Thinking and Writing about Digital Media

                For the most part, I use personal media as a distraction as something that I use whenever I’m bored.  As a result, my media use feels pointless and time-consuming.  After listening to Amy’s devotional last week, I had every intention of becoming more of a contributor to social media rather than just a consumer, and yet I still fell into the trap of never-ending mindless scrolling. I commented on a post once, which is one more time than usual, but I hardly feel like that was a significant change.  I mostly kept to my habit of silently being informed about everyone else’s lives on Facebook and Instagram.

               I do believe that personal media can be a tool that people can use to benefit their lives. For example, I work as a cosmetologist and follow other hair people on Instagram in an effort to learn from the things they post. I’ll pick up tips and tricks for styling, coloring, and cutting.   It also keeps me updated on some of the newer products that come out that I could potentially use in my own practice.  However, there’s a limitation to the things we view on media in general. There’s something to be said about learning and seeing examples of things, but there comes a point where a person needs to actually try the thing for themselves. Keeping with the example of hair, I can educate myself in a coloring technique through endless videos and pictures and feel like I have a firm grasp on the concept, but I won’t know the full limitations or benefits of the technique until I’m able to try it out for myself and see if it works. So, while the virtual world is great and can be used for gathering a ton of information, by no means does it replace reality and the experiences we’re able to have there.

               Generally speaking, I mostly use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest in my personal media use. I’ve tried to get on the bandwagon for listening to podcasts and audiobooks, then fell off after a few weeks. As much as I spend time on my phone looking at things, I also hate the time spent on it. I’m constantly telling myself that I should be doing something better or I acknowledge the fact that I’m immensely bored, yet keep scrolling. My husband is better at using his personal media to at least be informed about happenings in the world, and I see that as being a little more productive, yet I stick to what I’ve always done.  Knowing that my self-control is pretty weak when it comes to social media and the time spent on it, I’ve tried to put timers on my phone to keep me in check.  However, the “ignore for the day” button is far too easy to push, and is pushed daily. I’ve considered doing the same thing one of our classmates mentioned last class and letting my husband come up with a password for the timer so I can’t ignore it myself.

               Perhaps I can learn from my mistakes and find a way to encourage students to have a healthy relationship with personal or popular media.  I really do think it can be helpful, but it has to be controlled. Ideally, there would be application in our lives after we spend some time on our personal media.  The application could be as simple as an increase in knowledge, and maybe sharing that with a friend or family member. Or it could be a new skill that we learn about and try out in our own lives. However, the constant, mindless scrolling is pointless. We dig ourselves a pit of comparison and eventual unhappiness. In the classroom, we can use media to engage different types of learners, which is wonderful.  It can be a creative outlet and something that’s engaging for the upcoming generation who is so tech-savvy. It’s a way to relate to the students in a simple way.  The only caution, as I’ve said before, is that it needs to be controlled and monitored.