What was the first thing you did this morning when you woke up? Probably picking up your 5-inch, digital self that holds your own personal world. Most people, especially in my generation can admit that looking at their phone is the last thing they do before falling asleep as well. Phones and devices in 2019 have undeniably shown how technologically advanced humanity has come, but it has decreased our natural human interactions and originality. When I come back from a day of classes or a rough practice on the track, I usually sit down and stare at my phone for a while. In fact, my roommate does the same and I’ve noticed the long silence in our room is from our eyes stuck on our phones. I wonder why we are so fixated on other people’s lives so much, but now I understand the reasons behind it. One app my roommate and I love is YouTube. Mostly every day after I finish work or a workout I go back to my dorm and watch YouTube videos. The videos my roommate and I always watch are along the lines of vlogs some include but are certainly not limited to, traveling vlogs, clothing haul vlogs or makeup vlogs. The people who post their videos such as Summer Mckeen, Emma Chamberlain, or James Charles are very relatable to me and I think that is why I love to watch them so much. However, because they have gained so much popularity and attract the millennials in the past year, they receive products from companies to advertise on their channel. The companies whose products are advertised all make bank from this type of advertisement through the viewers. I can vouch for one of the viewers who bought an advertised product because of Summer Mckeen. A while back Summer posted a new video talked about a rising facial spray that worked wonders for her; of course, I went to the mall and bought it right away but it has lived up to the hype in my defense. These products catch your eye and heighten your interest in them because the advertiser, Summer in my case, has perfect skin, a healthy body, and money. Younger kids buy their merchandise, pick up their style of talking, create fan accounts and try to follow their likes and dislikes. The types of videos I see that look popular are categorized around, “trying drugstore makeup brands” or “favorite coffee haul”. Categories like these are highly liked because they are relatable to the majority of viewers. They find and create content that ordinary people can relate to while having a few laughs to keep it entertaining. People want to see the best tested makeup products, let alone the cheap products you can find at a drug store. Viewers like to see the best places you can get coffee for a good price and value. These YouTube stars all have a distinct style and way of life and that influences so many viewers. For instance, Emma Chamberlin has a specific style: hair scrunchie, chap stick and fuzzy hoodie. If you walk around campus I bet you will spot out multiple girls walking around in a fuzzy quarter zip hoodies with a scrunchie in their hair. My point is, social media and especially YouTube and vloggers can be so influential to the listener. Trends that you see through millennials today most likely come from YouTube stars not necessarily from Hollywood celebrities in my view. Subscribing to a favorite vlogger gives you notifications of when they post a new video. These videos can range from five minutes to maybe twenty, thirty minutes which may not seem too long. After you click and watch one video, recommended videos pop up underneath and it turns into a domino effect that can last for an hour or two. Having too many options might be too much for us because it can steer us away from reality and keep us engaged only in our phones. One of the articles written by Wesley Yang, A Critical (But Highly Sympathetic) Reading of New Yorkers’ Sexual Habits and Anxieties expands on the struggles people have with a digital outlook. When it comes to the topic of viewing YouTube, there is a point that Yang did not touch on that might fall under his category of struggles. When viewers watch and are influenced by a famous influencer, they might shape their views and style based from who they watch. When people shape their views and styles, that reflects their social media and ways of life as well. One of the points Yang did not touch on is people might have anxiety to match and keep up with popularity. Everyone wants to fit in and be loved just like the influencers, and the first step people do to fit in is cope the trends. You lose a sense of originality and human nature when you base your style off of a famous YouTuber such as Emma Chamberlain’s signature style and views. Personally, I have caved in and adapted into one of the styles of an influencer because I loved her aesthetic. Not only did I just love her style but other young people like me did as well and it has started a trend that I thought I should be a part of. A lot of us are so interested in learning about someone we will never get the chance to meet, and I do admit I am one of those. It’s a habit most of us need to breach away from because the world as more to offer than watching videos of an ideal Cali girl or a wealthy traveler. Maintaining my New Year’s resolution to take a step back from my phone this year is demanding because digital is what today’s world has become. I have turned on my notifications to be able to see my phone usage every week which is a whopping thirty-two hours. In those thirty-two hours, I could have run a marathon, had time to fly to Thailand, maybe go hiking in the Adirondacks. Being so caught up in your phone, apps, and influencers from YouTube is all fun and games, but it all adds up and can potentially take away your originality and human contact.
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Frequently, I cherish the time of when I take a step back from my typical roles and activities I do. There is no better time for me than when I sit down with a coffee and write to reflect on my day, week or writing assignments I need to complete. When I find the time to do this I acknowledge the importance of writing for myself and why it has a positive impact for me. Writing allows me to vent on a piece of paper or keyboard and take out a lot of stress I may have. To me, writing has been a reserved part of my identity that many people do not know of. However, writing on a piece of paper feels like more of a stress reliever than writing on a laptop. There’s something aesthetically pleasing about jotting down thoughts on paper rather than seeing it on a screen.
Growing up with the technology that we have now has given me an advantage as far as usage and knowledge of devices. Knowing all the tips, tricks and features of different devices has supplied me with content right at my fingertips. One of the projects I just completed is a website for a presentation I did two weeks ago on a service trip to the Bahamas through St. Bonaventure University. My presentation was with five other students and showed the importance of STEAM education in a classroom as well as other teaching methods. Using google sites, iMovie, Microsoft word, etc., we provided our knowledge of technology and education to about 100 Bahamian teachers. Here is the link to the website if you would like to view what we created for the recent service trip.(https://sites.google.com/view/bonaenactus2/bahamas-2019/edusensation?authuser=0) The social media I use is based on sharing pictures and videos of memories and to keep in touch with distant friends or family. One of my favorite apps is Instagram because it shows everyone’s personality and aesthetic through a couple of pictures or videos. It is not an app for posting a status or writing about your day but and app to show it through pictures. Another app I look at regularly is the News app which is more educational than others. To me it is important to look at what is happening around the world and not be so wrapped up in all of the social media drama. I regularly use my social media every day, but recently it has become too much and I am trying to cut down on my phone usage because it is not healthy. When I am on my laptop or phone I do scroll through social media, taking me away from writing or tasks I have to do. Eventually I fall into becoming a “consumer of digital culture” in terms of Taylor. On Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, multiple ads of clothing lines or beauty products pop up on my feed that draw me more into my phone. Also, companies trying to jumpstart their business will message people on Instagram to advertise their product through their images they post. Recently, there was a Sunglasses company that messaged me asking to buy a pair of their sunglasses and advertising it on my own account, and eventually I could start getting free products for them. This is one of the examples of companies using a pyramid scheme method to help advertise for their company while they get all of the profit. In my future years to come, I know that my interest of social media and staying updated online will dwindle down. Most of the content I see through Instagram or Twitter is not as important or relevant than life itself. If I can understand throughout college that social media is not worth looking at every second, and that the real world has more to offer, I know that when I have a stable job and house, my use of social media won’t be as prevalent. My use of digital writing or technology however will still be effective in my career as a teacher. Resources such as classroom games (Kahoot), smartboards, iPads, or even a website I need to have as a teacher will be needed to reach the needs of future generations. |