Well, class is now over. Such a sad day :'(. It really has been a wonderful class; probably my most favorite class I've taken. I have learned so much from it.
Some basic information; this semester I enrolled in a Psych 390R class, Special Topics. The class itself was Psychology of Social Media. It was the first time the class had ever been offered; it was a guilty pleasure and an experiment ran by the professor to see how it would work, and if it was worth teaching again in the future. It was a 3 hour class, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which seems daunting. If it were any other class, I would have never even considered registering for it; I cannot sit down in a class for 3 hours, no matter the subject. But I felt I would make an exception for this class, and it was worth it. And as for the experiment, I feel it was a success; I was able to take away a lot from the class, and I feel it should definitely be offered again. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class similar, I recommend it.
Before taking the class, my feelings toward social media were all around negative. I felt there were some positive aspects to social media, but I also felt that I was attempting to justify it. I was sure that psychologists, scientists, and 'professionals' all thought social media was bad and had no benefits attached to them. One of the first things that I learned from this class is that I was wrong. Social media does have many benefits. But it is a two edged sword; just as social media can help people connect over long distances, spread information faster than through traditional media, and provide opportunities that otherwise would not be available, it also can be addicting, anti social, and can lead to identity theft, loss of privacy, and possibly worse. In all, the major lesson I took from the course (which is something I felt before, I just had no professional backup to my feelings) is that social media is a tool, a catalyst to both social life and media information. It, as well as technology in general, is there to make life easier. The danger is when we begin to rely on it; when it becomes not a tool, but a crutch. Once people begin to rely on these tools, they start to believe they cannot live without it. Eventually they get to they point where they give up other things in life, and the only thing they know HOW to use is social media; it is at that point where they really can't live with out it. Then what happens when the wifi drops? When the cell tower burns down? Or when there is a blackout/power outage? Or worse, what happens when it all shuts down, permanently? I'll leave you to think about that, but what about before we had any of it? What happened before we had smart phones and computers? They aren't that old, you only have to go back a decade. I have lived in a world without the smart phone. Sure I was young, but my parents seemed to survive pretty well. What about before electricity? They managed to get along fine with out phones, computers, internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. These things are here as catalysts, not wheelchairs. When we can understand that, we are ready to learn how to use social media more intelligently, in the way it was meant to be used; as a tool. And that is what I learned from this class. Sure there was more in the curriculum, and I learned a lot with all of that, too. But if I was only allowed to take away one thing, what I said would be enough; I could figure out the rest along the way.
This post is short. I'm sorry about that (some of you may actually be relieved XD). It's also solely a reflection; again I apologize. It was stuff I needed to say; and not just to fulfill the assignment, I really felt I had to say it. Next week (hopefully) I will go back to my usual random nonsensical, wibbely, wobbely, timey wimey....stuff. Till then, peace!
