IT WASN'T ME - Log 4, 12/5/18
IT WASN'T ME - Log 4, 12/5/18
I'm going to be completely honest. I didn't realize I grew up with tech. Especially when I grew up, I didn't know DVD players weren't something we had for hundreds of years. I didn't know TV's used to have very few channels. I didn't realize iPods were something newly created. I've always had my mom's blackberry at restaurants to play games on. And I mean, most little kids don't have a very good perception of time. So when I learned I was apart of the very first generation to experience this, I was shocked. I thought the older generations were just trying to point a finger as to why the world is doomed. It's not our fault that we were born now. I certainly didn't create the iPhone or Microsoft or the computer. Yes, I'm the generation that has to teach my parents how to use an iPhone or turn on a computer. But I'm not the one who made this vision and created a reality. It wasn't me.
Look, we are the ones with our phones on the dinner table. But when the television was created, dinner moved from the dining table to in front of the television. Radios were set up in kitchens to here the weekly nightly news. We need this media. Besides, if I'm out with a friend and my mom texts me and I don't respond as soon as possible, I get in trouble. People can't claim tech is bad yet rage when you're not on it. It's a mixed messaged. But think about it, wouldn't it be safer, with all the rapists and murderers and terrible people , to know where I am? To text when are where you're gonna pick me up? Trust me, invasion of privacy is a whole other thing. But I travel further places with more safety. I know about food outbreaks and school shootings and gun threats faster than ever. Tech gives us faster media that could help save and inform lives that could be endangered
otherwise.
And look, tech isn't the media. It's the library that holds all the pieces of information you could find. And as of right now, technology is my main source of media. My family doesn't subscribe to a newspaper. I don't read any of the magazines we receive either. So what does that lead us? Tech and the "real" world. The articles on line and the billboards on my way to school. But the "real world" is usually subjected to billboards or paid media. That's what makes me want to go to the Sacramento Reptile Show next year or reminder that Winter Wonderland is going on in Cal Expo right now. But this is so limited. Online, you could have media inside of media. Ads inside of articles. Article links in other articles. Two articles on one page or a continuous feed of a three pictures in a row on Instagram. Online is were the media buzzes. And if you look closely, literally everyone is consumed in it. Look at all the first media blogs. Most people said that they were addicted or caught up in or drowned or submerged. And what's the common thread? Media in our tech.
And whether my generation (or GenZ) knows it or not, we did grow up with it. There's no doubt. Sure, we may have been part of the transition. I mean, having a phone in 2nd grade was unbelievable. Having a phone in 2nd grade eight years later is much more understandable. I can see kindergartners with iPhones and it's completely normal. But still. We have grown up with being able to find articles for INTERNATIONAL current events. Not just your local newspaper clipping but from China, Korea, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, and Lesotho. It's such a regular thing now that the dad who doesn't know how to use tech is funny to us. The 2nd grade girls posting their sleepover pictures is normal. Printing and annotating articles of global issues is simple. GenZ grew up with this easy access to the media with a couple of taps on a keyboard or screen.
I know I talked about this in my first blog. But, this is how I received a lot of political education .Yes, I'm not the most educated. I don't know every single thing about or laws and how the government works. It's the topics and the news of elections. That's why I know what the feminists movement is. That's why I know who my representatives are in California. That's why I know the stances of Democrats and Republicans. This wasn't what was taught to me, even when I could comprehend the scratch of our political system. And I mean why don't they teach us about our OWN political system? We're whose gonna run this country. It's supposed to be our civic duty to vote and be involved with our community and it's issues. So why do random strangers have to teach me? Why can't my teachers or my parents teach me with out being accused of shoving down my throat? We do it with every thing else. Cleaning your room, raising your hand in class, chewing with your mouth closed, turning in assignments on time. We have been having these values shoved down our throats. Why can't we learn about our own world?! And look, I get we're just children. We can't possibly understand the world. We can't possibly care. We must be shielded from the rest of the world. But is that how you want to live? We're gonna turn 18 and be able to vote except nobody knows what they're doing so or who to vote for. So, they'll skip the polls.
One of my favorite quotes is, "Even though they [students] may be 25% of or population, they are 100% our future." We are the future. Why aren't you letting the future be prepared? I wanted this as a child when I could educate myself online easier than asking an adult and having them tell me it's "adult talk". I want this for the kids who are growing up. If we're going to be the generation who is privileged to have this media in our hands, we can't be sheltered from the "world truths" people want to shelter us from. Kids experience trauma. I mean, look at the anxiety levels of these kids. Look at all the child molesters. Look at all the kids who self harm or commit suicide. We know about these truths. So why don't you help us understand? Why don't you take the time to explain instead of letting our still developing minds to understand these large concepts with the limited knowledge we have? It's not just adult talk. It's the foundation OUR future is going to have.
And the foundation we have will also be seen in the social media. The presence of hashtags like #NeverAgain and #MarchForOurLives allowed for nationwide school walkouts for 17 minutes on March 14th this year. It lead to marches on the weekends from Los Angeles to Portland to Sacramento to Dallas to Boston to Parkland to DC. They've allowed for the kids to voice their opinions. And sure, these hashtags also bring another foundation this media lays for us. The press of a reshare. Sure, retweets and millions of tweets of help to spread awareness. But, for many topics such as gun control, needs action. Our representatives won't listen to us unless we walkout, unless we write to our legislature, unless we go to public council meetings. Politicians who don't agree do not care. In fact, they pray you don't do anything. They pray all you do is press a button. Because that click can do nothing. For example, a video documenting the rhino horn cutting problem has been shared around on Instagram. Poachers have been cutting off the horns for the value, so a protection group geared towards these closely extinct species has urged people to share a video. But, you can't even publicly see how many people shared that video. And people who have their accounts on "private", their reshares canted be seen by either. And when you do reshare that video, you're not doing anything. You're just making more people see the video. Sure, that can allow for donations or more protection groups. However, of all the people who have shared the video, none of them shared ways to actually help the rhinos. Who to support, who not to support, leaders you can write to. It's just "oh no, the rhinos". Not a blink later, they're on to the next trends.
And these trends can be dangerous. On Black Friday, I was listening to a radio station talking about how the Trump Administration released documents about how our planet will be inhabitable in a near future. However, they released it on Black Friday, the day were everyone is out shopping. The media helps disguise more important truths rather than the best Black Friday deal. On Thanksgiving, the Trump administration also took away 321 acres of land from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. However, because of the recipes, "I'm thankful for..." posts, and family photos, their wasn't a loud storm fighting for this tribe. And may I let you know this tribe was the one who were in the so called "First Thanksgiving". Yet we are repaying them by taking away their land.
But, I would be lying if I gave you the dark narrative of trends every other older generation wants to highlight. But these trends are incredible and create a sense of community. These trends are mainly in the shape of "memes". It's pronounced with a long "e" sound. I'll put a link for it's pronunciation at the end. Anyways, these memes are incredibly... weird. Yet amusing. I mean, the keyboard cat to the loss meme to the Arthur fist to The Bee Movie to Johnny Johnny. Worldwide, people can laugh and make jokes understandable to those who follow these memes. The meme and trend community is so lively and changes constantly everyday. People have needed to make meme calendars to keep track of the memes that have grown throughout the year. And when we reference these memes in our daily lives, it's carves it's mark into our slang and our GenZ culture. The same way hammer pants and discos and big hair was popular before our time. We have our own way of bonding.
I've mentioned it in a previous post. We bond with people from all over the world. Sure, you had letters or pen pals. But think about it. It's INCREDIBLE. I can text someone in Canada or Germany or South Africa or Japan and they can answer in an instant. You're telling me you wouldn't want the media that gives you that power? The more we bond together, the more we can understand each other. Sure, we may have our phones at the dinner table and be on our phones to avoid awkward conversations or can meet fake people, but every other generation did the same thing. We're just using our tools. You snuck around a venue just to make sure they didn't see you. We have a body language that allows us to say we don't want to talk. I've heard stories from my teachers that they used to use walkie talkies to so get into truck radios and talk to drivers. Yes, there are cons. Practically everything in the world has cons. but what about the pros? It's newly developed and constantly being changed so it's hard to study the effects. But we're not just going to let go of our instant media culture because you don't like it.
And like I said, it wasn't me. It wasn't our generations. We were handed this tech. From you. From your generation's creators. From your generation's innovators. And suddenly it's our fault? YOU created this. It wasn't us. It wasn't me.
Meme pronunciation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dErjFPTarc
I'm going to be completely honest. I didn't realize I grew up with tech. Especially when I grew up, I didn't know DVD players weren't something we had for hundreds of years. I didn't know TV's used to have very few channels. I didn't realize iPods were something newly created. I've always had my mom's blackberry at restaurants to play games on. And I mean, most little kids don't have a very good perception of time. So when I learned I was apart of the very first generation to experience this, I was shocked. I thought the older generations were just trying to point a finger as to why the world is doomed. It's not our fault that we were born now. I certainly didn't create the iPhone or Microsoft or the computer. Yes, I'm the generation that has to teach my parents how to use an iPhone or turn on a computer. But I'm not the one who made this vision and created a reality. It wasn't me.
Look, we are the ones with our phones on the dinner table. But when the television was created, dinner moved from the dining table to in front of the television. Radios were set up in kitchens to here the weekly nightly news. We need this media. Besides, if I'm out with a friend and my mom texts me and I don't respond as soon as possible, I get in trouble. People can't claim tech is bad yet rage when you're not on it. It's a mixed messaged. But think about it, wouldn't it be safer, with all the rapists and murderers and terrible people , to know where I am? To text when are where you're gonna pick me up? Trust me, invasion of privacy is a whole other thing. But I travel further places with more safety. I know about food outbreaks and school shootings and gun threats faster than ever. Tech gives us faster media that could help save and inform lives that could be endangered
otherwise.
And look, tech isn't the media. It's the library that holds all the pieces of information you could find. And as of right now, technology is my main source of media. My family doesn't subscribe to a newspaper. I don't read any of the magazines we receive either. So what does that lead us? Tech and the "real" world. The articles on line and the billboards on my way to school. But the "real world" is usually subjected to billboards or paid media. That's what makes me want to go to the Sacramento Reptile Show next year or reminder that Winter Wonderland is going on in Cal Expo right now. But this is so limited. Online, you could have media inside of media. Ads inside of articles. Article links in other articles. Two articles on one page or a continuous feed of a three pictures in a row on Instagram. Online is were the media buzzes. And if you look closely, literally everyone is consumed in it. Look at all the first media blogs. Most people said that they were addicted or caught up in or drowned or submerged. And what's the common thread? Media in our tech.
And whether my generation (or GenZ) knows it or not, we did grow up with it. There's no doubt. Sure, we may have been part of the transition. I mean, having a phone in 2nd grade was unbelievable. Having a phone in 2nd grade eight years later is much more understandable. I can see kindergartners with iPhones and it's completely normal. But still. We have grown up with being able to find articles for INTERNATIONAL current events. Not just your local newspaper clipping but from China, Korea, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, and Lesotho. It's such a regular thing now that the dad who doesn't know how to use tech is funny to us. The 2nd grade girls posting their sleepover pictures is normal. Printing and annotating articles of global issues is simple. GenZ grew up with this easy access to the media with a couple of taps on a keyboard or screen.
I know I talked about this in my first blog. But, this is how I received a lot of political education .Yes, I'm not the most educated. I don't know every single thing about or laws and how the government works. It's the topics and the news of elections. That's why I know what the feminists movement is. That's why I know who my representatives are in California. That's why I know the stances of Democrats and Republicans. This wasn't what was taught to me, even when I could comprehend the scratch of our political system. And I mean why don't they teach us about our OWN political system? We're whose gonna run this country. It's supposed to be our civic duty to vote and be involved with our community and it's issues. So why do random strangers have to teach me? Why can't my teachers or my parents teach me with out being accused of shoving down my throat? We do it with every thing else. Cleaning your room, raising your hand in class, chewing with your mouth closed, turning in assignments on time. We have been having these values shoved down our throats. Why can't we learn about our own world?! And look, I get we're just children. We can't possibly understand the world. We can't possibly care. We must be shielded from the rest of the world. But is that how you want to live? We're gonna turn 18 and be able to vote except nobody knows what they're doing so or who to vote for. So, they'll skip the polls.
One of my favorite quotes is, "Even though they [students] may be 25% of or population, they are 100% our future." We are the future. Why aren't you letting the future be prepared? I wanted this as a child when I could educate myself online easier than asking an adult and having them tell me it's "adult talk". I want this for the kids who are growing up. If we're going to be the generation who is privileged to have this media in our hands, we can't be sheltered from the "world truths" people want to shelter us from. Kids experience trauma. I mean, look at the anxiety levels of these kids. Look at all the child molesters. Look at all the kids who self harm or commit suicide. We know about these truths. So why don't you help us understand? Why don't you take the time to explain instead of letting our still developing minds to understand these large concepts with the limited knowledge we have? It's not just adult talk. It's the foundation OUR future is going to have.
And the foundation we have will also be seen in the social media. The presence of hashtags like #NeverAgain and #MarchForOurLives allowed for nationwide school walkouts for 17 minutes on March 14th this year. It lead to marches on the weekends from Los Angeles to Portland to Sacramento to Dallas to Boston to Parkland to DC. They've allowed for the kids to voice their opinions. And sure, these hashtags also bring another foundation this media lays for us. The press of a reshare. Sure, retweets and millions of tweets of help to spread awareness. But, for many topics such as gun control, needs action. Our representatives won't listen to us unless we walkout, unless we write to our legislature, unless we go to public council meetings. Politicians who don't agree do not care. In fact, they pray you don't do anything. They pray all you do is press a button. Because that click can do nothing. For example, a video documenting the rhino horn cutting problem has been shared around on Instagram. Poachers have been cutting off the horns for the value, so a protection group geared towards these closely extinct species has urged people to share a video. But, you can't even publicly see how many people shared that video. And people who have their accounts on "private", their reshares canted be seen by either. And when you do reshare that video, you're not doing anything. You're just making more people see the video. Sure, that can allow for donations or more protection groups. However, of all the people who have shared the video, none of them shared ways to actually help the rhinos. Who to support, who not to support, leaders you can write to. It's just "oh no, the rhinos". Not a blink later, they're on to the next trends.
And these trends can be dangerous. On Black Friday, I was listening to a radio station talking about how the Trump Administration released documents about how our planet will be inhabitable in a near future. However, they released it on Black Friday, the day were everyone is out shopping. The media helps disguise more important truths rather than the best Black Friday deal. On Thanksgiving, the Trump administration also took away 321 acres of land from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. However, because of the recipes, "I'm thankful for..." posts, and family photos, their wasn't a loud storm fighting for this tribe. And may I let you know this tribe was the one who were in the so called "First Thanksgiving". Yet we are repaying them by taking away their land.
But, I would be lying if I gave you the dark narrative of trends every other older generation wants to highlight. But these trends are incredible and create a sense of community. These trends are mainly in the shape of "memes". It's pronounced with a long "e" sound. I'll put a link for it's pronunciation at the end. Anyways, these memes are incredibly... weird. Yet amusing. I mean, the keyboard cat to the loss meme to the Arthur fist to The Bee Movie to Johnny Johnny. Worldwide, people can laugh and make jokes understandable to those who follow these memes. The meme and trend community is so lively and changes constantly everyday. People have needed to make meme calendars to keep track of the memes that have grown throughout the year. And when we reference these memes in our daily lives, it's carves it's mark into our slang and our GenZ culture. The same way hammer pants and discos and big hair was popular before our time. We have our own way of bonding.I've mentioned it in a previous post. We bond with people from all over the world. Sure, you had letters or pen pals. But think about it. It's INCREDIBLE. I can text someone in Canada or Germany or South Africa or Japan and they can answer in an instant. You're telling me you wouldn't want the media that gives you that power? The more we bond together, the more we can understand each other. Sure, we may have our phones at the dinner table and be on our phones to avoid awkward conversations or can meet fake people, but every other generation did the same thing. We're just using our tools. You snuck around a venue just to make sure they didn't see you. We have a body language that allows us to say we don't want to talk. I've heard stories from my teachers that they used to use walkie talkies to so get into truck radios and talk to drivers. Yes, there are cons. Practically everything in the world has cons. but what about the pros? It's newly developed and constantly being changed so it's hard to study the effects. But we're not just going to let go of our instant media culture because you don't like it.
And like I said, it wasn't me. It wasn't our generations. We were handed this tech. From you. From your generation's creators. From your generation's innovators. And suddenly it's our fault? YOU created this. It wasn't us. It wasn't me.
Meme pronunciation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dErjFPTarc
While I am less active on social media than most people, I agree that social media is not just an evil thing. There is more to it than that. Everything in the world has pros and cons, nothing is perfect. Just because everyone is always pointing out the bad sides of social media, it doesn't mean that there isn't a good side. I am also frustrated that the older generations are always blaming things on us. Not only did they give us the access to the technology, they are guilty of abusing it as well. So many adults are always on technology for work, yet yell at us when we are on it talking to friends or other things. Being on technology all the time is not something only the younger generations are guilty of, and others need to realize that.
ReplyDeleteI think that social media can be very useful but has negative effects and is bad for little kids because it can become an addiction. People have to learn how to put certain values first above their use of technology so that everything is balanced. If given to little kids and it can cut them off from the world around it and they would only want to be on technology and will not involve themselves in things such as sports, reading, and friends. I think that it is right for adults to stop younger kids to be on technology too much because it is better for them but kids should still be taught how to use technology because our world revolves around it. I agree that we should be allowed to learn about our own world along with the right values so that we can make the right decisions for our country and world.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. I constantly am frustrated with the mixed messages sent by the older generations. I feel that parents, as much as they nag about being on phones too much, do the exact same thing as us. I find that the hypocrisy of this infuriating. For example, my mom will complain about me being on my phone too much, and then get mad when I don't reply to her because I'm not on my phone. I understand that tech ins't always a beneficial thing, and that there are problems that have occurred due to the rise of tech, but people can't ignore all the positives just because they want to.
ReplyDelete