Week 15

     Using social media as an education tool is an excellent way to incorporate something millennials consistently use to make them enjoy learning more. However, I never realized how difficult it is to use social media within instruction. After doing our group presentations and having to use our specific social media platform within the presentation, I realized how truly challenging it is to do so.
     My group had Twitter for our presentations, and I think we got kind of lucky in that aspect. I think Twitter was one of the easier tools to incorporate into a presentation. We found the easiest way to use the tool within our presentation was to tweet what we wanted to ahead of time and then just go to Twitter as we were presenting to show what we wanted to show. This way we didn't have to take time out of our presentation to tweet out the things we wanted to. We never even really considered doing our presentation by tweeting during it because we knew it would be too difficult. We would have had to stop talking to go and tweet, and we would also have to take the time to go and find what we wanted to tweet in the midst of our presentation.
     Our presentation definitely could have gone a little smoother. However, it didn't for a number of reasons. For starters, we could have probably practiced a little more to make the transitions from PowerPoint to Twitter more smooth. If we had the chance to go back and fix it, I think I would want to simply because I am a perfectionist. And our presentation was not perfection. Part of the problem also stemmed from Twitter itself. After we tweeted something, we couldn't go back in and rearrange the order of the tweets. That really frustrated me because I tweeted things out as I found them, but that was not the order I wanted to talk about them in. Another problem came in the form of not being able to have Twitter and PowerPoint show on the screen at the exact same time. Therefore, we were constantly having to go back and forth between PowerPoint and Twitter. I wish there had been a way to use both at the same time.
     Overall, I enjoyed doing the presentations and it was nice to be able to incorporate social media into it. Most people our age are always on social media, so using it to help teach about the platform itself was an interesting experience. Things could have gone better, but this just goes to show the problems using social media in the classroom can cause. But I would probably do it again if I could.

Week 13

      So I always knew the dark web existed, I watch too many crime T.V. shows to not know; what I didn't know was how extensive it actually was or what the dark web actually entailed. Now, however, I have a better understanding on what it is. And it is safe to say I am even more appalled at the lengths people go through to commit crimes. Obviously, people can use the actual internet to commit crimes, and even commit crimes without the use of the internet, but the dark web further extends the amount and severity of the crimes committed. Probably two of the worst things that people do on the dark web are terrorism and child pornography. The depravity that people use the dark web for is appalling. And while we discussed the very limited number of positives to using the dark web, I feel the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Week 11

     Real friendships and relationships can't be formed from behind a computer screen and keyboard. This statement has long since been my belief; this belief stems from my own real life experience and from reading about what has happened to people who have become "friends" with people over the Internet. Emotions and intentions can not be fully expressed through electronics. Those can only come from being around the actual person-seeing their face, hearing how they are speaking. The Internet is a great way to meet fake people. And yes, you can meet fake people in real life as well, but it is typically easier to differentiate between real and fake when you are having face to face conversations. I have found my truest friendships have been formed with the people I have met in real life, not over the Internet. The Internet is a great place if you want to find yourself a stalker or potential murderer, but not so great for meaningful relationships. And yes, I know there are thousands of success stories of people finding love over the Internet, but those sites never advertise how many people have been tricked by people on their sites. People who have turned out to be awful individuals-broken their hearts, stolen things, maybe stalked them, sometimes they even kill their dates. You can also have the people who form fake relationships with individuals with the sole intent to bring them harm. They can form these friendships or romantic relationships, get the person to trust them, and then end up doing something awful to that person. That horrible act can sometimes have deadly consequences. This is why I am weary of trying online dating, why I never accept friend requests from people I don't know, and why I rely on meeting people the old fashion way. Nothing beats having a face to face conversation. Feeling those butterflies when you look at your crush. Being able to comfort and be comforted by a friend-feeling their arms around you, hearing their voice calming you. In person contact will always be the best form of communication and forming lasting relationships.

Week 10

     Anonymity is something that many people strive for in their lives when it comes to saying certain things. Not too long ago it was hard to say anything anonymously because things typically had to be said face to face. Nowadays, however, people can anonymously publish things on the Internet through the use of social media and message boards where you can post with a pseudonym.
     Certain sites like Whisper allow people to post anything from their deepest secret to the most random quotes they can imagine, all without using their real name. It is all anonymous. There is good in this, in the fact that someone could have a secret weighing on them but not want to share it with anyone personally. Sites like this allow them to post what is bothering them without the fear of people uncovering their identity. And sometimes when a person has major depression going on and they post something about their life, people can rally around them (anonymously of course) and hopefully make them feel better. Of course, there is a down side to this as well. People can post cruel things in response to a person's anonymous statement. '
     Another way people can post anonymously is by creating fake social media accounts on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Some people do it just to be funny, like making an account for their pet just to post things like cat videos. Police can do it to gather evidence on criminals. However, other people can use it for criminal activities. Some criminals use it to target their next victim, either someone whose house they can break into or someone they can stalk and potentially plan to rape/murder. Others, typically teenagers, can use these fake profiles to bully other individuals. The victim will never know who the bully is on the Internet because it isn't a real identity. By using a fake profile, they make it harder for authorities to figure out who the actual perpetrator is.
     Sometimes posting anonymously can help individuals feel better about themselves by sharing things that they need off their chests without having to tack their name onto it. However, being able to post anonymously can have deadly consequences. A criminal can find their next victim. A bully can cause a victim to see no way to end the bullying other than committing suicide. Anonymity can be useful in social media, but it is something that people need to be aware of and stop to think before they accept any unknown individuals or doing anything that could lead to them being hurt.  As with most things, anonymity is good until it is placed in the wrong hands.

Week 9

     Social injustices occur every day in the world, but sometimes many of those go unnoticed by the general population. It is hard to make everyone aware of all the bad things, whether they be small or large, that are going on. It was even worse 10-20 years ago without the use of the Internet to speed the telling of news along. While some individuals may abuse the use of the Internet to simply spread meaningless gossip about celebrities, some use it to spread useful information. Now days, it is easy to reach hundreds of thousands of people simply by posting something on Facebook or Twitter.
     Important world events like the Boston Marathon Bombing or the massacres in Paris, news of those was spread in minutes after they happened-all through the use of social media. And while turning your profile picture blue, white, and red after the massacre may not seem like it really helped anything, it did. Individuals were able to show that they stood with Paris, that they felt horrible about what happened there, that they were grieving with the citizens of Paris even if they lived thousands of miles away. They were also able to spread awareness of what happened. Social media is an important tool for getting news out there fast.
     Then you have things like the ALS ice bucket challenge. While it may have seemed like a stupid challenge, and like it wouldn't really raise any money to support the cause, it did. You were supposed to either dump ice water on your head or donate $100, if you got called out. The majority of people dumped the ice water on themselves. But the foundation still raised a great deal of money. How? Well, despite the fact that people were choosing to dump water on their heads, it brought attention to ALS. All the social media coverage it got raised the awareness of the disorder and people were moved into donating even if they didn't get challenged or chose to dump the water on their heads.
     Whatever the cause or breaking news event, social media is an excellent tool for raising awareness of things and spreading information fast.

Week 8

     So this relates more to last week's discussion more than it does to this week's, but it's a topic I found very interesting: the eight second attention span. The fact that as a species, we now only have an average attention span is unbelievable. We are highly developed individuals, and yet we struggle to maintain focus on even the simplest of tasks. I believe that most of our inability to focus stems from how much we have going on in our lives in today's time. While previously we had work, school, and family vying for our attention, we now have to add social media to that list. We constantly want to know what is going on in the lives of not only our friends and family but also everyone else in the world. In order for that to happen, we seem to need to continuously check our devices. It is hard to stay focused on only one thing, when there are so many other things you need to pay attention to as well. I know for me personally, I find it extremely hard to focus my attention on one thing for more than a couple minutes. My mom always tells me I have undiagnosed ADHD because I constantly need to be fiddling with something, but at the same time I have trouble focusing my attention on just one thing. I seem to always be doing at least two things at once; not because I don't have enough time to do them one at a time, but because I can't stand just sitting down and doing one thing at a time.
     Veering off that topic, another discussion of interest revolved around how the internet now allows us to connect with so many people and through that easy connection we can easily find things we are missing. You see all those posts on Facebook of people seeking their birth parents. Before it would have been nearly impossible for them to find their parents, especially if it was a closed adoption. Now, however, by just posting a photo with the information of their birth, other people are able to share it and get that information to the masses. Eventually, the birth parents will most likely see that information. I am amazed at how well social media works at getting information to the masses to help find a certain person, a missing item, etc. I can't even imagine how much better it will be in the future because social media is constantly changing, adapting, and improving to make distributing information easier. And while social media facilitates the distribution of information, it is really the people who post the original status and all those who are willing to stand it that truly distribute the information. As we mentioned in class, the tools of the internet simply remove the obstacles that used to be present when attempted to share information to the masses.

Week 7

     We can all agree that social media, and the internet in general, is a great mode of communication. It helps us stay connected with those we can't see very often, those we do see often, and even those we have never even met. You have sites like Facebook and Twitter that allow us to provide family and friends with written and photographic evidence on what is going on in our lives. Sites like Instagram and SnapChat let us share photos of our adventures to those we care about. And then you have sites like OkCupid and Tinder that let you meet new people, whether it be for friendship, a long-term relationship, or just a casual hookup. Even sites like Facebook and Instagram help us meet new people, even if they are designed more for staying in touch with individuals you already know.
     Take the video we watched in class about the couple who met over Instagram and decided to get married even though they had never even seen each other in person. Who does that? Is that the new normal in today's society? Have we gone from arranged marriages to meeting someone and falling in love to only meeting people over the internet and deciding to get married without having ever met face-to-face? It is not that I am against people doing the whole online dating thing to find love, but to meet someone on the internet and decide to get married having only conversed on the internet is hard for me to come to terms with. They could be showing you fake pictures and telling you whatever you want to hear. How can you know they aren't like a 90 year old man/woman or a serial killer without ever actually talking/seeing them? And while I understand that just because you actually get to know someone in person doesn't mean they aren't lying to you or aren't a serial killer, but I feel the risk isn't as high.
     How can you truly get to know someone when you only talk to them through social media? I feel like there is so much more to learn about a person than can be shared over social media. Chemistry can't be felt through a screen. Furthermore, there are some things that simply need to be shared in person. If we only communicate through a screen, we miss so much out of our interactions with people.
      I feel that the communication outlet social media provides us is both good and bad. It lets us connect with people we may not get to see very often, lets us meet new people, and express ourselves in a way we didn't used to have. However, there is also a bad side to it. If we only communicate through a screen, we lose the experience of interacting with other people in person; you can't give someone a hug or a kiss through a screen, you can't physically comfort them when they are sad, and so many more amazing things that can only happen in person. I feel that social media is actually leading to society's deterioration instead of it's advancement. We are missing out on so many amazing things life has to offer by living behind a screen.