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Wow, this quarter has been crazy. This class has been awesome, never I have had to make changes and challenge myself so much. By far my favorite challenge was challenge number 1, I took a break from social media and it made me realize really how much time I waste scrolling and looking at other people’s lives. I never really looked at the amount of time I was spending on different social media aps, watching tiktok, looking at influencers Instagram’s, and so much more. But most of all that challenge made me realize how much of my self-worth I put into social media, comparing my life, my job, my image to people who aren’t even showing what’s real. This class also made me realize how much misinformation and disinformation is out in the world. Not just in politics but in the photos, we see or the ads we see. There is so much disinformation and misinformation out there as we learned form challenge number five, faking it. I also learned so much about how the different aps I currently use have algorithms that show me targeted media they think I want to see. Such as funny videos or fashion videos of tiktok, they are based on other things I have interacted with. Every social media ap has algorithms that play into what we see and out own biases. I learned so so much about social media and the media in general. The last challenge I did also helped me learn more about my dad and what he likes to do, I’m thankful for everything I learned in this class and I know I will use the information I learned for years ahead. Going into this class I had no idea what to expect but I’m so glad I decided to just sign up and take the class. Thanks for a great quarter.
·       What are some of the concepts and theories you learned that you will carry with you from this class?

Soso many, for one the first challenge media deprivation is something I will carry with me forever, I learned so much about myself from it.

·       What was your favorite module or assignment of the quarter, and why?

Either the first challenge or interviewing an elder, I liked that assignment because I learned a lot about my dad and it gave me a new perspective.

·       What did you learn this quarter that challenged your thinking? How will this learning change your approach to the internet?

One thing I learned from week 9 is how algorithms are created and how they are formed based off of opinions and data and not facts. I also learned about racism and how alive it is in the media and how algorithms are for people of color.

·       If you could pass on a couple of ideas from this quarter to the general public, what would they be, and why?

Do not get any of you information from social media, take a break every once in a while, pay close attention to hidden messages in the media.

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For this challenge I interviewed my father who is 60 years old. I asked my dad what he relied on the internet for and he told me these things, checking his bank, googling addresses, going on Pinterest to look at memes, watching YouTube videos about politics, and watching shows. Honestly a lot of these are the same for me, I typically rely on the internet for shopping, bank info, social media, and honestly everything. What is different is my dad doesn’t really rely on the internet for anything serious besides his bank account. He still pays bills by mail and deposits his weekly check directly at the bank. He often spends little time looking at Pinterest or watching videos, its really only for fun. Whereas I feel like I used my phone for so many payments, my direct deposit, transfers, Venmo, and so much more. I will say if I told my dad how I would post on Instagram at certain times or use certain poses to get more likes, he would look at me like I had 4 heads. He doesn’t think everything needs to be posted or shared, he wants everything to be private. After interviewing my dad, it reminded me of when we did the first challenge, media deprivation. Though this was something that was hard for me because of how much I love social media it was also eye opening because I actually got to spend more time with my family and realize how little they are on their phones. I think I want to be more like my dad when it comes to using the internet. Just use it when you’re bored or have a spare minute. My generation is constantly on their phones, I know I spend like 6 hours a day on mine!!! Imagine if I used that time to better myself or hangout with people, it would be much better for my mental health.

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My favorite tiktok meme is the “girl, don’t do it”. The main reason I think this meme continues to circulate is because of how relatable and funny it is to the watchers. The meme pretty much goes “girl don’t do it, I won’t do it I was just thinking about it, I did it”. A lot of the ones I see of these memes I like because they are things I have experienced such as going back to an ex or buying an expensive thing when I said I wasn’t going to. Modification’s creators have made overtime have been just making it more out there and using extreme situations. Like some creators will do this video with a car or like shaving their head, anything for clout right?  This trend originated from Makayladid, and a used created an audio that then became viral on tiktok. The trend started with people making huge changes to their hair and then grew overtime with lots of different avenues. I never participated in the trend, but I loved watching these videos. I will say I haven’t seen anything in a long time, with tiktok trends come and go so fast its almost hard to keep track of them. As we have learned in this class about algorithms, tiktok has a very good algorithm almost too good. And these videos really targeting me, I would see like 10 of them in a row. While reading about this meme I did learn a lot, I learned that it was an example of misogynoir, in the top 50 results that use did’s audio shows that none of the people in the top videos were people of color. They then talk about how the only ones that were popular in terms of people of color were ones where they showed extreme transformations such as cosmetic procedures. I think this also relates to the readings for this week because it shows discrimination and racism even if it is less visible like Ruha Benjamin talks about.

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https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/fox-news-runs-digitally-altered-images-in-coverage-of-seattles-protests-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone/

Not too long-ago fox ran a story about CHAZ in capitol hill, in that story they added in the image I have above. Now they claimed chaz was a terrible place and they used this picture to show just how terrible it was. However, that photo is not real, it never happened. That photo is spliced photos that have been put together from other events, not taking place at chaz in capitol hill or anywhere close to it even.  After this story was posted many were quick to call out fox experts were even calling it a clear violation of ethical standards. Now some might disagree but as we have learned in class this would go against ethical standards for news organizations. The picture above is not the only picture fox posted, they also posted the photo I have below. This photo was also inaccurate as this photo was not even taken in Seattle; it was taken in Minnesota during protests. Now fox tried to back pedal and make it seem like they did nothing wrong but that made it worse. They claimed they “regrated those errors” but where does it stop? People only apologize when they get called out. Now a big part of this that I wanted to bring up is media biases in the news. As we all know many news organizations are either left or right leaning and will do pretty much anything to push the other side down. This to me clearly shows fox a very right leaning news organization trying to push people to side with their own biases by splicing images or posting fake images. This isn’t good because once people see images, they automatically are trusting what that image and article is telling or showing them. Because of this we need to have clear rules instead of ethical standards because clearly that’s just not enough.

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So I’m not super into Instagram but I have been before and I have used many things to make sure I get like. From the pose, the location of the picture, a funny caption, cool sneakers. For example, I have a picture on my Instagram, I took it on the roof of a parking garage in Provo Utah, you can barely see my face but the pose of the picture makes my waist look small and it looks very fashion forward, I’m also wearing a cute pair of Nikes and levis. Overall, the picture is just very posed and perfect for Instagram, on this picture I received 500 likes. Which for me was a record, I had only ever received 400 like so jumping to 500 made me almost want to post more photos like this. However, it was all fake, my waist doesn’t look that small when I’m standing normally, I’m not always wearing super cute outfits and I definitely don’t pose all the time. To me it just proved to me how unrealistic Instagram is. I also notice the more I show off my body the more likes and comments I will receive. I am certain if I posted a picture in a bikini vs. a cute outfit, I would receive almost double the likes. I feel like I used to use Instagram as a way to make people think more highly of me. I feel like I used it as a way to prove something to people. In the Goffman reading there is a excerpt that says “2Let  us now  turn  from  the  others  to  the  point  of  view  of  the  individual  who  presents himself before them. He may wish them to think highly of him, or to think that he thinks highly of them, or to perceive how in fact he feels toward them, or to obtain no clear-cut impression; “ I think many people post hoping that the people liking what they are posting will think highly of them or will be jealous of the person. After completing that social media challenge for this class though I truly realized how toxic it can be and how much anxiety it caused me to be on it.

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Covid has changed the way the world uses technology. Before covid I would rarely facetime, call, or zoom. Now that covid has happened I am using zoom, facetime and calling people daily. Though this may seem super convenient I was spending more time on my phone than ever before.  I was utilizing the internet in ways I never had, everything I would typically do in person was being done through my phone and the internet. I had interviews, doctors’ visits, classes, hangouts with friends, and so much more over the phone. Over this course of time, I was starting to lose personal connections I had with people. Talking over the phone just wasn’t enough. And that’s exactly what we learned about when we read personal connections in the digital age. We are slowly losing personal connections, though in the reading they do talk about online community such as YouTube, it’s just not the same. I see myself struggling to converse with people now in person because I’ve gotten so used to only seeing faces through a screen. The virus has also in general changed the way we use the internet, we read an article this week in class by Ella Koeze and Nathaniel Popper about how covid has changed the way we internet. “With nearly all public gatherings called off, Americans are seeking out entertainment on streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, and looking to connect with one another on social media outlets like Facebook.” People right now are desperate to connect with others, websites that were once used for scrolling pleasure are now being used as a way to form personal connections with others.  It is sad to me because I know I’ve resorted to this as well. Before covid I would have never turned to Facebook as a way to connect with people, it used to be where I would go to watch BuzzFeed videos or see how my old friends were doing. The internet has completely changed over the past year and I don’t see it ever going back to how it used to be.

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This is a super hard assignment, I never realized how big of a role social media and media in general plays in my life. I can't scroll through my instagram or tiktok, I can't snapchat my friends, I honestly can't do a lot of the things I usually do. I feel like my experience in the world is heightened I found myself paying more attention to those around me and going outside more. I felt the obstacle of anxiety at first, I felt anxious without social media, it is almost an escape for me. honestly I will say the biggest thing I noticed was I feel happier with myself. I don't compare myself to those I see online I feel much better doing things for me and not aimlessly scrolling through media for hours. I noticed positive attitude changes.

I didn't cheat, I deleted all of my media apps and if I wanted to go on them I would check my email or scroll through my pictures on my phone. I feel like I got a lot out of this assignment. I am not sure I will re-download my media apps after this, it is such a wholesome experience to remove yourself from media.