Changing the World One Click at a Time?

When looking at the role-played by social media in contemporary social movements and activism, I feel that there are some positives as well as some negatives. Thinking about social media, the great thing is it is right there in front of your face in real time. With just the touch of two thumbs the information that you want to be seen will be seen within three seconds. While one negative of this would be that the information might not always be accurate or effective, the timing is almost instant which does being effectiveness to the role being playing in social media. Another positive of social media when it comes to contemporary social movements is the aspect of utilizing a hash tag (#hashtag). One of the greatest things about social media is seeing posts from all over the world where others are responding to something similar or in the same realm as you. This is where a hash tag comes in. When looking especially at the movements that have occurred within this past year such as the Black Lives Matter movement or the Women’s March movement each have a hashtag. This allows people within social media to look at these hash tags and explore everything that everyone is saying. This ultimately is bring more people into the movement and is allowing them to get different perspective on the movements.

Would You Like Some Popcorn With That Mental Illness

Would You Like Some Popcorn With That Mental Illness

By: Shelbie Martin

 When did it become the cool thing to exploit mental illness? Okay, so I get that I may be being harsh, but seriously.

 Chances are you or someone you know struggles with mental health issues. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 Americans live with a mental illness. With a ratio as significant as this, we can understand why over the past few decades there has been a push for education, awareness, and treatment of mental illnesses. With that being said, I think we’ve strayed from the path a bit.

           

You don’t have to search far to find some sort of pop culture that has taken a shot at depicting mental illness. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve most likely watched, read, or at least heard of the Jay Asher book adapted into a Netflix series titled 13 Reasons Why. Spoiler alert: This is a young-adult fictional book about the 13 reasons why a teenage girl commits suicide. Now, don’t get me wrong. The story does a nice job at portraying many real life issues that may contribute to someone who struggles with suicidal ideation making the decision to end their life, but it does so through what appears to be retribution.

Another issue I have is that there is no mention of how individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts can seek help or how to reach the suicide prevention hotline. It isn’t enough to attempt to portray what teens struggling with mental health issues may be dealing with. It cannot just end there. There needs to be education, prevention, and resources provided. Don’t just tell me what it could look like for one person. Show me someone who struggles but also go beyond and show me what seeking help could look like.

Far too often books and television series show the tragic side of teens struggling with a mental illness and unfortunately for some it may be their reality. I personally refuse to believe that there is only loss and defeat in struggling with mental illness. I want to hear more stories about how it does get better. Our teens deserve to know that it can get better and that although the journey may seem long and impossible, there is hope.

Susan Rose Blauner is the author of a memoir titled How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me: One Person's Guide to Suicide Prevention. She takes the reader on a journey through what it was like for her to struggle with suicidal ideation for years and years. What is different about her story is that she spreads a message of hope and even provides guidance for those contemplating ending their lives. She doesn’t just glorify her struggles.

When did we start to resonate with fictional characters?  Remember, 1 in 5 Americans live with a mental illness. When did we stop reaching out and looking to real people who are struggling?

Prior to beginning graduate school I made a career change. I was employed as a behavioral health specialist at a residential treatment center for women seeking treatment for various mental illnesses. It was there that I witnessed first-hand the reality of battling depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, just to name a few.

There were things that I wish I never had to see but there are also miracles and recovery stories that I have witnessed. I guess what I am trying to say is that we can do better than basing our perceptions and views of mental illness off of what pop culture portrays. Let the people you know and the people you encounter be the ones to educate you and inspire you.

Op Ed

I think for one of my op ed's, I am going to focus on the significance of high school students taking a year off before the decision to go to college.

Blog Post #4

When looking at this blog prompt, I really had to take sometime to really sit and think about if I stood with Ronald Jacobs and Eleanor Townsley. These two suggested in their book The Space of Opinion that the newer formats of cable opinion shows are contributing to political polarization. After sitting on the topic for a while I would have to say that I do not agree with them. To be honest, I was the person who did not care about politics or anything that was going on in the world around me. I was so ignorant to everything until this recent presidential election. When news hit that Trump actually had a chance at running the free world I quickly wanted to know everything and anything that was relevant to why I believe he should have not been elected. I started tuning into the “newer formats” of cable opinion and I stated speaking to others in the public sphere to education myself. I was a person who was very uneducated in the political atmosphere so I easily could have been swayed by the opinion on all of these cable networks that Jacobs and Townsley speak off. I however never felt as if I had to believe what these networks were saying. I also never felt they were trying to persuade me a certain way. I felt they were trying to educate me. I felt they were trying to get me out of my own thoughts and open me up to explore other thoughts I may have not had before. I think shows like these are good. It shows that we are entailed to our opinions and to our views. I feel polarization doesn’t come from listening to the onions or others I feel it comes from making other feel less of a person because their opinion differs from yours.

Blog Post #3

In today’s word, I feel that when it comes to academic fields portrayed through the media, economics and political science most common topics seen. Looking at the recent presidential campaigns leading to the presidential debates and ultimately the presidential election there is no argument that political science is currently taking over the media. Whether its social media, television, or the newspaper, political science has taken over. I do feel this is necessary and relevant as it is affecting each and every one of us in one way or another. Economics while not as heavily talked about in the media as political science currently I do feel this both are very relevant because again both of these topics affect each and everyone of us in one way or another. One topic that I feel needs to be to addressed more in the media is psychology and more specifically mental health. Mental health affects so many individuals around us, and most of time you would not even know. I feel our “public intellectuals” need to bring this topic to relevance and educate society. In most cases, the only time that we hear about metal health or other topics in psychology is after a tragic event.

Blog Post (2)- Public Intellectuals

Who are the leading public intellectuals of our day?

Roxane Gay- Although Roxane Gay does not think so herself, I feel Roxane Gay is one of the biggest public intellectuals in discourse. She is always out in a public sphere one way or another. I really appreciate the truth that she seeks, and the impact she has on our society and the issues going on through her story telling.

Blog Post #1: The Contemporary Public Sphere

Update after update, version after version, it seems the more we are given the more we can say, "Social Media-- Cant live with it, most definitely can't live without it." 

We live in a society where going live on Facebook, utilizing the latest hash tag on twitter, posting a TBT on Instagram, or adding only the cutest dog filter on snap chat is more important than balancing out checkbooks. Social Media has without a doubt become one of the most utilized outlets were discourse takes place and I feel is one of the biggest public spheres of our time. But, is this the most effective public sphere?

There is no simple answer to this question, and I do not feel that is an obvious yes or an absolute no.

There are so many different positives as well as negatives that go into discourse that become the public sphere that is social media.

When looking at the positives, social media keeps us informed. We are informed in real time what is going on around us, and this allows us to engage in discourse in the moment that it occurs. It allows us to start voicing our opinions and having discourse with others around us. Another great thing about discourse within social media is that we “make time for it.” In our society, we can not seem to find time to brush our teeth in the morning, but you better believe that we will update our status and tell our “friends” that we don’t have the time to do it. We enjoy social media and we will always make time to have discourse within it.

On the other hand, while this discourse is happening on social media it may not be providing a very effect public discourse. While on social media, we tend to hide behind our screens and it seems as though people feel that their iPhone’s are big enough to block them from the world. It seems everyone is entitled to their opinion, until their opinion is different from yours.  While being in the public sphere of social media and having discourse people become nasty and they become mean. They are not having respectful discourse and they are not acting as if they would if they were in a public sphere such as a coffee shop, library, or church. They are engaging in a different type of discourse that is not effective but rather dehumanizing.

Social media is a public sphere that I feel can be effective is used by the correct people in the correct form.