Jessi's PsychSocialMedia Reflection

 I hate getting to the end of a course and not feeling like I've gained anything from the course. I'm so grateful that is not the case with this class. I have enjoyed every week, but I NEEDED this week. Focusing on the positive aspects of the internet and social media was a great reminder that social media isn't bad all the time. Being able to connect to friends and family and even strangers for so many different reasons is a benefit that generations before us didn't get to experience. Crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and social organizing are some of the most beneficial positive benefits of using the internet to connect with people. The Batkid video hit me in the feels the minute it started. Seeing a community come together to pull off something so huge for a child was very impactful. Community organizing can be difficult. With the internet and social media accounts, that has become much easier AND much more effective. Bulletin boards and flyers may reach hundreds in a few...

 This has been the toughest week for me in this course so far. Not difficulty level per se, but content difficulty. Reading the materials and watching the videos throughout this week hit home on a very personal level. Social media didn't create bullies, but it definitely amplified them. Oversharing has harmed people close to me, bullying has harmed people close to me, my kids went through spells of imitating things they found online causing unnecessary hardship for them and for me, and social seclusion is a real thing.  The "I forgot my phone" video really got to me. So many of my social events look like that. I feel like the girl that forgot her phone. I've been guilty of being too consumed by my phone, but I make conscious efforts to leave it alone when I am at a social function, but a lot of my friends do exactly what was depicted throughout the video and they watch life through their screen. Hopefully, with time, we can all find a happier balance between social me...

 This week? Shew. There was a lot to take in.      I don't think I've ever read, heard, or said the phrase, "Fake News" so much in my life until this week! I'm begining to feel a lot like Donald Trump at this point! Fake news is a real thing (ha!) and it can cause unnecessary drama and bias and a "head in the sand" mentality to arise. Some people just don't want to take the time to do any research to combat fake news though, so even though it's always been around, it's definitely more prevalent in the days of the internet.  Filter bubbles? Say what? I know about filters and algorithms but I have never thought outside the box to realize that search results are also filtered to my tastes as well and that I'm missing half the internet in a search result because I use the same devices and accounts to view things that I do like. I have decided to use my extra computer at home to do some testing on this for a while. I'm going to wipe it cle...

 This week stirred a lot of emotions. There is so much bad on the internet that it's hard to focus on or just see the good at times. With Fake News and political wars always looming, ads that seem scarily too accurate, and the host of people who think because they can Google, they are smarter than professionals of their field; how are we supposed to see the good?  Mohammed Bouazizi lit himself on fire to get attention and respect given to his cause after having his voice snuffed out and ignored by those who were supposed to help him. He literally gave up everything to save what little he had left. Since those who SHOULD have listened didn't, the right people in the right places gave him a voice, gave him his dignity, gave him power. Such simple things in life shouldn't require such a massive sacrifice. His story genuinely hurts my heart and inspires me as well.  Without social media, his story wouldn't have been told. Without social media, his story wouldn't have be...

       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...