Hopping onto the trend of creating art accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lindsay Wang, junior, created the handle @lindxay to display her art on TikTok. Today, she has more than 1,700 followers, and multiple viral videos, with her highest reaching 500,000 views and 100,000 likes.
“I hope I greatly inspire other artists to pursue their passion and share it with the world,” Wang said.
Like Wang, students and staff have utilized social media to influence and inspire others online on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. In fact, according to a 2023 Morning Consult survey, 41% of adults and 57% of Gen Z would like to be influencers.
Wang said she posts picture slideshows, art videos and TikTok trends based around art. She often likes to share progress photos about her art, highlighting the steps it takes to make the final product.
“My favorite thing is probably connecting with other people online,” Wang said.
Brittany Sharitz, librarian, runs a social media account under the tag @mhslibrariansharitz on Instagram. Sharitz started off by getting help from a former student, who gave her advice and tips she still uses today.
Although the account was originally based around nature and book talks, Sharitz said it has evolved and is now more event and student driven.
“I know that posts that have people in them, especially students, get a whole lot more views,” Sharitz said. “I try to focus on the content that you guys want to see rather than just crafting content for myself.”
Sharitz said the goal of her account isn’t to necessarily go viral, but more to promote library advocacy to the Rockwood community. This advocacy often surrounds collaborations between the library and ELA classes and highlights library events throughout the year.
“I don’t think a lot of people know the full extent of what happens in a school library,” Sharitz said.
Jonathan Li, sophomore, runs a tech account under the handle @the.techtiger.
“I’ve made videos about how FaceID on your iPhone works, made reviews about the latest technology, and also a news post every now and then about what’s happening,” Li said.
Li originally spent a lot of time telling his family about technology, but eventually they encouraged him to try to use social media as an outlet for his ideas.
Li started out with just 150 views with each Reel, but he said he now is at a total of 50 posts, with up to 2,000 views each, with his account now having reached about 20,000 people in total.
“It’s been really cool to see how I’ve grown,” Li said.
Li said the account has taught him a lot, not just about tech, but also about more specific creation tools.
“A lot of it is just trying to teach myself,” Li said. “I’ve learned 3D modeling, animation, how to make graphic design and video production, and also just to teach other people about it while I can have fun doing it.”
