DAVIDSON, N.C. — Nash Grier knows even more about social media than most young people.
Just two years ago, when he was a freshman at Davidson Day, he started using Vine, an app for sharing short video clips.
His comedic skits quickly took off.
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“The more likes, the more followers I got. The more I tried, the more time I put into it, and the next thing you know, I had a couple hundred-thousand followers,” Grier said.
Soon, he had millions of followers.
In March, Time magazine named him to its list of 30 most influential people on the Internet and he's just 17.
Channel 9 wondered what other young people could learn from him.
“Whatever you put on the internet or through text messages, anything you put in a digital space, is there forever,” he said.
He faced some backlash last fall after a video he deleted re-surfaced. It showed him using a slur when he was 15.
Grier has apologized.
He said teens need to think before posting.
“All of your memories online will be forever, but so will your mistakes so you got to be very careful with what you put on there,” he said.
He encourages teens to keep it positive, even when trying to get a laugh.
Connect with Nash Grier:
“As an entertainer, I want to make people smile, but I don't want to have to bring other people down to make people smile,” he said.
Grier just wrapped his first movie in Los Angeles, where he now lives. The movie, called The Outfield, is due to hit theaters this fall.
He also featured in a new clothing line for Aeropostale.