Over the course of the weekend, I realized just how much I don’t use my phone as much as I thought I did. But I also believe all this information can just be affected by the fact that I have been sick and was a lot worse throughout the weekend so I didn’t want any kind of light in my sight including the light from my phone.  Not only this, but it was kind of an eventful weekend. I decided the only way I’d remember anything was by writing it down.

On Friday, i was on my phone on and off between 10am to 12:30 right before I clocked in for work. Since i did a four hour shift I didn’t get a break so I wasn’t on my phone at all. At 4:30, on a normal day I would get on my phone and text friends, check instagram, etc., but instead my mom picked me up and I spent four extra hours just shopping with her even though I really just wanted to go home. I finally got on my phone around 10:30pm for 10 minutes and just went to sleep.

Saturday I didn’t wake up feeling any better so I kept my phone as far away as possible. I turned my sound off, I put it on do not disturb, I didn’t even listen to my music. I went to work and did a six hour shift instead of eight because I got sent home early. I called my mom to let her know I was going home early and spoke to her for about five minutes. When I got home it was around 7:40 and I did my moms makeup cause she was going out. When she left I read my book till around 12am and went to sleep.

Sunday I woke up at 10:30 and left my house at 12pm to get to an interview. The entire time I was just listening to music. I again didn’t want to communicate with the world so i kept it on do not disturb. I finished my interview around 1:46pm and from then till 3:20 I went to my friends job before walking over to mine to clock in. I had planned to check my phone during my break but I didn’t because my mom came to my job and took me to my brother since his car broke down. I didn’t leave work until 1:40am so I didn’t get on my phone until then.

For this week, I read “I’m an Addict and Other Sensemaking Devices: A Discourse Analysis of Self-Reflections on Lived Experience of Social Media.” by various authors. This article focuses on how social media affects adolescents. In the discussion about discourses, the authors wrote “People enact, resist, and co-construct social reality through their everyday discursive practices and interactions. This gives discourses certain ideological power [15,55] to, for example, reproduce heteronormativity, racism or sexism, but also to position certain phenomena as significant and others as trivial, some as social problems and others as solutions. Thus, “discourse not only puts words to work, it also gives them their meaning, constructs perceptions, and formulates understanding and ongoing courses of interaction”(Tiidenberg, et al., 2017). This quote is saying that because of the internet, the youth is more prone to having different discourses about anything involving social issues that can give others and even themselves different perceptions. Using the internet brings on these discourses due to everyone having a different opinion. This is a good and bad thing. Currently, Facebook and Twitter are pushing towards letting people, especially young people, have these social discourses online as a way of “hearing both sides”. However, we can not “hear” both sides if these platforms like one side more than the other. Through this method, young people put more emphasis on trying to be right no matter what side they are on. It is more exhilarating to argue with strangers online than leaving it alone and doing something else. Both sides use their screens to hide behind.

 

References: Katrin Tiidenberg, Annette Markham, Gabriel Pereira, Meghan Dougherty, Mads Rehder, Ramona Dremljuga, Jannek Sommer. “I’m an Addict” and Other Sensemaking Devices: A Discourse Analysis of Self-Reflections on Lived Experience of Social Media.”

 

 

 

 

I agree with the article, “I’m A Addict” by various authors, in which they talk about the effect on social media on teenagers and young adults that have used it. I do agree that social media has an effect on it users mental health because I have gone through it myself and witnessed the negatives by others first hand.

I mostly use Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. However Facebook and Instagram are my main used sites. Facebook is more for catching up personal friends, so I would not add someone I am no to familiar with on the platform. As for Instagram it is more creative and business based. Tumblr is my least used site but I stay anonymous on it and just use it for personal entertainment. I noticed Instagram mostly effects my well being because I am more exposed to more people besides my friends and family. I would see celebrities, artists and entrepreneurs. There has been points when I would get envious at the people I see on my screen and wish it was me. I get trapped in my mind of thoughts about why couldn’t my life be like the people I see. I would compare myself to them by thinking about my living conditions and social-economic status. There are people that are around my age and even younger that I see might be living better off then me based on what I see.

We now live in a generation where people value the amount of likes and followers they have to measure their worth. Some people would go through extreme lengths in order to boost their followings. For example a young girl by the name of Lil Tay; she blew up in popularity when she was 9 years old. She became popular by making videos of her talking in profanity on camera, which adds shock value. Even if you loved it or hated her presence, acted worked and for a couple months she was an “internet celebrity”. Her time in fame slowly declined, its been speculated that she was not fond of the comments online made towards her which Lil Tay herself claimed it was bullying. So in the price of fame a 9 year old girl experienced cyber bullying.

I agree with people who said use social media responsibly and limit your time on it. There are upsides to social media like keeping in touch with your friends and building a brand online. But it will cause depression when you use it. When ever I feel envious or sad at my way of life I just think of one song by rapper J.Cole called “Love Yourz” which is about appreciating what you have in life right now instead of focusing on what others have.

 

 

Earlier this semester I talked about my story of when I had my jaw stuck when I yawned in class which sent me to the hospital. For the aftermath of the situation, I have got my jaw stuck for a few seconds but goes back in place fortunately. My condition is difficult to deal with due to fact that it can happen anytime in the most unexpected of places. It has happened to me in bed, classrooms and even on the train. Depending on where it can happen it could make the situation worse. For example if I was in the train and was stuck underground what would I do. I can’t talk and my phone is not connected to the internet. So pretty much when ever I yawn, I see it as a life or death situation.

When I did further research into I might get a condition called TMJ. This is a feeling of discomfort or pain that lies in the jaw joint. TMJ also causes jaw locking and difficulty chewing.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/9rjKLsynBodhiIovdD/giphy.gif?cid=3640f6095be9dd134d5a424f51f7d00b

When i put my story down into words on a computer I am able to put more detail into my story then if I was to speak it orally. Also when i type it into a computer I am able to to bring it to life with pictures, GIFs and videos. Computers bring a wide range use of multimedia to our hands. Unlike books and television regular people are able to make content and broadcast it to wide audience from their home. This story right now can be a form of media and honestly I made this while I as at work when there was nothing to do. Now that I took time out my day to create this, it is now available for everyone to see.

After watching the poet, I really feel as if I could relate. Technology has allowed us to become dependent in how we function and communicate with one another.  Our phones have allowed us to build and keep relationships with people across the world where we can watch them grow up and live from a distance, from our screens. The way we process our thoughts and ideas, we write them down in our phones. We create these apps that allow us to be organized. Technology can speak to us, resend to us, answer our questions, help us with our thoughts.