Is Barbie on Social Media?

I've been familiar with the Internet for a majority of my life so to be brutally honest, I don't know if this was my first experience with the Internet, but it's the first thing I can remember. So here goes nothing! I used to be obsessed with Barbie dolls. I remember my parents buying me Barbie and Rapunzel themed games for me to play on our old dial-up PC (this thing used to take at least ten minutes to turn on - to believe I actually had the patience back then.) Somewhere along the road I discovered the world wide web, and I found a site containing hundreds of Barbie games. There were fashion games, makeover games, puppy and baby-sitting games - you name it, it was there! Eight-year-old Jade was in Barbie Internet-Game Heaven! Shortly after this, I was introduced to the "Webkinz" game. Basically you would buy these stuffed animals that contained a code which allowed access to a virtual game setting on the web. Once the code was entered, the stuffed animal got put in the game, where you could do things like dress him up and interact with other people who were online playing the game. This was super exciting for me and my friends because we got to chat online and play games when we weren't together in or outside of school. Many other games like this came out and many years later, right before our eyes, we all had social media accounts.

First it was MySpace, then Facebook, now Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Now, I'd always had access to the Internet. However, my mother was entirely against me having a social media account. She'd heard the horror stories of young girls being preyed upon and feared it would happen to me. My father on the other hand, was a social media junkie so he would allow me to use his. So for a few years, I would go behind my mother's back and log into my dad's social media. Finally she caved and allowed me to create my very own Facebook profile. When I look back on it now, I realize my mother was right. Back then, I thought she was being unfair, when really, she was just looking out for me, because I had a negative experience growing up with social media. Kids can be mean, and social media gives them a platform to bully even more than before. People can now hide behind a computer screen and say hurtful things. I was bullied, but I also was a bully. However, I learned that this behavior is not okay. For future generations, I hope that we find a way to teach kids to be kind and not to tear people apart on the internet. On the other hand, I believe social media gives people a voice and allows them to be heard. Social media has changed the world we live in, and now we just have to figure out how to adapt.