If there’s one thing that I am sure of it’s that life is impermanent. <- That sounded really philosophical right!? Ha! I hope so…I’ve been trying to brainstorm – literally contemplating in my mind how I was going to begin my final reflection blog. It amazes me how I can do the action & write about it so you can read about it.
Well there’s been a lot of things we’ve discussed in these
short 7 weeks. (Has it really only been 7 weeks!?) And if there’s one thing I’d
like to teach people about social media it would be MODERATION! MODERATION!
MODERATION! MMMMMM OOOOOO DDDDD EEEEEE RRRRRR AAAAA — oh you get the point!? Well it’s true! Some
people go overboard, crazy, nuts, stupid, buck wild (too much!?) over social
media. Hence my wise counsel…MODERATION! So I would like to share my list of
things YOU can do to stay clear of addictive behaviors & being a prisoner
of social media addiction! But this can ensure that you LIVE your LIFE. Not
just live passively through life!
1.
Using it
for good – social media is AWESOME! I use it! Trust me, I would know. BUT
(bet you were waiting for that catch…) it can be a dark abyss…and you should
never, ever try to enter those premises! So don’t go brownnosing ok? NO REALLY!
So what do I know about the dark abyss? I
don’t, I read about it & I know it’s nowhere I’d want to be. And I’m
certain it’s somewhere you wouldn’t want to be either. But there are times that
we don’t have control of what is displayed on ads occurring all over the
internet. And that’s ok, no one wants you to be in control, we just want you to
be responsible enough to ignore & move on. This will probably happen for
the rest of your internet life & sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I
predict it will get worse. So the best we can do is to ignore & click that
little red ‘X’ box in the upper right-hand corner.
This part is better, we SHOULD use social
media for good! You don’t have to share your favorite Bible verse with
us……EVERY SINGLE TIME, but occasionally would be nice. We should use it to
PROMOTE good. You know how the adversary is trying to promote worldly things,
well you can do the same & promote things that are uplifting, enriching,
and inspiring! Inspire someone, make someone smile, make someone laugh, make
someone cry (tears of joy of course), make someone feel spiritually uplifted,
just do IT! And even if people don’t spread it, at least you planted a little
seed of goodness in their heart & you can continue to care for it with your
uplifting posts!
2.
Learn to
walk away – I admit! I have a hard time just stepping away from my
laptop/ipad/cellphone when I basically live on it. I use my laptop EVERYDAY to
write papers, do research, and correspond with colleagues or professors. I use
my ipad to keep in touch with family members through Facetime, Facebook
messenger, and any other type of social network. When I had my phone, it was
easy for me to send a quick message to friends & family about things when I
wasn’t connected to wifi. Or it was my way of ignoring my boyfriend’s call when
I’m irritated & have no patience for him. J
Don’t tell him that.
However! It NEVER is a good excuse
when there is life that needs to be lived. Memories that need to be made. And photographs
of silliness & precious moments that need to be captured. Nothing is ever a
good enough excuse. And I might be a hypocrite this very moment because I can
be striking up a conversation with a total stranger at my departure gate, but I
am allowing the thoughts in my head to run effortlessly on this word
processor. Ha! Well I am basically
trying to say is, yes we have become BUSY people, always connected, engaged in
something, and a part of something. But don’t forget, please don’t forget to
live your life as it was meant to be lived—carefree,
in the moment, chaotic, crazy, dysfunctional, full of doubt, full of hope, full
of love, lots of love! Love is always the answer!
Oh did you think I was going to have this amazingly long list? Naaah, two points are good enough. No need for three. J You’re welcome! Continuing my rant in 3…2…1
You never want to look back and
think, “WHAT IF!?” That is my motto that I live by & I support this message
LOL! NEVER live in the past, there’s a reason it was not a part of your future
and never live in the future because you’ll forget to enjoy your present. Appreciate the beauty all around you, the
laughter between siblings because some things just don’t go right, your
mother’s beautiful smile when she hasn’t seen you in a couple months, the
amazing hugs that your father gives because there are no words to express how
much he’s loves you, the intimate conversations between lovers because whispers
mean so much more. Life is beautiful and
I’d rather live it.
06/05/15
I was really impressed by the chapter, Kullena Khaled Said, in Wael Ghonim's book, Revolution 2.0. I don't think I was surprised at the amount of support he received, I was however, taken back by the revolution that stemmed from the tragic death of Khaled Said. How amazing is that? His death sparked a rage in a man, inspiring him to use social media to reach out to the masses, uniting them under one cause to ignite a revolution. It is just beyond me. That is totally taking slacktivism to activism. I am still trying to wrap my head around it & the fact that I have not heard of this event until now. I guess I was out of the loop that year. But all in all I am grateful for the read & Ghonim's desire to get Khaled's story out there, to be his voice beyond the grave & to receive justice for his death.
One thing I want to share, that is a pit personal, is the ability that I have to be up-to-date with my family members...this week especially. My dear cousin, Annette Luisa Robertson, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lupus about 3 years ago. She was diagnosed late & the Lupus caused serious damage to her kidneys. Well to speed things up a bit, another cousin of ours shared Luisa's husband's post about her critical condition this past week. Scared & saddened, I reached out to Luisa's husband, asking him about Luisa's condition & sharing videos/pictures/thoughts about Luisa on Instagram and Facebook. Thankfully, I had early pictures of Luisa & I fresh out of high school & so I updated my profile photo with our photo together. I don't think I would have known about Luisa's worsened condition had it not been for social media. And for that, I am very grateful.
05/29/15
Because I missed my blog post last week, I've decided to divide this post in two parts. Soooo without further ado...
Last week I had the amazing-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend an APS (Association of Psychological Science) Conference...(wait for it) in NEW YORK! It was quite an experience. It was everything I expected it to be. Big, loud, busy, & dirty...HA! But the food was amazing...especially Ray's Pizzeria! That is a must go to place, I highly recommend it!
Well since I am supposed to tie this post in with our social media class, it was no surprise to me that social media was clearly the in thing in NYC. Like, literally. For instance, our APS conference had encouraged us to use the hashtag #Aps15NYC when posting about the conference on our social media tools. And of course I had to jump on the bandwagon & tweet for the sake of tweeting. So here it is :
 |
| That's Lena & I at an early morning symposium |
One thing I noticed that gets on my nerves is when people are walking & suddenly stop in the middle of the path because they received a message or are occupied with facebook, twitter, or snapchat. Updating, tweeting, or trying to catch a quick glimpse of the sunset for their snapchat timeline. Annoying! It frustrated me to see people literally looking like zombies...just standing, with their heads bent down gazing at their phones. I even caught a couple of my classmates following this horrible behavior. lol.
Although, I must say that I am glad for social media & wifi. Ohhhh especially wifi, because it allowed me to video chat my cousin using the messenger app and facetime my sister so that they could see the Statue of Liberty on our ferry ride to Staten Island. I don't think I'll have a chance to do that again, so I'm really grateful I had that opportunity to share that with them.
All in all the conference was great, the symposiums & poster presentations were enlightening! And I'll have an update with pictures on another page...just look out for the tab up at the top that will be titled: Concrete Jungle! LOL. Nbfr.
You want to know what's better than Part 1?
Well I'm grateful to be back in our beloved town of Laie here in Hawai'i nei. Thank goodness. I couldn't even imagine living in such a busy city like New York. Too much.
I wanted to focus on three things from class this week.
1. Protecting our children from pornography - unfortunately there is nothing we can do to censor or stop the content from circulating on the internet, tv, etc. But I know there are ways we can better handle situations so that our children understand the severe consequences of pornography addiction. I really enjoyed the article that we read for our prep assignment. We never really know how things will turn out for our kids, but we hope that our teachings, our examples and the gospel will help steer them towards righteousness. After all the raising is done, you just hope & you pray that they will make righteous choices.
2. Video Game Addiction - okay this one got to me knowing that I have brothers that LOVE video games & my fiance loves video games. As I read the relating articles, I got so paranoid & nervous about starting my own family. I don't even want to introduce these things to them. But that would do more harm than good. Moderation. Moderation. Moderation. Too much of a good thing can never be a good thing. Noted.
And finally...
3. Digital Activism - I prefer not to partake in slacktivism. For instance, with the #BringBackOurGirls movement, I did nothing pertaining to social media. Except, research the issue, make my self aware. Then hope & pray for the best. Because sometimes I feel that political issues outside of our own country is out of my control. I can only do my best to not be ignorant to the things that are happening in our global community. I will not discourage digital activism, only that I much rather prefer being out there doing something about it if I have the means & ability to do so. Other that, I just wish for world peace.
This week, we were assigned to read, watch, or listen to two talks from our general authorities. Of course I enjoyed both talks, but it was the first talk, Focus and Priorities, by Elder Dallin H. Oaks that resonated with me. His talk discussed how available information used appropriately and in a wise manner is more valuable than mass amounts of information. I was so inspired by his council because many times we become so overwhelmed with the easily accessible information, we attempt to gather as much as we can. But we bury ourselves in an overabundant pile of information. How do we even begin to organize information in such a way that can be valuable? As he had mentioned in his talk, "our biggest need is a clearer focus on how we should value and use what we already have." I have seen myself as the two partners that were told in the story, hurrying to and fro, I keep hauling more and more but I continue to fail what Elder Oaks says is, "to grasp the essential truth that we cannot make a profit from our efforts until we understand the true value of what is already within our grasp." This makes me question my own self, am grasping the true value of what is already within my grasp? How am I using what I know and what is available to me to help build the Kingdom of God? To serve others? To build my testimony? Or am I using my resources for selfish reasons?
There are two more points that I want to share from Elder Oaks talk. The first point, "We have thousands of times more available information that Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln. Yet which of us would think ourselves a thousand times more educated or more serviceable to our fellowmen than they?" This really blew my mind and made me think how fortunate we are to have the opportunities that we have today. Certainly bright minded and eloquent men such as Jefferson and Lincoln would be impressed by the accessibility and convenience we so openly take for granted. How many of us can say we are more educated and were more serviceable to our fellowmen than these two extraordinary men? I know I can't. But just think, they were able to accomplish so much with what little information they had & I can't even write a 3-page analysis to save my life. That my friends is an exact example of individuals who had clear focus on their priorities.
Finally, my favorite part of his talk was when Elder Oaks said, "Our priorities are most visible in how we use our time. Someone has said, "Three things never come back - the spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity." We cannot recycle or save the time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever." How amazing is that? The beginning of the quote reminded me of a post:
We often forget that we're only human, and many times the ways of the world can and will get to us. We either are consumed by the information of knowledge, selfishly searching to build ourselves up to be competitively fit for "the job" or to advance in a career. Other times, we are obsessed with information on others and we entangle ourselves in the web of gossip. And sometimes we are victims to our addictions to virtual realities and pornography that obstruct our perception of reality with fantasies and false realities. All of these instances shift us away from our focus and our priorities in life. When we center our focus on helping to build the Kingdom of God, we can then have clarity in our lives. Let us spend our time searching for opportunities to build one another up, to speak more kindly to other, and to spend time with family, friends, and those in need of our service.
Soooo this week's topics were pretty interesting. My favorite was the segment on Katie Couric. She said something that will always resonate with me, there is so much information just out there that we tend to become "overwhelmed by the tsunami of information at our fingertips." I find that to be so true...for myself...at least. One example is writing a research paper. Looking up information to support my hypothesis or my thesis is not the easiest, nor do I like it. I have come to enjoy reading research (I know odd lol) mostly because it's what I have been doing for the past couple of years, but when it comes to narrowing down the accurate information I need to support a claim or my argument, I used to get totally lost. Like totally. I never knew where to start and I always felt that I never had enough. I guess that's what happens when you're accustomed to having this mass amount of information available to you all the time. At times you just don't know what to do with all of it. And I agree with Katie, it does get a tad bit overwhelming & you feel like just throwing the towel in. At least I know I do. Ahhh bad memories from 305 are coming back...pushing it back into the depths of my mind.
Another interesting comment she made was that accuracy has often become a casualty of immediacy. I really love that she said that. So many times we want to be the first ones to have known something, tweeted something, posted something, or just be in on the latest 411 that we tend to forget to CHECK THE FACTS. It's so easy to do, verify that you have the correct information because uhhhh there is that one person that may go to your page for the latest updates, trusting that you won't misinform them. The last thing you want to do is be wrong. Who likes to be wrong? It's a bit embarrassing when someone corrects your error & then you sheepishly have to erase your post hoping that no one else caught a glimpse of your wrong information. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything like that.
Anywaaaays, going off of that, why do we want to be the first ones to update our friends and family on the latest news? Why is that so important to us that we are constantly up to date with the latest news on celebrities, world events, family events, etc...? I guess it's that race, the competition, the inner journalism in us that yearns to be relevant to the rest of society. We want it so much that we tend to disengage with things that are happening in real time right in front of our eyes. I feel like I've been complaining a lot about social media. I know there's got to be something good that's come out of it...
05/01/2015
hmmm....psychology of social media began this week and I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet. I know I am excited to learn. The whole required postings might be something I'll have to get used to, but I think I'll like the idea of blogging more. Especially since I've been neglecting it for so long. I began this blog 2 years ago with the thought that I'd be blogging religiously. Ha. Yeah right. Such a horrible failure. I can probably come up with some explanations as to how I fell off my blogging groove.
Anyways, social media. Is it ruining our lives? Possibly. But is social media to blame? No. I felt so inspired by Sherry Turkle's segment on social media. We rely heavily on our gadgets, so intune with the connections we are making in cyberspace that we lost touch with reality & with one another. We tend to focus on the beauty of simplicity that these "things" bring us & we seldom admire the beauty that exists around us. The people, the places, the sights. Nature, real & raw. Happening right before our eyes.
There's something so beautiful, painfully beautiful about reality. And not the crap we get on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or those other guys. I mean real, uncut, unfiltered, unedited reality. The fact that once a moment passes by, it may not occur again. Hence the phrase, live in the here and now. I can't tell you how irritated I get when my mom constantly takes photos of every little thing. For instance, my niece. Since she's my moms 1st grandchild, she feels the need to capture every moment. But I feel like you can't rely enjoy the special moments if you're behind a camera or behind a camera phone. It's so much more fulfilling living it with her.
Another thing is Turkle's prediction that at the rate that we use social media & networks we will all become incapable of interacting with one another. Becoming slaves to technology. It can happen. But only if we let it. So it's simple, we shouldn't. After all, who really has all the power?
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