Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Social Media Interpretation


Today while I was on Facebook I shared a post to my timeline. I tend to do this a lot and I liked the post so I didn't think much of it. I usually get a couple of likes on a post and that's about it so when I received a comment on the post I was surprised. When I went to look at it I found that one of my friends from church was disagreeing with the content of what I had shared. I had no problem with this and saw where his disagreement came from so I responded to him explaining how I had seen the post differently from him. He then responded with the fact that he didn't believe the original poster had interpreted it the way I had. My response was this " In this society almost anything can be misinterpreted or interpreted differently than how the original person who said it meant it to be interpreted. If you go by that logic then anything is dangerous to post and everyone should just stop saying anything."

After a few more comments back and forth he commented that no one was going to get the interpretation out of it that I did. I thought about that for a moment before responding and saying my Facebook, and my social media in general, is a way for me to express myself and share what I like or think is relevant. If others don't see it the same way I do or don't like the same things I like then that is fine because they are different from me and as such have a right to their own opinions and interpretations.

Another friend of mine then jumped in and proceeded to say that one of the other guy's comments was ignorant and made broad assumptions. I thought this was a little out of place as I had the situation under control and I was trying to explain my views without saying that the other was wrong because it wasn't. That's what he thought and he had a right to that opinion. I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you can explain your thoughts and beliefs without saying someone else is wrong then you should feel free to express your thoughts and opinions. Saying another person is wrong is the single quickest way to make someone never want to believe what you believe.

All in all I was happy with how I handled the situation and wish that my other friend hadn't jumped in with a more judgmental and accusatory statement. I also hope that I was able to clearly explain what I thought without disregarding the other person's opinions.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Social Media and Gaming

My boyfriend and his best friend like to play games together so they decided to create a Twitch account and stream when they play their games. So far they've only played "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare." I'm not sure if they plan on playing more games or not. They also created a Facebook page for their account in order to share it with their friends and hopefully expand to others. Warning: Live streams and videos may not be appropriate for all ages.

Since I'm already in charge of my sorority Facebook page I figured it wouldn't be that hard to add another page as well. I offered to help them manage their Facebook page since they would both rather play the game than manage the page and they aren't quite sure what they're doing in regards to managing a Facebook page. I'm hoping they will grant me admin privileges so I can add things to the page and post for them so that I can help them gain followers and watchers.

Twitch is a really neat site that allows people to live stream gameplay from PC or consoles and then save those videos. It also gives a live chat feature that allows watchers and followers to participate in the live stream. It's a really cool platform that helps the gaming community connect in a way that just recording and posting video can't.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Focus and Social Media

Over the summer I found myself on social media a lot less than when I am school. Other than work I had very little to do so I had larger amounts of time that I could spend reading a book or cleaning my room. When I'm at school I spend a lot more time on social media because it becomes a way to procrastinate. I tell myself that I will just go on Facebook for a few minutes before doing homework but end up spending a lot more time than I anticipated. Social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends or stay updated on news or company information but it can also be a source of distraction and procrastination.

One of the ways I keep myself from being distracted by social media is by setting specific times I can go on social media. I also will decide I can only go through my Facebook timeline once before I have to go back to doing homework. That way I can still check social media but also make sure I get my homework done.

This world is full of distractions. Everywhere you turn there is social media, videos, TV and friends that can distract you. Our entire society is built on the idea of always being connected to the rest of the world. It takes a concentrated effort to stay focused on a singular task when we grow up learning that in order to survive you have to multitask. Everyone has to find the system that works best for them in order to be productive and stay focused.