So this is kind of a random topic, but it kept popping into my mind, so that means I'm supposed to write about it, right? Well here it goes.
Everything about media is about convenience. Think about how we stick kids in front of the TV to entertain them so we can get a break, think about how we write a happy birthday post on Facebook so we don't have to meet up with the person and tell them in real life, and think about how nice it is to see pictures about your brother's family's trip to Disney Land on Facebook or Instagram so you feel updated on their lives rather than actually talking about it.This convenience especially stuck out to me while I was online shopping. Think about it. Online shopping is great because... 1) you don't have to wait in line 2) you do not have to leave your house to physically go to the store 3) people don't get in the way- like when you want to look at a sweater but a huge family is hovering around the EXACT rack that you are trying to get to 4) it's easier to look online for sales in stores rather than driving to a store and realizing there is not 40% off deal like you were hoping for 5) getting things delivered to your door makes it feel like Christmas and 6) you only have to drive to the nearest post office to return your item rather than going alllllll the way to the store 7) there are (usually) so many more options online than in-stores and finally 8) online shopping makes it so you can shop at mostly any store even when there is not one close by (Ahem... we need a Kate Spade in Utah.). Also, I lied about that being the final point. Because here is the point that I really want to talk about. And it's the point that I'd like to hear your opinions about in comments. Okay here is it...
Online shopping is convenient because there is no interaction with other people.
It's odd because (you may not want to admit it out loud) but that aspect of it is really nice because sometimes, people are annoying in stores and the cashiers always try to talk you into opening a credit card with their store. However, isn't it weird that we think that's a good thing? With media, real social interaction with people occurs way less than it did before media became a thing.
Media is convenient, but wouldn't it be better to play with your kids isntead of having them watch TV? Isn't it better to tell someone "Happy birthday" in person? Isn't it better to see your brother and his family to see how their trip was?
Media is convenient. Which can be a good thing and a bad thing. What do you think?
xo
PM
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Sunday, 24 January 2016
"Perfect" People on Instagram
This week, I have spent a ton of time on social media. Maybe it's because I didn't have too much homework this week, or maybe it was because I am extremely good at wasting time and staying up later than I should. Anyway, I've been spending extra time on Instagram lately and it hasn't been very good for me.
I just got married about five and a half months ago, so I am still adjusting to married life and I'm still working on becoming the "perfect wife". I catch myself feeling like I am not a good enough wife all the time because the house isn't perfectly clean and because my husband is a better cook than I am. Since I'm already pretty good at putting myself down when it comes to failing at my wifely duties, Instagram takes it to a whole new level. For some odd reason, I have this strange addiction with following "perfect" women on Instagram because I feel like it will give me inspiration to be better. While I think this can be helpful to some people, I have found that it makes me feel so much worse about myself. I will spend a couple of hours in a day going through these "perfect" women's pictures of their perfectly clean and decorated homes, their delicious and perfect homemade baked goodies, their perfectly dressed children, and their perfect bodies... AFTER giving birth to a couple of kids. When I compare my life to theirs, I feel awful. I just sit there in my room wishing I could be them. And this is an AWFUL way to think. No one is perfect! We all just want everyone else to think we're perfect!
I think media is great for communicating and for spreading good news around, but when you focus on everyone's "perfect" moments on Instagram (compared to all of your not-so-perfect moments in your everyday life), it's easy to get down on yourself. However, these "perfect" people have problems too! I'm sure these women weren't all professional chefs before they got married and I'm sure their houses are not always 100% clean at any given second. They just do not share these moments on social media because that's not what we do as a society. However, it's really hard to remember this while scrolling through your news feed. I am not saying these "perfect" people or their perfect posts are bad. I think they are great inspirations for me to become better. I just think it's bad if we obsess over them, like I catching myself doing sometimes.
My goal from now on is to enjoy social media, be happy for these seemingly "perfect" people, remember no one is perfect, and work on bettering myself without comparing myself. Also, I should really cut down on my Instagram use. I could even stop following some of these so-called "perfect" people so I don't think about it too much. There are lots of options!
Here's to hoping I take some of my own advice so I can be better AND happier!
And here's to burning cookies and not vacuuming for a week! Living imperfectly ROCKS.
xo
PM
I just got married about five and a half months ago, so I am still adjusting to married life and I'm still working on becoming the "perfect wife". I catch myself feeling like I am not a good enough wife all the time because the house isn't perfectly clean and because my husband is a better cook than I am. Since I'm already pretty good at putting myself down when it comes to failing at my wifely duties, Instagram takes it to a whole new level. For some odd reason, I have this strange addiction with following "perfect" women on Instagram because I feel like it will give me inspiration to be better. While I think this can be helpful to some people, I have found that it makes me feel so much worse about myself. I will spend a couple of hours in a day going through these "perfect" women's pictures of their perfectly clean and decorated homes, their delicious and perfect homemade baked goodies, their perfectly dressed children, and their perfect bodies... AFTER giving birth to a couple of kids. When I compare my life to theirs, I feel awful. I just sit there in my room wishing I could be them. And this is an AWFUL way to think. No one is perfect! We all just want everyone else to think we're perfect!
I think media is great for communicating and for spreading good news around, but when you focus on everyone's "perfect" moments on Instagram (compared to all of your not-so-perfect moments in your everyday life), it's easy to get down on yourself. However, these "perfect" people have problems too! I'm sure these women weren't all professional chefs before they got married and I'm sure their houses are not always 100% clean at any given second. They just do not share these moments on social media because that's not what we do as a society. However, it's really hard to remember this while scrolling through your news feed. I am not saying these "perfect" people or their perfect posts are bad. I think they are great inspirations for me to become better. I just think it's bad if we obsess over them, like I catching myself doing sometimes.
My goal from now on is to enjoy social media, be happy for these seemingly "perfect" people, remember no one is perfect, and work on bettering myself without comparing myself. Also, I should really cut down on my Instagram use. I could even stop following some of these so-called "perfect" people so I don't think about it too much. There are lots of options!
Here's to hoping I take some of my own advice so I can be better AND happier!
And here's to burning cookies and not vacuuming for a week! Living imperfectly ROCKS.
xo
PM
Sunday, 17 January 2016
Scandal
This week, my husband and I decided to find a new show to watch on Netflix. Our go-to show is Grey's Anatomy (that we literally watch everyday), but since we've already watched all of the seasons through TWICE, we decided to try something new. On our "Suggested" list of TV shows Netflix chose for us, Scandal was at the top of the list. And since Scandal has the same creator and producer (Shonda Rhimes) as Grey's Anatomy, we knew it had to be good! So we started watching this two days ago and here's the update:
1. We are addicted.
2. We're almost through the second season and it's been (remember) TWO days. Wow. I impress myself. Please also note that we have both been sick so we have had nothing else to do ;)
3. It really makes you think.
These first two points are pretty self-explanatory. It's suspenseful (thank you, Shonda) so obviously not watching this show is simply not an option.
Onto the last point--
This show has caused me to have many thoughts. Which is different than usual- not because I don't usually think- but because I usually do not watch a lot of shows that require you to think. I usually choose shows with dumb humor that require zero thinking, such as Family Guy. And I don't think about Grey's Anatomy anymore because I know everything about that show by heart. So I just watch it to feel all of the feelings. Anyway, back to Scandal. This required me to think for two reasons: (sorry for all of the lists)
1. It makes me think by forcing me to put all of the pieces together in order to figure out what happened. If you have never seen this show, it is basically focused around one character, Olivia Pope, who "fixes" things. She used to work for the President of the United States, so she is into all things political and spends her days thinking of ways to fix other peoples problems such as people who are being framed for murder. Olivia Pope uses her team to gather evidence regarding these cases and figures out who really did it. Anyway, that was not the best summary, but it's basically solving crimes and figuring out who did what. Therefore, this show causes one to keep track of all of the evidence to try to figure out who did it before Olivia can. (Even though no one can figure it out before Olivia because she is the BEST.) It's fun to feel like a detective. Sometimes it's fun to think while watching TV! Who knew?
2. This show makes you think about what's really going on in the world. For instance, on this show, there is a lot of corruption in the government and there are other things that go on regarding the government such as the torturing of criminal in order to receive confessions. This causes one to wonder if there is corruption occurring in our current government. Regarding the torture scenes and other awful things government personal to do others, it makes you wonder if that really happens in real life. I have caught myself multiple times turning to my husband asking "Does that really happen?" I think watching too many of these types of shows can cause people to be skeptical about the government and fear what is happening around us behind closed doors.
Overall, we love this show because we feel like we are solving crimes and saving peoples lives (and it's good to think while TV watching to exercise the brain), but at the same time, I can see how this may promote negative feelings towards our government and create skepticism in people, even if it happens subconsciously. I will keep watching and keep you updated!
xo
PM
1. We are addicted.
2. We're almost through the second season and it's been (remember) TWO days. Wow. I impress myself. Please also note that we have both been sick so we have had nothing else to do ;)
3. It really makes you think.
These first two points are pretty self-explanatory. It's suspenseful (thank you, Shonda) so obviously not watching this show is simply not an option.
Onto the last point--
This show has caused me to have many thoughts. Which is different than usual- not because I don't usually think- but because I usually do not watch a lot of shows that require you to think. I usually choose shows with dumb humor that require zero thinking, such as Family Guy. And I don't think about Grey's Anatomy anymore because I know everything about that show by heart. So I just watch it to feel all of the feelings. Anyway, back to Scandal. This required me to think for two reasons: (sorry for all of the lists)
1. It makes me think by forcing me to put all of the pieces together in order to figure out what happened. If you have never seen this show, it is basically focused around one character, Olivia Pope, who "fixes" things. She used to work for the President of the United States, so she is into all things political and spends her days thinking of ways to fix other peoples problems such as people who are being framed for murder. Olivia Pope uses her team to gather evidence regarding these cases and figures out who really did it. Anyway, that was not the best summary, but it's basically solving crimes and figuring out who did what. Therefore, this show causes one to keep track of all of the evidence to try to figure out who did it before Olivia can. (Even though no one can figure it out before Olivia because she is the BEST.) It's fun to feel like a detective. Sometimes it's fun to think while watching TV! Who knew?
2. This show makes you think about what's really going on in the world. For instance, on this show, there is a lot of corruption in the government and there are other things that go on regarding the government such as the torturing of criminal in order to receive confessions. This causes one to wonder if there is corruption occurring in our current government. Regarding the torture scenes and other awful things government personal to do others, it makes you wonder if that really happens in real life. I have caught myself multiple times turning to my husband asking "Does that really happen?" I think watching too many of these types of shows can cause people to be skeptical about the government and fear what is happening around us behind closed doors.
Overall, we love this show because we feel like we are solving crimes and saving peoples lives (and it's good to think while TV watching to exercise the brain), but at the same time, I can see how this may promote negative feelings towards our government and create skepticism in people, even if it happens subconsciously. I will keep watching and keep you updated!
xo
PM
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