Yesterday I had my final Capstone presentation. After we had our moving up ceremony, we were ready to present to the parents. When I got to school in the morning, I saw that I was presenting first in the computer lab and that made me very nervous.

Once I got the room, I did not understand what was happening because all the parents were talking and I was just standing by the screen. Finally Senor Johnson got there attention and it was time for me to start. I felt nervous, but at the same time, I felt that I really knew my script and that I had prepared well for my presentation.

When I started everyone became quiet and was focused on my presentation. During the presentation, I felt confident and I remembered what I planned to say. I kept looking at Asher’s dad because he was smiling and right in front of me. Now reflecting on my presentation, I thought I did a really good job. I learned that practicing a speech a lot of times helps you because you know what to do if make a mistake. Practice also made me feel more comfortable in front of a group. I was really happy I went first because I could enjoy all the other presentations after I finished!

After we wrote our main inquiry essays, we needed to make our presentations to share to our parents and the rest of the school. For our presentations we could either do an ignite or a TED Talk. At first I wanted to do an Ignite because I liked the idea of being done after three minutes. I changed my mind because the Ignite doesn’t give enough time to share all the things I learned about social media. The TED Talk is more flexible and if I were to fumble, it would be easier to get back on track. First, I had to write my script. I wrote out what I was going to say for each slide. I had to tweak my script a lot because I was not really sure about what I wanted to say before I got started. After I finished my script I started my presentation. The pictures in my slideshow related to the things in my script. My slideshow is about six minutes long. Now all I need to do is practice for my presentation. I’m glad I chose to do a TED Talk instead of an Ignite.

For my Capstone project my main inquiry question was,” How can teens and tweens maximize their social media experience?” I did a lot research using my sub questions, which eventually helped me answer my main inquiry question. Once I finished my research, I had to write an essay that would answer my question. Here is my essay:

Is social media a big part of your life? If yes, you probably know social media can be a good place for you. It keeps you connected with your friends and is a positive place for kids. What you might not know is that social media can can be a very negative place if you don’t use it well. In fact, according to ABC News 50% of teens say they are victims of cyberbullying. After research I thought of three of the main ways kids can maximize their social media experience. One, try to lift up the social media community with your social media posts. Two, think before you post. Three, remember why you are using social media.

When you are using social media have you ever tried to make yourself look cooler or have tried to make your life seem better than it really is? If you have, you are not the only one. A lot people want to impress, or try to get likes on their posts. For example they are posting the things that are the best parts of their life. It is like they are trying to make a highlight reel of their life. It is not the best way to post because it does not lift anyone up. It just makes the people going through the hard parts of their lives feel worse. According to Psycom.net depression levels for teens went up 3.6% percent since 2005. That is only one year after Facebook came out. Since then all the famous social media platforms were made. Another example is on the Scarsdale Moms Facebook chat. A person was telling everyone her son’s grades. They were really good and one person got mad and was making mean comments. In the end she was the one that looked bad.

My second reason to show how kids can maximize their social media experience is to think before you post. Too many people are hurting their lives and their family’s lives because they do not take the time to think “Is what I am posting okay? Would I want everyone to see this post?” Recently there have been some top draft prospects in the NFL, such as Josh Allen. Josh Allen was a quarterback from the University of Wyoming. A lot of people thought he would be the number one pick in 2018 draft. Instead he fell to the seventh pick. This happened because in high school he made some racist comments on social media. A lot of people started to doubt his decision making off the football fields. Another reason why you should think before you post is that what you post does not only affect you. It affects the people around you. So if I made a post that said that I made the select soccer team and our team is amazing,

how do you think it would make your friend that didn’t make it feel? Probably not so good. These are the reasons why you need to think before you hit the post button.

My third and final way kids can maximize their social media experience is to remember why you are using it. For example if every time you are using social media and it is not benefiting you in any way, just stop using it. What I mean is why use social media if all it is doing is wasting your time and making you feel worse about yourself. Tali Horowitz, an expert on the social media field, works at Common Sense. She said,” If it doesn’t make you feel good, take a break.” Also social media was not made so you could hurt the digital community with negativity. Use social media the right way.

In conclusion, if you can, incorporate these tips into the way you use social media. Social media will be a great tool for you. Remember, social media was not made specifically for you, so you need to use it the right way for you. How will you use social media?