Week Six

            This week in the Psychology of Social Media we discussed several very interesting topics. I especially enjoyed one of our preparatory assignments in which we were required to calculate how much time we have spent of Facebook. Although I am a bit embarrassed to state the horrific amount of hours that were calculated, I stand by what I said in my assignment, not all of those hours were wasted. I have lived away from home for the last five years, and Facebook has been an awesome way for me to keep in contact with my friends and especially my family back home. There are certainly problems that have been caused by Facebook, but over all I am so grateful that it was created and I have been able to utilize it in an effective and beneficial way.

            In class on Thursday we were visited by a guest teacher again and learned about the awesomeness of YouTube. The guest instructor began by sharing some cool facts about YouTube, such as the fact that there are over 1 trillion views per year. He then asked the question of how many years 1 trillion seconds is, just to make sure that we fully understood the amount that 1 trillion entailed. Students threw out answers like “6 years,” and “16 years.” When I heard these numbers I thought to myself, “wow, 1 trillion isn’t that much!” Boy was I wrong, considering 1 trillion seconds is in fact 31,688 years! There hasn’t even been 1 trillion seconds since the birth of Christ!! It is so crazy to think that there is that may views on YouTube per year; it is so hard for me to even comprehend it. The guest teacher shared some super great videos in his pursuit to describe YouTube in super-hero terms. I loved this unique approach to teaching and felt it was very creative. One of the videos he shared at the beginning of his lecture that I enjoyed was one called “Buyral.” This was a satire video advertising how you can make your videos go viral by paying for people to click all day long. It was so funny and yet it was such a believable business plan that I’m surprised it hasn’t been pursued before.  
             Another discussion that came up was about the Internet and social media being a gift from God. He has given it to us to do good, and to help build up the kingdom of Heaven on Earth. I truly believe that this is true, and if we utilize it correctly we can do amazing things.

Week Five

            This week in the psychology of social media we discussed several new topics involving social media. The topics discussed in our preparatory assignment and in class on Tuesday involved social media altruism and slacktivism. Altruism in social media includes the selfless acts people participate in through social media, however, critics of these individuals call them “slacktivists.” I have come to realize that although slacktivists may have a more positive influence in society if they were in fact activists, they are helping spread information and as a result there is more pressure placed on individuals that do have power to act when it is necessary. One example is the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, headed by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. Although some have critiqued Michelle Obama, she has done more for the campaign than any other individual could have. Increasingly people are becoming more and more aware of the girls kid napped in Nigeria, and although we can not go to Nigeria to bring back the girls on our own, simply through people knowing and placing pressure on the Nigerian Government, they are more likely to act when they may have simply ignored it otherwise. Although some argue that slacktivism is not doing any good, it also is not doing any harm, so I feel that there is not need to put it to an end or critique those that are participating in it.

            On Thursday we had a guest teacher who explained some of the negative aspects of the Internet. One aspect that he touched on is the “deep web,” for example “TOR.” I had never heard of TOR before, and even hesitate Googling it to find out more about it. It is apparently a way the individuals can search whatever they would like on the web and you cannot trace it back to them or their location. I have been watching the TV show “Scandal” this last week. Scandal is a fictional television show about the White House and what goes on behind the scenes of politics. While watching the show I certainly have found it entertaining, however I never imagined that there was actually technology capable of doing the things portrayed in this TV show, like TOR. When I imagine how wonderful TOR can be if used responsibly, for example to get messages out of China, I want to be an avid supporter; however, when I think of how much harm to does, like drugs trafficking, child pornography, and so many other despicable things, I become convinced that the Government needs to find a way to shut it down. I am grateful that we were able to learn more about the deep web because I have heard people mention it during class yet I never quite knew what they were referring to. It is scary to learn about such things, but it is also scary just to be naïve about what is going on around me.

Week Four

It is becoming harder and harder to remember all that we learned this week in the Psychology of Social Media because we go over so much material and learn so much in such a short amount of time. However, there are some things that we learned that clearly stand out. I loved learning about how we can use social media to benefit others, such as the “impossible” program and those like it. I also enjoyed talking about the ways the church has been embracing social media use in order to reach out to others and increase missionary efforts. This week I gave a lot of thought to how my posts and online activity reflect the church and how I can be a better online missionary, and I have made a goal to keep these ideas in mind when I am using social media in the future. I have decided to try to share at least one uplifting post each week.
As the church has started using social media with a lot of its missionaries I would love to see the effect that this has had on conversion rates, and how much of a benefit this has been. If someone has not yet done that study then they most definitely should!

This week was a nice change from last week when we discussed how detrimental the Internet and technology can be. This week there were several stories shared from people in class and from material that we were given on how wonderful technology can be. I especially loved hearing people’s personal experiences because they seem so real and they motivate me to have a positive effect on others through my own technology use.
I absolutely believe that it is possible to feel the spirit through the uses of technology, and I when I do it is always an especially sweet feeling because I know there are so many detrimental ways that I could be using the Internet, but I am using it the right way and I am being blessed for it.

I understand that there is always that chance that if I make a religious comment on Facebook or Twitter that I will be viewed as self-righteous or preachy by others, but that is simply a chance I am willing to take if it means that I can make another personals day a little better. I’m grateful that this week we were able to learn several ways that we can use social media to reach out and help uplift others, and I hope that I can do so more often in the future.

Week Three

            It was another enjoyable week in the Psychology of Social Media. On Tuesday we were introduced to a number of hilarious YouTube clips that have gone viral, including Double Rainbow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI and Rob Schneider’s stand up comedy explanation of the word “dude”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77v_Q0mhbZU

I absolutely loved these videos, I honestly hadn’t laughed so hard in the longest time; my abs hurt after I’m not even kidding.

            Thursday we got into pairs and went over different articles and then presented them to the class. Beth and I were assigned an article that was about a 13-year-old boy in London who is now on the sex offender register for looking at child pornography on the Internet. Several other stories were shared in the article of teens the same age that suffer from various disorders due to their introduction to pornography at such a young age. This article frightened me because I am soon to have a little boy, and I don’t know how I will protect him from such influences in our society. Parents do what they can, but with how accessible pornography is now days there is seriously only so much you can do.
            When my husband and I were first married I remember that he never took his laptop into the bedroom, when he explained why to me it made total sense. While growing up he and his siblings always had their computers out in the open so they wouldn’t be tempted to look at inappropriate material online; apparently it just became habit and it even continued into our married life, which was certainly alright with me. I think this is a great starting place to monitoring our children’s activities on the internet. I think it is also important that we not give them cell phones, laptops, or I-pads until they are old enough to understand how to use them wisely. The young boys in the article seriously had no idea what they were getting into when they were introduced to porn and when they started looking at it on a regular basis. It is important that we educate our children, and try to help them see the importance of staying away from porn on their own. Educating others about the distractions of pornography can be such a tricky business; I have learned in some of my psychology classes that by warning again porn it is actually advertising for it in a way. How do you effectively educate children and teenagers about porn without simply making them more curious??

Week two

This week in the Psychology of Social Media we read the Prologue and first two chapters of the book “Everything is Miscellaneous,” by David Weinberger. This book seems to be very interesting so far; I especially enjoyed the Prologue because it describes why the store Staples is set up the way that it is, and how little tricks that are based on research and psychology can be utilized to make the shopping experience easier and more convenient for customers. The challenges of space were also discussed, and how there is only so much room for certain things in the store. It simply would not be possible to have every item in the exact place where it might be needed for a customer. However, it is explained that because on the web we do not have to limit space in the same way, this challenge is not something that online shopping has to deal with in the same way.

            In preparation for class this week we also watched an interview with Katie Couric. Katie Couric is a journalist that has attempted to use all realms of social media in order to get her story heard. She explained the challenges that she is faced with finding reliable sources while using social media, and also the difficulties of things be misrepresented online. Katie also suggested that to be a leader in information these days you must embrace social media. This caused me to ask the question “is it necessary to become highly involved in social media to be a leader in other areas as well?” I think the answer to this question is yes. Although, there are many examples of people who are able to gain support and influence others while not involving themselves in social media, it is interesting to think of how much more support they could gain and influence they could have if they utilized social media. Another interesting topic that was brought up during the Katie Couric interview was one suggesting that everyone has a “digital shadow.” The idea of having a digital shadow is very daunting, especially because in our social media society everything moves so quickly. Once an irrational comment goes up on the web, within a few seconds several people may have seen it, all while you are still trying to decide if you should delete it or not.

            There are so many wonderful benefits of social media however, such as the fact that we are able to connect with individuals all over the world. I am grateful for social media and the opportunity it gives me to stay involved in the lives of my friends and family on the mainland. Although phone calls and letters may be just as beneficial, or even more so, the fact remains that we only have so much time during the day. It is much easier for me to quickly scroll down my homepage on Facebook and quickly glance at the activities and pictures of my friends and family than it is to call them up individually or write a million letters.