#WrongAllAlong: Rethinking Everything I Knew About Social Media

Learning how to navigate social media has always been terrifying to me. I love just scrolling and using it as a form of entertainment, but the background information that goes into it was just not my thing. That was until I took this class. As we started this semester, I came in believing that I knew the ins and outs of social media and that I could easily run a business account, but now that I reflect, I feel that was completely wrong. I had no idea all of the new information I would be learning and how eventually I would actually need to apply it for real!

Posting times? I would have never expected that Sunday is the worst day to post! I am a frequent user of social media, especially on the weekends because I do not have anything else to do. When I learned that some platforms have a better performance rate on weekdays I was completely shocked. The more I've thought about it and the more I see that each platform is the same, it's not as shocking as I originally thought due to the fact that Sunday is typically a religious day and people come home from work or school on the weekdays and want to stay caught up with everything they missed.

Hashtags have been and always will be all the rage. When I was in middle school, it was pretty typical to have as many hashtags as possible in your captions no matter what platform you were posting. The more hashtags the more views right? Wrong! For all social media posts, it's recommended that you use only 1-3 hashtags. This can help narrow down your audience as well as boost your performance due to not overcrowding the caption and tags. Now I'm really going to have to think about what is the most important for me to put into the description of the post to get more views!

Reflecting on everything I've learned this semester, I realize just how much my perspective on social media has changed. What once felt overwhelming now feels manageable. While I used to think social media was all about fun scrolling and spontaneous posting, I’ve come to appreciate how strategic and thoughtful it really needs to be, especially if you're using it for a purpose beyond personal entertainment.

Looking ahead, I feel more confident, not just as a user of social media, but as someone who could actually manage a brand’s online presence. So while I used to be scared of what went on behind the screen, now I see it as an opportunity. And now, I finally feel like I know how to use it.

How a Social Media Workshop Sparked My Summer Goals

I know I am super late in posting about this experience but it is still something I am so excited to talk about none the less! On April 11, I was invited to attend a Social Media Workshop through my social media class at Ohio Northern University. It was so insightful as a student who is new to navigating the "behind-the-scenes" of social media. I have secured myself an internship over the summer where I will be posting on Instagram and Facebook for upcoming events so the workshop was so helpful to me.

I made so many new connections not only through the speakers but through other attendees as well! It was so fun to talk about different experiences and bounce ideas off of one another. I think that my favorite speaker of the whole session was our keynote speaker, Jason Therrien. Jason is the current president and CEO of thunder::tech, a brand that helps other companies with their marketing strategies and grow in the business world. He also provided us all with a social media digital workbook and calendar for the 2024-25 year with tips about when to post and what some good things to post about are on specific days!

Later that night, as a new Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) member, I was also invited to the alumni dinner! The food was absolutely delicious and once again I was able to make more connections, these ones a bit closer to me than the non alumni at the social media workshop. It was fun to talk to a recent graduate and see what she was doing after college and how it has all been going for her. She gave me so much advice and plenty of inspiration to do whatever makes me happy in life, even if it does not match what my dreams were when I first started my college career. 

Overall, a day that seemed very long and hectic on my calendar seemed to be one of the most exciting and resourceful days as a Public Relations student. I am so excited to see where this will take me in the future and I also really look forward to attending the Social Media Workshop at ONU in the next years to come! If you are a student in communications, marketing, or PR, events like these are so worth attending, even if you do not feel like spending the money. You never know who you will meet or how inspired you’ll feel afterward.

I also want to add that all the pictures in this blog were taken by the amazing Evie Megery whose blog you can check out here!

Can a Social App Be a National Threat or Just a Political Tool?

TikTok is by far one of the most popular platforms of social media for younger generations. Many of us just spend hours doom-scrolling when we have nothing else to do for the day. But recently, there has been a lot of controversy with TikTok and politics, so here is the breakdown.

What once was named Musical.ly was bought out by the company ByteDance in 2018. However, due to ByteDance being a Chinese-owned company, there is a lot of speculation that the app is being used to spy on Americans. In 2020, under President Donald Trump's rules, there was an executive order for a possible TikTok ban claiming that the app was a national security threat.

This idea resurfaced until Trump was reelected as president in 2024 when Congress passed a banning bill if ByteDance did not sell the app to an approved company. On January 18th when the clock struck 10:30 pm, users tried to open the app and were met with a message on the screen reading, "A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!"

After a grueling 14 hours of no TikTok for all American users, a message popped up. "Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" It was at this point that users began to realize that the entire ban on TikTok may have been a purely political move.

If Trump had originally called for the ban in the first place, why would there be an unbanning of the app only a short 14 hours later? Eventually, Trump said that the new date for the company to find a new buyer approved by the government was April 5, 2025. But on April 4th, Trump announced another extension of the sell-by date to mid-June. 

Overall, the whole situation between TikTok and Donald Trump is a mystery that still has not been solved and continues to leave users wondering if the app will ever go dark again.

How LinkedIn Transformed My Perspective on Networking

As a student who was introduced to LinkedIn during my junior year of high school, I never really saw much value in it. The only reason I even created a LinkedIn account was because my business teacher encouraged our class to do so. He wanted to connect with us on the app and teach us the importance of professional networking. However, since I had no real use for it back then, I created my account, filled in a few basic details, and never touched it again. It felt unnecessary at that point in my life since I had no job experience, no real professional network, and no understanding of how the platform could benefit me. 

But now that I’m in college, I have started to see the significance of LinkedIn. Unlike other social media platforms that are focused on entertainment, LinkedIn is about personal and professional growth. It is a space where people showcase their career accomplishments, share industry insights, and connect with others who have similar career interests. Since becoming more active on LinkedIn, I have realized just how powerful networking can be. Whether it is keeping up with old classmates, connecting with professors, or following professionals in my field of study, LinkedIn has provided me with a glimpse into the real-world workforce that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. 

It is not about creating a perfect online presence but rather about sharing real accomplishments, discussing professional experiences, and celebrating milestones. I love opening the app to see what my peers have been up to, whether they landed an internship, started a new job, or attended a networking event. It is inspiring to see people my age making strides in their careers, and it motivates me to put more effort into building my own professional path. 

Another great thing about LinkedIn is the opportunities it provides. Before college, I never realized how important it is to start networking early. I used to think that job opportunities came from simply applying through company websites or job boards, but I have learned that networking plays a huge role in landing internships and jobs. Many of the job opportunities now that I am in college have all stemmed from who I know or how people I know speak of me.

Overall, my perspective on LinkedIn has completely changed since high school. What once felt like an unnecessary platform now feels like an essential tool for my professional development. It has opened my eyes to the importance of networking, staying informed and actively engaging in my career.