Signed Off.

The Vision For ‘Signed Off’

– A Social Media Detachment Experiment.

Social media has become a growing part of every day. Social medias are websites or in the recent years applications that allow users to create, share, and participate in online social networks. Users invest time and money into building their presence online, and continuously pour efforts into perfecting that presence and drawing attention to it. Jobs have arisen due to the demand of strategies on how to the best encourage participation and attract attention in online social media sites for companies and their products. With social media now being such an important part of life with human growth, interaction, development, and relationships all at its feet; the question of how does it affect us arises.

 

Signed off  is a final project experiment which I subjugated myself to undergo for my ENG 2720- Writing with New Media class. The task of this experimental project embarked was to completely disconnecting myself from all social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, and Twitter. This was designed with the hopes to successfully and adequately capture how strongly social media affect a persons’ attention and participation structures, along with the effects it has our psychological being. All of which will be justified and supported through worthy research materials of various mediums. The end-result will be presented in the form of a digital diary blog hosted on a separated WordPress site which will be linked to this e-portfolio site under the child page ‘Signed Off’  Digital Diary.

 

After a testing period of two week, with the support of research material, the written aspect, and the aggregation of photo and video, I hope to prove how that social networking sites are a large contributor to the decline in generation Z’s cognitive ability to process, find, and read information whether video content or text, to take part in face-to-face contact and interactions, to lack social skills, to display signs of attachment and addiction, to lack the ability to deal with problems without the need for mediation communicative applications, as well as to crave or demand the need for instant gratification in all aspects of life. ‘Signed Off’ hopes to shine light on the ways social media has removed human behaviors from humans and led them to being to best functioning individuals in online spaces.

Project Proposal 

E-portfolio – Proposal 

Deliverables 

E-portfolio – Signed Off Digital Diary

WordPress – Digital Diary Blog 

The Write Up  

E-portfolio

Introduction

Understanding Attention Structures

Understanding Participatory Structures

The Impact & Effects

Downloadable Version

Project Presentation 

E-portfolio – Presentation Landing Page 

Downloadable Version

Project Reflection

E-portfolio – Reflection Landing Page

Downloadable Version

‘Signed Off’ Final Presentation

Abstract

Social medias are websites or in the recent years’ applications that allow users to create, share, and participate in online social networks. Users invest time and money into building their presence online, and continuously pour efforts into perfecting that presence and drawing attention to it. Jobs have arisen due to the demand of strategies on how to the best encourage participation and attract attention in online social media sites for companies and their products. With social media now being such an important part of life with human growth, interaction, development, and relationships all at its feet; the question arises of how does it affect us arises?

‘Signed off’, is a final project experiment which I subjugated myself to undergo. The task of the experimental project embarked on the basis in which I, Mariah Rajah, would completely and purposefully disconnect myself from all social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, and Twitter. This experiment hopes to track through daily blog posts, captured video, and photos how the disconnect affects my attention and participation structures, as well as provoke or bring into the light underlying psychological disturbances caused to either emotion or affect during the two-week experiment.

With the support of research material, I hope to prove how social networking sites are a large contributor to the decline in generation Z’s cognitive ability to process, find, and pay to longer forms of  information whether video content or text, to disregard the need to take part in face-to-face contact and interactions, to lack social skills, to display signs of attachment and addiction, to lack the ability to deal with problems without the need for mediation communicative applications, as well as to crave or demand the need for instant gratification in all aspects of life. ‘Signed Off’ hopes to shine light on the ways social media has removed human behaviors from humans and led them to only being to best functioning individuals in online spaces.

Signed Off’ PowerPoint Presentation

Final Draft for ‘Signed Off’ Project

As we near the final turn for this project I have been able to tackle the write up component. Linked below is where it can be found. I hope you find it interesting. Feedback is always welcomed.


 

Abstract

Signed off is a final project experiment which subjugates Mariah Rajah to undergo the task of completely disconnecting herself from all social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, etc. This experiment hopes to track through daily blog posts how the disconnect affects attention, participation, and psychological structures. With the support of research material Mariah Rajah hopes to prove how that  social networking sites are a large contributor to the decline in generation Z’s cognitive ability to process and find information, to part take in face-to-face contact, as well as their need for instant gratification in all aspects of life.

 

‱ Signed off Project Page ‱ Project Proposal ‱ Signed off Digital Diary  ‱ Project Presentation ‱ Project Reflection

Signed Off – Update as of 11/30

The second week of this experiment was no different than the first; I found myself facing challenge after challenge. I can say that I did not expect to be facing this amount of loss. It actually feels like I have lost a part of myself. I think that this is exactly what withdrawal feels like, I am anxious, I have urges to constantly sign back on to my social networking sites, I am wondering constantly what is going on and what is it that I am missing out on. I do not know how to deal with this. Social networking sites for me have become a part of me; these sites fill me in instantly, create laughter for me, invoke both empathy and sympathy, bring me closer to friends in far places, and help me to present my best self. It seems as though the first week was easier because I had so many things to do. Now coloring is a task, and less relaxing because I know I am only doing it to replace what I really want to be doing. I want to be a part of that community because I need to know what is happening and that is the only reason why. I do not feel the need to share, or part take I just want to know what is happening with the people I follow. It is like a drug and I need to be a part of it.

I wrote that a few days before Thanksgiving and I must say that I thought I was losing it. It is only through retrospect that I was able to see how distract and truly subtractive my social media sites are. This was the first Thanksgiving in how many years that I can say I was able to completely submerge myself in what was happening within my household whole-heartedly. I was the leading chef in the kitchen instead of the being on my phone snapping away to share with people for instant gratification of a like or a comment. I felt myself for once being a true participant. I did not want to share this with anyone else, I did not want to capture through a lens, but capture it in my memory. I did not miss out on what was being said neither did I feel left out. What was so bizarre to me was that I did receive instant gratification. I saw my mothers’ eyes light up with admiration because I was able to prepare so much food, I saw satisfaction in my relatives’ faces with each bite, and I heard it with every compliment. It was a new experience and a new way to experience people and a holiday. I realized I did not care to share nor did I want to share with everyone this intimate moment because it was for me, for my eyes only; it was a moment that no one else would cherish as much as I would if I had made a post on either Facebook or Instagram.

The want and need to capture moments now meant something more for me. It was an opportunity to preserve a moment for a personal keepsake and not for the general public although if I choose to it could be. The moments captured unlike the ones aggregated on Twitter had more meaning. I felt something in each movement and there was a memory, a word, a laughter, a feeling associated with that particular video or picture. I believe this will affect my participation on my social networking sites because when I return I see my pictures in terms of likes but in terms of a moment—a captured gem; a preservation of a time that I may never be able to relive. This experience has been able to so far change my interpretation of what I want and need out of my social networking site and what I actually see them as.

In actuality, I cannot believe that this is the last leg of this experiment. I am sad to say, that in moving forward it has come to my realization that to adequately measure something of this sort there needs to be more time. I believe that the full effects, or the effects of which I am experiencing as of this moment are somewhat forced due to the limited time. It seems as though I am being pushed towards them because of a time constraint. In some ways I feel as though I am pushing myself to feel these alterations but I do not have a definite way of measure this against the time. However, whether I am forcing myself subconsciously or if in fact these are genuine effects of this experiment it has been an eye opening and learning experience. I have forced myself to see beyond how I am expected to present myself. I am beginning to experience my own wants and needs which are not based on those of others and societal expectations because I do not know what they are since I am not a part of that greater society that offers more opinion. I feel freer in a way because I know that my ideas being generated right now are not altered by others nor do they have a great expectation because I am not comparing them to what others are doing or saying. They are my own words of my own thought and I believe that there is something remarkable about that.

Deliverables for the coming week :

  1. As I am now winding down to the last leg of the project I will now begin to refine blog posts that were made to accompany both video and picture of the day posts.
  2. I will also begin to choose what videos and pictures I want to use specifically in the blog posts for last week.
  3. I also have to edit more videos for the final short video which I am putting together.
  4. I have also decided to cut out the aspect of interviewing colleagues which was proposed in my proposal.
  5. I also will also begin to capture videos and pictures for this weeks posts.

It’s All a Work in Progress.

The project so far has been both an outward search, and an insightful inner task. I have had to rely on the research articles in this part of the project to tell me what to expect in regard to what effects such as detachment and worry. I did not imagine that it would be as bad as it is. The first day of Friday the 20th was not as bad because most of it was spent in work, however, when I went on break I found myself lost. I had nothing to do but eat my lunch. I paid attention to the food, the way it tasted, the colors and smells of the food. It was a new experience because I could not remember the last time I looked at the food that was going into my mouth. Most times I am staring at my phone busily scrolling through what seems like an endless feed. I also noticed that the time went a lot slower. Thirty minutes felt like an hour. It is amazing how quickly I was able to gauge the changing sense of time. I was able to give an account for where my minutes went instead of mindlessly wondering if I had really just spent 4 hours scrolling and re-blogging on Tumblr without noticing it.

The second thing Processed with VSCOcam with c1 presetI noticed about myself was the constant worry about what I was missing out on. As a guilty pleasure I read, “The Shade Room” (TSR), a celebrity blog that gives updates about trending celebrity stories. I have grown attached and soothed by this blog. It has been my way to unwind after a long days’ work or school. For the past four days however I have been lost and it worries me. I am worried that I will have to catch up on so much and I will also miss out so much. I have no idea what is going on and I have had to find a new ways to deal with my new time—coloring. In four days I have reassigned and invested my time in more creative outlets. I have never colored so much since the fourth grade but although it does occupy my time I still find myself worrying about missing out on some outrageous seflies or videos.

I have also noticed my ability to pay more attention to smaller IMG_3455things. I notice the people around me, words on the wall, and even the objects on the ground. These things which I have gone months without noticing because my head would be buried in my phone; scrolling through social media. My attention to detail has caused me to become not only more aware of the things I do but the manner in which I do them. I pay more attention because I am not being drawn to or constantly stopping to check my SNS. I am more interested and invested in people and their stories because I have nothing to distract me with.

The last effect of this experiment that I have noticed is that I am relearning how to use my iPhone (who knew there was more to it than my SNS apps). I am more cautious of what I do and how I do it on my phone. Since Friday I have downloaded games, and photo editing apps that allow me to take advantage more of what the phone h
as to offer. I have been taking advantage of my camera and all that it has to offer. I have also noticed that when I take a picture now I take it not for the ‘likes’ but for a purpose. I have found an interest and enjoyment in taking photos that I never knew before. I would before this experiment take a picture for the sole purpose of posting it and seeing people like it or share it; now I find pleasure in capturing a moment for myself and no one else.

So far I thiIMG_3565nk that I have been able to capture videos and pictures that represent these feelings and effects. In moving I plan on continuing to capture more videos and pictures of the day that represent and coincide with the blog post that goes along with it.  I also plan on starting to put my short video together for the final presentation as to give myself enough time to edit.

Lastly, moving away from the project, I have too beeIMG_3575n working on my e-portfolio site as which will house the final project piece. I have been working hard on ‘The Sliding Doors’ theme and I believe I am finding some success.

I ask that anyone if willing take a look and give me some feedback. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have about the project so far. I hope you will be able to enjoy the finished item.

 

“Signed Off” – Revised Proposal.

Vision:

To successfully and adequately capture through daily vlogging reflection and blog posts how ‘signing off’ from social media networking sites (SNS) such as Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram strongly affect a persons’ attention and participatory structures, along with the effects it has our wants, needs, and interpretations of people, persons, and things. All of which will be justified and supported through research of willing individuals and attestable written resources. The end-result will be presented in the form of short film/video of some sort which will be posted to Mariah Rajah’s e-portfolio site (I Am More Than My Words).

Introduction:

Throughout the semester we have covered a wide range of topics but in all of them we always seemed to return the topic of availability. We question time and time again that in this day in age is it possible to be unavailable? And what does it actually mean to be unavailable in a world where not being able to reach someone is a sign of tardiness and carelessness. A key component to understanding this project will be understanding that unavailability in this aspect means to not to be connected to an SNS—as in being signed off or disconnected. For all purposes these terms in this project are interchangeable.

To return to focus, when thinking of this project idea I drew upon three main topics that are of interest:

  1. Availability
  2. Attention structures
  3. Participation

After focusing in on these three topics the realization came that they each play a part in tackling the question of, “How does signing off completely from a social networking site affect us?” First of all, availability is by far one of the biggest affordances and constraints of the internet. SNS’s have allowed us to constantly be in touch. We can tag, track, and see when we’ve read each other’s messages. All of these affordances have in a way lead us to always be online even when we aren’t. Being available online means you are expected to participate in conversation both personal and global oriented.

As an individual of an online community you have the responsibility to share, comment and create and if you do not you are therefore doing that community a disservice. Your participation is always needed and wanted on both your and your audiences’ end. This want and need to participate ultimately allows us to choose whether we are or are not available.  It also means that you are aware of what is going on around you and you are in a way forced to take part or else you are “creeping”. Being available has also had an impact in the way we divide our attention. What we focus on and how we focus on these things ultimately affects our participation and our availability. These three concepts all interact and interfere with our ability to actually disconnect and become unavailable in a world that demands availability.

Objective:

This project proposes an experiment in which I will purposely disconnect or sign off myself from all social media networking sites (such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr) which I participate in for two weeks.

In those two weeks I will vlog, blog, and capture photographs daily about how I am dealing with not being available or signed into these SNS. Since a large portion of the project will be reflections I plan to capture this by doing daily vlogs that give detailed descriptions as to how I am dealing with the disconnect.

In tracking this I want to highlight the shift in myself and the transition from an avid online user to someone who has become “signed off”, “disconnected”, or “unavailable”:

  1. Test subject will research how other people have dealt with taking breaks from social networking sites ( 7 Important Reasons to Unplug and Find Space Get Off The Internet: A Challenge to Reconnect With Yourself ), and interview colleagues; then compare this to self-assessed criteria in order to accurately record whether or not it is an internal or an external issue that has had the same effects across the board.
  2. By conducting research that almost entirely embarks on the premise of availability and the affordances and constraints it entails, student will try to also highlight the psychological effects this disconnect has upon an individual such as anxiety, worry, detachment etc. Also with the hopes that this project demonstrates that availability has changed our wants, needs, and interpretations of people, persons, and things. (Facebook effects on social distress: Priming with online social networking thoughts can alter the perceived distress due to social exclusion, When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social Media Alters Human Relationships)
  3. Lastly, in this project the student wishes to prove that there is a way by which we can become unavailable in a world that desires for everyone to constantly be signed in and involved. (Measuring Emotional Contagion in Social Media, Generation Z: Technology and Social Interest)

Deliverables:

As the nature of this project is to produce multimodal aspects I hope to:

  1. Capture daily videos reflection that track my changes in behavior (participation & attention), needs, wants, interpretations, and emotions. (which will be posted on openlab e-portfolio by the end of each day for the 2 weeks)
  2. Photographs that highlight how I spend my time in being ‘unavailable’. Which will be accompanied with short captions/posts as to explain the thoughts and noticed changes. **all which will include hyperlinks to sources that either support or argue against points** (which will be posted on Openlab e-portfolio by the end of the day)
  3. PowerPoint presentation at the end of experiment to showcase learnt experiences, changes, and understandings of how unavailability effects more than what we think it does.
  4. In its entirety, answer what I have found the answer to be for the question: “What does it mean to be unavailable?”

Guidelines:

In order for this project to be achieve as much success as possible:

  1. Student will only be signed off from SNS such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Snapchat, and Instagram.
  2. Student will still be allowed to read email, text, and news both print and web, but only relating to worldly events.
  3. Student is not allowed to engage in trending social media videos, memes, treads, or profiles by either search engine or from shared sources.
  4. It is to be understood that even in the event that it arises in a verbal conversation student can only inquire through that conversation and not engage in outside research.
  5. Student is to be completely signed off and apps are to be deleted from any or all smart devices.
  6. Student is not allowed to check or engage in activity on other users smart devices.

Target Questions for Daily Vlogs:

  1. How are you feeling today without your online presence?
  2. Have you noticed a change in yourself?
  3. How has your relationship with your smart device changed?
  4. What other activities have you been participating in?
  5. How has your attention shifted? Has it shifted?
  6. Do you appreciate the new found freedom that comes along with not participating in online social media networking sites?
  7. What is the biggest and hardest part of this transition?

Projected Timeline:

Initial starting date- TBA

  • First two weeks – document and capture the ‘signed off’ time period. Keep detailed records in reflections that will allow myself to compile an archive as to which draw information from for film.
  • After initial steps are taken next step will be to begin the editing process as to allow enough time to properly capture essence of project.
  • Further capture video, composite adequate research which adds to an archive that will support short film and answers the question of unavailability.

Research Materials:

  1. What Does Profile Unavailable Mean on Facebook?
  2. 7 Important Reasons to Unplug and Find Space
  3. Get Off The Internet: A Challenge to Reconnect With Yourself
  4. Facebook effects on social distress: Priming with online social networking thoughts can alter the perceived distress due to social exclusion
  5. When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social Media Alters Human Relationships
  6. Measuring Emotional Contagion in Social Media
  7. Generation Z: Technology and Social Interest

Resources to be Used: TBA

 

Let’s Just Say My E-Portfolio is Still Under Construction.

Working on customizing the e-portfolio has honestly been one big giant headache. Not being familiar with the platform has caused me to time and time again start over. The first problem I encountered, was not being able to match the way I imagined my academic platform to the limited themes that were to choose from. I found it frustrating to begin the process so late and only have such a limited amount of time to come up with a vision. I was hard to figure out what was best for a project when I did not have a great direction of how exactly I wanted the project to look.

This experience not only frustrated me but challenged me due to the fact that customizing the chosen theme did not come with exactly instructions on how exactly to change the header. The easiest part of the customization process was choosing plug-ins and enabling widgets. The rest of the process strongly needed a tech or someone who was knowledgeable of to maximize the allowances of the platform.

The over all design and concept has taken some shape of my E-portfolio is still under construction. I am still having a hard time editing and customizing the attributes of my chosen theme, however I do believe that my chosen theme fits the concept of my project. I hope to keep editing and building this to completely fit the project and all it encompasses.

Annotated Bibliographies

Becker, Joshua. “7 Important Reasons to Unplug and Find Space”. becomingminimalist. Becomingminimalist, n.d. Web. 11 Nov 2015.

Becker established the notion that users of technology and its various networking media related sites cannot disconnect themselves or in a way becoming unavailable from them. In the article, Becker stipulates that together we have all forgotten that there is the option to power-off and remove ourselves from technology and these mediated spaces. Becker goes onto stating the various reason as to why we should remove ourselves from the presence of technology and also the way in which it benefits us, for example, “Powering-down combats the fear of missing out”.

This connects to my project because as mentioned the project will honing in on not only the physical changes becoming unavailable has on an individual but also the psychological effects as well. This article correlates with the proposed theory and goes onto supporting and giving detailed descriptions as to how unavailability effects our ability to participate and engage with others, things, and places outside social media.


Chiou, Wen-Bin, Lee, Chun-Chia, & Liao, Da-Chi. “Facebook Effects on Social Distress: Priming with Online Social Networking Thoughts Can Alter the Perceived Distress Due to Social Exclusion.” Science Direct (2015): 230-236. Web.

“Facebook Effects on Social Distress: Priming with Online Social Networking Thoughts Can Alter the Perceived Distress Due to Social Exclusion”, ventures on the premise to explore social networking sites (SNS) and how they either interfere with peoples interpretations of social exclusion experiences such as disconnecting from these sites. The experiment conducted in this article goes onto indicate that the disconnecting act or loss of online social networking caused the test subjects the feelings of distress. This experiment went onto prove that the connection with SNS’s also influence how people interpret information, connection amongst other, and the act of participating as well.

This article will allow my project to not only justify claims but use already gathered data to nullify presented claims on these very topics mentioned. This article will provide my research with strong examples of how SNS encourage changing behaviors of participation and attention but go as far as to change the psyche of a person to believe that if they were to disconnect of becoming unavailable from a SNS that they would be missing out on not just a potential source of social reconnect but viable information needed to be in connection with people, places, and things.


 

Cohen, James & Kenny, Thomas. “Creativity in the Online Environment.” Cohen, James & Kenny, Thomas. Producing New and Digital Media. Burlington: Focal Press, 2016. 10-44. Print.

“Creativity in the Online Environment” by Cohen and Kenny offers insight into various components of how to cultivate an online following and how to engage in certain SNS platforms. However, the part of the chapter that offers the most information pertinent to this research project is the section, “Participation in the Online Environment”. This section is a critical turning point in the chapter because it helps to understanding how much it takes in order to be considered a part of a discourse community.

This chapter and section will help to create more understanding of the project because it will help to show that by disconnecting from SNS not only effect participation, but understanding, creativity, and connection. This chapter will also be helpful in making the idea clear that participation is defined differently on social media than it is else where.


 

 

Ferrara, Emilio, and Zeyao Yang. “Measuring Emotional Contagion In Social Media.” Plos ONE 10.10 (2015): 1-14. Academic ;Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Ferrara and Yang’s article, on “Measuring Emotional Contagion in Social Media” is an experiment measuring how content created online circulates and the way it changed how it impacts others emotions which goes onto to change how they interpret their surrounding people and things. This experiment embarked on premise that emotions created online are in a way spreadable in such a way that it takes on both negative and positive attributions as it circulates online. As mentioned in the article, the experiment raises ethical concerns due to its nature being a manipulation of people’s emotions as to accurately test the hypothesis of how social media influences emotions.

This article will help to justify the claim in the undergoing research project of the impacts social media has on the interpretations of people, places, and things. The article is a good source in helping establish the foundation for the research in the way it highlights that interaction online alters behavior and emotions. This will in turn help to further the research in helping to highlight the fact that it is SNS that change the way people express themselves and ultimately change the way they interpret emotions.


 

Jones, H. Rodney & Hanfer A. Christopher. “Attention Structures.” Jones, H. Rodney & Hanfer A. Christopher. Understanding Digital Literacies. New York: Routledge, 2012. 83-97. Print.

Jones and Hanfer’s take on “Attention Structures” allows their audience to understand all the parts of an internet that effect a persons ability to multitask and such forth. The chapter goes into deep detail about specific concepts such as cast switching, dual activity, and continual partial attention. All of these contribute to how the attention of individuals share or divide their attention in their space online. The way by which we grow and engage depends on the amount of time we spend giving certain allocations online different amounts of time. Attention structures online create a profile of your engagement and in turn creates a schedule of how one divides their attention.

This article is useful in providing a background of how an audiences attention structures are initially divided. In conducting an experiment of disconnecting oneself from SNS then there could be a record of how attention structures change and therefore give concrete evidence that a disconnect can and therefore will alter these structures.


 

Lee, Singyin. “Hongkait Techbology Design Inspiration.” Get Off The Internet: A  Challenge to Reconnect With Yourself. N/A: Hongkait, 2012. Web . 6 Nov 2015

Lee’s article presents the idea of how disconnecting from online participation can open yourself to reconnecting with yourself. As introduced in the article the internet has taken over our lives. When not present in front of a computer we still find a way by either tablet or cell phone device to connect and participate online. This has become a problem and has gone on to create problems in our personal lives. We have been connected for so long through these mediated mediums that when we are to disconnect we feel anxious and perhaps even worry. In this article, Lee proposes ways to her audience in which they can disconnect from the web in order to find themselves once more.

This article connects to the research project that I will be conducting due to the fact that it gives support to claims made in the project such as attention structures, health (psychological), and participation with people, places, and things. The article also helps to raise more questions for the project daily vlogs such as: how does this disconnect challenge your originality? This article will help the project to emphasize key points and build upon ideas already presented.


 

Turner, Anthony. “Generation Z: Technology And Social Interest.” Journal Of Individual Psychology 71.2 (2015): 103-113. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

“Generation Z: Technology and Social Interest” by Anthony Turner highlights the special relationship that the Generation Z (children born from 1993-2005) has with technology– especially social media. The article thoroughly examines the livelihood of generation Z in conjunction with their attachment to their smartphones and social networking sites. The article also deeply investigates considerations such as demographics which play a big part in how much time generation Z spends engaging with social media. The article goes onto highlight that it is the development through these mediated mediums in which children of generation Z face the struggle of coping with detachment, and their ability to develop and practice social interests which means to actively participate without the need for mediation.

This article can help provide not only fundamental proof that social media has in fact changed the way by which we interact with others but also the way by which generation Z develops. The article is also very useful in the way that it gives causes and effects of the interaction with social media. The article helps this research to further elaborate that a disconnection from social media networks will ultimately cause changes in psychological behavior, attention, and participation because of how attached one becomes with social media networking sites.


Wagner, Lori Ann. “When Your Smartphone Is Too Smart For Your Own Good: How Social Media Alters Human   Relationships.” Journal Of Individual Psychology 71.2 (2015): 114-121. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Wagner’s article, “When Your Smartphone if Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social Media Alters Human Relationships”, addressed the fact that humans have moved into the age where they prefer to interact via mediated communications such as SNS. The article makes the claim that in a sense humans have evolved from being the social creatures they once were however now they prefer to have a relationship through their devices. These devices have allowed people to connect in such a way that does not mirror the five senses which in turn has altered how they interact with people.

The article stipulates that through a mediated media are humans more trusting, interactive, engaged, and willing to participate whereas off of online SNS’s there is a hesitation in actions of participation and attention. This article helps the proposed research project by giving concrete evidence to back up claims made about attention and participation structures. Also, the article helps to entertain and praise the idea that the way people interpret people, places, and things are altered by way of SNS’s and other mediated communications. This article will help to give more clarity to just how much interaction has changed due to SNS.



 

Reflection

I found this exercise to be both helpful and overwhelming. My past experience of doing an annotated bibliography was in terms of doing a analog research paper. In this case I found it to be outdated for the type of project expected at the end. Although, it did enable me to think critically of how I will be using these documents it also caused me to become side track from the actual composite of my project.

I think that even though it was helpful, it was not for this project. It should expected that we conduct this type of analysis. All in all the experience was okay due to the fact that it allowed me to structure my project more and define more key points.

**Class notes**

Today and Moving Forward:

Customizing e-portfolio

Remember to:

  1. Tailor ‘about me’ section.
  2. Install plugins and widgets
  3. Choose theme that is targeted to your project
  4. Be mindful of your project and how it will be presented.

If you are having trouble:

  • Help page on OpenLab itself
  • e-portfolio help in G600
  • Email professor Belli

Reminders:

  • Check schedule for reading for next week *11/17*
  • NO RESPONSE BLOG for reading! – but reading must be done.
  • Speaker coming in so be prepared.
  • Start your e-portfolio work (bio, pages, etc.)
  • Reflection blog due about experience on E-PORTFOLIO (due Monday 11/16)
  • No formal presentations due on this reflection but you do need to be prepared to talk about it (coming up to smart board and walk us through)
  • ALL WORK MUST BE POSTED ON OUR SITE. (not on individual e-portfolio sites yet)
  • MLA formatting for annotated bibliography in ‘resource section’ of Open Lab course.

Due Monday 11/16:

  • Reflection about e-portfolio revamping
  • Annotated bibliography on 6 sources
  • Reflection about process of gathering research/ annotating at the end annotated bibliography **see schedule**