At Bishop Blanchet High School, it seems most students have a social media presence of some type. Walking down the halls, one might see students scrolling through Instagram or composing a tweet.

The notion that teenagers are internet-addicted is a common stereotype of today. For many students at Blanchet, this idea might have some truth to it.

Some people worry about adolescents spending too much time on social media, as one study by The American Psychological Association found that social media can have a negative impact on teenagers’ learning and mental health. However, the same study found that use of social media can aid introverted teenagers in learning how to socialize.

“I’m probably on social media every day,” said junior Zebiba Denning “You can stay connected with everyone even if you aren’t close to them physically.”

Like many students, Denning generally uses Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat throughout the day.

While most BBHS students prefer to remain in the loop with social media, that is not always the case. Junior Alec Misenti doesn’t have any social media accounts.

“It just doesn’t really interest me,” said Alec. “I feel like people don’t need to see what I’m doing all the time.”

To students like Alec, the negatives of social media outweigh the positive.

“If you look at something every day of people doing stuff and you feel like you’re not living up to them, you might not feel as good about yourself,” said Misenti. “ I mean I know people that have that issue, I just don’t really see the point of some social media like Instagram, or Twitter.”

While some may choose to exclude themselves from the world that is social media, many are choosing to use and evolve with different social media platforms. Today, it only takes one look around a group of teenagers to show that the presence of social media is here to stay.