As someone who enjoys using social media and values technology, I have a fairly broad online presence. I have social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Spotify, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and VSCO that I use on a regular basis. As far as a personal website, I have an account on Adobe Portfolio that I use to display all of my work to send to companies when applying for internships and future careers.
On all of the social media sites that I use, I normally post pictures of my friends, family, and myself. I am very adamant about keeping my social media content "clean" on all platforms for the fear of future employers finding content that does not accurately display myself as a person or as a potential employee.
By searching my first and last name, someone can find my Facebook account the easiest. However, when searching my full name, Anna James Harris, people can find my Twitter, VSCO, Instagram, Pinterest, Spotify, and pictures of myself on Google Images because I use my full name as my username for almost all of my accounts. By clicking on any of these accounts, people could figure out where I'm from, where I go to school, what I look like, what kinds of music I listen to, etc.
As far as private information, I have given my email to most social media sites because almost all of them require an email when creating an account. I do not share my phone number to most accounts, but have it on some just because of security purposes. All of this information is shared for my viewing only, however, I know that the companies have access to it.
After looking at the questions on The Atlantic articles, I believe social media helps people feel a void of some sort. Whether that be loneliness, depression, low self confidence, etc., I believe that anyone can feel more "fulfilled" by numbers of followers or likes on a screen. However, just because one might have hundreds of followers or millions of likes, it does not mean that they feel "whole."
Personally, I believe that social media has its advantages and disadvantages. It helps people connect in a new way, it utilizes technological advancements, and it allows people to be creative through a different outlet. However, I think that social media can create a toxic environment for people in a social setting and it has the possibility of being extremely detrimental to one's wellbeing.
