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When discussing the readings today I connected to the article Todays College Students Aren’t Who You Think They Are to the Ted Talk, today in America the idea of an average person has changed especially desires. When talking about the differences of today’s America made me recognize how the idea of  “the American Dream”  has made more people take their own path to success and happiness like Courtney Martin said in the Ted Talk “just making it work”. 

After reading the article Where Americans Find Meaning In Life made me question where I find value in my life, like many others it was a plethora of things such as family, friends, the outdoors, and more.  “People in a wide variety of social and demographic subgroups mention family as a key source of meaning and fulfillment.” family is obviously very important to most people because they are the ones who always will be there.  One thing I found interesting was when connecting this article to My 65 Day Digital Detox, I noticed how no one they surveyed mentioned that they find meaning through social media. In the article My 65 Day Digital Detox the author mentioned how he had less distractions which allowed him to focus on what he found meaning in. I found this interesting because so many of us are investing so deeply in technology but not many people find meaning in it although we consider it very important.

When watching the Ted Talk by Courtney E. Martin I found it very intriguing when she talked about what constitutes the 21st century life, Martin often mentioned its less about the nice house with a white picket fence. When talking about what people do for labor she had a very strong opinion that people desire interdependence, she stated “My mom called it just making it work” Martin said that this meant doing enough patchwork and saving but still having enough time to take care of those who you love. Martin lived in a community where they all have their own living space but share a industrial kitchen and dinner room, she believes this type of life style creates communication and makes life easier for everyone “it’s less about investing in the perfect family and more about investing in the perfect village” when hearing this I related to my community back home and the relationships I have created with my friends parents and how many multiple adults I have had in my life to look up to and not just my family.

“The changing cadence of college life has made romantic prospects harder to come by, even for those who are back on campus.” This article made me question the way people are meeting new companions during this pandemic. This article talks about the possibility of romance in college during the unprecedented times, the pandemic makes it really difficult but not impossible for finding dates. Video Chatting is a huge portion of creating a relationship, it is mentioned that any kind of close contact is a health risk. Whether or not its a health risk many students are willing to take the risk, although on campus students have more of a difficult time with the restrictions that are put on the students by housing to prevent health risks.

“Students on large campuses are more likely to have friends who share their attitudes and beliefs” This article challenged my initial view on how diversity on large campuses can effect the friendships that are made. Reading this article made me reflect on the way I have met people and the diversity between my new college friends and myself.  When there is a larger variety of choice it allows students to pick from a larger group of people and often find friends with similar views or hobbies, this was partially true for me but I definitely met. and made friends with people who are from completely different places and grew up doing different things than I did although most of us have similar interests.

I found this article very interesting, I always figured that the Bumble app was more of a dating app that just said it was for friendship to be one of a kind. I have never used an app like this personally but its super interesting to see the kind of friendship Dree And Kirstina fueled over this app. Originally I always thought these types of apps were pointless and the bonds you make never actually go anywhere so seeing a story like this made me believe in them.”It got to the point where I was sleeping over there all the time. We were having a nonstop sleepover. It was great.” These friends had created such a strong bond and it was really cool to read their story of how their friendship came about and prospered.

“There were a few people who approached me to ask if I’d blocked them,” recalls David. “I thought it was so interesting how this has nothing to do with them — it’s something I was doing for myself — but they’d immediately thought that I blocked them even though I had no reason to.” I found this part very interesting, friends on social media expect to be in contact and share things you find funny with each other, but when David stop using social media his freinds were slightly offended that he hadn’t sent them anything or tagged them in it. I think when you get rid of social media the conversation you have with friends is enriched due to the fact that it becomes more personalized and communication is clearer and easier.

Social media allows many people to come together as a group and unite as one to fight for something they believe in. “34% of Americans have taken part in a group on social media that shares an interest in an issue or cause” (1) I found this quote pretty interesting, I feel like more Americans have taken part in activism on social media. Throughout the past year there were many causes that were all over social media, especially Black Lives Matter. One thing I found interesting about activism on social media is how many people can get behind a movement a bond together over a post.  Social media gives a voice to everyone, even those who may be unrepresented without social media.  I think it is really cool how a hashtag can unite a bunch of different activist posts together and create a stronger movement just with a hashtag.

” We use technology to define ourselves by sharing our thoughts and feelings even as we’re having them.” (Sherry Turkle) I found this quote very interesting, I have never thought about technology this way. With technology we don’t allow our emotions or ideas to develop before we go send them in a text or a tweet. Communicating on technology can make the person you are communicating with misunderstand what you are actually trying to say. The way we act in technology doesn’t allow us to rethink what we are going to say and in the moment it is easy to say something you might not feel in 30 minutes. This challenged my initial thinking about how beneficial technology is for communication, although it really makes it more confusing with each other.