As a busy teenager with a ton of homework and extracurricular activities taking over my life, I am always bored and in search of ways to entertain myself. With procrastination on my mind, I began to think about how many different sources of entertainment are easily accessible to not only teenagers, but people of all ages, as well. Looking back to a mere ten years ago, countless devices, social media programs, and music/video platforms have been released, creating a world that is obsessed with entertainment. The real kicker is figuring out which sources are the best- which is where I come in.
One of the most common sources of entertainment is music. Whether it be driving, finishing homework or laying around the house, there is always a song playing in the background. So, which platform is the best to listen to music on? There are hundreds of radio stations that have created apps, then there are apps like Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music. It’s easy to rule out radio apps- they have no means of customization or way to select an individual song to play. Pandora more or less falls into this category- users can select a genre or artist and then listen to a station based off of their selection. Not exactly ideal, in my opinion, when you can use Spotify and select any song, album, artist or playlist to listen to. Apple Music also offers similar features, but isn’t accessible to non-Apple product users and costs money even for the owners of Apple products. Spotify has a free download and is available to anyone- easily making it the best platform for music enjoyment.
Social Media seems to be the number one escape for boredom among teenagers and adults alike. Facebook is for the older generation, while Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are most popular among youth. Snapchat acts as more of a messaging app- sure, users can post to a “story”, but these only last twenty-four hours and let’s be honest- everyone skips through them anyways. So, I wouldn’t deem Snapchat as the best platform for social media. The ultimate debate, for most users, is between Twitter and Instagram. The main divide is simple: Instagram is strictly photo sharing, while Twitter allows text posts and photo posts. The answer for the best is simple, isn’t it? Having a broader option for posting tops being limited anyday, so Twitter easily takes the gold.
I would go into which platform is the best for watching movies and TV shows, but out of Amazon, Apple TV, Hulu and Netflix, none of the other options hold a candle to Netflix. This is a universal opinion- there’s no debating it.
Regardless of which are the best sources for entertainment, there are hundreds of options available. Anything you need is right at your fingertips thanks to the mobile devices that are available to just about everyone. Nowadays, shopping can be done from your living room, books are online instead of from the library and you don’t have to leave your house to see your friends. Everything needed, including the fix for boredom and procrastination, is located on the computer or cell phone that you’re on right now.
