Blog #1

As a college student in today's day and age, it's hard to remember when I didn't have a social media account. Although I've been lucky enough to grow up in a society where it's very easy to post whatever you want, I haven't always felt that way toward it. For example, when I was younger, I would post just about anything on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If I was going to the mall with my friends, I would post about it. I would post a picture on Instagram without overanalyzing it or worrying about how many likes I got on a picture. However, this changed when I was in high school. I would overthink everything I would post on Twitter, Instagram, etc. because of wanting to fit in with my friends. As with many others, overthinking and overanalyzing what I post on social media is when I begin to feel completely overwhelmed by it. 

Since being in college, my feelings toward social media have gotten a lot better, but part of me still worries about what I post and how it makes me look to my followers. Today, I mainly use my social media accounts to keep up with my friends and stay up to date on trends and entertainment. I currently use Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Even though I use all of these social media platforms, I don’t post a ton of stuff. Instead, I just watch/like what others are posting, so I often find myself getting lost in the pressure of needing to post something all the time. 

To start off, the social media account that I don’t really use is Facebook. I’ve had a Facebook account since I was 11, so I’m sure if you scroll back far enough you can find stuff on my wall from middle school. Now, I never post anything on my Facebook account, and I don’t really check my feed unless someone tagged me in a post. In terms of the way I feel toward Facebook, I just don’t really feel a pressure or need to use it. 

My most used social media platform is probably Instagram. I don’t really post on Instagram in the first place, but I like to keep up with my friends and family. Also, I like to keep up with celebrities, so I follow a lot of my favorite athletes and musicians. 

In terms of my own account, I know that a popular trend on Instagram right now is having an “aesthetically pleasing” feed, but I could never do it just because I would probably forget what filter I used or the exact brightness I put on a photo. The way that my profile looks has never really been something that I’ve worried about, but I have caught myself thinking about how often I post pictures of myself or pictures with a friend or a teammate. For example, I wouldn’t post back to back pictures of just myself. My Instagram account differs from all of my other social media accounts because I feel like it only shows the highlights of my life or my “best self”. 

Even though I don’t really post on Instagram, I’m very active on it. I send direct messages to my friends and family, like/comment on pictures, and watch stories. Although I actively use Instagram, sometimes I feel very overwhelmed when watching stories, especially if I haven’t checked the app in a couple of hours. I’m definitely one of those people who have to watch every story in order to just make them go away, so I often find myself not really “watching” them, but just tapping through them. 

My Twitter account is almost the same as Instagram in terms of posting my own content. I mainly use Twitter for funny videos and memes, so you’ll really only find retweets on my account. Just like my use of Instagram, I often find myself only liking tweets or sending tweets to my friends. I rarely post my own tweets on my main account but having to tweet every day for this class has kind of allowed me to not worry about the pressure of who sees my tweets. I think the anxiety that I used to feel about social media still plays a part in my presence on Twitter, but it doesn’t bother me as much because I feel like a lot of people my age use Twitter the same way that I do. This means using it to pass time or sharing funny videos with your friends. The way I feel toward Twitter is different than Instagram because on Instagram I feel like you have to actively use it all the time in order to keep your followers interested. 

As for Snapchat, I really only use it to communicate with my friends. I only post on my Snapchat story when I see something funny or when my teammates are doing something ridiculous. However, I do have Snapchat streaks with a variety of friends, but half the time we don’t even say anything to each other. When it comes to watching stories, I feel the exact same way about them on Snapchat as I do with Instagram. I mainly just watch them to make them go away, but if one of my friends post something, I typically watch it or comment on it. Even with all of the “shows” that are offered on Snapchat now, I only watch Phone Swap, but even then, I don’t freak out when a new episode is released. It’s more of something that I watch when I literally have nothing else to do and I’m tired of scrolling through my most used social media apps. 

Although I still have some anxiety towards posting on social media, I recently realized that as long as I post what I want and what I like, I shouldn’t worry about what my followers think of me or if they like what I’m posting. I learned to not be a perfectionist when it comes to posting whatever I want, which allows me to become more genuine and portray more of my “true” self online. 

24 Hour Screen Time - Blog #3

My 24 hour observation started at about noon on Tuesday, February 18th. My morning started earlier than that, but I did not start recording screen time until then. 

I started by trying to be productive and doing homework. I was unfortunately so focused on my homework that I forgot to keep track of the total amount of time that was spent doing homework, but I can tell you that from around 12:20 to 12:40 I took a quick Tik Tok break.

Prior to my Tik Tok break, I was interrupted by a phone call, so I was on the phone for about 15 minutes setting up a big girl job interview (a little humble brag for whoever reads this blog post, sorry but I am really excited). Once the phone call concluded, I quickly put the interview date and time into my calendar before I forgot. Then, with my computer still open and homework on the screen, I found myself scrolling through Pinterest planning my outfit and organizing my dream closet. I wish I could have repinned longer; but, I unfortunately had to get back to work. I was working on my senior seminar research paper. I finished writing a methods section, which if I am honest I had to reteach myself how to write a qualitative methods section. So, for about half an hour on my laptop I did lots of googling and researching before I decided to give up and make a recruitment flyer instead.

(P.S. if anyone would like to be a part of a focus group it would be really appreciated! Just shoot me an email - kennedy.johnson.17@cnu.edu, there will be free donuts!)

Once I struggled with that for a little, I realized I had not eaten lunch. So, while preparing a gourmet meal of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and half a bag of chips, I scrolled through a mixture of more Tik Tok, Instagram, and Pinterest. Once I finished lunch I took about a ten minute break from my phone, I quickly decided  I was bored and went straight back to mindless scrolling. I tried to come up with an insightful tweet for class, but found myself in a bottomless pit of the Tik Tok for you page from about 1:20 to 2:30. I then realized I still had some classes to go to, so I ran upstairs changed and went to class. My 3 o’clock class only ran until 4, during class I used my laptop to take notes and work on class assignments, with the occasional Kim Kardashian Hollywood game.

(This is what she looked like when I came to pick her up)

After class I stayed for about half an hour and work on homework with my partner, which was all done on my laptop in either google documents or canva working on our flyer some more. I then attended my next class from 4:30 to 5:30, which is the hardest for me to get through because we are not allowed to use technology. So, out of respect for my teacher I don’t even try to take notes on my laptop, I go old school and use a pen and paper; however, I do sneak a couple rounds of candy crush or Kim K. After class, I ate dinner; surprisingly, without looking at my phone! Then, from around 7 to 9:30 I watched Avengers: Infinity War, you know for the sake of project research. After I got a splitting migraine, no doubt from being on my phone all day, I decided to call it a night and hit the hay. I asked my google nest to set my alarm and play some peaceful ocean sounds. The following morning I had to take my grandmother, or Oba as I know her, to get some medication. She lives over in Portsmouth, so the only time I used my phone at 7 to gps my way to her house (yes yes, I know, I still don’t know how to get to her house from school). We had a lovely day of shopping where I got a new blouse and she took me to lunch and bought me some groceries, what a lovely lady. That pretty much took up most of my day, so the rest of the 24 hour observation was not spent on my phone which was kind of nice.

This entire 24 hours was very interesting to try and keep track of my screen time activity, I realized I spent a lot of time on Tik Tok. I think I am going to start looking at the screen time report I get every Sunday, and try to cut down on how much I use my phone and take some time to do other things! However, it is important to note that not all of my screen time is spent on my phone, when I attended class that we are not allowed  to use technology I struggle to get through it. Which has made me realize how dependent I am on my technology to help me get through the day.

 

Unplugged - Blog #3

Lauren Lemelin

Unplugged: 24 Hours without the Internet. Could you go 24 hours without Internet? Ever since the invention of the “World Wide Web” in 1989, the Internet has played a significant role in people’s lives (Fuchs, 2017). When I saw the prompt “you must endure 24 hours without the Internet” I was filled with anxiety and fear, but excited to see if I could do it. On Wednesday, February 19th, I unplugged and went 24 hours without the Internet (with the exception of tweeting once for class). It was a long and challenging day partially because I had to withdrawal from Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is a term used to describe the social networking World Wide Web applications like Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (Fuchs, 2017). The technical and ideological foundations of Web 2.0 led to the notion of a participatory culture which allows and encourages the creation and exchange of user generated content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). One of the hardest parts of enduring 24 hours without the Internet was having to remove myself from Web 2.0. One of the most unsettling feelings I experienced during my 24 hours without the Internet was not knowing if my Snapchat streaks would survive my absence. Snapchat streaks are achieved when you send Snapchats back and forth with a friend several days in a row.  Therefore, in order to maintain a Snapchat streak with somebody you have to snap them at least once a day. The night before I unplugged from the Internet, I snapchatted my friends that I have streaks with at 11:50pm to inform them that I was enduring 24 hours without the Internet. I was very worried that I was going to lose my streaks, my streaks mean a lot to me as half of them are over 200 days long. Fortunately, my Snapchat streaks survived my 24 hour break from the Internet.  

My Snapchat streaks.

Another challenge I faced during my 24 hours without Internet was my inability to access CNU Scholar, library databases, and Google Drive. Disconnecting from the Internet as a college student is extremely difficult as most of our resources, assignments, and notes are on the Internet. I regret enduring 24 hours without the Internet during the school week, because it forced me to put off online assignments until the next day. I also forgot to download documents, notes, and assignments from my Google Drive prior to logging off so I had to restart assignments that were due that day. I felt extremely disconnected from CNU Scholar, specifically grade updates and my professor's announcements. For example, I saw my friend in the dining hall and she asked me what I got on the math test, but I was unable to tell her, because I couldn’t access CNU Scholar. This created a lot of anxiety as I couldn’t find out my grade until the next day. One of the most frustrating things I faced while offline was being unable to use the Internet to define fifty vocabulary words for my Biology

How I felt using a dictionary and textbook to define terms.

class. Since the terms were due that day I had to use dust the cobwebs off my Webster’s Dictionary and Biology textbook to define the words. This made me realize how the Internet allows me to work faster and more efficiently. 

So what did I do without the Internet for one whole day??

Leading up to the 24 hours without Internet, I was anticipating it being the most boring day ever. However it actually wasn’t that bad, I was able to find ways to entertain myself, stay busy, and stay connected without the Internet. One of the things I did when I didn’t have Internet for 24 hours was listen to the FM radio. On Wednesday I had to run a few errands and when I got in my car my phone automatically connected to the bluetooth, I disconnected my phone immediately and decided that I would listen to the FM radio. I never listen to the radio in my car so I didn’t have any stations preset on my stereo so after pressing the “seek” button a dozen times I decided to listen

How it felt using the radio in my car.

to 97.3, “The Eagle.” Although I missed streaming Spotify, picking my own songs, and listening to commercial free music,  97.3 “The Eagle” wasn’t that bad. Click here (97.3 The Eagle) to listen to 97.3 “The Eagle” live. The most frustrating part about listening to the FM radio was the number of commercials. I felt like commercials took up almost half of my listening time. I also listen to Spotify while doing my homework, but I couldn’t do that so I used my alarm clock to listen to 97.3 "The Eagle" while doing homework at my desk.

I realized this during my 24 hours without Internet.

I often use the Internet, specifically social networking apps, for entertainment and as a way to pass time. Obviously I was not able to do that when I unplugged from the Internet so I turned to my roommates, classmates, and friends for entertainment. Withdrawing from social media

and the Internet for 24 hours made me spend more time with my roommates and those around me which was very nice. This was actually my favorite part about disconnecting from the Internet. With the invention of cell-phones, Internet, and other forms of technology, face-to-face interaction has become less common so I enjoyed spending quality time with my friends without the distraction of the Internet. My friends, classmates, and roommates also served as an information source for me while I was disconnected. For example, all day I was dying to know the snow forecast for the following day so I went to my roommates room and asked her if she knew any information on it. Not only did she provide me with information about the weather, but my question also led to us sharing our favorite snow-day traditions. This is a great example of how withdrawing from the Internet led to meaningful face-to-face interactions.

Another way I found out information without the Internet was by thinking "outside of the box." Wednesday morning when I got ready I had no idea what the forecast was so I didn't know if I was dressed appropriately. Typically I would pull my phone out and search “weather” on the Internet to look at the temperature(s) and forecast for the day, to determine if I had chosen an appropriate outfit. However, I was unable to do that, so instead I walked outside for a about a minute to determine if I needed to change. Later in the day, I had to change my routine again as a result of enduring 24 hours without the Internet. Usually when I have a question about a class I will email my professor, but since I couldn't do that, I went to my professors office hours instead. This is another example of how disconnecting from the Internet created a meaningful in-person interaction. Although these may seem like minor changes to my daily routine, they changed the pace of my day which I enjoyed. Overall, logging off from the Internet for 24 hours made me interact with others more and problem solve in ways that I hadn't done before.

Unplugged and Unsatisfied or Logged Off and Loved It?

Pros to withdrawing from the Internet	Cons to withdrawing from the Internet
·      More face-to-face interaction ·      Less distractions	·      Feel uninformed/detached ·      Less access to information/resources ·      No streaming services ·      No email or I-Messages

As much as I loved experiencing a day without Internet and interacting with others face to face, unplugging left me unsatisfied and overwhelmed. The Internet has been integrated into my life ever since I was a toddler so having to withdrawal for 24 hours was very challenging and a major inconvenience. I felt most inconvenienced in regard to accessing CNU Scholar, my email, and Google Drive. I was really frustrated and worried when I realized that I couldn’t access all of my assignments and work online. I felt like withdrawing from the Internet put me at a disadvantage as I had less resources to complete my work. However, I don't think logging off the Internet would be as frustrating if it wasn't so integrated into my life or if the people around me weren't able to use the Internet either.

Blog #2: Old vs. New Media

Old vs. New Media – Blog #2 

            Being born in 1999 has allowed my generation to experience a life mainly consumed with media. Although growing up, we were never given an iPad to play with, the relevance that media has placed within our lives is detrimental. Constantly drooling over television as a child has corresponded to the important role media plays within my life to this day. In comparison, my 62-year-old Aunt grew up when media technologies were not an important role within her life, and she was almost forced to learn to incorporate these technologies within her life to this day. In contrast to the current day my Aunt states, “When I was your age, newspaper was big. You got the morning and night paper, as well as the Sunday paper. Almost everything was translated through the newspaper”. In contrast to my aunt’s experience as a child, news is currently broadcasted on numerous television channels, social media platforms, and websites. The news is constant, allowing individuals to stay in touch of what is going on around them. One relevant difference between “old” and “new” media is the consistency and the easy access the current media now promotes. My Aunt states, “The newspaper is going out of style; majority of stuff now is on television media or sent to your phone”. 

Another source of media that has changed throughout the years is the quality of television and the picture itself of the media we consume. My Aunt states, “TV was in black and white when I was younger. There was also no remote control to change the channels”. In correlation to the television we view today, the picture on the TV is crystal clear and the quality is phenomenal. Growing up I remember the picture on the television not being as clear as it is to the current day, but everything was in color. The privilege of having colored television screens is taken for granted because majority of my generation has never lived with anything other than that. My Aunt highlights the numerous changes within television because she states that she “loves television”! In correlation to the picture on TV’s she mentioned the difference of the quality of the movies she has consumed. She states, “the quality of the movies has changed. We never had HD, no streaming services either. Also, to adjust the picture we had rabbit ears”. Many of these qualities that are placed within today’s culture are often taken for granted. 

Q: What are the most significant changes you can identify within the media today and the media when you were my age? 

·      Cell phones- “In my 20’s we had bulky cell phones and pagers, nothing like the ones you see today” 

·      Radio- “Walkman; portable radio used for listening to music or cassette tapes”

·      Computers- “Growing up we didn’t have computers. I remember when computers first came about it was a BIG deal” 

·      “EVERYTHING has changed. Something as small as the color on the TV to the remote we use. We didn’t have anything like that when I was younger. Even when I went to my friend’s house, there was no cable- only channels 6, 8, and 12”

The difference between “old” and “new” media has dramatically changed throughout the years. The drastic change between the picture itself on the television we consume, but as well as the concept and idea of the “cell phone” and how that ideal has become a part of us. Within the “new” media, the public has depended on technology itself for particular tasks. For example, now people are able to go online and shop for their groceries and have them delivered to their car in the parking lot. The “new” media has allowed our current generations to become very reliant on the material they are able to consume through media, so without it we feel as if we are nothing. For example, in 2019 Instagram crashed for 10 hours, allowing the public to go insane. Sean Keach (2019) states that “tens of thousands of users complained that the apps and websites would no longer load content…”. For just a short period of time, the public was unable to contain their self because of the shortage break down within a particular app. I remember myself constantly clicking on the app trying to refresh new content and getting frustrated. It’s as if I was wanting to go on the app more because it was such a habit. A major difference between the “old” and “new” media is the reliability that is placed within the media currently, compared to when my Aunt was my age. A particular source of media that has changed overtime that stuck out to me is the television remote. Although I was aware of remote are a fairly new piece of technology, I have taken for granted something so small that corresponds to the laziness of our current generations.

Q: How did you experience media when you were my age? 

·      “I used media for schoolwork, for current events (mainly newspaper)”.

·      Household phone- “I used this to socialize with my close-knit friends. Paying the phone bill was always through the mail, I remember having to pick it up”. 

·      Overhead Projector- “I remember when we got these in school it was a BIG deal”.

·      TV- “We occasionally watched TV in school, showing events that were happening”  

In conclusion, there are many different aspects of “new” vs. “old” media and how they positively and negatively affect our daily life. Another major aspect the “new” media places on society, aside from the quality and accessibility of media, is the concept that almost everything is considered to be a form of “social media”. Fuchs (2017) states that, “all media and all software are social in the sense that they are products of social processes” (pg. 41). In comparison to the “old” media, it’s a tough pill to swallow when media is surrounding the world, we live in. Overall, my Aunt’s experience with media and media technologies is completely different than mine. As years go on, media will constantly evolve and change into something completely different than what it is today. 

References:

Fuchs, Christian. (2017). Social media; A critical introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. 

Keach, S. (2019, July 18). Gram slam Instagram down- app not working for second time in just 24 hours. Retrieved from https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9535873/instagram-down-not-working-offline-app/.

Blog #1

Being asked to evaluate who I am regarding my social media presence is something that I have never really had to evaluate, but have thought about a few times. Social media is increasingly becoming intertwined in the lives of individuals and unspokenly become a part of their identity. On top of that, if you want to be a functioning member in society, you need some form of social media that you are willing to check and keep up with from day-to-day. Along with beginning to search for a full-time job after graduation, I've found myself more conscious about what I post and what I like.
My social media presence has changed throughout the years and I have increased my presence on certain platforms, as well as decreased my activity on others. My current social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Like many, I believe that I do not show my full personality online. I think I have always had a weird relationship with how I act on social media. There has always been a heavy need to produce certain content or make your feed have a certain aesthetic. I feel like I exclude almost half of who I truly am as an individual across my social media platforms. While it is now a ‘trend’ to have a quirky type of persona, my quirks are what seem to be excluded from my presence the most. On Twitter, having certain quirks, like being socially awkward, for example, are trends and have been made into memes and relatable content. To fully examine my social media presence, I want to go through each platform I use, starting with Twitter.

My Twitter is nothing special. I barely tweet original content but I retweet things that I find funny or important. Because of that, my primary use for twitter is enjoyment and/or escape from stress. Due to a lack of personal content, my twitter is a place where I am not as vulnerable in comparison to my other social media platforms. I think the lack of vulnerability stems from being nervous about what content is ‘twitter-worthy’ and what content I should keep to myself. The culture that revolves around who can get the most retweets and likes also holds me back from being my true, authentic self and tweeting whatever I feel like. I often find myself deleting tweets that do not get as much engagement as I thought they would. I feel as though I’m not funny enough to produce content that will get people to laugh or even engage with.
Facebook, for me, functions as a place to get information from, whether it is with the organizations I am involved in or keeping up with my friends and family. I never got into posting or sharing other posts. I made a Facebook after I was accepted into CNU and my primary reason for it was keeping up with the University and looking to find a freshman year roommate. The only activity I have on my Facebook now consists of keeping up with announcements from my sorority or updating my photos and accomplishments for friends and family. I’m also really bad at remembering important dates, such as birthdays, so I will go to people’s Facebook pages if I need to find that information out.
There is not a need to create a certain aesthetic on Facebook, compared to other platforms, which may be why my generation has started to move past Facebook. It doesn’t have any purpose if we don’t need to spend time taking the right picture with the right filter applied.

Instagram used to be my most used social media platform, however, within the past year my activity has steadily declined. I found myself going through my pictures and deleting almost all of them. I started a self-care journey with myself and found that I did not feel good enough to post pictures to keep up with everyone. I was not happy with how I looked and did not feel like I wanted certain photos of me on my feed. My self-care journey involved a weight loss component and just recently I started being happy with the process I’ve made, leading to me posting a few photos after months of being absent.

I think Instagram has contributed to so many mental health issues with young people, especially young girls. There is such pressure to have an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed and I needed to get away from that for a little while. However, even when I came back to post a couple of pictures, I still felt like they needed to look a certain way to be ‘Instagram worthy’. If you don’t know those feelings I have, it just looks like I’ve just forgotten about posting, nothing too deep and/or personal. Being in a sorority, I’ve had girls believe I dropped letters because I stopped posting content. Again, another pressure to post certain content instead of what you want to post.
Snapchat is my most used social media platform and I enjoy it. I enjoy it because it’s easy to send snaps to friends and I honestly enjoy the filters (no shame). It helps me pass time or gives me a distraction when I need it. On my Snapchat story, I used to post anything I wanted. Now, I only post when I’m out doing something that I think is cool or something that happened and I thought it was funny.
 On Snapchat, I’m not as concerned about the content I post because it has a casual setting and does not require as much work to create a certain aesthetic. That being said, with the rise of private snap stories, there is an unspoken rule, like on any platform, of what is appropriate for everyone to see and what only a few close friends should see.
In general, I think my social media projects me as someone who doesn’t engage with it as often, due to my lack of original content and activity. It is only when you go below the surface that you see I don’t have the desire to engage in the work I feel is required to make my feed presentable and considered quality content. I think I am heavily influenced by the perceptions I feel people have/will have and that holds me back. To try and combat that, my solution is to remove myself from subjecting myself to any possible judgment. Through that removal, I've begun to see that I do not need to constantly upload just to keep up with my peers. #makesocialmediacasualagain

Blog #2 - Simon Robson

       

This week I interviewed my coworker, Mrs. Bessie, about her views of media and the way that it has changed through her lifetime. Mrs. Bessie is 71 years old and works with me in the bistro in the DSU. She often asks me for help doing things on her phone so I figured it would be interesting to interview her about this and to hear what she thinks of all the changes that have come about. When I first asked her Mrs. Bessie said I needed to ask someone else because she was too old and there was too much that had changed since she was my age, but I told her that was exactly the point. Once she found out this was the point, she had no problems coming up with things that are different from back then. 

            She told me that when she was my age the only media that she regularly consumed was in the form of music. She told me that she used to listen to lots of cassette tapes and 8 tracks and sometimes the radio. She told me how different the radio used to be though and how there were very few stations and they weren’t accessible in many places. The music was also very different, she said, much less electronically produced sound. One of the ways that we both have enjoyed music though is records. I personally really like being able to physically hold albums and the way it sounds playing on a record player, so I have a small record collection of my own. When I told Mrs. Bessie this, she was very excited and started telling me about the old records that she used to listen to. The only album that I had that she also used to have was the album All Summer Long by The Beach Boys. Here is a picture of the record player that I listen to my records on versus what her record player most likely looked like. My record player is a 7 in 1 device so in addition to records, it has Bluetooth, a CD player, cassette player, radio, auxiliary port and recording capabilities. 

           

She also discussed that newspapers were another main form of media that she had when she was my age. Although she rarely read the newspaper back then she told me that she has even seen a difference in the newspapers today. She explained that when she was my age there was really only one newspaper every week, compared to today when you can get a newspaper every day. She said that there is so much more garbage and nonsense in the papers today rather than actual news and things that matter. Music and newspapers were the only media that she said she really consumed when she was growing up. 

            She also explained the way that phones have developed since then. She was explaining how it is crazy to her that there are wireless phones today that do everything they do. When she was my age all the phones had cords and all they could do was make calls. Now Mrs. Bessie can do so much on her phone that it is overwhelming to her, not to mention that she can also have her phone with her no matter where she is. She said a lot of the things that she experienced are out of date now because all of it can be done on your phone including music, movies, cameras, news and more. Being that she was not always accustomed to this as she was growing up, she finds much of it very unnecessary, confusing, and overwhelming. 

            For me a lot of what makes media old versus new is the connectivity and streamline of it. Today it is so easy to share, find, or view things without really any effort. With old media things were not nearly as connected and available. In just a matter of seconds you can share a message with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people. You could find any piece of information that you wanted to by just pulling out your phone and typing it in. We are constantly connected which gives us so much variety of media at our fingertips, but the weird part is that it is almost all through the same medium, our phones. Back in Mrs. Bessie’s time you needed multiple different mediums for all your different media. You needed a phone to make calls, a newspaper to read the news, a record player, cassette player, a radio or other things to listen to music, a TV and a VHS player to watch a movie and more. This is why we are so tied to our phones and are constantly so caught up. We have literally everything right there and while it definitely has its benefits it can also be harmful especially when people don’t understand all of the ways that their media works. 

       Social media is a very recent development and while most of my generation kind of grew right into it, others had to adapt, and it hasn’t always been an easy process. Looking back now I feel like most of my life things have just built on one another, so I always somewhat understood the new media and things that have come about. When inevitably there is a completely new technology that brings radical change to the way we consume media I hope that I will be able to take it in stride and become accustomed to it easily. Some of the things we have read and talked about for class show how things like this can be harmful especially for people who don’t understand everything about it. The Facebook documentary that we watched was a good example where people did not quite understand the implications of their social media usage. In the video we see the way that many people took everything they saw on social media as fact without doing any further research. People also did not understand that when they signed up for Facebook that they were giving permission to do what they wanted with their information. As a result of the constant evolution of media there is a lot of misunderstanding of the consequences or the uses and gratifications of new media from older generations. Another example of this would be the reading we did about Gamergate. This reading and some of the videos we watched in class about it showed the ways that some people used social media to voice their opinions in entirely inappropriate ways because of their lack of knowledge of the consequences. During Gamergate some of the women who had spoken out about the way women were portrayed in games faced very serious threats from people on social media. I believe many of these people posting threats did not realize some of the implications that came with these actions. Not only do these tweets create such a scary and dangerous environment on social media but it also can yield real life consequences anywhere from dislike by others to job loss or even legal consequences. I think that many of these things are done by older generations as a result of their incomplete knowledge about new media and how it works. 

After my interview with Mrs. Bessie it definitely made me think more about the drastic changes that have come in media during her life so far and made me wonder what kind of things I will see during my life. It was very interesting to me though that even with how much has changed I still use one of the forms of media that she was very familiar with when she was my age in my records. Although this is not a super common form of media today it is still sold in many stores and has stuck around for many decades now. The evolution of media has come a very long way over the past 40 years or so and I don’t see this stopping anytime soon. We just have to make sure that when new media comes about, we are competent in its usage and understand its consequences.

Blog# 3 - No Connection

Nathan Gillispie

2/16/20

No Connection

            On the day of February, 15^th 2020, I took on the task of abstaining from all internet usage for one 24-hour period. Initially, I thought this would be an easy task that would get me out of the house and enjoy nature; however, as each hour slowly wavered by it became apparent as to how integrated the internet was in my life. I discovered that an unfortunate majority of my lifestyle relies heavily on the use of the internet. From the movies I watch on TV to the clothes I wear tomorrow; the internet has influence over these decisions. It’s not easy to admit my addiction and reliance on internet usage yet, it was even harder trying to live without it. The current-day social culture that America is built on depends on the internet and the idea of always staying “connected” but, when that connection is suddenly cut it creates internal disarray and confusion.

            The day before my wireless journey began, I planned my day out and prepared for any unexpected problems that might arise. Like travelers packing for vacation, I packed content from the internet that I might need before my trip. I printed off maps to local restaurants and stores, screenshotted some cooking recipes, downloaded a few offline video games, and bought a couple movies to play on DVD. At the time, I felt so organized, equipped, and confident that I could last a few years without the internet. I went to bed that night feeling on top of the world and woke up the next morning with my world flipped upside down.

            The first hour upon waking, I was already disordered to a life of no internet connection. Out of pure habit, I reached for my phone on the bedside to check social media; however, my phone was not there. I sat in bed a little while longer, contemplating this new situation I was in then hopped in the shower. Once I was awake, I decided to drive to Buckroe Beach and enjoy the fresh coastal air. I immediately searched my phone for the weather app but remembered that was against the rules.  I peeked outside the window to evaluate the climate conditions for the beach. It seemed reasonable, I made breakfast and drove down the road. As I started to near the coastline, cars sporadically began to slow down and switch lanes. I sensed a traffic jam emerging up ahead but, was vulnerable to the outcome of the situation. I was no longer able to use my phone’s navigation apps to redirect alternative routes. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was not how I planned on spending my day free of the internet but, that’s what I got. I sifted through radio stations of old and unamusing content wishing I had my music streaming playlist downloaded. By the time I got to the beach, it was lunchtime and I was very hungry. Unfamiliar with the Hampton coastline, I couldn’t look up local fast-foods or quick restaurants to eat at. My best bet was to return to Newport News instead of getting lost without a cellphone. The loss of the internet for one day was slowly starting to get to me and created a discomforting feeling that grew by each hour.

            As the evening approached, I found myself bored and disconnected from the world around me. I had no clue what was happening with my friends or what was going on in the world. I reflected on how much I use social media, despite posting minimal content, I used it for staying informed on current events and social matters. I still had roughly 8 hours remaining in my internet-less day and looked for ways to entertain myself. The DVDs I picked out beforehand were now unappealing to me and I was looking for something else to fill this gap of time. It felt like a prime opportunity to study notes from my textbook reading. I was unable to use the Google Drive that stored my previous notes but I figured I could copy this section down on paper. Reading the textbook made time slow down and I looked for breaks to glance at my phone for a few minutes. Social media has always provided me with a quick alleviation of intense studying as I quickly drift away in limitless content. Preventing myself from picking up my phone, I kept reading and remained focused on the task at hand. It wasn’t long before I stumbled across a bolded word that I was unfamiliar with. The textbook hardly provided a rational explanation of the concept and I couldn’t help but think how easy It would be to just “google” the word. Frustrated with how my internet-free day was going, I decided to get an early night’s sleep and wake up to all the content I missed in one day.

            Going without the internet for one full day was something I thought I could prepare myself for and easily overcome. After experiencing a disconnect in the online world, I am now aware of just how integrated the internet has become in my life.  The Internet is not only responsible for entertainment value from watching movies or listening to music but, common functionality in society. I depend on the internet for gathering information, academic research, entertainment, and mainly communication. The Internet provides a medium between communication through social media platforms, email, and group chats; all of which I temporarily dismissed due to the lack of connection. My dependence on the internet is something, until now, I have gravely overlooked. American society has developed in a way that fosters and promotes the use of quick instantaneous internet connection at all times. It only took one day without the internet to realize my interdependence of this participatory culture social media creates in my daily life. Escaping the constant desire to remain connected in media and seeking gratification through online content is not easy. It appears that the internet continues to encompass the lives of people across the world, altering the lifestyles and development of society. 

References

Fuchs, Christian. Social Media a Critical Introduction. Sage, 2017.

“Broadband-Technology.” Umaizi, umaizi.com/how-broadband-penetration-will-benefit-nigerias-economy/broadband-technology/.

“Internet of Things: What It Is, How It Works, Examples and More: JUST™ Creative.” JUST, 19 Nov. 2018, justcreative.com/2018/11/19/internet-of-things-explained/.