Technology trends at Granger include phones, apps, and memes

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Kiara and Fatima notice the trends they see going around Granger.

Leyla Ilyazova, Reporter

APPLE, Netflix, Instagram, Fortnight, and Tik Tok are all very popular among students right now. It seems as though Instagram promotes videos of Tik Tok that’s using a song by a “Top New Artist!” who is on Snapchat, and Snapchat then advertises the new iPhone and before you know it, you’re in a never ending loop of trends.

To fall into a trend is apparent and basic, and some may not even realize it. Last year, the Walmart yodeling kid was popular and the viral “yanny” or “laurel” audio was heavily talked about. Now, those things are practically forgotten and VSCO alongside the 16-year-old climate change activist are popular in media. It proves to show how quickly trends come and go.

Most students have social media, some even spend the whole day on it while the other few prefer not to be on it at all. Out of the fifty four Lancers polled, twenty said they prefer Instagram, eighteen prefer Snapchat, ten prefer Facebook, four prefer Twitter and two prefer no social media. 

We continually hear about how social platforms can bring negativity, especially to teens. But many never emphasize how apps such as Instagram are free and provide amazing platforms to grow and connect with others and create a public voice.

Students like Fatima Sediqi (09) use social media to connect with people across state or even the country “I’ve made several online friends, it’s great to see how many people you can befriend no matter how far away they are,” Fatima Sediqi (09) said.

It seems that there are always new video games coming out. Fortnite, specifically, has gotten more than 250 million registered accounts, alongside Battle Royale which is known as “the biggest game on the planet right now,” according to DigiZani. 

“Fortnite is much more likeable to play with my friends than just soloing,” Joshua Lopez (09) said. Games like Fortnite give students a different perspective of themselves, which could be the reason why certain games blow up and become popular. “Games can be much more fun when you have the chance to be your own standard self,” Mona Siliga (09) said.
Everyone is easily inspired by others, especially when Apple comes out with a new phone and it seems as though all of the big YouTubers and celebrities are getting it, but not everyone may be a big fan of it. “Sure it has nice colors, but all the cameras aren’t really necessary” Kiara Flores (9) said. 

The new phone does come with a variety of new updates and changes, especially to the appearance. This may be a big factor in why it is trending. “Some of the newest features Apple has added were already present in previous Androids,”  Fatima Sediqi (9) said. Sediqi prefers Android products over Apple.

When Lancers aren’t busy dedicating their time to video games or social media, they appear to be on Netflix or Hulu. Out of fifty Lancers surveyed, thirty eight prefer Netflix. Platforms with shows and movies to binge are meant to get people hooked, ending each episode with a cliffhanger to get viewers to continue watching.

“It’s easy to sit down planning on watching for half an hour but end up still watching hours later” Joshua Lopez (9) said. It makes sense to see the number of viewers on Netflix rising insanely with one hundred twenty million viewers in 2018 and over one hundred fifty million in 2019, making it an understandable trend.