#'relevant meme' as if she's citing sources.. girl..

[dreamofimmortality]

pulling this out of my liveblog because i really wanna point it out:

[Image description: Page from Nabari no Ou. Yoite is lying down in the snow, and he reaches his hand out to Yukimi, apologising for what happened with him and Kairoushuu. Yukimi holds his hand, and replies, "You should be, I've been continually thrown around by you." Yukimi looks at Yoite's leg that has disappeared, then sighs and pats Yoite on the head; he continues, "But hey, it's no big deal." End description]

miharu got a head pat from yukimi, because that's the usual affection he shows for him anyway. yoite meanwhile doesn't like to be touched right.

But In This Scene, he reaches out to yukimi. and yukimi holds his hand in his 😭😭😭😭 AND AS A RESULT.... yoite gets a head pat too 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

also. relevant meme since the tags do indeed reflect this point

[rabba002-blog]

The Highs and Lows of Social Media

New technology, communications and social media have taken over the newest generations by storm. The “digital age” emerging from the late 1970’s after the invention of the first personal computers have changed the way society will function forever. Now, with the click of a button you have your entire social circle at your fingertips through imessage, social media, and search engines; everyone is connected all the time. Social media has by far had the biggest impact on today's society; especially on the younger generations. Kids are now looking to Twitter and Facebook not only for the hottest trends in fashion and hollywood, but for insights  on politics and world views. Through social media, young people are building their ideologies and beliefs about the world, politics, relationships, body image and social standing. Although being connected and having accessibility to such a wide variety of opinions and ideas all the time can be seen as freeing and invigorating, it has had a detrimental effect on the mental health and thinking of the new generation. Social media has its positive attributes, but can also be extremely negative; which has been proven through research and examination of social constructs.

Firstly, the positives of social media should be highlighted. Social media has created a space for the new generation to voice their opinions, make changes and speak on social constructs. It is also used constantly as a creative outlet all while keeping our society connected. Youtube, for example, has blown up immensely since its start in 2005. Creators have built lives out of their Youtube channels and their creative outlets have become their careers. However, Youtube has become a huge space for political activism, issues about bullying and self image; overall a place for people to go and  realize they are not alone. Youtube has content for any individual, whether it be gaming videos, cooking channels, comedy, makeup and fashion or lifestyle. The culture of looking into someone’s life and building a connection with them through a screen has become huge in the past ten years; arguably becoming one of the most important platforms created. The most positive impact Youtube has had on our generation is educational. The amount of educational videos on Youtube is astonishing, and not only is it used by students worldwide but professors have turned to educational Youtube videos to teach their students much more increasingly. The freedom social media has given the new generation is highlighted by Croteau and Haynes. They state “the fact that the internet encompasses nearly all forms of communication is a big part of what made it a game-changer…… in addition to blurring boundaries between private and public, the internet enabled people to be more active, more easily, than ever before” (Croteau and Haynes). This freedom is proven by the theory that we are not only consumers of social media but users of it, and that the user has control over what he/she sees and puts out. Twitter, for example is one of the most popular social media sites as of now. It is a place where you have the freedom make raunchy jokes, cry-laugh with your friends about memes, catch up on which Kardashian did what,  to rant out that one crappy customer that came into work or to speak out about political issues like “black lives matter” and body shaming. Twitter gives its users the freedom to use their platform as an outlet, and that is something that is very important to our generation. It gives the user the feeling of “what I have to say matters”. These are a few examples of how social media can be seen as having a positive impact on today’s society.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, social media has had massively negative effects on society and the younger generation. Social media, although it can be freeing, also causes mass amounts of pressure on the younger generation. To focus on women in specific, social media can make you feel ashamed of your own body and the attributes you have been given. The rise of the “instagram baddie” persona has taken over social media over the past two years. Girls feel as though they must all have a tiny waist, huge boobs and a huge butt in order to fit into what is considered ideal for today’s beauty standards.  Girls are praised and shown off for looking and acting a certain way, and if you do not fit into that box then you’re not considered in. The most prominent example I have noticed on twitter recently is “makeup vs no makeup twitter”. Girls who opt for the more natural look continuously bash girls who prefer to wear a lot of makeup. This creates a toxic environment, as women bash each other when, in this day and age where men reign supreme, should be supporting each other. This toxic environment has shown an increase in suicide rates as the Centers for Disease Control and prevention reports “suicide has become the third leading cause of death for teens and more than 4,600 young people are lost each year” (The Press Enterprise). Not only has social media had a negative impact on teens body image, but on their way of thinking. Our generation has become desensitized to the way they speak to each other, because at the end of the day were all just hiding behind a screen and there are no real consequences to what you say or post. A prime example of this can be shown by the amount of celebrities that go off the handle because of the amount of hate they receive from the public. Most recently, singer Mac Miller died, and Ariana Grande has been continuously receiving backlash for his overdose as people blame her for his drug use and call her an “attention whore” and other vulgar names causing her to take a hiatus for two months. This stigma that our generation has that they can say anything to anyone they want, no matter how hurtful because there are no consequences shows the toxicity social media has had on our generations thinking. Lastly, as highlighted by Baran culture can be limiting, because you grow up surrounded by generally the same characters and beliefs throughout your whole life. Baran states “think back, to the stories you were told and the television shows and movies you watched growing up. The heroines were invariably tall, beautiful and thin. The bad guys were usually mean and fat” (Baran). From the time that we are toddlers are minds are shaped to believe that we must look one way in order to be accepted by society, and if you fail to look that way then you’ll always just feel a little bit out of place. This ties in even more now that social media is so relevant to our day to day lives. Our generation looks up to the superficial standards set by reality tv stars and rappers as an expectation to what our lives should look like, inevitably causing mass disappointment and self-hatred because realistically, we’re not all going to have enough money to get plastic surgery in order to look like our favorite “instagram baddie” or have the money to ride around in a 100,000 car. Social media has created a false sense of expectations for our generation to follow, which leads to a general unhappiness in the reality of our lives and the cards we have been dealt.

In summary, social media has taken over the new generation and shaped their ideas about politics, beauty standards and social standing. It is ridiculous to overlook the positive impact social media has had by giving us the abilities to speak our minds whenever, wherever. But this accessibility has also proven to have a negative impact on the general well being and mental health of the new generation.

Cited Sources:

Whiting, David, and David Whiting. “New Pressures for Perfection Contribute to Rise in Teen Suicide.” Press Enterprise, Press Enterprise, 20 Mar. 2018, www.pe.com/2018/03/17/new-pressures-for-perfection-contribute-to-rise-in-teen-suicide/.

Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. Media/Society: Technology, Industries, Content, and Users. SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019.

Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, Updated Edition. McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.