Evolution of Social Media and Content Creation

There has been a lot of things to change over the years, but one of the biggest things to note is rise of social media and content creation. There have been multiple platforms to solidify their place in changing social media but platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Youtube & X have taken the cake. Not only have these platforms given entertainment for years and years, but these apps have become a lot more known for contributing to entrepreneurship as well.

Short form video content has taken over social media. Things like Youtube Shorts, TikTok, & Instagram reels have started to capture the attention of social media users. Nowadays, consumers of social media have limited attention spans, so short form video content is quick, entertaining, and much easier to consume. A lot of creators are choosing this form of content because of the potential to go viral is higher, as well as the simplicity to create. Engagement is also typically higher on these forms of videos, so once you are put into an algorithm it’s easier to see more of what you want as well as people seeing your videos because it’s what they like.

Personal branding has become a huge part of social media and content creation. My friend from home, Myon Winzer, runs a clothing line and allowed me to ask him some questions about how he uses social media to push his brand. “Social media changed the game! It allows for everyone to eat and gain exposure. In 2024, if your product is fire and you have the content to back it, you’re almost guaranteed to pop as long as you stay consistent,” Myon said happily when asked about how social media has helped him with his clothing line. It’s not just about creating content though, it’s about building a brand. “For instance, if I sell clothes and there is someone who follows a bunch of clothing pages, he will most likely see my account eventually since that’s how the algorithm works and that’s how you continue to build your brand,” Myon explained.

Authenticity is a growing part of social media, which is for the better. Many more creators are going viral for just being themselves and being different. After a while getting on social media and seeing everyone doing the same things starts to get boring and people are realizing that so more people do things that are outside of the box and authentic to them which then allows them to be different and stand out. What once used to be a celebrity driven social media world, is now full of amateur creators and regular people who are starting to gain the recognition they deserve for having unique talents and personalities.

One thing I love about the rise of social media and content creation is the spread of positivity when it comes to health and wellness. So often I come across the Instagram pages of people who’s whole objective is to motivate people to eat healthier and workout more in order to improve their lifestyle. This can also tie back into the short form content creation. An old high school teammate of mine, John Eldridge III, does something similar to this so I asked him why he does it. “Oh man, I just love knowing that I can give back to people through social media and knowing that I can change someones life. Even if my content doesn’t immediately attract someone, it’s still planting seeds to anyone who watches my videos so It still gives me gratitude knowing that I was apart of someone else’s journey,” John said. John recently graduated from Army University and is now training for the Winter Olympics while content creating.

Overall, social media and content creation is on the rise for a multitude of reasons beyond just entertainment. People are now using social media for personal expression, business growth, and cultural influence.

The future of the world is changing drastically and especially so for colleges and universities. In recent years there has been a decline in enrollment which started around the time the COVID-19 pandemic came about. The pandemic isn’t the main reason though, there are a number of reasons why kids nowadays are choosing a different route.

Opportunity. With the emergence of social media marketing, people are choosing to take a chance on themselves and self-promoting their business as opposed to going to college. There has been an increased focus on skill nowadays than formal credits. For example, I talked to Bri Budgetts, a local Kansas City Photographer. “I chose not to go to college because I can showcase my talents through social media, which is what clients will see anyway. If you are doing the work and people can see that, then the piece of paper isn’t needed in my opinion,” she said when I asked her why she chose to pursue a photography career full-time without choosing to get a degree.

The social media impact on younger generations is real. Seeing that there are so many successful youth who never attended college has definitely had an effect on other youth because it then gives others the sense that it’s possible. Whether school is worth the financial burden or not is a big question that is being debated more. I asked a coworker who attends Morningside, Nef, if he believes that attending college would be worth it for him in the end. “For what I do, which is computing, I believe that learning at a University will be worth the cost of college. I also don’t believe that college is necessary for everyone though. There are definitely people who do what I do that are self taught and I believe anyone could do it, but I want to be one of my only family members to say I graduated,” Nef explained to me. Breaking generational ‘curses’ of not graduating college is something that makes a lot of kids want to get their degree whether they believe it is necessary for them or not.

Pressure to start earning money can be a factor in not attending college. Again, going back to social media, a lot of social media is a facade and it seems as if everyone is doing better than they are. So, when people our youth sees people who look like they have money all over social media it can make you want to go do the same. Skipping college to promote yourself and your own entrepreneurial aspirations can is a way that money can begin to be made immediately as opposed to attending college for 4 years.

Another huge reason is the availability of non-traditional learning. Nowadays, with Youtube and other social media platforms, there are a number of pages and people who you can pay to teach you everything you need to know specifically for what you want to do. It makes sense though. It’s almost like trade school, but at home. My friends from back home make music, and instead of going to school to learn engineering, mixing, mastering, etc. they decided to learn on their own and figure out what works best for them in order to focus and master one area. “I learned how to engineer my own music from practice and repetition. I never thought about going to college to do this, It just started as a hobby but I do it so much much now that I feel like I have mastered my sound,” Benjamin Tokeak said when I asked him about how he learned to engineer music. “I used to watch youtube videos everyday to learn what I know now and I’ve applied what I needed to best fit the kind of music I make. I feel like school teaches you how to do what everyone else is doing or a ‘right’ way, but In this world you have to be different.”

While college is still very popular and will be around for decades to come, many kids are choosing to go their own route for multiple different reasons. Social media has a huge influence on our youth nowadays and it definitely has in impact on the decision kids make about whether to go to college or not. Having a degree will always be useful, but don’t be surprised if enrollment numbers continue to drop as we see kids choosing a different path more and more often.

My whole life changed 9 months ago when I received an unexpected phone call. I remember exactly what I was doing and where I was at the time. I was in my living room on the couch when my Iphone rang out. On the other end of the phone was a scared-sounding girlfriend which made me begin to worry. “Dayne, I’m pregnant,” she cried to me nervously. In that moment my stomach dropped down to my ass. That was the last thing that I was expecting to hear. She confirmed the news and that was that.

At the time I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Thinking, “I’m just a kid myself,” in my head, “how am I going to raise one?” I thought about how I was going to break the news to my parents, just didn’t know what my next move would be at all. I felt like I had a knot in my stomach for the next 2 weeks! Once she told me for sure that she wanted to keep it, I knew that everything was real; I wasn’t dreaming.

It was early May and I was still finishing up at school, so I figured I would tell my parents once I got back home to Kansas City for the summer. Every time I talked to my parents I felt guilty because I still had something to tell them but I just didn’t know when the right time was so I put it off more almost 2 more months. Whenever I told myself “Okay just go ahead, you have to tell them now,” I would start to, but the words just didn’t come out.

One night, I got home from playing basketball and everything hit me so heavy. I was sweaty and nasty from playing basketball, so I hopped in a flaming hot shower. Once I got out, I looked myself in the mirror and said, “F*** it!” After a deep breath, I walked over to my mother and said “Mama, I gotta talk to you about something.” As a son you can feel your mothers energy and at that moment I could sense that she already knew what I was about to tell her. “Go talk to your dad,” she told me once we finished talking. I wasn’t as nervous to talk to my dad about it because I knew he would be more understanding. It was always tough love with me and my father and he raised me to take care of business, so I pretty much knew how that conversation would go.

I walked upstairs to my parents room where my dad was watching TV in the dark, preparing to go to bed. I sat down next to him slowly and asked about the show he was watching just to break the ice. I had to break the news sooner or later. “Congratulations then,” he said in a bit of a sarcastic tone once I told him I was expecting a child, but I knew he actually meant it. My father told me essentially that it’s time to be a man and that I had to live for something bigger than just myself now. The conversation went a lot better than I expected and I knew it was time to work my butt off to be able to support a child.

Knowing that I was working in order to support someone else’s life now was definitely a different feeling and it still didn’t feel real to me. We were expecting to have him around December 15th, so by the time I told my parents it was pretty far along and in no time the child would be here. In early October, we had a gender reveal where I found out that I was having a son which is what I figured. My mother also guessed it would be a boy since she has 1 sister and 4 brothers. It excited me that I would have a little mini me that I could teach football and basketball to.

By that tis time I was settled in and had fully come to fruition with the fact that I was having a son and I made it a priority to make every appointment. We figured out that he was restricted growth, which meant we would likely have to have him early. After numerous hospital visits and appointments with high risk doctors, we came up with a date that would work for the both of us for her to give birth to him. We decided on November 26, 2024.

That morning, I was nervous but I made my way to the hospital early and was ready to sit in that room for however long it took for my son to come. Surprisingly, it only took 5 hours for him to come after she was induced. He was ready to get out of there!

On November 26 at 12:58 am, Xakai was born. At 5 lbs 15 oz and 19 inches, he couldn’t have come out more perfect in my eyes. Before I knew it, the nurse had put scissors into my hand and asked me if I was going to cut the cord, which I did with no hesitation. Watching someone give birth was very intense but I didn’t even flinch

Once I got to hold my son I really felt my life change for good. Holding him was one of the best feelings that I have had as a man and I’m glad to say that my thoughts on being a father changed drastically from the time I found out I was having one, to now. Being a father for the first couple weeks has already taught me a lot, and I know it will be hard but everything will be all worth it in the end since I’m doing what I do for someone greater than me. Xakai has changed my life for good and for the better.

Walking through the packed parking lot of a University smelling hotdogs and hamburgers has football game-day written all over it. It’s Iowa, so you’re almost guaranteed to see an empty can of beer roll past you as it gets carried with the wind. Everywhere you look you see maroon and black, the colors that Morningside fans wear with pride. Here, Saturdays get treated as a holiday as hundreds of fans swarm the bleachers to cheer on their hometown heroes.

Morningside University is in Sioux City, Iowa and it is the home of the Mustangs who are multiple time national football champions. Across America, going to, or watching, college football games on Saturdays is a tradition. Today, the Mustangs host conference rivals in Northwestern University so you’d bet that you want to be at the game feeling the catastrophic atmosphere as opposed to watching the game in the dorms on a twin bed.

As the Mustangs storm onto the field you can feel the bleachers vibrating as the crowd erupts in cheer for their home team. Screaming and cowbells overwhelm your eardrums every Saturday, but as college football fans you learn to get used to it. This is a rivalry, unlike any other game during the season where Morningside sweeps through their opponent with ease, so the stands are packed and full of family and friends ready to make some noise. Throughout the home crowd all you see maroon and black, and banners waving.

On game-day it always feels like the time is a bit sped up and before you know it it’s already halftime. The concession stands line full of intoxicated students and fans looking to put a quick snack on their stomach extends quickly as the other portion of fans leaving the stands swarm into the bathroom. Pregame tailgate makes a good pitstop during halftime as well in case you want a 2 hour old cold hotdog to hold you over until the game ends. The social environment on game-day is like no other, a sense of school spirit is spread throughout the community everyone feels like they belong.

With the Mustangs having a 7 point lead to start the second half, this is the most exciting game that the community has seen all season. The competition is fierce and every play leaves fans gripping onto their seats in anticipation. As the Mustangs inch closer and closer to scoring you can feel the tension in the stadium rising as the crowd prepares to explode. The intoxicating roar of the crowd could be heard from blocks away as the Mustangs score again nearing the last couple minutes of the game.

Shouting the Morningside Fight Song, the crowd gets ready to take the field and socialize with the players following a close Morningside win. Fans rumble down the stairs and onto the field as they congratulate, hug, and take pictures with the hometown heroes. The sweaty football players and the drunken fans will most likely make plans to party later that night, and once the night is over they’ll look forward to doing it all over again the coming Saturday. Leaving the parking lot, Jeep Grand Cherokees run over the same beer cans that were rolling around during tailgating; they may still even be there next Saturday!