Bye Bye Social Media

Hey everyone,
     So I was browsing Facebook this morning when I came across a status from my friend Gregory B. He was letting the world know that he is stronger than the social media that controls most people our age today.... only he was letting us know through social media, but that's just my observation. This is what is status said:

Trying to be anti-social media for a while... Twitter deleted, 4square gone and FB's next.

This brings me to two questions: how long will all of this social media remain deleted and what does he hope to gain from this being deleted? I can only assume that Gregory wants to be less consumed in his electronics. Maybe he wants to be more efficient with his school work. Maybe he wants social privacy from certain friends or strangers. I can say from my point of view, I tried this and it lasted about as long as a Kardashian wedding (okay not even that long). I honestly was barely more productive, but luckily it mitigated the arguments between me and my long-distance boyfriend. He had no means of monitoring and nit-picking who I was with and what I might be doing.

What about all of you? Do any of you see yourselves sacrificing your social media life for the sake of something more? Have any of you already?

Until next time,

Taigen

Article: The Flight From Conversation

Sherry Turkle’s article, The Flight From Conversation, was so refreshing to read. Just when I begin to think I am the only one considering the social downfalls of constant connectivity, people like Sherry voice the same opinion with exciting, new points. I will be walking in the city with my friends and it seems like I might as well be walking alone. Their heads are constantly down staring at a screen. Even in class, fellow classmates cannot seem to make it through a 45 minute session without browsing their social media websites. Our generation’s dependence on electronics is startling to say the least. I like when Sherry put it this way, “We think constant connection will make us feel less lonely. The opposite is true. If we are unable to be alone, we are far more likely to be lonely”. In other words, people are never alone as long as they have their electronic devices connected at the hip. How then will people feel when they are really alone, with no electronic friends, or physical friends? The only solution to this is for people to realize their dependence and use their discretion for when to use their friendly gadgets.

Depressing or Realistic?

Greetings bloggers, tweeters, and repeaters,
I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful first day of October. What a pleasure it is to wake up to the crisp morning air, sun shining, leaves changing, and city bustling!
So browsing twitter today, I was scrolling through, reading everybody's "two cents" on life when I came across a tweet that left me feeling sorry for a tweeter. We all have bad days, but this guy tweeted a not-so-optimistic tweet about the start of a new month. The tweeter, Scott, tweeted this today:

Here's to hoping this month doesn't suck as much as the last...

Yikes! I hope the rest of you are not so disappointed with the past month. It is understandable that daily trials can get anyone down and in a funk. We all have days where we feel like screaming, but we all also cope with them differently. I believe there are two reasons a social network user would publicly post such a depressing outlook on the kick off to a new month. Either:

1. Comfort. The user wants others to assure him this month will be better.
2. Association. The user wants others to agree with him and relate to him with their own accounts of how last month really sucked.
3. Attention. The user wants people to feel sorrow for him and reach out.
4. Impulse. The user just typed what he was feeling and thinking impulsively; he did not consider the impact it would have on his friends and peers.

Of course there could be other motives for posting such a post. What do you guys think?

Personal Quotes

Hey guys! So browsing Facebook today I read ALOT of statuses. For any of you (probably all of you) that have a Facebook, you know how easy that is to do. As Facebook surfers, we come across many statuses featuring an angry user venting, a beautiful user boasting, etc. However, my favorite statuses are those containing authentic quotes from real life situations. A status like this caught my eye and made me chuckle. A friend named Nick posted this:

Having coffee with dad... Dad:"hey nick i hate to tell you this but you need to trim your beard, you look like castaway. Like Tom Hanks in castaway."...

Aren't conversational exchanges like this interesting to read? They must be because a now famous tweeter named Justin Halpern has acquired millions of followers and released several books all because he decided to note the comical (and sometimes controversial) quotes that his father has stated. They may make you laugh, they may make you cry, but no matter what, a quote from a family member or friend can make the reader relate that relationship to himself or herself. I immediately thought about my mother and how her critiques get on my nerves. Perhaps if she chose to shred apart my outfit choice or nit pick my character in a comical fashion such as Nick's father did, I wouldn't mind listening to her critiques at all! Listen to those around you today; what are some quotes that you noted as comical, interesting, thought provoking, or just plain weird that you find worth sharing?

All About my Blog

As I create my first blog titled Blog. Tweet. Repeat., I am amazed at how simple the process really is. I am anticipating the rest of this semester in CIS133; as I cannot wait to see my blog baby grow into adulthood! Keep posted for posts about social media and it's influences on Today's world, which I will write about multiple times throughout the week. To set my blog apart from others like it, each week I will update a "post of the week". The "post of the week" will feature Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media posts and pictures that I find funny or interesting. These posts will be from random social media users that are accessible through my social media pages. Each week a new post will be featured and I will write about how the post is a reflection of today's social media users, how the post makes me feel, and any other additional comments on the post. Hopefully these posts and my reaction to these posts will raise talk amongst my blog viewers, encouraging them to leave comments of their own reactions. Let the blogging begin!