The Blog We Share in MM199

Mass media students should write for Washburn Student Media for at least one semester to gain critical thinking skills along with many other practical skills. The Washburn Review website publishes work throughout the semester.

This photo was taken during the COVID-19 teach from home. I think I  just pressed the button on my computer to grab this photo of me.  If I had to have a theme for my work life so far this semester, "Regina works late" would certainly be a contender.  In a way, it's a necessity because I'm teaching an extra class this semester, and I realized late last night that I have helped process 89 students through Student Media since July 1.   I started the semester with almost 50 students in MM199 between my two sections and 16 others between MM236 and MM403. That is a lot of new faces, names to remember and pronounce correctly (ish). While I do love people generally, there is a weariness that comes when you have been talking all day.  In another way, I use work as an escape. When I'm in the middle of solving some kind of problem or grading, I don't have to think as much about some current hardships in my own personal world. Enough about me, here are some tips some of ...

You're Sinking Hannah.  Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul. The word "thoughts''. Is quite terrifying, really. This simple word controls every aspect in your life if you think about it. Everything that matters anyway. Sometimes I lay there with hot tears rolling down my cheeks thinking about the hatred I have developed towards my own thoughts. They swallow my brain whole most nights. One after another pouring in, tearing away at any confidence I have tirelessly attempted to build in myself. I feel a sliver of pride in an accomplishment or obstacle I have overcome, immediately following that is a simple "thought". You're sinking Hannah...you're not going to rise above enough for just a gasp of air. Sure, you've done this right but it's only a matter of time before your whole world comes crashing down. again. It's almost as if no matter what I do, those thoughts are lingering in the background. Hannah...you are ...

                                                                                                                                                      It's Recess, do you know what your children are doing?  Hel lo, ya' all, and welcome to my weekly, 'It Ain't Mine, Podcast Show,' for you parents out there who want to know what your kids are being taught in school, and about all the most recent advances in education.  In this episode, we'll explore a concept called, 'Free Play.'   It's where kids get to pick what they want to do during recess and then figure the rest out on their own.  For our more ed...

                                                                                                                                 PPT-ME 6405 Student Lecture Transistor PowerPoint                                                                                       The i...

 Photograph by Tim Lloyd https://pathways.org/why-is-play-important/                                                                                                                                                   Hi There!  My name's Tim Lloyd and I'm 11 yrs old.  I live in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, in an area   surrounded by mountains, abandoned mines, quarries, and lakes.   My alarm goes off at 7: 30 a.m. on a Saturday.  Mom's a great cook, and Dad had to leave around  5:00 a.m. for work.  When I walk into the kitchen, my sister, as usual, is already seated at  the ...

A Parchment Paper Tree   by  Gerd Altmann                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ...

By Khalil Wilson Often times what we see on social media is not a true reflection of our reality. There are even instances where people choose to be an alternate identity when they are interacting on social media platforms. Whether this poses other implications can be argued, but essentially as long as the youth keep consuming social media they will be exposed to millions of differing opinions. This idea of going 'viral' or becoming famous causes teens to go to extreme lengths just to be in the public spotlight. Emotionally, social media comes with a lot of strings attached. Youth may interact on social media and see the different lifestyle people they're age are living and may be envious. From there comes the idea of not measuring up enough, and continuing on is just a downward spiral. A small controlled study showed that young women within the ages of 17 to 25 reported a negative mood after browsing Facebook for just ten minutes. Imaging the broader effects of socia...

Listen to this podcast to listen to me talk about the app TikTok and how it has kept me busy. Quarantine Tingz Podcast

Body image obviously plays a huge part in the world, but I think that there are steps we can take to get rid of societies "standards". Here are a few steps I think we should take. 1.) Stop acting like skinny is what everyone likes & accepts. All body types are beautiful, & skinny is not the standard of everyone. 2.) Instead of posting what other people want to see, post what you like. I feel like once people get comfortable with posting what they enjoy to do, instead of what social media enjoys what they like to do, then people can overall be happy with the content they have for themselves to enjoy, not to think that everyone on your social media has to enjoy it. Overall, change is hard. The world & these standards won't change until people actually want to do it. But I believe once more people start speaking up about body image & the negative effects social media has with it, & things could start looking better.

Self-care is extremely important, especially during quarantine. You need to ensure that your body is happy and healthy. There are many different types of face masks and cleansers to use. I personally recommend anything from the brand Drunk Elephant. They have items for every single skin type. Make time for yourself to either meditate or write a journal, just so all of your thoughts can be written out in front of you. There are many apps and podcasts to help you with this. There is an app named Headspace that is helpful when trying to meditate. Make sure that you are putting you and your health first.

We all have some sort of streaming website we use. However, by this point, I believe that I have watched every single thing on Netflix. Whether it is Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, you can always find something new to watch. I know that during most of quarantine I was not working, so I had time to watch a lot of things. If you have not seen The Mandalorian by now, you have been living under a rock. Also, as of May 15, Avatar: The Last Airbender is on Netflix. There are a plethora of things to watch, even if it is on 123 Movies. Start a new series or movie, maybe even rewatch another series or movie. Something that you find intriguing and entertaining.

One of the first ways to not completely lose your mind is to social distance hangout with your friends. I saw this posted all over on the internet and it is actually not as bad as you think. What you do is you find a friend or multiple friends to hang out with. Then you drive to some sort of lot and park your cars. Then you can simply roll down your windows and chat away. However, if you have a sunroof or a spacious trunk, that works too. You are able to talk with your friends while also remaining a safe distance away.

Quarantine has not been kind to any of us. I understand that they put these rules in place for our safety, however, it is driving most of us insane. Not being able to leave our own house to escape our parents or roommates is like hell on earth. You feel suffocated and constantly watched. All you want to be able to do is distract yourself or find a way to travel outside of your own home. Well, that is why I'm here writing to you all. I'm here to help you stay busy during this unfortunate time of quarantine.

By Khalil Wilson The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about the effects of smartphones on the youth usually has something to do with the mental impacts, but the physical implications that result from mass smartphone and social media use is imperative to add to the discussion. It seems that instead of spending time outside and having in person interactions, a lot of teens use social media to stay in contact with friends and family members. This fact alone speaks to the fact that teens are doing less exercising and spending much more time on the internet. Again, this idea does not generalize to the entire youth population, but its affects are definitely observed in numbers. Building off the idea of the mental impacts from smartphone use, self-harm is a common occurrence in teenagers. A review even showed data that youth use different social media platforms to view and discuss self-harm. Interacting with other youth online that also self-harm normalizes the behavior. A...

By Khalil Wilson Although smart phones are reliable, fun and seem to be the best thing since sliced bread they do have detrimental effects on the youth and how the grow up. Not every child in the world is affected the same by phones or social media some break the "habit' believing to be followed by most. In this same way, it is hard to directly establish a cause-and-effect relationship between mental health and technology usage in youth.     Studies have shown that more than 80% of teenagers have smartphones and acquire their first by the age 11 and younger, all the while numbers of admitting's to hospitals for attempted suicide is doubling simultaneously. Researchers were able to collect evidence that supports the idea that when young people use social media it affects their sense of self. There are also tons of other research that was conducted that support the overreaching idea that social media use is associated with depression and suicide in youth, holding t...

https://soundcloud.com/user-308695368/body-image-m4a I think it is crazy that a whole bunch of people do things to make them fit into a "standard" that the world, & even social media set. I believe that nobody should fall into anyone's standard, & that you should do things that you want to do, not because social media told you to do it. But anyways, there's my podcast about body image & what I think it means.

By Khalil Wilson       Over the past decade technology has evolved tremendously. As the dynamics of the social world change and become more complex, we find that youth populations stand as the main consumer of technology and social media. Teens use their cell phones every day even more so its been calculated teens spend an average of seven hours and twenty-two minutes on their phones a day. Flip phones used to be the coolest cell phone or one that had a keyboard slide out, today however smartphones have taken over the way that humans interact with one another. Phone applications such as Facebook is still the most used social media among teens ages 13 to 17. Not to mention the tons of other apps that have been gaining a lot of users such as Instagram, Twitter and the latest, Tik -Tok. As more of this technology becomes readily available to adolescent and youth audiences, researchers have begun to see a range of observational effects on the youth. Whether it is mental...

There are a lot of factors that play into body type and even if a person goes on a diet and workout everyday, they still may not look like the way social media portrays the perfect body. Two people can be the exact same weight and height, yet still have completely different body types.  Most times, it is impossible to have someone else’s body because everyone is not built the same. On social media, everyone can have the same body.  All it takes is simple photoshop. Some people do this to make their bodies look “perfect” and some people just naturally have the bodies that other people want. It can be extremely hard for some people to tell the difference between what is real and what is not. When everyone seems to have the perfect body, it can create a mindset that they need to have this body too in order to be perfect and have everyone like them, as social media portrays. People start to hate the body that they are in and dream of a day where their body looks like someone they ...

Looks play a huge role in social media because people only like and follow what they find attractive or funny. For a very long time, the media has taught us that beauty has one look. This look consists of someone who has a “perfect face,” this is usually a symmetrical face. This look also consists of someone with a perfect body. A body that is skinny, with curves in “all the right places." Although it is easy to put on makeup and sculpt your face to look like someone else's, it is much harder to trick people that your body looks different then what it is.  This causes people to feel like they cannot be successful because they cannot fully achieve the look of the people they look up to who have these glamorous lives.  So, as a result, they do everything in their power to look like these people. This usually results in losing weight, and when people want to lose weight they usually resort to not eating. There are a lot of cases of eating disorders in the world, along with depres...