The Raab Writing Fellows Journal

This project aimed to examine social media habits and perceptions of three distinct generations: Generation X (born 1965-1979), Generation Y (also known as ‘Millennials’) (born 1980-1994), and Generation Z (born 1995-2009). The starting premise for the project was that three different generations would have three distinct experiences and perceptions of social media depending on the social platforms they were initially introduced to and those they currently use. I used open-ended questions and conversations to prompt the interviewees and delve into their social media experiences, usage, and stories. Despite similar cross-generational reasons for selecting and using specific social media apps and platforms, in the end, Instagram remained a consistent, albeit conflicting, platform throughout all the interviews and not without reason. Self-perception, media literacy, and child safety were issues that ranked high for all interviewees, regardless of their generation. More specifically, this project highlights the interviewees’ concerns surrounding bias, specifically the “Third Person Effect,” or an intense desire for education regarding the use of social media and its effects on children, younger generations, and the neurodivergent due to privacy and misinformation concerns.