Tag: social media

Categories
Opinions

Tide Pods: From laundry to brainwashing

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.

Social media challenges highlight a deeper issue within today’s meme culture

Over the last three weeks, a new challenge has emerged on social media called the “Tide Pod Challenge.” It quickly became a meme online, as many people made jokes about eating the colourful detergent packets. Despite the danger and the laundry brand telling people not to eat the pods, many people—mostly teenagers—continue to videotape themselves eating Tide Pods.

The first time I heard about a challenge on social media was the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge, and it was for a good cause. Since then, many new dares have emerged on the internet, and in my opinion, many of them are stupid. With the Tide Pod Challenge specifically, teenagers record themselves biting into the packets in order to gain views, recognition and popularity on social media.

You’re probably reading this thinking the same thing as me: this challenge is just stupid and dangerous. People are ingesting toxins by intentionally eating Tide Pods. In 2017, before the challenge even began, more than 10,500 children under the age of five and 220 teens were exposed to Tide Pods, and about 25 per cent of those cases were intentional, according to the Washington Post.

Perhaps we can understand why very young children might be attracted to the colour and the pleasant smell of Tide Pods, but I for one cannot understand why a teenager—who can make reasonable choices—is compelled to do the same. So why are they doing this? I believe I might have an answer.

Recently, our society has entered an era characterised by social media and meme culture. This facet of culture has been defined by Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene, as “an element of a culture or system of behaviour that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by non-genetic means, especially imitation.” In today’s culture, memes and social media are the diffusers of ideas within the online world, and they are limitless. Anyone can find anything on any subject online. It is a beautiful and useful tool, or a dangerous one—especially for people who are easily influenced, such as teenagers.

The problem is that, in our era of social media, the border between public and private life is slowly being erased. Every time we log on to a social media platform, such as Instagram or Facebook, we see people sharing idealistic pictures and videos of their everyday lives.

Even if most social media users understand that these perfect images do not reflect real life, I believe many teenagers can be influenced by these people, which lead them to constantly pursue views, likes and perfection online.

These teenagers, therefore, will follow a trend not because it is something they think is valuable and useful, but because they think it is the first step to celebrity and popularity. However, reality often catches up to them, but perhaps too late, when their lives are endangered. They hope to become celebrities, but often become known on a small scale, limited to their neighbourhood news or the emergency medical services.

Fortunately, Tide has quickly reacted to the challenge by creating advertisements that show the dangerous effects of eating their products. Yet it doesn’t seem to be enough as more intentional cases of Tide Pod ingestion are reported every day (already 39 since the beginning of the year, 91 per cent of which were intentional), according to the Washington Post.

I believe social media perpetuates meme culture, and teenagers in this culture suffer potential brainwashing from online trends. Unfortunately, most teenagers today cannot be themselves without thinking about what they have to do in order to be liked and loved in their virtual community.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth 

Categories
Opinions

Fight the FOMO with gratitude

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth.

Don’t let the fear of missing out ruin your chances at success

Have you ever had an itching need to attend a party at the cost of your schoolwork? It’s like you can’t help but wonder what exactly you would be missing out on. Your friends will probably have the time of their lives. They’ll probably run into Beyoncé and do the “Single Ladies” dance together, and you’ll miss out. Or at least that’s what your brain convinces you will happen. That’s FOMO knocking on your door.

For those who don’t know, FOMO is the online acronym for the “fear of missing out” on something. According to Boston Magazine, it was coined in 2000 by Dan Herman, a marketing strategist. An article in Time magazine highlights how FOMO is strong enough to make you pay less attention at school, and cunning enough to convince you that you’ve got your priorities all wrong. It’s a thought that strikes nearly every millennial to their core.

An article by Huffington Post presents studies showing how FOMO generates a sense of detachment and discontent in people, and that social media fuels these feelings. The fact is, many of us check our social media frequently—before sleeping, after waking up and even during meals. We just don’t want to miss out on anything.

Personally, I’ve come to realize that I experience FOMO when deciding what to eat. Sometimes, I’m scared to pick the wrong item from a menu—not because I’m worried it will taste bad, but because I don’t want to miss out on something better. Let’s be honest, most of us get nervous when thinking about missing out on a hot, cheesy burrito.

Truthfully, I believe the only way to overcome FOMO is to understand that focusing on your work moves you closer to achieving your goals. Temptations to postpone work will always be there—that will never change. What can change is your ability to say no to FOMO. But let’s be real: that’s easier said than done.

Let me paint you a picture. The day before a class quiz, I decided to spend the evening studying hard for it. I was happy to sacrifice my love of sleep—and then my phone rang (I probably should have kept it on silent). It was a friend calling to invite me to her house party that night. To make matters worse, I could hear “Single Ladies” playing in my head, tempting me to leave my room and go out. I started daydreaming: what if I meet a guy at the party and sparks fly? What if I miss out on all of that?

In that moment, I was convinced my decision to study was stupid because the quiz counted for just two per cent of my final mark. I started blaming my career choice for making me miss out on fun. Nonetheless, I’m proud to say that I chose to study that night. But it wasn’t easy for me to make that decision.

Two weeks later, here I am with a perfect score of 10 on the quiz. I realized that fulfilling your
goals brings greater happiness than the temporary pleasure of a party. Now, I am not saying you should only strive for long-term happiness. Rather, I believe moderation is the key.

According to an article in The New York Times, rewarding yourself for the hard work you’ve done is extremely valuable when battling FOMO. So, the next time you’re faced with FOMO, try to focus on your goals and pat yourself on the back when you do. When I was growing up, my parents used to get me a new pencil case whenever I got good grades. I am not that into pencil cases now, but I still like to reward myself when I work hard throughout the week.
I also remember to be grateful for the little things. According to the same Time article, research shows that feeling gratitude makes you a happier person, and it’s correlated to an objectively better life. Gratitude can also reduce someone’s FOMO, according to the same research. By practicing gratitude, I have stopped worrying about what events I might miss. It’s my weapon against FOMO.

Every time I am one step closer to my goal, I take a deep breath and thank myself for missing that party. I pay attention to how rewarding it is to work hard. To be honest, this practice is addictive. In fact, I now have a fear of missing out on thanking myself. Initially, it wasn’t easy for me, but cultivating strong, positive habits is always a work in progress. No pain, no gain. Right?

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

Categories
Opinions

A world dominated by selfies and stories

Graphic by Florence Y

How the new social media stories option is fueling our self-centered lives

Facebook recently added “stories” to its mobile app, similar to the Snapchat and Instagram story features, further pushing us into a narcissistic world. Here we are, in 2017, and almost everybody on the planet now has access to this feature on one social media platform or another.

The stories features on all three of these platforms are guiding us into a world where everyone has an “all about me” attitude. Honestly, I’m all for technology—and I know I may sound like a low-tech old man when I write this—but our world is being defined by selfies and 24-hour time limits.

Every day, people from all around the world feel the need to share their lives with their friends. It started in 2014, when Snapchat released the revolutionary Live Stories feature. Immediately, people started sharing pictures ranging from their Starbucks cups to their bubble baths to personal rants. Then there’s my personal favourite: driving. Yes, users can show the world they’re putting their life at risk in real time.

Although people shared those types of pictures long before stories came out, the stories feature gave an opportunity to share a series of pictures at once, with viewers simply needing to tap to cycle through them.

This social media feature didn’t impact the whole social media world immediately because Snapchat only has 122 million users, according to Statista, a statistics-gathering website. In August 2016, Instagram launched its own “stories” feature, almost exactly like the one on Snapchat. According to Statista, Instagram had over 600 million monthly active users in December 2016.

Most recently, Facebook copied Snapchat and Instagram—two companies it also owns—by releasing a stories feature on its mobile app. Facebook claims they had 1.86 billion monthly active users as of December 2016. From Snapchat to Instagram to Facebook, just like that, the majority of social media users could use a stories feature on some sort of social media app.

The problem with these stories is people think they’re celebrities and their friends want to know about their life. Everyday people watch reality shows about celebrities who have a camera crew following them around for a TV show, and they’re inspired to do the same. Their phone is their camera crew, and these apps are the TV channels.

An article published in the January 31 issue of The Concordian  said social media use could
lead to depression and anxiety in young adults. In my opinion, the stories feature is the root of it all. By choosing glamorous moments of their lives, people only share the happy moments, and the people who see these stories think their own lives are not as perfect in comparison. We used to think celebrities had perfect lives because of what we saw from their reality shows—when in fact they don’t—and now we think our friends have perfect lives because of social media stories.

I also notice a lot of people posting stories of their night outs partying or at a club. I didn’t think much of it until I started going out myself. What I saw shocked me—so many people are on their phones taking selfie videos of them dancing or having a drink. It’s pure narcissism, and it just ruins the night. You’re out with your friends, leave your virtual friends alone and in your pocket.

Like everything else on social media, stories are useful. Sports teams can show fans behind-the-scenes action. Companies have an opportunity to advertise. Snapchat’s Discover, which features stories from news media, companies and live events, has changed the way news is dispersed. But there are just too many negatives to the stories feature—the biggest being its contribution to our ever-growing narcissistic society.

Graphic by Florence Y

Categories
Student Life

Disconnect virtually to reconnect to reality

Photo by Danielle Gasher

How a social media detox might benefit everyone’s health

For many of us, our phones are the first thing we look at when we wake up and the last thing we look at before going to sleep. According to a 2014 report conducted by the Media Technology Monitor, social media is widely used on a daily basis in Canada. In fact, over half of Canadians are signed up to at least one social media platform, and over 79 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 26 are connected to at least one platform.

Social media platforms were engineered with the goal of helping people communicate and connect them together. However, it seems the opposite might be happening. Psychological and sociological research is increasingly linking anxiety and depression to social media.

A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found a direct correlation between heavy social media use and depression in young adults.  The effects are also being felt in the halls of schools. Research conducted by sociology and anthropology Concordia professor, Francine Tremblay, found the engagement of students in school has been affected by technology. “Students seem to be detached,” said Tremblay.

In Tremblay’s opinion, students should focus more of their time and energy prioritizing their well-being and their studies. “You are studying to succeed… A bachelor’s degree is extremely demanding. You are the most important thing right now,” said Tremblay.

It’s no wonder some students need a break from technology. Alexa Pepper, a communication studies student at Concordia, decided it was time for a detox when she noticed how much her social media use was feeding her anxiety. She decided cut herself off from social media for a week, and for her, it was a very positive experience. “I needed to focus on me… I was doing fun things and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything,” said Pepper about her experience.

Pepper said the break taught her that she didn’t actually need social media to function and be happy, but she likes the idea of being able to log in when she wants to. “It teaches you self-control,” said Pepper.

For political science student Emma Nablsi, as she embarked on her detox mission, she thought: “If previous generations could do it, why can’t I?” When she felt social media was weighing her mood down and affecting her sleep, Nablsi decided to go on a month-long social media detox. “It was honestly the best time I’ve ever had…because you can live life the way you’re supposed to. I was more social, and I felt that I was in contact with people,” said Nablsi.

Photo by Danielle Gasher

She said she detoxed to challenge herself and to focus more on her real, non-virtual social life.  “It’s like a medicine, a treatment, a kind of therapy. It heals you from the inside and the outside,” said Nablsi.

Performance creation major Tiernan Cornford believes she’s never missed out on anything in the ‘real world’ because she limits her social media use. Cornford is only active on Snapchat. She believes this has permitted her to have a controlled relationship with social media.

“I didn’t want to be on it all the time and be on this crutch. I like talking to people in person,” she said. Cornford said, when you don’t have social media, or decide not to go on it for a while, the people who want to get in touch with you, will. This ‘fear of missing out’ is a common source of stress among young adults.

For Nablsi, the social media detox was “an eye-opening experience.” Nablsi and Pepper said they now realize that the virtual world of social media just isn’t that important. It took them taking a break from it to realize it.

Research conducted in 2016 by McMaster University researchers found that most students can’t control themselves when it comes to social media. The survey found 48 per cent of McMaster’s students couldn’t control their social media use, and 29 per cent weren’t able to control their instant messaging.

“[Today], everything is being turned into an urgent matter,” said Tremblay. She said social media has become a compulsion for many young adults, and of course, a health issue. While the students mentioned above have been able to detach themselves from social media, it is becoming increasingly hard for most students to do so.

If keeping up with social media is making you feel anxious, stressed or depressed, know that it’s something you can put a stop to. You can try your own social media detox, or talk to a health specialist at Concordia’s Health Services.

We asked Concordia students what they think about a social media detox. Watch below for their reactions.

Categories
Student Life

The media: broad term, broader impacts

Photo by Alex Hutchins

The Multi-faith and Spirituality Centre hosted a discussion on the media’s role in people’s lives

Rev. Paul Anyidoho, a member of Concordia’s Multi-Faith Chaplaincy, hosted a seminar to explore the benefits and disadvantages of social media in our lives on Oct. 20.

The event welcomed 12 guests and was held in a small and cozy meditation room at the Multi-faith and Spirituality Centre. The event was structured as an open discussion, where speakers and guests could express their thoughts on social media, media usage, and how it is perceived and used in people’s daily lives.

The discussion took place at Concordia’s Multi-Faith and Spirituality centre. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Throughout the afternoon discussion, guests shared personal experiences regarding their relationship with media. Some of the guests, mostly young adults, said they used and consumed technology and media so much in their daily lives that they couldn’t imagine living without it. Other guests said they either used social media sparingly, or not at all.

The crowd presented a variety of opinions and experiences in a discussion about the core issues of privacy, informational integrity, and a balance of positive thoughts and negative thoughts concerning this technology-driven world.

Anyidoho defined media as any “virtual space.”  This includes social media networks, television stations, large-scale news outlets and even something as simple as a phone call.  Media is important to most people, said Anyidoho, and so it is a topic worth knowing and exploring as much about as possible.

Anyidoho placed emphasis on the “uses and gratifications theory” of media interaction, which explores how and why people actively consume media to satisfy certain needs.  

“People don’t sit in front of the TV, read the newspaper or go on the Internet just to retrieve information,” Anyidoho said. “They are actually engaging the media in a way that will be useful and satisfy their expectations, to get gratification.”

He believes that this theory is important in the modern age in order to get the best out of what he calls the “two sides of the coin” of the media.

“[The media] has a very beneficiary, useful effect on people…now, you can just access information from anywhere in the world.”

Anyidoho said he believes social media’s strengths lie in its ability to increase global connectivity, strengthen personal relationships and ease learning.

However, the media also has a flipside, Anyidoho said, adding that he believes most forms of media can have bias when it comes to reporting on news, which leads to less focus on the truth, or even a blur of what is the truth. He said people need to be more careful and critical in the way they intake information by not being so quick to believe everything they hear or read.

Anyidoho also expressed concern over how much time younger generations commit to modern technology and social media. Studies vary, but on average, according to a 2015 Common Sense Media report, millennials spend anywhere from nine to 18 hours a day consuming media.

Anyidoho also described how incorrect or misunderstood information on social media “spreads like a spiral, a breeze,” and can cause stress in people’s lives.

Anyidoho concluded by saying using media responsibly is important, especially now that it’s a much bigger part of our lives. “We used to bring our life over to our religious places, to our doctors, to psychologists, now we bring it to the media,” he said.

As media plays a major role in entertainment, news gathering and personal connections, Anyidoho said education and discussion are important in order to make the best possible use of this innovation.

Categories
Student Life

Businesses love your mean reviews

Speaker Frank T. Piller (right). Photo by Alex Hutchins

JMSB hosted a talk on social media’s role for innovation in businesses

Concordia’s Luc Beauregard Centre of Excellence in Communications Research organized an event on social media’s role in business innovation on Oct. 4.

Professors, students and businesspeople attended the morning conference to listen to Frank T. Piller, associate dean, professor and chair of Technology & Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University’s school of business and economics in Germany.

The event, hosted by Concordia’s John Molson School of Business, explored social media as a useful tool to improve the ways companies and individuals innovate.

Piller said that many of “the ideas that we get nowadays come from social media, and this leads to a better discipline for the communications profession.” He explained many big companies are now using innovative strategies to incite consumers to buy their products.  Piller used the drugstore brand Nivea as an example, to explain why their deodorant is successful.

“If you were the product manager of Nivea and wanted to innovate your business, what would you do?” Piller asked.

He said he would advise product managers to visit online forums where people discuss, for example, deodorants and their unwanted effects—such as a yellow stain on a white fabric.  “Agencies then dive-in, and look into these user communities to fix the problem by creating better products,” said Piller. “When it comes to innovations, it’s all about functionality.”  Companies also consider how factors such as the product’s shape or organic ingredients might excite users into buying the product, he said.

Piller added that, as a result, Nivea is one of the cheapest, most successful and popular brands in drugstores around the world, especially in Europe.

Innovation often starts on the periphery of the organization, he said. When companies are creating or improving a product, they look beyond product management—they look at online forums, for example. According to recent studies conducted by the Social Media Examiner, there has been a slight increase in forum participation in recent years.

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Piller said that frustrated customers often provide useful critiques or reviews about products in online forums. Companies just have to visit these websites and take the comments seriously, in order to find ways to improve their product and the consumer’s experience.

According to Piller, there are two main ways to innovate: with the help of frustrated users or dedicated firm activity.

He said there are three ways to profit from lead user inventions.  The online Business Dictionary defines a lead user as a “specific type of user of a product or service that is on the leading edge of significant market trends.”  Therefore, a lead user reflects and finds a way to make something better, before the mainstream has found that way.  They are able to think about how that product or service can work better to reach its full potential.

The first way to profit from a lead user is to search for lead user inventions either online or through contacts.  The second way is to observe users in online communities such as Facebook and Twitter, which is also known as “netnography.” The third way is to provide infrastructure for users to co-create. Co-creating involves developing collaborative skills, learning to engage, selecting the right participants and using creative problem-solving techniques.

“Our emphasis is to absorb the innovation that is out there in the market,” Piller said.

Piller said innovation revolves around customer co-creation and creating an interaction space for lead users, product managers and companies— where they can engage, use creative problem-solving techniques and give feedback.

He said that the ultimate goal is to have a more balanced approach when it comes to innovation—since there is not just one social media platform.

Categories
Opinions

Don’t look now: library porn is totally a thing

For once, there might be more to see offline than online

Walking around Concordia, it’s hard to deny that mid-terms are almost upon us. The signs couldn’t be clearer, especially when watching the undergrad students.

In all my years as a student and T.A., I have never seen a more dedicated group. They barely answer when called on in class, do not raise their heads when walking the halls, and keep a pathological focus in the library. Students always seem to be studying on whatever electronic device they find themselves in front of—be it a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Curious one day, I peered over someone’s shoulder to see what subject they were studying with such intensity.  They were looking at a news report about a former student of Oregon State University (OSU), Kendra Sunderland, who made a popular video in the school’s library.

Sunderland’s work was not published on the school’s website, or even YouTube—rather, PornHub. As its name implies, the 17-minute video was uploaded to a free pornographic website, and features exactly what one would expect.

What makes this different is that it was filmed, in its entirety, in the OSU library. To make matters worse, it is clear within the film that students were using the library at the time, all unaware of what was happening. They pass in the background, not looking up, as she masturbates on a desk.

After the story broke, students were in disbelief.  In an interview with Kezi 9 News on Jan. 30, current OSU student Shelby Wilson said that she was “surprised someone was in our library doing that. I feel like it’s always packed. I don’t know how anyone could get away with it.”

This is sentiment shared by OSU, who stated the same day in a press release that the library services approximately 30,000 people every week. To their knowledge this is the first instance in which something like this has happened.

Somehow, Sunderland was able to record this and not have anyone in a busy library look up from their things long enough to realize what was happening.

The video has since been removed by PornHub. Sunderland has since left the school, saying to The New York Daily News on Feb. 6 that it would be too awkward to return.  This is probably for the best, as OSU has banned her from campus, stating her behavior “does not represent the values of the university.”

Sunderland will now appear before a judge on charges of public indecency. If charged she may face a $6000 fine and up to a year in prison.

Makes you wonder what would have happened if one student wasn’t so studious. How much are we missing by not looking up?

Categories
Opinions

Snapping photos and exploring oneself: the age of the selfie

The Oxford English Dictionary named "Selfie" the word of the year 2013. Photo by Keith Race.

The Oxford English Dictionary named “Selfie” the word of the year 2013. Photo by Keith Race.

Self-portraiture is something that has existed long before the days of smart phones and Instagram. The invention of the mirror in the 1500s gave a platform for artists to explore the canvases of their own face and bodies, giving them control over how they appear. Social media and smart phones have taken this idea, and morphed it into what we now know as a “selfie.”  Many are quick to label them as narcissistic and vain, but when it comes down to it, selfies are essentially born from the human need to connect, share, and belong.

Selfies were much spoken about in 2013, with Oxford English Dictionary naming it word of the year, and Hollywood actor James Franco being pegged as Selfie King on the Today Show. Franco published a piece in The New York Times called “The Meanings of the Selfie.” His article touched on the relation between selfies and the need to stay connected and promote oneself. From celebrities, politicians, adventure seekers, and most of all, everyday citizens, 2013 was the year of the selfie, and it is not surprising or really that alarming.

Many argue that selfies are plaguing social media. It’s part of the whole blasé  “I don’t care” attitude that people have towards others online. If you’re on Instagram, Facebook, or other sites and applications that provide a photo-sharing platform, then you’re going to have to expect the occasional selfie popping up on your news feed.

It’s not just about showing off; there is a psychology behind the action. The BBC published a short video where two experts, Lisa Orban and Andrew Przybylski, spoke of the human behavior associated with the taking of selfies. Orban called it a means of safe and controlled self-exploration, which is especially important in adolescents. Przybylski also mentioned a link to the psychological theory of “relatedness need-satisfaction,” otherwise known as “the need to belong.”

Essentially, selfies are a way of connecting. It’s an instant connection, a way of saying “I’m here!” Yes, it is a way of saying, “Look at me! look at me!” but is that anything new? It’s something humans have been doing all along in different ways.

Technology has now provided  an instant platform for this behaviour and need to manifest itself. It’s a small way of making a mark, and leaving something behind. These photos are labelled as narcissistic, and that masks the need to connect that lies behind them.  The action is focused on oneself, but it reveals a lot about the search and need for belonging, especially with the “likes” and “views” that these photos accumulate online.

This is why applications like Snapchat are so popular; it is a back and forth instant communication of emotions with those seeking to connect.  It’s sharing experiences in the here and now. If one wishes to keep their lives private, that’s fine. No one is holding a smartphone camera to your face forcibly.

Is there such a thing as too many selfies? When one can actually count the amount of time spent taking selfies on a weekly basis, then maybe they should organize and strategize the use of their time. There is a time and place for partaking in this trend, and just like with almost everything we partake in, moderation is key.

It’s quite nice to see what people are up to, and interesting to interact with those who are not always present in our immediate lives.  If someone does not wish to see selfies or is that bothered by the photos, there is the option to scroll away or “unfollow.” That’s the magic of social media, haven’t you heard?

Categories
Student Life

Some privacy please! Our information is being used to sell us things

As the popularity of social media continues to grow, the focus on privacy protection. Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

What do you do when you want to get to know someone? You check their Facebook page, of course. What are they studying? Where do they work? What bands do they like? This kind of information that was once only disclosed through conversation is now available to all. If you think your friends — well, your Facebook friends — are the only ones accessing this information, think again.

As the popularity of social media continues to grow, the focus on privacy protection. Graphic by Jennifer Kwan

Facebook has been the target of many privacy complaints in the past. Most recently, Bell Canada announced their new policy that will collect data on customers’ television, web and phone patterns to create targeted ads. Which entails having ads specific to you and your interests. This “relevant marketing” policy will come into effect on Nov. 16.  According to Bell Canada’s privacy policy on their website, Bell will be able to access all customers’ network usage information, which includes web pages visited, search terms, location, app and device feature usage, television viewing, and calling patterns.

Facebook also has targeted ads, and uses all the information you provide: your location, your age, your job, and your interests. The social media site tracks all of your “likes” as well, and you can end up seeing ads for something you personally liked or even for something your friend liked.

Journalism professor and social media expert, Lisa Lynch, says people aren’t that aware of privacy settings and with the constant updating of social media, it’s hard to stay on top of everything.

There is not much use in getting worked up over the fact that Facebook — and now Bell — is using the information available on our profiles to their advantage. It is the price we pay for engaging in free social media that has us interacting in the open.

“We are not their customers,” says Lynch. “We’re the product, what they are selling.”

The best way to avoid becoming the product is by getting informed on how better to protect the information we put online, update our privacy settings and maybe even be more selective with the kind of information we share.

However, Bell Canada has made it possible to opt out of their access to your network usage. You can choose to receive “relevant, targeted ads” or “unfiltered, random ads,” the latter being the opt-out option.

Lynch believes targeted ads are the future of advertising, and gives the example of Hulu, an American online television-streaming website. On Hulu, they have an “Ad Tailor” feature, which means they ask whether or not an ad is relevant to you. For ad customization, they also have a feature called “Ad Swap,” where you can choose which ads you see.

“It is the next evolution in user choice and control,” specifies Hulu’s support page.

In terms of ad blocks, there is an online service called Social Fixer, which allows you to customize your Facebook settings and remove annoyances. There used to be a setting to hide advertisements, however this feature has recently been disabled due to legal threats from Facebook.

More companies are becoming proactive in shutting down websites that try to block their ads. “Advertising is getting much smarter everywhere,” Lynch explains. “The expectation of being able to get around these things will lower [and] we will gradually accept them.”

It is easy to forget that part of our lives are lived online. Sharing who we are and what we do has become a part of how we identify ourselves and how we socialize. Companies using personal information for targeted ads may seem like nothing to worry about however it is important that we become more conscious of our online activity, what we share and who has access to it.

 

Categories
Student Life

Top 10 best time-wasting apps

Screen cap from Candy Crush Saga, available in the AppStore.

If you have a smartphone you know that having apps basically comes as a packaged deal. Today, you can find an app for just about anything. Sadly, for a lot of us, we use these apps just to kill time. Here is a compilation of the top 10 best time-wasting apps out there:

Screen cap from Candy Crush Saga, available in the AppStore.

10. Snapchat: Take photos and videos and share them with your friends. The catch: you can only share them for up to 10 seconds. Talk about taking it all in in a matter of seconds. This app can help kill the time by getting creative in your conversations with friends. Show them instead of writing to them what you’re up to.

9. iBooks: Download and read books straight from your iPhone for free. It may not literally be a page turner, but this app will do the trick if you’ve got some free time while on the go. Catch up on some reading from a selection of bestsellers, classics, fully illustrated books and more.

8. Flow: This puzzle-like game has over 1,000 levels where the main objective is to connect matching colours with pipe. Pair the colours and cover the grid. This game starts out simple, but definitely picks up as you move on, passing the time while testing your puzzle skills.

7. Hanger:  This game app is very Spider-Man-esque in nature. Guide your stick figured buddy through 2-D levels by holding and releasing cables. Hit anything — I mean anything — and your buddy will suffer serious injuries, dribbling blood the rest of the way. But fear not, as long as your figure has a head and an arm to hold the cable you can still make it to the finish line.

6. Vine: These videos may only last a few seconds, but they get to the point of the message they’re trying send in a timely fashion. Vines, tending to last between five seconds to a full minute, display something either hilarious that everyone can relate to or instantly recognize, or merely capture a memorable moment.

5. Twitter: Thoughts and feelings expressed in 140 characters or less, Twitter has a whole world of opinions waiting to be noticed and retweeted. Short and to the point, Twitter tweets can be funny, informative, and sometimes downright weird or offensive. But with hashtags and trends forming every day, it’s an easy app to find exactly what you’re into if you need to kill time.

4. Buzzfeed: Get the stories and lists that interest you first on this app by customizing your own feed. Whether it’s 100 things you need to know or 25 things you must see, Buzzfeed will be a great source of news and entertainment to pass the time.

3. Instagram: The app that takes photos to a whole new level of creativity. Enhancements, frames, and focus capabilities offered with 20 different filters to choose from allow us to make our pictures that much more eye-catching. With hashtags as a key aspect of the app, people can search whatever they are intrigued to see.

2. Facebook: Let’s face it. Facebook is a never-ending story that you can easily get lost in for hours if you want to and even if you don’t. With more friends come more bios, pictures, pages, statuses, and — lest we forget — games. The time-killing capabilities of Facebook are truly endless.

1. Candy Crush Saga: If you aren’t already playing this game, know that you are saving yourself copious amounts of time. This addictive candy themed game is similar to the legendary game Bejeweled. The goal: line up three or more candies to either clear all the jelly or bring down the ingredients. You can also see how many you can line up in a designated time span. With hundreds of levels to play, this app is sure to keep you hooked for as long as your lives last you.

Categories
Student Life

How a timeline of information is enough to know you

Graphic Jennifer Kwan

Think back to when you first created your Facebook page. Now think of all the information that has accumulated over the years. There’s your basic information: hometown, date of birth, work and education, relationship status. But then there’s the extras. Events, birthdays, break-ups, job promotions,Christmas with the folks, pictures of the kitty. Facebook literally has a timeline of your life—but what does that mean for us? Well, we at The Concordian wanted to run an experiment. Get two strangers to add each other on Facebook and have one write a biography of the other person to see how accurate or inaccurate it would be. Do we share too much of ourselves on Facebook? Is it possible to write a full biography of a complete stranger? Concordia students Candice Yee and Camilo Gonima tried it out. Here is Candice Yee’s biography of Gonima, followed by his reaction.

Graphic Jennifer Kwan

Camilo Gonima was born August 2, 1991 in Cúcuta, Colombia. Before attending Concordia University, he studied at the Universidad de Ibague and the Universidad Autonoma de Occidente Cali, both located in Colombia. He is attending Concordia as an exchange student for one semester. Moving from a place of year-round tropical weather to Montreal’s harsh winters will be a difficult transition, and Gonima has never seen snow. He speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Finnish and Euskera. In terms of religion, he is a follower of “Papitas fritas,” meaning “French fries” in Spanish.

Since arriving in Montreal, he has taken photos of everyday scenes in the city. Gonima’s preferred subject matter is strangers; he photographs buskers in the metro and Montrealers on the streets. More recently, he documented Montreal’s annual Zombie Walk. In addition to photography, Gonima enjoys making films. He produces documentaries, as well as 2-D and 3-D animated shorts. He likes watching Spanish martial arts and drama movies.

Earlier this year, he took part in a 30-day drawing challenge, eight of which he managed to complete. Gonima’s friends are also involved in the visual arts. His friend, As Ray, is involved in animation and cartooning. Another friend, Laura Londoño, featured Gonima as a character in her comic book.  Moreover, a few of Gonima’s favourite visual artists include Felipe Bedoya, Ordure Bizarre and Laura Laine. Their work shares a similar whimsical, cartoon style. Gonima is also interested in journalism, and runs a personal blog. He is currently a member of Concordia’s Journalism Student Association.

In terms of music, Gonima has a diverse taste. He listens to electronic, indie groups such as Foster the People, The XX, MGMT, Daft Punk and Crystal Castles. Alternately, he enjoys Spanish artists Cadaveria COL, Horizontes Ignorados and Juan Mazista. For partying, Gonima likes to rave to Dubstep and Knife Party.

In addition to his artistic interests, Gonima enjoys sports. He played ultimate frisbee in Colombia for the RYU Ultimate Club, and goes on jogs. However, he is a soccer fan at heart. Jason Moledzki and Wilder Madina are two of his favourite soccer players.

Socially, Gonima balances time with his family and partying with friends in Colombia. He values spending time with his grandmother, Leonor Giraldo de Gonima, and his dad, Jorge Gonima. He is well connected, and has 1,518 Facebook friends from his hometown and Montreal. His friends see him as an easy going guy, and a jokester. They play pool, drink, play video games and go paintballing together.

Reaction from Camilo:

I guess Candice had it hard. Everything on my Facebook is in Spanish and so I was surprised by how accurate she was with so many things. I don’t really keep track of everything I post on Facebook and sometimes a lot of it is just trash. So I was really excited to see what she was going to find. Because of the language barrier, Candice apparently went through my pictures which apparently say a lot more than I thought. Aside from the evident things like my birthday, I was surprised that she found out my interest in photography—particularly that I like to take pictures of strangers. Something I never thought was that obvious. She knew I was into soccer, something I only spoke about when Colombia qualified for the World Cup. Candice was also able to name my current favorite soccer player and my ultimate frisbee team name back in Colombia.  She also noticed things about my friends. Two of my friends are artists and Candice went as far as describing their artistic styles.

She believed my Facebook lie of how many languages I speak. Also, years ago I put my religion views as ‘French fries’ and never changed it.  Besides that, Candice did a good job at capturing me.

 

With files from Sabrina Giancioppi  

 

Categories
Student Life

Dissecting the digital medium and its use for creative good

Press photo

As we constantly catch up with technology, we often forget how much our online interactions can make a big difference. Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message.” Social media is our contemporary “medium.”

However, there are pros and cons to excessive online activity. It is a gateway in bridging people and ideas together but at the same time sporadic privacy policies that change often and rapidly can be compromising to our online reputation.

With the lack of a structured curriculum on how to behave online, professor Ann-Louise Davidson from the education department at Concordia University suggests that staying active on social media is a better way to express our online presence instead of other people doing it for us through tags and mentions.

“If you’re not on Facebook and your friends are, then there’s most likely a chance you’re on it and you don’t know it,” she explained.

But there are benefits to using social media. Matt Soar, who teaches a class on intermedia in Concordia’s communication studies department, explained that it can be challenging to teach students about tricks to help them express fresh creative ideas. Therefore, combining creativity and connectivity seems to be a good solution.

“We’ve seen some changes [in technology] incredibly quickly, so what I have to do is to keep up with those changes,” he said.

One of those changes was learning Vine. Using his smartphone, he can record, edit, enhance and post a short video clip of six seconds. After learning about it from a friend, Soar decided to make an interactive movie by putting together more than 60 short Vine videos of various circular objects. His finished product was a film titled Fibonacci Korsakow, a visual representation of the Fibonacci number.

On the other hand, there is a downside to social media in that it often turns into a popularity contest.

Vine patron, Armel Mzaliwa Shindano, who usually posts dance-related videos, observed how some people are just using Vine to establish quick Internet fame.

“There’s going to be lots of people who do stupid things for Vine,” he said. “Like this one guy who tried to jump a car. You’re killing yourself to get a hundred views. You’re not getting paid for it…you’re just getting noticed by people and by your stupidity.”

Furthermore, “[Social media] can be a mode of expression, and it can be a mode of oppression as well,” said Davidson.

Even with recent movements in the United States to fight dignity-infringing activities such as “revenge porn,” and a law that youth under 18 can erase old online activity, Davidson reminds us that we need to always be careful. As well as being a place to post your own work, there is the freedom for others to post their work, even when it’s harmful. There have been several documented instances where what someone has posted about themselves, or what others have posted about them has had severe consequences.

Soar explained that negative effects of the Internet have always existed, except that it’s more amplified in social media. Though, he remains optimistic and believes that an open forum in good taste is essential to helping improve the way we use to our medium.

“I think it’s a very exciting time,” he said. “The web is profoundly important to human development and civil discourse. We need more conversation, not less,” he said.

He also imparts this knowledge to his intermedia students, “The way to stand out from the crowd is to have incisive and ethically sound creative ideas.”

Exit mobile version