12/17 | Final Work

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1 thought on “12/17 | Final Work”

  1. Justin Rowley
    English D354
    Professor Monroe Street
    December 16, 2018
     
        Various forms of social media have given people a platform to voice their opinions on different matters, whether it’s debates about celebrities, political views, or new experiences and personas that can be shared with the world. I find that it can be a good place to teach and bring awareness to many issues the news may fail to highlight. Sharing stories, transcript, and even new reports is the first step to giving people new perspective on issues such as police brutality, sexism in our society, and health care topics such as STD testing or abortion which have always had negative stigmas attached to it. Aside from the many issues I feel compelled to talk about, my personality changes once I am not on social media. I fail to be as vocal about my opinions as I could be because it often feels overlooked when I’m trying to socialize with people my age. At times, when you’re aware of how much is faulty with our society, it would be more convenient to talk to others about it to try to cut through the ignorance this generation seems to deal so well with. On the contrary, I’ve falling into the norm of what it’s like to be a teenager in this day and age. Just like many people, when I’m with my friends, I would laugh and make jokes, talk about our future and vaguely bring up different stories  we have all heard of. It can be frustrating that such a useful platform to spread information can be saturated with stories about celebrities feuding and peers gossiping about each other just to spread drama. Things will never be perfect in that sense but I do my best not to encourage it because there are so many other things to worry about and learn about.
     
        Like many of us, my life on social media does not reflect my life on the outside. There is a comfort to being able to voice your opinions on certain things and show a side to you that other people do not get to see. I get to show off my best side, make jokes or make fun of things that everyone else is also interested. In my everyday personal life, I may not speak about topics that I usually show concern in because it does not really to be of interest. I recall going to lunch with friends one day and being that there were many people there at once, it was harder to bring up other things. The things we discussed mainly revolved about fights between celebrities, clothing or fashion like sneakers, or even just reminiscing on things that we can all relate too. It is really easy to get caught in conversation about these, but like anything, irrelevant news can be just as distracting as the real thing. For many people, it is like living a double life because there is a certain safety in being behind a screen or phone. I can be more sociable and friendly in person but my priorities in conversation do change once I am with my friends. I do feel more open around them and comfortable, but in the same instance, it feels like there is a filter in the conversation once I am offline.
     
        When I am online however, I do my best to spread awareness and spark conversations online which tend to be a little harder to do in person. An instance of this was when I shared the story of a 29 year-old woman named Cyntoia Brown, who can receiving another hearing for her sentence of 51 years in prison after she was arrested for shooting her abuser. She was a victim of sex trafficking and was tried as an adult at age 16, and in my opinion, it is disappointing to see the justice system grant so many sex offender forgiveness while she is behind bars for self-defense. Once I shared this stating my reaction, I received comments and opinions of other based on the topic. More than enough people agreed and were able to learn they could take action in order for another decision to be made on Cyntoia’s behalf which was amazing. Even though positive reactions are never guaranteed, it is important to start a conversation with people in my generation because society as a whole tends to overlook these stories or put emphasis on things that are not very important. It is a right that a lot of people take for granted, but it has become useful in so many ways. Not only do I speak on issues with police and instances unlawful persecution, but there are subjects like missing people reports or even people to look out for, even sharing events that need more support in order to be successful. I feel like this benefits me because it gives me room to explore my opinions on certain matters that I find important. I believe I can influence change with sharing my opinions and making stories and ideas that are overlooked more relevant to people my age, and in that we fight a lot of misconceptions of any nature.

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