Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Rewind: How I Use Social Media
After doing this blog and being in college for a semester, I have learned a few things. First, social media is very dangerous, and not just when it comes to bullying. The dependency that people have today on the media is not healthy and can cause addictions to occur if the person is not careful. Second, there are many social media sites, not just Facebook and Twitter. These sites may be less well known, but they work just as well and often allow for more individuality. Third, the hive mind is a serious threat that people need to see. While it may sound like something out of an old sci-fi movie, it's a real thing, and it's not good. If the hive mind continues to grow, all creativity and individuality will disappear. Finally, the things that we learn in school really do apply to life. This project has made me look at social media in a new way and see that many of the key ideas learned in class apply directly to what I'm seeing. This is a major part of why I enjoyed doing this blog. I will most likely continue even after the class ends.
The Great Unplug
Recently, I spent the entire day without using social networks. I had thought that I would do fine with it until I actually started it. It turned out that I am very relient on my social networks. I ended up deciding to go to a movie and to the bookstore for a couple hours by the end of the day because I needed to find a way to stay away from the internet.
From this experience, I learned how dependent I am on social networks and just the internet in general. For instance, when I got out of class, I automatically grabbed out my phone in order to check Facebook and my text messages and such. This really made me understand the severe codependency I have on my phone. This is both ridiculous and dangerous: ridiculous because it is just an object and it doesn't really have any substantial meaning to me, and dangerous because being so relient on any one person or thing is not healthy.
Since I did this experiment, I have tried to use my phone less often. This is not an easy thing to do, but I still try.
From this experience, I learned how dependent I am on social networks and just the internet in general. For instance, when I got out of class, I automatically grabbed out my phone in order to check Facebook and my text messages and such. This really made me understand the severe codependency I have on my phone. This is both ridiculous and dangerous: ridiculous because it is just an object and it doesn't really have any substantial meaning to me, and dangerous because being so relient on any one person or thing is not healthy.
Since I did this experiment, I have tried to use my phone less often. This is not an easy thing to do, but I still try.
I found an article recently that ranked Pinterest as the number 10 most popular social network site. I was actually quite surprised when I read this because I had thought that Pinterest would be in the top 5, most likely right after Twitter and Facebook. The amount of people on Pinterest is crazy, and so the fact that it didn't break the top 5 is odd. I was also amazed that Instagram wasn't even on the list. I felt that would also be near the top because of how many people use it.
Personally, I'd only heard of 5 of the top 15 social networking sites that were listed. Until that point, I had believed myself to be very "in the know," but now I have begun to wonder if I have really only just scratched the surface. The endlessness of the internet amazes me each and every day.
http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites
Personally, I'd only heard of 5 of the top 15 social networking sites that were listed. Until that point, I had believed myself to be very "in the know," but now I have begun to wonder if I have really only just scratched the surface. The endlessness of the internet amazes me each and every day.
http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites
The Hunt
There's a new website (or at least new to me) called The Hunt that is basically a site where anyone can submit a picture of an item that they want to buy--it could be clothing, jewelry, shoes, phones, dishes, houseware, etc.--and then if anyone happens to find that item online, or knows where the item can be bought, they reply to the post with where to find it.
I think that this is a very new and innovative way to use social networking for good. It's extremely helpful and can be used by anyone. This sort of website is what I believe can come of social networking if people continue to make their ideas for websites into real sites. I believe that social networks can be quite helpful as long as they are used properly.
www.thehunt.com
I think that this is a very new and innovative way to use social networking for good. It's extremely helpful and can be used by anyone. This sort of website is what I believe can come of social networking if people continue to make their ideas for websites into real sites. I believe that social networks can be quite helpful as long as they are used properly.
www.thehunt.com
Confessions
While on StumbleUpon today, I came across an article (http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/6yg4by/:1QlZFIMDD:XjDWOdqb/www.ignant.de/2012/09/03/anonymous-confessions/) about an art project done by Candy Chang entitled "Confessions". It is basically a room full of confessions that people have made. The confessions are written down in a secret booth so as to keep them anonymous.
This sounds like a really cool idea to me. I truly believe that everyone has at least one big secret that they want to let out, but that they don't want anyone to know. This provides people with the opportunity to do this. It reminds me of Twitter or some other form of social media because it is a lot about interactions between the people. When people come to see the room and submit their own confession, they are allowed to go around and read the confessions of others. It is a sort of anonymous fame. I find it to be a beautiful idea and would like to someday go see it and possibly submit my own.
This sounds like a really cool idea to me. I truly believe that everyone has at least one big secret that they want to let out, but that they don't want anyone to know. This provides people with the opportunity to do this. It reminds me of Twitter or some other form of social media because it is a lot about interactions between the people. When people come to see the room and submit their own confession, they are allowed to go around and read the confessions of others. It is a sort of anonymous fame. I find it to be a beautiful idea and would like to someday go see it and possibly submit my own.
Apple Bugs
I personally am not a fan of Apple because I find it rude that they make all of their products so they are only compatible with their own products and no other ones. This is ridiculous. In the world today, almost all technology is made to cooperate with other technology as easily as possible, and yet Apple is moving in the opposite direction. They make it more difficult, and for this reason, they stand in the way of progress.
Beauty VS Brains
I have a friend who posts things on Facebook often that are really rather odd, but he gets tons of likes due mostly to his physical attractiveness. This is kind of sad. For instance, he recently posted a status saying "This is perfect sloth catching weather" and received over 30 likes. While 2 or 3 people may have actually enjoyed his status, the other 30 or so were simply trying to be on his radar.
What this means to me is that people have become so much more obsessed with the appearance of not only themselves but others as well. They rely on how attractive someone is to gauge whether or not the person "deserves" their like. Due to this, people now struggle to see past the physical beauty of someone. It's like our parents used to tell us: "Don't judge a book by its cover." This doesn't just mean that you shouldn't judge people who look different and assume they are bad people. It also means that you shouldn't assume that pretty people are good people.
What this means to me is that people have become so much more obsessed with the appearance of not only themselves but others as well. They rely on how attractive someone is to gauge whether or not the person "deserves" their like. Due to this, people now struggle to see past the physical beauty of someone. It's like our parents used to tell us: "Don't judge a book by its cover." This doesn't just mean that you shouldn't judge people who look different and assume they are bad people. It also means that you shouldn't assume that pretty people are good people.
Hive Mind
Today, I read a post by my stepbrother in-law saying this: ".@HiMyNameIsJamie just insulted my beard. Please advise on how to respond." @HiMyNameIsJamie is his wife (a.k.a. my stepsister). I find this to be ridiculous. It reminded me of We Live In Public when Josh Harris and his girlfriend would get in fights and then expect the outside world to tell them what to do. While this may have been a joke, it could possibly show that Harris was right, and that society is starting to become too much of a hive mind. This worries me greatly because I find individuality to be extremely important. Without it, can we really consider ourselves to be individuals?
I believe that individuality is a huge part of how society operates, and if people choose to start thinking in the hive mind, society as we know it will end. There will be no more creativity, and that would be horrible. We need to stop what we're doing, and fast, if we want to be able to fix this mess.
I believe that individuality is a huge part of how society operates, and if people choose to start thinking in the hive mind, society as we know it will end. There will be no more creativity, and that would be horrible. We need to stop what we're doing, and fast, if we want to be able to fix this mess.
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