January 2021

“People want to customize their lives. They want to go in and out of all the places they are because the thing that matters most to them is control over where they put their attention.”

I think that this is so true.  Especially in this day in age where I think that people use their social media platforms to personify someone who they really aren’t. They might have all of these wonderful pictures of their family or the last great place they traveled to, or a major trophy they won, etc, you get the point. I feel as if now people are more worried about how many likes they get on their Instagram post than they do their parents flying home from a trip. Social media is so twisting these days. I think that this could be very toxic for some people who rather care about their internet life than going out in the real world, getting a supporting job, good friends, and staying around the people who really care about you and not what’s on your Facebook page.

“David went on the trip and enjoyed himself, posting several pictures on Instagram.

But he noticed that the friend who’d dropped out hadn’t liked any of the photos he posted.

“I remember we got in an argument, and I was like, ‘You know, you didn’t like any of my pictures on Instagram!’” he laughs. “A year ago we brought it up again, and he was like, ‘Yeah. I did see your pictures, and I didn’t want to like them because I didn’t go on that trip.’”””

 

This article did challenge my opinions.  And the way that this reading did this was by adding in the quote above when David planned a trip with his friends and one decides not to go.  Well after the trip David posts some pictures to Instagram and his friend that canceled did not like his pictures.  This bothers me because if there was no Instagram and Davids friend ran into him after the trip I would expect him to ask how the trip was, what they did, show him pictures, and I’m sure they would have gotten along and his friend would have said something along the lines of oh man I wish I would have gone yall looked like you had so much fun. What challenged my opinions though was why does social media have to be so negative and get others down.  Why can everyone is kind to each other instead of being so judgemental on what they post to their pages.  It will never make sense to me.

“…along with others like #MeToo and #MAGA (Make America Great Again) – has sparked a broader discussion about the effectiveness and viability of using social media for political engagement and social activism….”

 

After reading this passage I quickly took notice of this quote. This made me connect to something that I already know about which is the power of social media influencers.  It’s crazy to think nowadays people will solely base their beliefs on something that some guy/girl on social media posted because they were either paid to do so or to get people on their side on things.  This became very prevalent during this election where I think that a lot of people ages 18-25 voted based on how many good/bad tweets they say about the presidential candidate that they were going for.  When Twitter put a ban on Donald Trump’s tweets it literally went against our freedom of speech. Now people that didn’t like Donald Trump or were right in the middle could see this and say to themselves. Oh, he must be so bad if they delete his Twitter account.   I am sure that social media is the only reason people voted for who they did but I do believe that this year the news and social media played a huge role in the outcome of the 2020 election.

I think that there was a bit of a connection betwwen the reading about Millenials and the reading today about how Todays college students arent who you think they are. The connection I thought of is how when my parents went to college they were able to work part and full time jobs be able to go out and have fun all while going to school for their degree. While millenials cant seem to check their emails and get a job. By the time my parents were 27-30 years old they had their full blown carrer going while in the reading today I learned that 1 in 5 college students are 30 years old. I also thought about how millenials are burn outs and how they have a child or dependent other, how a quarter of students take a year off, (proably because they are lazy), and finally attending school part time the connection being how the statistics line up with why millenials are a burnout generation.  Thats where I think the connecting between the burnout reading and the reading today about college students not being who we think they are.

“Today’s college student is decidedly nontraditional — and has been for a while. “This isn’t a new phenomenon,” Radford says. “We’ve been looking at this since 1996.”…Radford has done a lot of research on this and defines the nontraditional student as having one or more of the following characteristics:

• Financially independent from their parents
• Having a child or other dependent
• Being a single caregiver
• Lacking a traditional high school diploma
• Delaying postsecondary enrollment
• Attending school part time
• Being employed full time…”

This article did make me question something. Why have the past generations changed so much compared to their/our parents.  When my parents were in college they both worked part and full-time jobs while going to school, able to go out and party, be in a Greek life organization and be able to support themselves all at the same time.  I honestly think it could tie into the first reading we had about millennials and why they are so lazy.  But at the same time, these new nontraditional college students and the statistics posted in the reading really had me stumped.  1 in 5 is at least 30 years old.  This took me totally by surprise. When my dad graduated college in the late 80’s early 90’s there were definitely not many people over 25 years old in a graduating class.  In addition, one more thing that also shocked me was a quarter of students take a year off before starting school.  I’m guessing that this is because of work maybe or something else I don’t know just something that made me question why they would do that instead of trying to graduate with your degree as soon as possible.

“…about 70 percent of college students were working before the pandemic, and an even substantial — even more substantial were involved in the labor force in some way because they were looking for a job, but they could not find one. Now you have all of these people who have been told, we either can’t go to work or my job closed. A lot of people in college work at restaurants, for example, and we have been see what’s happening there. So to be told you still have to pay your rent, and you don’t have money coming in, it really does create a significant crisis…” (Goldrick-Rab)

While listening to and reading How is the pandemic impacting college students I realized just how much this pandemic has also affected me personally and my peers.  The quote above relates to a huge problem that I have experienced. Before coming to college I worked at a lumber yard and once the pandemic hit there was such a lull in the business that I had to be let off.  This affected my ability to make as much money as possible before going off to school.  Well, I thought that I could maybe get a job here in oxford but with an even stricter covid restriction here than back home in Florida, I found it impossible.  In addition to me personally being affected many businesses in a small town like this are being affected too.  Bars that employ a very large percentage of college students have certainly been impacted.  I know a couple of bartenders and they have not gotten a fraction of the income due to bar hours being shortened and a much smaller capacity, bartenders do not get the income in tips they rely on.

In the discussion today I related to two of the topics covered in the reading. The first being work. When I was old enough to drive I got a job.  I worked from 2-5 M,T,Th,F and 11-5 on Wednesdays. The weekends were my 10-hour shifts from 7-5. This put a lot of stress on me to not only go to work every day but also to get my school work done and also have time for social activities. Bringing me to the second topic of mental health. My parents were always there for me when I was stressed and helped me talk about it and find what will help me…Which were my rituals. Going hunting or fishing really helps me relieve my stress and feel much better about myself and ready to attack tomorrow.

“Many of the behaviors attributed to millennials are the behaviors of a specific subset of mostly white, largely middle-class people born between 1981 and 1996. But even if you’re a millennial who didn’t grow up privileged, you’ve been impacted by the societal and cultural shifts that have shaped the generation.” (Don’t see a page number but the header is For the last decade,) 

 

After reading the article provided I began to almost feel attacked. Not really but in a funny way. Only because I feel as if I have also been called a millennial before. the quote listed above made me question myself if I am one of these people that fits into this type of category. No, I was not born in 1981 through 1996 but some of the other categories fit my upbringing as well. Where I can agree is that I do feel as if I have been largely influenced by societal and cultural shifts they have both affected the millennial generation and my generation as well. These changes were certainly small over time but have become more and more noticeable in The Last 5 Years than ever. I have found even in my own friend group that there are mostly white large middle-class people that have been not going out of the house and doing stuff often because they are so encapsulated in social media and video games. In addition to that, a lot of the things that they are reading on social media also influence their political, social, and spiritual, standards.  I am not completely sure if I just don’t think I fit into this category or I really am in this category. Because I can notice all of the changes around me but I cannot see the changes within myself. That’s what this reading had me questioning.

 

I would add something to do with fishing or hunting because that is a big thing in my life and probably always will be.  I didn’t see any of them differently but I did pick up that a lot of us have very similar rituals, relationships, and restrictions.  But as I said earlier we are all individuals in the end we just happen to have a lot in common.

After watching Taiye Salasi’s TED talk I began by thinking about my own Rituals, Relationships, and Restrictions.  Everyone is different and I didn’t think of things similar to what Taiyes was but I believe that’s ok because we are individuals. To start one ritual that I wouldn’t be able to function without is coffee in the morning.  Its almost became a part of my life by now, my daily routine.  Secondly brushing my teeth.  I can’t stand not having the feeling of a clean mouth.  If I ever leave the house to stay the night somewhere in bring a toothbrush with me.  I don’t know it’s just something that I have ingrained into my head. I also love to hunt and fish.  There is just something about going into the outdoors and fetching some wild game, preparing it yourself, and best of all eating it.  There is no way to describe the satisfaction of tasting all of the work that you put into that animal or fish.  Another ritual that is in my routine would be playing some Xbox with the boys for a few hours.  It not only brings back good memories of my childhood but also is a good way to keep in touch with people while at school. The element of relationships was easy for me to think of.  My parents obviously, I am super close with both of them and talk to them daily.  I love the way that I grew up and wouldn’t change it for the world.  They taught me so many life lessons at an early age and has shaped me into who I am today. Then my two best friends from my hometown came up to Ole Miss. We were some of the only guys from our graduating class to go out of state and I couldn’t imagine them not being with me.  We pretty much do everything together and most likely will for the rest of our lives. In addition to my boys, I also have a great connection with all the brothers in my Fraternity.  Joining a Greek life organization was a great way for me to get to know a lot of people very quickly and always have someone to turn to.  Bringing us to restrictions. One thing that limits me is the anxiety of going out and having fun with my friends.  I have had a bad experience in the past and it has held me from doing multiple things that at first I say to myself whatever then I later regret my decision of not going.  Also my habit of playing video games.  This easily distracts me from doing my work, cleaning my room, etc. There are many things that I need to work on.