Everyone I know has some form of social media. It’s become so pervasive in our culture that the thought of not having the option to “Facebook” someone to find out who they are, or following your favorite friends and comedians on Twitter is hard to conceive.

I am not afraid to leave the uber review of "drove like he had unfinished business with the field of physics"

— Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) September 12, 2016

I have found that I monitor my various social platforms, specifically Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and increasingly Facebook, incredibly frequently. We are able to create the content we want to see and are reinforced when others express their support. It’s amazing to me to see a connected world and consider the fact that people halfway across the world are interacting with the same content in a similar way. I find that the influx of content lets me create a carefully curated profile that stands as my augmented personality. It has made me more bold. I have found that with my increased use of Twitter, I am more comfortable posting about politics or things that make me laugh.

Sweatpants, Childish Gambino pic.twitter.com/uNCxOlb2VO

— Rapping Art (@RappingArt) December 26, 2015

I have found some sort of intimacy in a massively public forum designed to be global. There are people I routinely interact with, and then there are those who I forget I’m connected with until they post something. The Pew Research Center claims that 64% of teens have made new friends through social media and 62% share their profiles as a way to keep in touch. It is more pervasive than anything I have seen before. It connects me to the people I care about and the content they love.