rachsnaremasc336-blog

[rachsnaremasc336-blog]

Work your angles instead of photoshop.

A topic that I feel doesn't get enough attention, except for maybe the butt of a joke from time to time, is photo editing. People my age have the access to apps on their phone that can alter their appearance by making them skinnier, enhancing parts of their body, changing their eye color, etc. This stems from the media giving a preconceived notion of what is beautiful or what is considered attractive. People edit their appearance with the hopes of getting more likes on social media. There is an insecurity in young women that come from the photos they see of these other women with tiny waists and big butts, when little do they know that photo was professionally edited as well. And that is where there is an ethical issue: is editing the body and face of someone in a photo being used as media or an advertisement okay? 

Women will look at this photo and think, how is it possible for her to look like that? When in reality it’s not. The photo was edited. She doesn't look like that. These apps that people my age use are the creation of someone looking at those photos and creating a way to edit their body to look similar to what the world says is beautiful. It has become more and more common to hear “I'm going to take my waist in a little bit before I post this” or “lets whiten our teeth first”. All of it a product of fake beauty pushed on to us from the media. People are afraid of becoming a “catfish”. Originally, catfish meant that you were pretending to be someone else on social media by using their photos and a different name. Now, catfish could mean that you edit your pictures so much you do not look the same in person; as if you were a different person. 

It is the job of a company, magazine, publicist or really anyone in the company to look at this photo and say “does she look realistic?”. Because women will look at that photo, become envious of something unrealistic, then spend twenty dollars a month to have a subscription to photoshop. The media and the world of advertising need to switch their focus to something more real. I am tired of looking at women online and wishing I looked like her when she doesn't even look like herself. There has been instances where women have called out photographers or magazines for altering their body. Kate Winslet was one of the first to draw attention when GQ edited her body. Imagine looking at yourself on the cover of a magazine and they have made you skinnier or enhanced your cheekbones. There some magazine cover fails that are absolutely ridiculous. That starts the cycle of body issues. Also, the problem is photo shop because I LOVE photoshop. 

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Anonymity? Good or bad?

Ever since I was in middle school, I have always had seminars of people coming into my school and doing presentations on how cyber bullying is a serious and real thing. They give real life examples of people who have taken their lives because of the acts of people saying hurtful comments on their social media. “Hiding behind a computer” is trend that has escalated as technology as advanced. People feel comfortable when they feel like nothing can be tied back to them. In other ways, the ability to be anonymous has given people a healthy, open forum to air their feelings and beliefs without the worry of being judged. However, there are people who like to abuse that privilege.

When you lose credibility, you lose responsibility of your actions. People like the idea of being able to say whatever you want, but sometimes things do not need to be said. In an article arguing if anonymity is the gateway to freedom or abuse, it states that Mark Zuckerberg and his family feel that anonymity online needs to go away completely. Google+ has taken away the ability to be anonymous, and facebook as tried to jump on the same train. Opening up communication online can lead to so many ups and also so many downs. If the people who created the website feel that anonymity is abused, then there is definitely a problem. 

The act of cyberbullying has progressed in this day in age to a point where people who have had loved ones of children that have committed suicide have created support systems. A young girl, Rachel, was cyber bullied to a point where she took her own life. Her program reaches almost 1.5 million people a year. That means that almost 1.5 people are affected by the act of cyberbullying yearly. Either preventing or a victim, cyberbullying is something that is active in everyones life. It has increased ever since social media has become more popular. People always tend to take something good and make it into something bad. 

When I was young, we had an app called formspring. This app allowed you to ask anyone a question, with the option to leave it anonymous. You would be surprised at the amount of hate and negativity that Formspring generated. It gave people the option to abuse it and they did it. Anonymity is something that has become very controversial as technology progresses. I don’t think there will ever be a conclusion, or agreement on the topic. It is truly a grey area. 

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[rachsnaremasc336-blog]

People can be good.

Humanity always seems to come together during tragedy. Almost everyone has experienced a loss of some sort. People tend to come together when it’s focused around something they understand. For instance, the motorcycle accident that my professors family was involved in brought people together because it wasn't “grey” it was black and white. You either help them and make it better or you don't and make it worse. It’s almost like it is natural instinct for us to help one another in a state of crisis. I know hundreds of thousands of people came together after Hurricane Katrina and many others like it. There is almost a sense of guilt if you don't help. I plan on talking about more personal experiences regarding this topic.

Specifically social media related, I know of a fad that was pretty popular when I was in high school. The more twitter started to become well-known, the more people started to use it to their advantage. People would hashtag things that would trend world-wide. My county, during my senior year of high school, got school cancelled and showed up on national news because of a hashtag we used across many schools in our community #closefcps. We, as a student body, used the power of social media to get the results we wanted. There are similar occurrences where students would tweet a picture of their teacher with a sign saying “this # of retweets and my teacher will cancel the final” or their mom saying “This # of retweets and my mom will let me get a dog”. And surprisingly enough, the tweets almost always reached their required amount. People from all over the world would retweet or favorite that tweet, because such a simple act could make someone else’s day. I think another factor, besides tragedy, is convenience. The act of tweeting is so convenient. 

On another note, I read this article a while back that Samsung did something amazing to bring a community together for a man hard of hearing. Samsung was creating an ad for their new technology for people who are hard of hearing and used this town to demonstrate the effects. In the experiment, Samsung contracted all the locals to learn sign language through their new technology so when this man walked through his community on a seemingly normal day, he would soon realize that everyone suddenly spoke his language. I feel as though there is good in everyone, and when given the chance they want to rise to the occasion. However, that might be me just being naive but I prefer to be naive than to be bitter. Here is the video for anyone who wants to see, it is heartwarming for sure. 

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[rachsnaremasc336-blog]

Time for change.

One of the most controversial topics right now is gun control. Everyone thinks they have the right idea when it comes to what the United States should lawfully do when it comes to guns. With the increase in mass shootings, it is obvious that something needs to change. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 13,629 gun violence incidents have happened in 2018 and its not even April. Regarding mass shootings, we have almost hit double digits. The second amendment has seemed to out-date itself. This was written a hundred years ago by men who would have to wait 10 minutes after shooting one shot to reload. Now, we have guns that can shoot over 50 rounds a minute. People need to adapt to change. 

People only worry about what is being taken away from them. “Take away my guns? No way!” When in reality, why would you even need an AK-47? You don’t. And regardless, people aren't trying to take away everyones guns, they are trying to regulate them. If they made getting a guy just as hard as, lets say, getting an abortion or citizenship, there would not be nearly as many people with these types of weapons. On the other hand, I am not opposed to getting rid of guns completely. The first mass shooting in Australia cause the government of that nation to ban guns completely and they haven’t had a single mass shooting since. I am not trying to write a blog post about what I think the government should do because frankly I do not know. But i do know that guns hold no place in schools, no place on the streets, and no place in any civilians hands. 

The congress has been under gridlock regarding gun control for decades and with how our past year has gone they need to come to a decision. According to the New York times, it is almost impossible for them to do so. Policy makers seem to care more about the money and support from the NRA than they do the lives of the children and adults killed in these mass shootings. It is the most disheartening feeling to think someone in power wouldn't make a change if I walked into my classroom and got shot. I have never felt so disconnected to our government and I’m sure many others could say the same. 

I love Chelsea Handler, I consider her my celebrity long-lost mother. So when she ended her show on her opinion towards gun control, I have never felt closer to her. I have noted of every politician supported by the NRA like I feel many else should. 

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[rachsnaremasc336-blog]

Speak Up.

When it comes to behavioral health, it is always a slippery slope. People find it hard to understand what you can not see. You have no idea what is going on in another persons life, let alone mind. Behavioral health issues can stem from bullying, an unhealthy home life, or just feeling socially isolated. According to the American Psychological Association, the roots of mental illness can even come from the biology of a persons brain.

Because people who do not experience it can not understand, they find it trivial. It can commonly be seen as someone being “dramatic”, “sensitive”, or just “feeling down”. People downplay the seriousness of behavioral health because it does not seem important until it is too late; too late can either mean suicide or possibly a mass shooting. I do not think behavioral issues get enough attention. And if they do get attention, it almost always has a negative connotation. However, people are quick to peg these actions, like a mass shooting, to behavioral health or mental illness. This puts a face to mental illness. Often times the people who perform these acts aren't always facing mental illness disease. A former forensic psychiatrist stated in the New York Times that over half of 200 mass shooters had no evidence of mental illness and only a quarter had signs of depression or psychopathy. People want to blame an unexplainable act with an unexplainable concept: behavioral health.

In light of recent events, mental health is always stigma’d as the silent killer when it comes to unexplainable actions. However, there are many, many people suffering with a mental illness who do not act out in these extreme ways. It’s upsetting to see the public always linking the two together because I feel as though it barricades people who are suffering from seeking help. People are afraid because they do not want to be labeled. The world of health needs to help enlighten the public on the fact that behavioral health is not something to be scared of. The people who acted out in these extreme ways might have not if the topic of mental health or behavioral health was a common one. They should emphasis outlets at schools, create apps for phones, or program alerts on social media to suspicious posts. Health professionals should play the enlightenment card instead of the blame game. Do not blame behavioral health but instead discuss it. Even if it is not the cause of these events, it is still something that people should be able to discuss. It’s time to #SpeakUp.

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Everyone has social media and if you don’t, you should.

Social media is one of the key forms of mass media, arguably the most important. The growth of social media through out the years has sky-rocketed. It started with the younger generations but in this day in age it has no age limit. Technology is advancing and so is our primary way of communicating with each other. According to a study done in 2017, the average person spends over 2 hours on social media every day. It less than a couple of seconds to look at an infographic or just a few minutes to watch a video. It depends on the content or the marketing to tell if it will draw the audience in but at least the audience is there. People find their news, their store promotions, their insights on celebrities, new movies, books, public policies, and more through Twitter, Facebook, or even Instagram. The traditional print media is not as popular as the screen. Social media travels, it is always in your pocket. PR through social media is essential because it connects you to your audience. It always them to feel close to you and it provides a sense of personableness. It is essential in a companies success.

Social media is essential but it is a slippery slope. Remember when I said that social media allows your audience to connect with you? That is not always a good thing. People are very opinionated and sometimes easily offended which can cause for PR nightmares. How you respond to negative comments, bad PR/marketing on your part, or anything in general speaks wonders about who you are as a company and how people will perceive you. A lot of times companies inappropriately use humor or make light of a sensitive subject. Using social media poorly can cause a loss in consumers, lack of respect for your company, and people to oppose the success of your business. Take Kevin Spacey’s apology for his accusations on sexual assault for example. He apologized over twitter and it was executed and perceived absolutely horribly. This caused him to lose his job, his show to be taken off of Netflix and he was dropped by his label. I can not tell you someone that I know who is still a fan. In regards to companies, here are a few examples of social media being used horribly, known as social media FAILS. 

However, if social media is used right it can be a beautiful thing. It can grow your audience and connect you on a personable level to the people you want to communicate your message to. People can retweet, share, send messages directly and your audiences grows within seconds. The best way to use social media, in my opinion, is through humor. Humor is one of the most effective ways to connect people. Regardless of culture, race, gender, or age, everyone can share in a laugh. When done properly, social media has blossomed companies, and even people, into becoming known world-wide. Here are just a few examples of successful social media campaigns.

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What is this blog?

This blog is about me, what I think, what I agree and disagree with, and what I believe people should hear. This semester, I decided to take a social media course in regards to my public relations major. I’m learning how to approach the public in the most effective way possible, through technology. This is vital in this day an age with the majority of people being glued to their phones. I know that kids my age use Twitter or Facebook to gain most of their knowledge in regards to news and current political and social drama. They also use social media as an outlet to connect to others, voice their opinions, and make a presence in the world. 

Throughout this semester I might receive a topic to discuss and other times I might feel passionate about something and want to discuss it myself. This blog is my freedom to do that. It is my online journal. If you disagree? Leave a comment. If you agree? Leave a comment. The internet is a platform for people to tell the world what they think. This class is teaching me how to tell the world what I think or what the organization I represent thinks in the most appealing way possible. Let me entice you.