Thoughts on the class

I found this class to be extremely informative as well as telling about how our society has evolved over the last couple of decades. We are making technological advances that people could have never even dreamed of years ago. With the help of Boyd and various articles we discusses, our class saw many perspectives on the use of technology. It was a true eye-opener for me. I realized how much we depend on social media to feel connected and this is just not the case. My friends and I now put our phones in the center of the table when we go out to eat. The first one to even reach for theirs has to pay the whole bill- no exceptions!! My point is- it's always going to be there and it probably is going to get even more insane as the years go on, but there will always be ways to remove it all for a moment.

The Job Hunt

Hunting for a summer job this year has been brutal. I work in the Alumni Office at NCC and I managed to get that incredible job through a connection with my neighbor who used to work there. Since students don't work there during the summer, I was in dire need of a job to hold me over for the next couple of months. I applied anywhere and EVERYWHERE. I would dress up and go around with my resume, and what I noticed was 9/10 companies told me "thanks for you interest, but we only accept online applications". The more I heard that, the  more I started to see signs hung on restaurants and businesses: "HIRING! Apply online".
What ever happened to 'Apply WITHIN'???
Although the internet has given us great opportunities to job hunt and maybe even search for jobs in other states or even countries that we would not have accessible to us without the internet, I feel it takes away from the experience a bit. There is only so much you can do to make yourself stand out on a resume. So, that being said, I began applying online just as they said to do, and then about a week later I would go into the store and follow up. I finally got hired at Old Navy but it really did take a while. It got me thinking about two years from now when I am applying to my first real job. I truly think networking is the key to finding a job within your desired area of interest.

iPhones-- Life Without 'Em

Yesterday I was AT&T with my dad and sister getting new phones. We were due for an upgrade so we decided we would make the trip. I was excited because my screen has been cracked for a year now.
Well, we got there and let me tell you... it was the longest process I have ever experienced. The staff that was working was completely unorganized and clueless. It was total chaos. We were literally there for two hours. As I sat and watched them try to program the phones all I could think about was how absolutely ridiculous the whole thing was. I actually started day-dreaming about life without cell phones and it shockingly made me feel really happy. We wouldn't feel this constant pressure to have our phones on us at all times. We could spend time working out or getting homework done instead of spending TWO hours at the phone store. It has just become such a necessity in our lives and I actually hate it. I really do.

When my family goes on vacation, I would say that is one of the only times I do not have my phone on me at all times because I leave it in the hotel room. But when I get back, I kid you not I have 20+ messages. It is nuts. I truly wish there was some way to go about changing this part of our culture but we are too far in.
I heard on the radio that Tim McGraw (who is married to Faith Hill) has a no social media night in their house. They have three teenage daughters and one night a week they put away all laptops, phones, computers, etc. and just TALK. What a concept, huh?!?!

Superlab Playset

As I was researching for another class about the hit AMC series Breaking Bad, I came across something very bizarre. During class we talked about transmedia storytelling and how it is the hip new way producers are going about developing their show. TMS requires the viewers to make use of a number of mediums in order to fully understand the series. In other words, they are to become immersed within the particular culture through graphic novels, video games, etc. Although Breaking Bad is not a TMS series, in that you are required to follow up after the series in order to understand the series, company's have taken advantage of the show by applying it to their products. One donut company sold blue frosted donuts every Sunday night replicating the blue-dyed meth. Sales sky-rocketed for the company.

This next one blew me away... I found a toy company that has developed 'Walter White's Superlab Playset', so that children can build their own meth lab..... What.......

There was utter outrage about this. Why would any company think this was acceptable? Talk about bizarre and completely inappropriate. I thought this would be interesting to share because it shows just how far our society is willing to go to push the limits.

"Honey, go play with your meth lab".

The Digital Revolution

In another class, a classmate analyzed this image. Every aspect of this picture is consumed by some form of social media. The advertisement on the school bus says Facebook, the stores are Yahoo!, Google and MySpace.com, etc. Zoom into the people-- most everyone in the image is on their phone or computer. It appears to be a beautiful spring day, and people are out socializing with their friends.... but not the ones who are physically right in front of them. This Digital Revolution has begun to consume our lives. Professor Macek's class has made me step back and realize how INSANE it actually has become. We pick up our phone to check our twitter feed, despite the fact that we have just updated it 5 times in the past minute. We text people when we are alone in public because we simply cannot bare the thought of sitting alone. We feel the need to be constantly connected to one another.

The world is moving at a rapid pace and technology only continues to blow our minds. In ten years our world will be different, yet again. I think we need to make the conscious effort to set aside time each week to be alone without ANY distractions- to detox from this crazy chaotic technology-filled world.

Bullying

I definitely believe that in order to see any sort of change within the everyday practices of a bully, schools must use a less punishment-oriented perspective when addressing the issue. Nine times out of ten a bully has underlying emotional issues, whether they are personal or from the home life, etc., that are causing them to lash out. They may have not had a solid upbringing, therefore; do not even have the moral standards set in place to realize what they are doing is cruel. By punishing the bully/ kicking them out of the school it does nothing but prolong the issue. This person will continue to go through life with no guidance. Because of this, I believe that the best approach would be counseling ASAP. This way the bully can get to the core of their problems and in turn realize that they are the one who is hurting inside and have been taking the pain out on their peers. I have seen endless documentations on bullying and the amazing realization bullies have when they finally realize THEY are the problem. A forceful and punishment-oriented approach would be less effective than a loving and personal approach where a trained adult sits down week after week working to bring the underlying issues to the surface.

Facebook Friendships

In Boyd's article she shares her thoughts on "friendship" within social media:
"When a Friend request is sent, the recipient is given two options: accept or decline. In short, it's socially awkward to say no."

I agree with Boyd, though. It is totally awkward to defriend a boss or a person you went to high school with. But for me personally I would rather keep my friend list to a minimum vs. accumulating a list of random "friends".

After our discussion in class on Monday about the definition of an online friend, I went on twitter. The first tweet on my feed was from my friend (twitter friend and real life friend): "Does anyone else find themselves scrolling through their FB like 'who are these people' ... Should've been more selective when adding people". It was super ironic that she was tweeting that considering I had just left a class where the conversation was solely based around this issue. I had stated in class that during high school I had 1,000+ Facebook friends and as of a few months ago I am down to about 500. I cut my number in half because people I have never even met or met one time years ago were showing up on my newsfeed. I think the initial hype of Facebook had everyone friending any person they had even a little connection to, but as time has gone on I am finding that people are using it strictly for close friends and family members. Although some people have thousands of friends and use it as a way to display their accomplishments and how amazinggg life, for the most part I view it as a way of keeping up with/ in touch with family and friends.