lunch with a friend because you are first going to have to choose an expensive restaurant to go to, and then you would have to buy expensive food too. This is done so they can take pictures to upload for their followers to see this fake life that they live. The focus of your lunch date is now focused on the aesthetics instead of just trying to spend time together. You barely spend quality time together because the other person will be focused on trying to get as many pictures out of the experience as possible.

At what age do you think it is appropriate for children to have access to social media? What are your reasons?
I would prefer it if children had access to social media at later stages in their lives because there is a lot that happens on these sites that could affect them negatively. I really believe that they should be able to enjoy life without the pressure and standards that can be found from being exposed to social media. Children should be allowed to experience life naturally.

Do you think it is appropriate for parents to monitor their children’s online presence? If so, what do you think is the best way to go about it?
Absolutely! There are a lot of creeps on social media that specifically target children. Parents cannot expect children to just tell them about these people because in their little minds, they don’t see them as dangerous. Parents should stop being obsessed with not invading children’s privacy if it concerns keeping them safe. I think the best way to do this is to install apps that block age inappropriate content on your children’s phones. I believe there are apps that allow you to remotely monitor your child’s online activities remotely. That could also work.

What are the changes that you would like to see with regards to how we use social media as a society going forward?
I just wish that people could use social media less. It is really affecting the quality of our lives because it steals most of our time. I would love to see us going back to our traditional ways of living. We are now in an era where life has become shorter. We are rapidly losing loved ones. Pictures are all we have of them because that is all we’re focused on. We are taking more pictures instead of having new experiences together and creating memories.