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.