I want to focus on Aja Monet’s poem “mobilizing a movement of the mind”.  In her poem, Monet speaks on the power that cell phones have given us in a relatively short amount of time. Cellphones have “catapulted” us into the society we currently live in. They fold the world “like maps” allowing people to communicate from all corners of the globe. Although I have been very critical of cellphones and the effects it has on humans on my previous blog posts, I have to agree with Monet’s assessment. Cellphones, when used appropriately, can have an extremely positive effect on humans. Monet says ” a soldier watches his son grow up through an LCD screen… a friend text messages a smile to brighten the day of a co-worker”. These interactions wouldn’t be possible without modern technology and allow us to communicate with our loved ones when its impossible to be physically present.

Since I haven’t been working, I know I have been using my phone more than usual. When I was working and going to school full time, the only time I really had to use my phone was before work or once I got home. Now that I just have school and my internship I find myself on my phone much more. This weekend I found myself using Instagram, Youtube, and Facetime the most. At the same time I didn’t find myself on my phone as much this weekend because I celebrated my best friends birthday on Saturday and Sundays are usually my “family day’s”. Saturday morning my boyfriend face timed me and we were on facetime for at least an hour since he was getting ready for work. Afterwards, I was on Youtube watching videos for 30 mins and then I went through Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook before I got up to get ready. I was running a few errands that day so the only time I went on my phone is if I was answering texts or if someone called me. Later on, that day was my best friends birthday celebration so I only used my phone to post videos and pictures of the celebration. On Sunday I woke up, did a run through of social media and then went to church. I wasn’t really using my phone because I was with my family the whole day but I did catch myself checking Instagram a few times throughout the day. I did notice I usually spend more time on my phone when I am by myself which is Monday through Thursday when I’m on the train, in school and back at home.

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.