Journal Entry # 4

Mo Garcia had me wrapped around his finger, applauding and devouring every inch of enthusiasm that he bravely delivered. Oh, Mo. You’ve got me reflecting more than I can handle; roller-skating and summer salting over every minor hurdle that shadows a mountain, leaping around with a big grin at all the possibilities. I accomplished something BIG thanks to Mo. In fact, I think I may need to write him. I’ve been warped into thinking that my passion for writing should be buried because I’ll never put bread on the table and I’ll never reach my true potential. Instead, I should wear a white lab coat and be content within the confines of white walls and blood splatters. As I’ve gotten closer to graduating and entering the nursing program, I’ve felt it all become really surreal and I’ve been severely struggling with the idea that I’m betraying myself. Who I am today is a direct reflection of how I deal with my struggles and joy, and that’s shaped me into somebody who believes she can grow wings and shade the rest of the world from losing sight of their potential. I WANT to help people; whether that’s through nursing or writing, I’ve just got to leave some kind of foot print that makes others smile or think or feel. It will happen! Mo suggested that making your passion your work was ideal and spoke volumes to his happiness now. I’m just petrified I might have too many passions, and run around in too many circles and lose all time to accomplish any one thing. But, I’d really like to taste every road for at least a second, so hopefully that fills my belly up just fine. Thanks, Mo. You’ve gotten me out of this rut! I’m no longer a prisoner to the idea that there’s only one career/passion for me. I’ve got a bigger eye for better things thanks to you!

Response to "Digital Nation"

Social Networking: Weapon or Tool?

Introduction

   As I walk inside the library I remind myself to keep my feet close together and my shoulders straight. I tell myself not to look anyone directly in the eye and to make the smallest carbon footprint possible until finding my seat amongst the mass of computer users. I sit in my swivel chair that resembles a plastic bubble, shielding me from any handshakes or conversation that I may have to partake. Putting my ear buds in, I begin my first online Sociology class. I exchange LOL’s and frowny emoticons with class mates, all here to learn about the same thing; the study of humans. Isn’t that ironic? I realized that something was wrong, and that I’d been spun into the interweb so tightly, that I now found it more comfortable to learn online rather than in a physical classroom. That semester I struggled trying to balance my school work with the temptation of one button standing in the way of me and my social life. Although there’s a (extremely ironic) social stigma attached to those NOT involved with social networking, it’s not as promising as the diehard Twitter and FaceBook users believe. Over using social networking can have detrimental effects on our education and how we learn, our interactions and relationships with family and friends and most importantly, how we view and treat ourselves. I’m here to put some air back into your lenses and pry your finger tips from your keyboard and back into the hands of your friends.

Human Relationships

   Social networking cites such as Face book, Twitter and YouTube offer a more convenient way of interacting with friends and family than actually physically seeing them.  Because of this, people are less likely to grab drinks while helping to heal a friend’s broken heart or go over to their aunt’s house to bake cookies. Instead we’re able to send messages, IM’s, shoutouts, wall posts, tag people, make statuses and even video chat on Skype. So what is interaction really? Not too long ago, it meant physical interaction, and now it just means communication. A Jan. 2012 Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School study found that the percentage of people reporting less face-to-face time with family in their homes rose from 8% in 2000 to 34% in 2011(World Internet Project, Salvador). Consequently, social networking has lead to stress and offline relationship problems, with 15% of face book users claiming that the networking cite has caused them to lose a friendship. In addition, 49.5% of students have reported being victims of bullying online and 33.7% reported committing bullying behavior online (Mishna, F “Cyber Bullying Behaviors among Middle and High School Students”). With statistics like these, it’s unfathomable that people would continue to support the idea that social networking doesn’t hinder, but improves their social life. However, it’s undeniable that sites like Facebook and Twitter gives us a sense of being connected to something bigger. For some, it’s their rising friend number or booming newsfeed. After all, 52 % of students have said that these sites have improved their relationships (Mishna F). But is the new generation just confused? Are we bending and stretching the definition of human relationships too much.

Deterioration of Self

   It’s easy to get bundled up in pajamas, snack on junk food and escape into a computer screen on a Friday night.  Unfortunately, I’ve experienced first hand that this is the new norm, and the majority of my friends are becoming more and more willing to miss out on that vital and necessary interaction with others that you’re supposed to experience as a teenager. Social media can be tricky because it leads the introverted in you to believe that you’re blossoming in your relationships, making you feel better about yourself. However, it can make the most extroverted person crawl into a cave. For example, the use of social networking sites is correlated with personality and brain disorders, such as the inability to have in-person conversations, a need for instant gratification, ADHD, and self-centered personalities, as well as addictive behaviors. In addition, social networking cites lack personal privacy; so much so that the government and future job prospects can view anything you post on the internet. (Stephen Marche, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?”) Although many praise these websites for giving them the opportunity to seek out jobs in the first place, it can usually turn around to bite them in the butt. Most of us absent mindedly post things we’d never want prospective employers to see. Social networking could ultimately lead to the destruction of the idea of our sacred self, and make us feel as if we’re just another sheep, wandering in the heard.

Academic Success

It’s no secret that social networking cites and the internet has made it incredibly easy to cheat on school tests and purchase or “borrow” papers from friends. Dishonesty is not only harmful to you academically but to your credibility and how you view yourself as well. In addition, students are more inclined to multitask, even if they’re not even aware that they’re doing it. A study was done on a male college student where they took an MRI of the  boy’s brain studying while listening to music and checking his face book twice every hour. Then an MRI was done where he studied without any distractions, along with two short breaks to go get some water and to walk around. The results were as expected, but a surprise to the student; he retains more information when he studies with fewer interactions (Tom Scheve, “5 Ways Science is Studying the Brain”). It is so easy to become easily distracted and wander off onto facebook or YouTube and just keep clicking on different links. Before you know it, you’ve just wasted two hours that you’ll never get back.
 

Conclusion

   I understand why social networking cites seems so enticing and fun, and I’m the first to admit that I enjoy it myself. However, I don’t want the next generation to lose sight of what it really means to interact with their family and friends, themselves and their education. It’s up to us to limit our internet usage and promote that verbally to our friends, not just over the internet. In moderation, like everything else, social networking can be an excellent tool for keeping up to date with current events and our peers. Today’s society is all about instant gratification, easy access and immediate satisfaction. So it makes since that most people are content with having more online relationships and fewer face to face ones. However, we don’t want to live in a digital nation where we lose sight of what it means to interact with others. Social Networking will be the demise to many young adult’s futures and the next generation to come. The internet can be a tool or a weapon, so use it wisely and don’t be so quick to take the easy way out.

RESOURCES:

Salvador, "Special Report: America at the Digital Turning Point," www.annenberg.usc.edu, Retrieved on 2/10/2013

Mishna, F. "Cyber Bullying Behaviors among Middle and High School Students," American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

Marche, Stephen "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/ Retrieved On 2/10/2013

 Scheve, Tom “5 Ways Science is Studying the Brain”, http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/5-ways-science-studyi

Reality TV

Journal #2

When you’re watching reality television the objective is to gain happiness through mindless fluttering images, diminishing anything from your day that jeopardizes just that. I applaud all who’ve found an outlet and have managed to escape reality. I’d rather watch a scripted life than dabble my feet reflecting on my own. Many suggest that reality television is so lacking that it’s hindering our children’s education, warping the normalicies of everyday life and painting bad images for children to come. Sure, I agree that the average American watches too much T.V., coming in at 40 hours per week, and I see how this can attribute to our staggering obesity incline. However, I don’t think reality television is the devil and I don’t think the mom’s of America need to bust out their bandanas just yet. After all, it’s our choice.

So, which reality television show do you secretly watch? We’ve all got one; with the genre spectrum seemingly applying to every age group, there’s something for everyone to watch. Reality TV was inevitable considering how much we’ve progressed in the last fifteen years. Social media, email and texting have made for a more affiant way to communicate and enjoy life. Television delivers stories and kindness, sadness and romance, kids having kids, people killing people, babies and miniature cupcakes. More importantly, it delivers a glimpse into our always changing culture and why we are the way we are today. If there wasn’t a demand for shows about teenagers getting pregnant or a want for a program about a bunch of Jersey-ites drinking and partying, then it wouldn’t be on the air. Like it or not, reality television exists because we want it to. Our own lives aren’t enough so we escape to Cape Canaveral and hop on a cruise to find our Bachelor. It’s up to you if you’d rather float around your living room, soaking up an alternative reality than your own. I don’t mind it, we’re all human and we’re all entitled to our own happiness, if it’s actually ours or not!

Photography Essay

“Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.”

-Alfred Stieglitz

  When I think of an Art Gallery I see white walls and posh people holding punch. Typically, they’ve developed crow’s feet under their eyes because they’ve been squinting too much trying to figure out the abstract meaning behind a canvas splattered in dust. Then I imagine myself hopping from one photo to the next, hiccupping inappropriately and spotting absurdly crass images in sculptures that are supposed to resemble War from the 1800’s. The first time I visited a photo gallery I continuously ran into pictures that swayed me to ride nostalgia and revisit memories that were long gone because I never had a Polaroid to remember it by. Great photography gives you the chance to relive a moment vicariously through a picture and that’s why I loved each of the following images so much. Even though I have no documentation to prove parts of my past, I can lean on other’s photography and interpretation of life to remember.

    The photo “To Be a Kid Again” is a black and white image of what I called “Monkey Bars” as a nine year old child in the fourth grade. The photo smells like old metal that leaves orange residue on finger tips and little calluses across pale palms. At 9, our class had a field trip to the local park where we played on the jungle gym and had a picnic. That night I was also going to see my dad for the first time since I was three. I noticed a man sitting on the half sphere jungle gym, eyeing all of us while eating a sandwich. I wondered if that could be my dad, and if so maybe I should impress him. So I went over to the bars where you swing from one triangle to the other, moving freely, letting my tummy show and my feet dangle. I felt gutsy, so I lifted myself up, swung my knees inside the metal triangle and let my hands fall, dangling only by the strength of my knees. I looked to see if my possible father was looking, and he wasn’t. Upset, I went to swing myself up as to get down, but went shooting straight down instead. I happened to land on a little slab of concrete in which I dug my front teeth into, and then bit through my bottom lip. I wish I had a photo of myself in pigtails; sandals and a bleeding detached bottom lip. But I don’t, so instead I store the memory in the back of my head and save it for a photo such as the monkey bars to relive that moment again.

  The photo titled “2” by Alexandra Poquette left a positive impression on me. It shows a young woman, laughing comfortably in an enormous bed, wearing a casual shirt, with her hand on her belly. When I saw this I couldn’t help but giggle to myself and smile for her and anyone else whose come close to feeling that kind of joy. As I walked around the gallery, her smile stayed with me as I thought about what it was like the first time I moved out on my own when I was sixteen. The contagious feeling of starting a new journey lingers as you unpack, sorting through old toys with broken parts that receive a new home on the bookshelf until the next time you pack up. This photo acted as a glimpse into that milestone we’ve all accomplished before. And that’s the beautiful thing about photography; you can capture a personal moment that everyone can relate to.

   Sometimes you want to remember the small things but the scenario doesn’t allow any kind of hard copy documentation without being looked at like you’re crazy. For instance, the photo “McGurts Train” captures a passenger train on its way through an abundance of black and white trees. I visited NYC this past June and rode the train everywhere. Many times I wanted to bust out a video camera and record beautiful faces, awkwardly cramped sidewalks, and the guy slurping his gum too loudly beside you on the train.  When the big city was getting off of work and retiring to their daily subway commute, I joined them and noticed business men and women strategically placed side by side, with a few tourists sprinkled in the mix. The men with cuff links dug through their briefcases pulling out newspapers and dry sandwiches. The ladies in pencil skirts and high buns walked through each train in five inch heels, scanning for suitable seating. I sat there embarrassed by my tabloid magazine, trying really hard to blend in as if I also had something important to attend to. During that ride as I gazed out the window and played my iPod blaring Bjork way too loud, I hoped somebody would wonder about me too. I could be anybody for that train ride, just as I made up stories of who these people were and where they were going. I would’ve given anything to take photos of all those tired faces and look back on it now and play some sort of psychoanalyzing card game. Instead, I’ve got a memory that isn’t special to anyone else but me and allows me to smile when I see an ordinary picture of an ordinary train.

   I’ve always been hesitant to criticize photography because I thought judging something so personal is unbecoming. However, I’m learning that you don’t need to judge or criticize, rather be open to what it makes you feel and then interpret it appropriately. Each photo in the gallery was beautiful on the surface, but the ones I chose to write about were stunning and familiar because they derived some sort of feeling and memory from me. And who doesn’t like familiarity?

Journal 1

   It’s déjà vu all over again! This time last year I picked up a pencil and paper to write my first journal entry for ENC1101 in three years. Sure, I’d dabble in a little beat poetry, spew words to familiar faces and plaster newspapers clippings of words onto my fridge in hopes of evoking some sort of muse. But it wasn’t until I was forced to write for a grade, that I became a healthier and more fluent writer. ENC1101 was the most personal growth I’ve experienced in a college class thus far. My professor had a bigger impact on me than she knows. I never felt judged in my writings so I began to cover topics that had been simmering in my head for years, worn and torn but just intact enough of for a trip down nostalgia. For a while, I started to feel down because I wasn’t used to expressing myself, and my writing began to reverberate off of every door I walked into, creating a vortex that sucked me into that quintessential all black ensemble . However, I am now learning that good writing doesn’t have to have a sad moral behind it, big words aren’t necessary and it doesn’t even have to be about yourself! Exploring unfamiliar territory and writing about things that make me uncomfortable or even writing about things that make me feel nothing helps me to grow as a writer and even more so as a person! (And honestly, I need some serious help with my comma obsession. I think I use it more than the space key!)