Yay! One follower! When I started this blog, I mentioned in the first post that I was not doing this to get a following. I didn't care who read my blog, nor who cared. But as it turns out, I still found out checking my stats after every post and getting excited by the number of page views I had. After the third(?) post, a few of my friends/family shared my blog on Facebook, which got me kind of excited. I got a comment on the second post, which made me happy. People would comment/like my links on Facebook, and after my most recent post I got a follower, which made my day. Now why? Didn't I say I wasn't in this for the followers? Now there are two things I would like to glean from this. But first I do want to preface by saying this blog was an assignment for my Psychology of Social Media class. The class itself is an experiment of sorts: will it work or not? What will work, and is it something that can be taught more in the future? One of the assignments of the class was to write personal reflections of each week. Because of the nature of the class, the professor asked that instead of a generic reflection paper that we turn in each week, we write our reflections on blogs instead. I tried with each blog post to not make it sound too much like a reflection/homework assignment--as it would be read by the public--and yet still fit the parameters of the assignment. I feel I have done a good job so far (though the last two posts I had trouble thinking of what to say to keep it 'real'). Now we are at the end of the class, and this is the next to last reflection assignment. With that said, this post and possibly next weeks will be more reflection oriented, and I apologize for that. But I do feel that I want to continue to go on with these blog posts; I have been enjoying that. And I will go more into detail on that in a moment.
Now as I said, there were two things that I wanted to glean from my excitement in the stats of this blog. First of all, from what I learned on Twitter; regardless whether or not you want popularity, you need to have some sort of following to get anywhere with social media. And it can be very difficult to get that following if you do not already have a good foundation of people who use the platform. Some are easier than others to get going (Facebook for example). Others, like Twitter, are harder to get involved in--if you don't already have a circle, it takes some effort to get one. And then there are some, like blogger, that don't need a following per se, but having one helps give motivation to keep writing.
Now the second point is a little more relevant to my class. Having a following becomes a psychological thing. And if I haven't learned anything else from the PSYCHOLOGY of Social Media class, it's that there are definitely some psychological aspects that make people desperate for a following. There are many people who seek for attention through social media. Teenagers, as I learned from developmental psychology, are more insecure of their social standing. Its no wonder than that most teenagers develop a sense of social status by the number of Instagram followers, Facebook friends, and Twitter retweets they get. In social psychology, I've learned about the egoism and self-serving bias that every person innately has. It brings to mind the people who spend so much time making sure their Facebook posts are perfect, that their profile pictures is one of their best pictures, and that the 'perfect' selfies with the 'perfect' filter go on Instagram whereas the not so appealing photos get 3 seconds on Snapchat. Everything I have learned in this class has parallels to all the other psychology courses I've taken. And while I would like to think I am 'better than the crowd' (self-serving bias), there is an ingrained part of me that cares about my social status just as much as everyone else. I would like to think I have a better sense of security about it; I don't have a lot of followers on Twitter, my Facebook posts don't get a lot of activity, and my wife is my only Instagram follower, yet I do not feel insecure or depressed because of this. My ego and self-confidence are not damaged because of that. But it is still a boost to both to get likes on a Facebook post and page views on this blog. So I'm grateful my professor had me do these blogs; I've learned a few things, not only about social media, but also about myself. As I've thought about what to say in my posts, I've been able to reflect on the things I have been learning these past few weeks. As I've tried to keep my posts from sounding like homework assignments, I've seen how what I've been learning has applied to my own life. And as I look back on my excitement in the activity my blog has seen (albeit small), I've learned more about myself in relation to social psychology, and the ways that social media falls into that realm. I've also learned, as mentioned above, how social media falls into other areas of study in psychology, and it has been very intriguing for me. It is definitely a class I would recommend to fellow classmates and future college students.
Now as I said before, and as the title alludes, this is the second to last post for my homework assignment. But I feel I want to keep this blog going. One of the things I've learned from blogging an understanding of the fascination others get from blogging. I have enjoyed the opportunity to write my thoughts down each week. I want to continue to do so. The problem I face now is that it will no longer be a homework assignment, I will no longer have that extrinsic motivation to do so...it will almost be purely intrinsic motivation that keeps me writing. We shall see how it works out. In any case, it has been fun, and I have been very grateful for the opportunity. I hope I haven't completely bored anyone. Till next week :)
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