As much as we attempt to remain independent from its influences, we are all shaped somewhat by the media that surrounds us. Facebook, a social networking site developed in 2004, has had a large impact on my life. Since I created my Facebook page in 2008 I have had the ability to constantly compare myself to my peers. The continual posts, pictures, statuses, and events make it widely available for other’s values to be imposed upon me. Therefore, my values have been molded based upon my peer’s Facebook activities. Facebook’s reach is huge: there are currently 500 million active users and in any given day 50% of these users will log onto the site. 
It is natural for people to compare themselves to others. According to the social comparison theory “we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves with other people and their opinions. Mostly, we seek to compare ourselves with someone against whom we believe we should have reasonable similarity, although in the absence of such a benchmark, we will use almost anyone.” Without the technology of social networking sites such as Facebook, people were only able to do this through face to face interaction with their peers, but now people’s entire lives are visible via the internet. So naturally when I log onto Facebook and see my friends partaking in fun activities I might get jealous and wish I was also out instead of studying. 
Another way in which I can compare myself is through pictures. This might influence the way I dress, the activities I partake in, and the amount of time I spend with others. When I see others post new pictures, I too want to post equally “fun” pictures. Therefore this has shaped my identity as a teenager and how the “typical teenage life” should appear. This relates to our class blog assignment on our online persona, and how the way we convey ourselves online is not an accurate representation of our daily lives. Yet even though we all inherently realize this fact we still compete with one another to have the best pictures, most exciting posts, and numerous nice wall posts. This has shaped my view of what it means to be a college student; no longer is it about being studious, but rather the emphasis is on how frequently you go out and how many friends you have. This is not healthy, because I should not compare my life to others, or let their actions affect me or my happiness. Yet I see how it has impacted me, I try to increase my time spent with friends in order to “keep up” with my peers.
Another aspect of Facebook that has shaped my values is “the good girl image.” I am friends with family and other adults, and therefore I must be consciousness of what pictures I am tagged in and how they are perceived to adults. I have always be characterized as a “good girl,” but I believe Facebook has even further emphasized this because I do not want inappropriate pictures to be tagged and therefore I am even more cautious in my actions. I can also see how my peer’s actions are perceived, when people post drunken pictures from parties I lose respect for them, and therefore my dislike for that lifestyle is increased as well. This just goes to show how entertainment such as social media has the ability to shape our lifestyle.
