Jessi's PsychSocialMedia Reflection

       There was so much information this week that I'm not even sure where to start! Digital amnesia, Google knows everything, #TheDress, viral posts, memes; all of our favorite things about the internet!       The content in this week's module sparked some conversation between myself and my family. I asked them all why they started using social media in the first place. My sister said, "I joined Twitter before Smartphones to find out which Waffle House Donnie Wahlberg might go to after a show," and I haven't been the same since! It's one aspect of social media that I hadn't even considered before that moment, even after reading all the materials so far. Before the digital era, was meeting a celebrity or knowing where they are having dinner even a possibility? Sure, Seventeen Magazine might do a cover story on it next week, but what about in the moment? We think of social media as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, but really, it's j...

 Where to start this week? I feel like there was so much information packed into this lesson that picking it apart is nearly impossible.  "The History of the Telephone" video was enlightening to say the least. The technology we have grown accustomed to now makes the telephone seem prehistoric at this point. Although I am old enough to tell my kids about rotary phones and call waiting, that seems like a distant memory; like something learned in a book. Speaking of books... What are books? When did we get so far away from libraries and the smell of old pages, highlighters, and bookmarks? I'm an avid reader. I like a little of everything. But only after ordering my textbooks for my courses this semester did I realize how digital I've become. Kindle has become my go to for one of my favorite hobbies. I realized last semester though that a textbook on Kindle is just not the same--as in, I NEED paper and pen to function and truly commit things to memory--so this semester I ...

 This week in the Psychology of Social Media course, the class is off to a fast start. I hate being the last to complete an assignment, and yet, I have managed to accomplish that twice this week. It's not exactly the list of accomplishments I had hoped for, but I'll get a handle on it. Opening the first module and seeing the list of youtube videos and articles, I couldn't help to think, "Oh no. Another course where I'm going to be bombarded with watching boring outdated videos for hours. Where's the 'exit' button?" It was a pleasant surprise to find that the content from the 80s and 90s wasn't just bogged down with old computer jargon that is no longer relevant. Seeing Steve Jobs roll out his impressive 1980s model Macintosh with such pride was quite refreshing. Although the internet has obviously grown and expanded so many ways over the last 40some years, I can't help but wonder if it's all for the good. Reading Clifford Stoll's pr...