Unit 3 Reflection

 Unit 3 Reflection

    For my unit 3 portfolio,  I selected the medium of a video and also utilized some presentation qualities. From first hearing about the project, I thought a video would be the best medium for what I wanted to achieve. My goal was to create a video that was informative on some of the major or shocking research related to my topic, but was also a form of a PSA for the severity of the issue. It was definitely a challenge to figure out how to put the video together, particularly following the Unit 2 project which was an essay and less creative. I struggled with determining what information to use from old projects, what new information I needed, and how to utilize it in an insightful but not essay-like manner. I figured out ways to utilize the research I had done in fun ways that worked for my medium. I used it in researching videos on social media platforms, as well as in my interview questions. Overall, I think the video selection of a medium was necessary to showcase my outlook and research on my topic. Including aspects of a presentation within the video helped to structure my content and the interviews were necessary for the impact of real life implications. I also believe this medium and format will be the best to resonate with my directed audience, those who are impacted, teenagers and young adults on social media. 

    My main priority for this project was to inform and call on the audience to act and take recognition. The topic of social media is so complex. It has become interwoven into everyone's life rapidly and it is not going anywhere anytime soon; I don't believe anyone truly wants it to. There are many pros for the use of social media, increased connection, creativity, etc. It was important to me to highlight why these pros have influenced cons, particularly with the topic of body image. For example, most research cites comparison to be a major issue coming from social media, and comparison contributes directly to body image, but it also comes from the connectedness of the sites. The increased social connection allows people to see more of other people, which increases the likelihood of comparison. Through the interviews I conducted, it was clear that comparison and time usage were major impacts of social media on young adults. Both of the interviewees spent over 5 hours on their phones and talked about how they found themselves comparing their image to those on social media. This was necessary for me to highlight in my final project, because I think it's important for audience members to be able to see the impact of the topic on people that are members of the audience as well. I ended the video with questions and thoughts for the audience to discuss, and hopefully relate to. I believe this will help extend the videos impact and drive change. 

    I received in person feedback from a class member outside of class time. The feedback was to include more examples of the social media posts that can be harmful, to help prove that this issue exists presently. I greatly appreciated this feedback and implemented it into my presentation. In my presentation, I incorporated screen recordings of TikTok and Instagram pages onto some slides and throughout the presentation. I wanted this to somewhat represent the harmful effects of social media, by putting it on slides its distracting and interrupting information with a video or feed scroll is disruptive. I also wanted to highlight the content that is having such a negative effect, so all the posts included relate to social media diet culture. It was surprisingly and disturbingly easy to find the content I included in my video and my social media feeds now are filled with it, because I looked for it maybe two or three times. This unfortunately proved in real time that all of the research and allegations I discussed regarding social media platforms are overwhelmingly correct and the extent to which they are harmful is only getting worse. I am incredibly appreciative of the peer review advice I received because it benefited my argument and portfolio immensely. As I was looking for posts to include, I was shocked by how many options I was presented with. There were so many "diet" videos that encouraged viewers to eat less than 300 calories a day. On top of this, there were motivation posts on Instagram with quotes like "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" or even saying "stop eating you fat f*cking whale". The more I looked through these posts the worse they were. To go even further, a lot of these posts existed under the hashtag "#EDrecovery". It's so disturbing that young kids and teens have access to content like this, and that if they interact with it once they are likely to be flooded with more posts similar, and that this content can be accessed through what should be a positive hashtag. 

    Working on this project was incredibly insightful for me personally because of my own experiences with social media. I appreciated learning that things I felt about social media are common things that many users experience. I think it's important for the extent of this issue that people understand that this is not something they are experiencing or feeling on their own, but is something almost everyone on the platforms feels to some extent. It is also important to recognize that the issue I discussed regarding body image, eating disorders, and diet culture, it not the only issue with social media. Many users also experience depression and anxiety from the sites, and the rates of these mental health issues are rising rapidly in teens. Social media leads to so many various issues it is important to hold companies, people, and leaders accountable for their role. It is clear that most social media companies have a large understanding of the extreme negative impacts the platforms have. How are they changing it? What can be done? What aren't they doing? It's necessary to ask these questions because the problems are only getting worse. The increase in mental health issues in teens is startling, and a lot can be directly traced to social media and technology usage. For eating disorders in general, it is important to hold each other accountable. The issue is sensitive and small things can have a big impact. Check on your friends and ensure they feel okay, also confront them if something they said or posted isn't necessarily okay. There are many things we can do as social media users to help this issue slow.

    I have enjoyed finalizing this project and completing all of our other projects for this course this semester. I have become more confident in my ability to take risks and be creative in projects and have learned how to communicate research, opinions, and goals outside of a simple presentation or essay. I feel like I have learned a lot about myself and the world around us through these assignments, and it is something I will carry with me for the remainder of my time at Syracuse University and throughout my life.