Group One links - Social Media/Entertainment

 For the new round of topics and presentations, I was a part of the first group and the subject of social media and entertainment. Talking about this topic comes very quickly as I grew up with the internet and the new wave of technology that I don't know a life without, along with my other gen z peers. An article I really enjoyed when making the presentation was https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/17/gen-z-and-the-rise-of-social-commerce/?sh=5bced33c251d due to how they describe gen z with my particularly favorite description of calling us "digital natives" from the result of our generation never knowing a time where we didn't have immediate access to the internet to look up anything along with the ability to text and call friends and family anywhere, anytime. 

When making the presentation, I kind of had an epiphany as I stopped to genuinely wonder what life without the internet is like. I started making a small list in my head of what would be different and all had a common theme of there being more peace. Due to everyone having the internet and everyone using the internet, it's not surprising to see a bunch of faces all over the world on your screen, but that comes with comparison whether intentionally or not. With the removal or simply the pre-existence of the internet there is none of that. When you're bored people typically "doom-scroll" which is where one is on their phone mindlessly scrolling and not even on their phone for a purpose other than the fact they can. If you take the internet away, one would think twice about what to do to spend their time. Probably read a book, finish something that was being procrastinated, or maybe even just go outside as outdoor activities and playtime are diminishing drastically. It's sad to think that the activities that not only bring awareness to the current moment but have the ability to inspire creativity and keep anxiety and depression at bay are now going to be considered a part of a dead life as the deeper we get into the internet, the further we stray from not only peace but being human. 

Working on the presentation was really enjoyable as the film we picked titled "Not Okay" helped strengthen our point of what social media can do to one's perception of themselves. Even when alone and with no one around to compare yourself to, there will always be social media and the internet to fill that empty space. I hope that as time passes there will be more aware of media and what the internet can do to a person as it's slowly starting to begin, but it worries me how cautionary we have to be with the internet when it's only been around for 20 years. Who knows what the internet can and will do in the next 20 years in all aspects of technological developments and affecting society, but I think we should start preparing because I don't think it'll be too good.