Social Media and Younger Generations

In recent years, society has allowed media to become a prominent component in an individual’s daily life; it has intertwined itself within the lives of individuals and the environments they encounter. The advancements of social media have been increasing at a constant pace throughout time, while having a large impact on the majority of society. Social media has the capability to provide a sense of interconnectedness at a quick pace, that previous generations were without. With its many beneficial components, social media serves adverse purposes in regards to younger generations and their over-consumption of media.

It’s 2016 and the use of social media has sky-rocketed. Social media is accessed by the age group 12-21 more than any other. Since I do fall into this category, I can say that yes, I go on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter daily to keep up with recent news and remain connected with friends. However, during my childhood I was without technological devices and the idea of social media was foreign. My only concerns as a kid was literally knocking on enough of my friend’s doors to get a game of football going at the park…

Now younger generations would rather socialize digitally than engaging in physical exercise. I believe there has been a shift in ideologies for younger generations because of the presence of technology and social media. I have noticed this change in girls that are just three years younger than myself, it seems like they started wearing makeup so much younger than my generation. One main difference is the percentage of cellphones in my grade 8 class compared to one now-a-days… I didn’t have a cellphone until my high-school career and now grade 4’s are carrying around cell phones. Parents claim (which I do agree with) that it’s for safety purposes incase the child has to walk home alone from the bus. However, using the phone for emergencies has gotten lost in translation and thus evolving into the consuming entity that distracts today’s youth from carefree childhood. Today’s youth lacks face-to-face communication skills because we have become instilled with technology and being able to contact someone with the tap of a screen.

Technology has affected our youth in ways such as:

·             Social networking sites become first priority and outweigh important variables such as school, family and sports.

·             Youth portray themselves on a digital platform as someone they are not

·             Young people can engage in cyber-bullying and have yet to understand the repercussions that can prevail (depression and suicidal thoughts)

·             Due to the over-exposure of advertisements, youth may be impressionable and aim to achieve the ideal body figure that is constantly displayed on all sites

Focusing on the impact of the ideal body figure and younger generations, the rise of eating disorders and dieting regimes has significantly increased due to the infatuation with perfection.

Society utilizes media to illustrate how an individual should look and constantly reminds us of the ideal body through overexposure in advertisements. In turn, this objectifies the body and advertisements are then portrayed through the male gaze filter. The immense pressure to achieve this ideal body type results in sharp declines in self-esteem, an increase in eating disorders and depression. The harsh reality that society has not yet accepted is, majority of these ‘perfect’ images are digitally enhanced portraying what is said to be the ideal woman and the goal you are striving for is unfortunately, unattainable. However, these standards affect the way women feel about themselves and they way that men look at females in their lives.

As technology users become younger and younger, they may not be aware of the importance of a digital footprint… what is released on the internet is always there. One of the biggest struggles for this current generation is in regards to the business world and individuals attempting to create their personal brand through social media platforms. The issue is that all their ‘screw ups’ and mistakes made in younger years still remain on the Internet on public display for anyone to see. Don’t get me wrong, technological advancements and media do serve purpose for children in numerous ways (as shown in this article) however, this particular post is intended to outline the slightly discouraging factors.

Pro Life, Pro Choice?

Disclaimer what is said in this blog post is strictly to arise conversation and malicious remarks are not intended.

Now this blog post will be unlike my prior ones as I attempt to spark conversation by writing about a very controversial argument… pro life? or pro choice? What is this you may ask?

Pro-Life: an individual that is pro life firmly believes that the government has the responsibility to protect all human life, regardless of the intent or matters regarding quality of life.

·             The Roman Catholic church prohibits: abortion, assisted suicide, the death penalty and war (with few exceptions).

Pro-Choice: an individual that is pro choice occupies the broad middle ground regarding abortion. Pro choice advocates support individuals with unlimited autonomy.

·             Pro choice stances insist that the following must remain legal: celibacy and abstinence, emergency contraception use, contraception use, abortion and childbirth. Not saying that pro choice means pro-abortion, simply put, it's defending the rights of women to have the overall decision for themselves.

The overall argument regarding pro life and pro choice dwell in terms of abortion. Pro life movements strongly believe that even undeveloped, non-viable human life is sacred and must be protected. On the other side of the spectrum, pro choice movements argue that in pregnancies prior to the point of viability, the government does not have the right to intrude on a female’s decision to terminate the pregnancy. The only similarity here is that both movements share the same goal of wanting to minimize the overall number of abortions however, the tactics done to achieve such a goal is what differs between movements.

One of the most influential factors regarding pro life and pro choice relies on religious nature, the consideration of one’s beliefs and values. Some religions believe that terminating a week old pregnancy and killing a living, breathing person serves no difference. Overall, the death of a human being, a product of God, is unaccepted regardless of reasoning because there are other alternative options like adoption to consider. However, in contrast, some religions have alternative opinions regarding life – it’s based around the soul and once the fetus begins to move it is considered life – not at conception. Additionally, other traditions claim each soul does not exist until after birth.

There are pro life activists claim the presence of life alone, the unique DNA, is the definition of personhood. In contrast, pro choice activists argue there is a lack of scientific basis to prove existence of souls however we form conclusions based on the premise of our emotional values. Thus interpretation of abortion is heavily influenced by religious components and what each faith deems as acceptable.

Getting such a controversial discussion into public audiences can be difficult due to the severity and sensitivity of abortion. However, Laurier LifeLink effectively raised awareness about an issue that people tend to walk on thin ice, sort of say, regarding the topic of abortion, contraceptives and other measures. On October 20^th 2016 Laurier LifeLink displayed blue and pink flags in the Quad to represent the number of abortions that occur in Canada per year. LifeLink is a non-sectarian, pro-life club that decided to raise awareness about abortions on campus, each flag represented ten abortions, totaling up to approximately 100,000 abortions yearly in Canada. The public campaign to raise awareness about this issue raised some positive feedback, but a large portion received was negative. Although there were no graphic images displayed, there were disclaimer signs warning people about the pro life demonstration in the Quad. Some responses were negative because this display was right outside of the Rainbow Centre (located in Mac House) and in order to access that center, you must pass right through the display… Laurier LifeLink received responses like “this is really triggering for people who have experienced traumatic situations, its inappropriate because you don’t know what they are going through”. Other students responded by pulling the flags out of the ground and taking down banners surrounding the area, many argued they proceeded with these actions because they “have a lot of female friends and are simply acknowledging women’s right to choose”. Later on Facebook, Laurier's Centre for Women and Trans people responded to the demonstration saying, “our Centre usually closes at 4, but a coordinator will be keeping space open until 5:20pm or so. The Rainbow Centre will remain open until 6pm. We are unfortunately in Mac House, just across from the Quad, so you will have to walk past the protest to get in. Please stay safe, practice self and community care and feel free to spread the word”. 

Laurier LifeLink educated students while effectively getting their word across campus, thus sparking discussion regarding pro life and pro choice, an issue that is most commonly excused. Through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram the Laurier LifeLink club spread the word about their display and received an abundance of feedback due to the publicity they received on social media. Majority of my classes for the remainder of the week touched on the topic and responses showed that majority of peers also saw the display and sparked discussion throughout Laurier's entire campus. 

Do you think demonstrations like Laurier LifeLink displayed in the Quad should be allowed in the future on campus? why or why not?