Just Being Becca

 Social Media Insecurities Did I get enough likes on my Instagram post? Do I keep enough streaks on Snapchat? Do people like my VSCO pictures enough to repost them? These are just some of the questions constantly floating around in my brain when I open up these apps that dictate so much of my life. Each post and caption has to be perfectly thought out because that is the persona I am sharing with the world. Sure, I may be having a crappy week, but as long as I look happy in this Instagram picture it will be ok, right? This is a detrimental perspective to have on life and social media, but I know I am guilty of it at times. I try to keep the same image on all of my social media platforms, but more often than not that image I have created does not truly show my life in reality. The simplicity of being able to click the post button for a picture of you grinning ear to ear while having tears rolling down your face makes it to easy to show a fake life.  Having this attitude when it...

New Media this Week Throughout this week I have been keeping track of my social media usage, and boy has it been enlightening! A day in the life of Becca involves a lot of constant media and a consistent flow of me picking up my phone, even if it is simply for a quick 15 second check in.  Our world depends heavily on the use of social media, mainly for easy communication, and I am not an exception. Due to guest speakers in my social media course I have been shown just how substantial social media's role in the world can be. Specifically for activist groups and those hoping to make a change, social media provides an outlet to bring similar minded people together and form the beginnings of real change. However, though I consistently use social media, it is almost never for meaningful uses like this. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but my usage could surely be more beneficial than it currently is.  For me, daily social media consists of constantly checking snapchat and resp...

Times are changing. Whether it be in social media, technology, or simple social interactions, our society's methods of dealing with these things are constantly progressing and evolving. I was recently granted the opportunity to hear Rauf Arif (a guest speaker at Mount St. Mary's University) speak on his views on the subjects of digital media and social movements. With experience as a digital author, it was intriguing to hear of the struggles currently occurring for those in digital publishing occupations. My generation has an immensely short attention spam. If you are not able to grab our attention within the first three seconds of us viewing something, you don't stand a chance at obtaining our time. Yes, this is obviously a problem on our behalf. However it is what it is, and this is what we've grown up knowing. This has led to the digital media needing to dramatize everything in order to sustain views and interactions. Hearing Rauf Arif speak about his first hand expe...