3 Social media platforms I don’t know how to use

When it comes to social media, people either love it or hate it – there’s no in-between. Well, at least for me there isn’t. As a millennial, I have seen the huge transformations that each platform has gone through. I have also been (un)lucky enough to have been around for the birth and demise of some social media platforms that many Gen-Zs have never even heard of. I’m talking about Orcut, Myspace, Hi5, Tagged, Vine and everything in between.

So why is this even relevant? Well, just because I have seen them come around, that does not mean I know how to use them. I have always been a stubborn person and when it comes to things that do not add value, I will not bother to learn more. And like everything else in the world, it seems as though each social media platform has an unwritten expiration date. This adds to my reluctance to bother becoming a guru on their interface. If it can’t go on my CV, I don’t have time for it!

Here are the social media platforms that make my eyes roll.

Facebook

This one might sound a little strange since Mark Zuckerberg didn’t quite rise to fame for creating Facebook yesterday. However, if you have been around for a while, then you might remember a time when Facebook had massive bumper stickers and no ads. If you are reading this and thinking “well they still have GIFs”, stop. GIFs are not the cartoon-like bumper stickers were very proud to drop on our friends’ pages. When I transitioned from Hi5 to Facebook, the transition came with the pride of stepping into the future of social media. I mean, bumpers! How cool was that? Little did I know, Facebook was going to be the king of transformation with its seemingly annual facelifts.

Thanks to all the changes, I no longer know where to locate the photos on my profile. I don’t even know how to update my profile information. I also don’t know how to categorise my ‘friends’ and limit the access that each group gets. Wait – they still do that, right?

The main reason why I can’t be bothered to brush up on my skills is simply because of the purpose of this site. Initially, it seemed like such a cool idea to be able to keep up with my friends from elementary school regardless of where in the world we lived. Now that I am much older and very selective of the people I let into my bubble, this doesn’t seem as attractive. Of course, I occasionally stalk the odd person here and there. It’s been very interesting to see who has had kids, who became a pilot, etc. But realistically speaking, Facebook has just become a gossip-based marketplace.

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Snapchat

I’ve heard such great things about the filters on this app. Apparently, there are millions of filters you can choose from that will take you from being a human-dog to a Disney character. How cute. And for that to happen in less than a second? Bless my old-school, millennial brain!

While I appreciate the intelligence that goes into creating such a complex software that is simple enough to use, I don’t see the relevance. Snapchat has always been one of the social media platforms that just never sat well with me… Ang now Instagram seems to be following suit with its selection of filters that seem to change seasonally. Let’s call it “the best of Snapchat” on a better app.

What I have never truly understood about Snapchat is that the videos – or snaps- of your life are only available for twenty-four hours. I get that you can save them and all, but what exactly is the point of sharing a few seconds of your life with the stalkers who basically have twenty-four hours to guess your location?

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TikTok

This one is a new addition to my list of addictions that came about accidentally. My younger sister introduced me to a mystery series that revealed the solutions in the comment section. Of course, without an account, you can’t quite see any comments, so I obliged.

If you are familiar with TikTok’s interface, you know that autoplay is something they use to their advantage. So I blindly walked into the black hole of never-ending videos. And to top it off, the videos are all very short – perfect for the magpies who have the attention span of a two-year-old.

I am on the fence about this platform because I have admittedly learned some valuable information from Tiktok. Yes, I, the educated millennial, have learned quite a lot from hours of mindless scrolling. But for every good video, there are about twenty bad ones. Would you thus consider such a platform to be a good use of time?

I’m sure there are ways to personalise what videos show up, but I haven’t made it past the “For You” page… ever. And quite frankly, I don’t think I want to.

If you religiously use these social media platforms, let me know what you actually like about them.

Wait! Since we are on the topic already, why don’t we link up on social media? Catch you on Pinterest, Twitter and the ‘Gram.