We explore the advantages and problems of social media, comparing opinions and behaviors on the Internet between different generations.
Alessandra: Hello everyone! I want to welcome you to the first episode of the second season of Madre Mía! On behalf of all of us, we hope you had a great break, and Happy New Year! I am Alessandra. I'm here with my mom, Verónica...
Veronica: Hello!
Alessandra: And my grandma, Evelyn.
Evelyn: Hi, how are you all?
Alessandra: Today's topic is social media and the differences between generations. I am 22 years old, and I am not going to ask how old you guys are, but I am the youngest.
Veronica: The youngest.
Alessandra: The youngest, yes. Well my first question for you is: which social media apps do you use the most? Mom?
Veronica: Ah, I use Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter...
Alessandra: Yeah?
Veronica: Yes a little bit. I don't - I never write anything on Twitter, I just, I just follow people and read the comments, but never, I mean, I've never posted anything. But I like to see comments from other people. And WhatsApp is great because you keep in contact with your family and, no longer Facebook, I no longer use Facebook, I mean I still have my account but no, no, I don't like it, no I don't use it anymore.
Alessandra: Yes, I also have Facebook but I don't use it much, just to see my friends' birthdays. And Twitter, I have the account but I hardly ever use it. I use Instagram more, I have Snapchat but these days I really don't use it much either. Now I have Tik Tok but I think I'm - I'm already an old lady with that app. Oma--
Evelyn: You’re too old.
Alessandra: Yes, Oma, what do you use?
Evelyn: I have basically the same as you. I don't have Twitter, I've never used Twitter, but Facebook, I have it too, and I still keep it, but little by little I'm moving away from Facebook. I don't like the politics of the company, I don't like what he says-- what's the name of the founding president...
Veronica: Zuckerberg.
Evelyn: Zuckerberg. No, I don't like what he says, the man to me is a little hypocritical. He says that he does not keep, does not accept, certain negative political issues, but he is accepting them, he is accepting things that to me are dangerous, and he should not do that. That's why I'm going to boycott Facebook, but it’s a shame to me because I get a lot from friends, family, very interesting things, and yes sometimes very good things come out and it’s a shame. But basically you shouldn't endorse a company with your-- with the philosophy that Facebook has. I have WhatsApp that, I have-- I think it's four or five WhatsApp groups. One that is with all of you, the family, another with cousins from all over the world, another with my colleagues that I use only for business purposes, and I have-- let's see, who is the other group? A group that, a group that we formed as a result of the death of my little sister and that is only two of my sisters and the niece-- my the daughter of my sister who passed. I have Instagram, I love it because-- I live on Instagram because you put things there that I love. And just, mostly because it's my contact with you, my immediate contact with you and it's basically photos or things you've just done, and I love it and it's just that I have a lot of fun with it. And I see a lot of family things everywhere and well, that's why I like it. And when you go looking and looking on Instagram you discover many interesting things, not only in the instant parts but-- that disappear after two days, but things that cousins send, things that other people send, interesting, and I like it. It's my, it's my preferred platform, or my favorite social network.
Veronica: Yes, me too, me too. I never, I mean I never put things but, but most of all, I follow people.
Evelyn: Yes Yes. I never post anything but I hope everyone posts.
Alessandra: Yes, Oma is my biggest fan on Instagram. She leaves comments on all my posts and everything. I forgot to say that another-- another app is LinkedIn that I use for things--
Evelyn: Business.
Alessandra: Professional.
Evelyn: Professional, yes yes. I have not used LinkedIn for a long time because-- well, I am finishing my career now, and basically I have no interest in making more professional contacts because I will not need them. I am going to dedicate, when I retire, I am going to dedicate myself to other things that do not have to do with jobs. Rather with fun things.
Alessandra: You're going to retire in February, right?
Evelyn: Yes, I retire in February, after many, many years.
Veronica: How exciting!
Evelyn: Yes, I can’t wait.
Alessandra: Well, what do you think of all the social media apps? Do you think they are good or bad? Let's start with the advantages. What do you think?
Veronica: What are the advantages? It would be, yes, keeping in touch with distant people, well, even not, not so far away.
Alessandra: Yes, I can keep in touch with friends in other countries, when I studied in Spain. And I have friends in many states in the United States as well, in Minnesota, California, Maryland, many states.
Veronica: Virginia.
Alessandra: Yes, yes. And Oma, what do you think? What are the advantages?
Evelyn: The advantages, well, as I was saying to you in the same way that Mami says, is to keep in touch with people who are close, people who are far away. I love being able to communicate with my cousins who are in other countries, with my sisters in other countries. Those are the immense advantages, especially WhatsApp. Because WhatsApp, you can have a conversation like the one we have right now written. And you can send recent photos, well it's my preferred platform, or my favorite social network.
Veronica: You can even make video calls and see each other.
Evelyn: Also, too, too. It keeps-- always, I don't know how this happens but birthdays come out automatically and you can congratulate your cousins, and not forget to congratulate them, and I love that. I have a lot of fun with WhatsApp because cousins send jokes, send interesting videos, my sisters also. And well, we can also talk on the phone in an instant. You can dial with WhatsApp by phone too.
Veronica: Yes.
Evelyn: And I love, and like I said, Instagram. I also love it for practically the same reason except that you can't talk on Instagram. But I live to see the photos of my granddaughters, of the grandchildren on Instagram, of everything you do. Where did they go out to eat, who they went out with, if they went paddling, or went skiing, or if they went to-- or took pictures of what they ate. All those details of-- one lives from those details especially in quarantine because we do not have, we do not have real contact and only virtual contact. Well, what can we do? It is the only way to support ourselves, and I thank God for that very good technology.
Alessandra: Agree.
Evelyn: I guess, hey and you mentioned Tik Tok. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not the age for Tik Tok, but I have a lot of fun with things I see. I don't know why, how and when I started receiving Tik Tok and I don't know who sent it to me, I never asked for it but it appears on-- I don't remember what, if it's on Facebook or Instagram that Tik Tok appears, but many things are ridiculous, silly, but others are definitely very funny, very funny. We need to laugh in these times, and that's what makes me laugh, nonsense that comes out, right? But they make you laugh, and laughing is one, it is therapy, therapy very, very needed in these times. So keep sending me things even though they seem silly.
Alessandra: Okay.
Evelyn: So we can laugh a little. Yes.
Alessandra: Okay.
Evelyn: And also because many, many-- many events happen. For example, someone graduates, someone had an effective business, successful, then it is a good opportunity to congratulate them and so on. Well, now I shut up.
Alessandra: Thank you. No, I agree!
Evelyn: Ah well, you're welcome!
Alessandra: But I want to say that another aspect of social media that I love is the creative expression you can have when you post photos. I like photography and video editing, that, and yes, I think it's a wonderful world to share what you create and share information--
Veronica: Creations.
Evelyn: Yes, I-- I forgot that part, Alessandra. And of course, with your studies, you are more focused on that part, on the technological part, on the creative part. You can do a lot of things, and I've already seen two or three things that you've posted on your-- on one of your platforms, I don't remember which one. But indeed, yes, it is very interesting to see that part as well. I am not a skilled person in electronic technology but you have it, you have studied it, and you can do many creative things.
Alessandra: Yes, I love that.
Evelyn: Yes.
Alessandra: Well, now we are going to talk about what are the problems of social networks.
Veronica: Well, social media is addictive. It is addictive.
Evelyn: Yes.
Veronica: I mean, you want to, you want to keep watching and you are constantly there, how do you say "updating?"
Evelyn: Catching up.
Alessandra: To update.
Veronica: Updating, to see if there is something new. Hard to put down the phone.
Alessandra: Have you seen the documentary "The Social Dilemma" or "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix? It's about social networks and they say that people only say “user” to refer to two things: drugs and social networks. Addictive things, and that fascinates me a lot.
Evelyn: Very interesting. I have not seen it, but I will see it.
Veronica: Oh yeah, you have to see it. It is very interesting. How, how they hook you.
Evelyn: Yes
Veronica: I mean how they hook you and keep you in-- yeah, I mean they keep you glued to the phone.
Alessandra: Yes, and I think the most addictive app is Tik Tok. I know you don't use it, but it's the newest and I don't use it much, but I know that when I do I will lose hours and hours, because you just scroll down and it's addictive. The video can be just a few seconds or a minute long and you lose track of time, and before you know it, it's two in the morning.
Evelyn: Yes, I confess. I confess that the other day I was on almost until three in the morning checking Facebook, because I had not opened the Facebook pages for a long time, and I was going from one topic to another, to another, to another. and time goes by and it is definitely an addiction.
Veronica: Yes.
Evelyn: You can become an, an addict of-- of these social networks, very easily, and that is the negative.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: That is negative, yes.
Alessandra: Another is comparison and the mental effect. More and more young children have mental health problems and depression because on social networks they compare themselves a lot before knowing who they are, if they are young.
Evelyn: Oh god, yes.
Alessandra: And these people they are comparing themselves to seem to have a perfect life, which is not true. They only show the glamorous aspects of their lives and you don't see the bad things in their lives.
Veronica: Yes, the negative. People always only put positive things.
Evelyn: And they want to project an image of perfection that is surely false, and that creates complexes in other children, especially adolescents, in the early ages of adolescence. Children want-- they compare a lot, they are insecure. Well, it is a very negative thing, feeling insecure because others have more things, do more things, well. I understand, I understand what is happening, and it is a shame, what a shame.
Alessandra: Yes, they are images impossible to obtain. With the "filters?”--
Veronica: Filters.
Alessandra: Filters, on Snapchat and Insta-- and Instagram. Yes, the filters put makeup or soft--
Veronica: Softens.
Alessandra: Softens?
Veronica: Yes, the-- the skin colors.
Alessandra: Yeah.
Veronica: Yes, the person looks perfect, you don’t see, the defects are not seen, not defects but the dots or a blemish, then they make themselves look as if they were perfect.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: I did not know that these filters existed. I’m going to use them from now on.
Alessandra: You don’t need them!
Evelyn: I need them, yes! Yes I do need them. I didn't know, well. Well, the kids should know that, no, they don't know themselves that these filters exist and that these people-- these contacts are using them and trying to perfect themselves? They know that filters exist, but they know that the reality is also different, right?
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: And if it weren't for those filters they wouldn't look, no, they wouldn't look like they look in-- with the filters applied. Is that what you wanted to say?
Alessandra: More or less. Well, other problems are the spread of misinformation which is a danger especially in politics.
Veronica: That's why on Facebook that happens a lot, so that's why, well, that's one of the reasons why I hardly ever get on Facebook anymore, because they put out false information. And there are many people who believe it, many people who think that all of that is real.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: Yes me too. That's why I want to get out-- little by little I'm getting off Facebook.
Veronica: There are too many people who believe all those things, it is incredible. Educated people-- educated, uneducated people, they believe in all that.
Evelyn: Yes.
Veronica: Difficult to understand how they don't think.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: Yes, and there are dangerous things, there is a lot of incitement to violence. That's what scares me the most. On the question of the elections that we just had-- I don't want to talk about politics but, there are many people, well, half of our population believes in the theories or conspiracies that are spreading, and there is a lot-- there is incitement to violence, to reverse the vote. That, that is dangerous to me.
Veronica: Yes.
Alessandra: Yes.
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Alessandra: Thanks for listening! Listen to the second part of “Social Media: Differences Between Generations” in the next episode in two weeks. Goodbye for now!
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