New Types of Social Media: Tumblr

Written by Nikki Montlick

The newest type of social media is Tumblr. Tumblr is known as a picture blogging and social media site for teens. The service is most popular with the teen and college-aged users; fifty percent of Tumblr's visitor base is under the age of 25. As of February 27, 2012, Tumblr had over 46.2 million blogs and more than 18 billion total posts. Over 250,000 members join per day. Tumblr is one of the most consistently growing social networks out there. Teens can decorate their blogs with pictures, graphics, and animations. These blogs often feature pretty girls you want to be, with hot guys you want to be with, and cute clothing you want to be wearing.

Here we go again…

Another type of social media that can adversely affect your self esteem. Just like facebook, you need to keep Tumblr in perspective. This website is where others post pictures of beautiful people, making others feel bad about their appearance and social status. Girls feel self conscious because it makes them feel as if everyone has perfect looks. You can write anonymous messages to others to harass or put them down. There is reportedly also inappropriate content featured on Tumblr such as nudity and child pornography. Anyone can make a Tumblr and post anything on their blog. The content is not screened, so you or your child could be exposed to illegal images. Therefore, Tumblr is a threat to teens and children.