I started my research project and although it’s not where I want it to be, I feel a since of gratification on what I actually gained from the research experience.
My research project has been an experience. I didn’t know what direction to take so I had a slow start. When I finally found a topic I was interested in, I jumped right in knowing my time was limited. I felt I was trying to make a connection from my topic to the film Miss Representation so bad that I lost sight on what I actually wanted to prove. Which was: How a one week detox would impact my emotional well-being. I was fishing for a connection so bad and trying to find a rhythm that I didn’t notice how I started to immerse myself into a completely different paper. The paper would still be a good one to complete but it wasn’t the goal I was trying to achieve in completing my research. The paper that I spent most of my time on was me backing the reasons why social media hinders people from living life to the fullest. Going into detail with all of my “because” reasons. For example: Social media hinders people from living life to its fullest because it’s a waste of time and productivity. This statement was really accurate because its one of the many ways social media hinders me but I needed to get back on topic. Once I regained my focus and found my way back, I was able to complete my original idea. During this time of my decision, I was already two days into my study and knew I had to complete it. I also wasn’t missing out on a perfect opportunity to share how my experience affected me and if it was successful or a complete waste of time. I wrote daily journal entries and took recorded picture data from my phone to prove that I completed my research. Today was the last day of my week detox from social media and I have to say, I feel great. Number one, I am proud that I completed something I was initially indecisive about. Number two, I’m happy that I proved myself correct. A social media detox did impact my emotional well-being, in a good way. I found so much peace and focus during this project. My research paper gives more details on my experiment.
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When I first heard My classmates and I would have to construct a research project I thought, "Great, I'll just pick an easy topic that I care about and get to it." I was wrong. My classmates and I had to watch two documentaries that touched on very real topics that Americans need to address and fix. Based off of those films, we then were told to create a research topic that could be argued resulting in composing a research paper. There were so many doors to enter, so many harsh realities to explore. Trying to pick one over the other was extremely hard for me. Picking a gender and a topic that I was interested in and one that I felt I could get enough research out of was hard. Every topic I settled on, I ran into a snag. I was either really interested in the topic and didn't think I could get enough research out of it, or I found topics I really agreed with but they conflicted with the way I actually live.
Finally, seeing myself as a contributing problem in America and also greatly affected by the new world and lifestyle of technology , I decided to evaluate myself. Leading me to the decision of basing my paper on: How a one-week social media detox can impact my emotional well being. This topic seemed like a real two for one. I get to invest in my research and better my life at the same time. I will be talking about how having 24/7 access to social media plays a major role in my life. Viewing my phones diagnostic of wasted time spent invested in other peoples lives. The negative effects it has on young women including myself. An overview of my detox experience and my take away once I am complete. It seems pretty simple but already I have learned, it is not. My brain is programmed to pick up my phone and touch the Instagram application whether i picked my phone up for that reason or not. I have already uninstalled the application and have picked up my phone a dozen of times while being occupied. Putting my pen down after every sentence to check my phone, picking it up every time I get a notification using that as a gateway to get on social media. Only it isn't there anymore. I'm hoping this detox will begin a kick start of proper living for myself. I hope i will regain more focus resulting in less time wasted. As well as, proving to myself that I am just enough and I don't need everything I see online in fake life. During this weeks class, my classmates and I were given two pages of random excerpts from the documentaries we’ve been discussing. One being a documentary about the struggles of most young boys and men in America called The mask you live in and the other on the way women are portrayed through the media in America called Miss Representation. We were then told to select just one quote from each film and then to draw each of those quotes a supporting picture.
I selected excerpts 14:11 and 14:13 from the mask you live in: “Things that a child spends their time on, that’s what they’re going to be good at” Showing a young boy playing a violent video game listening to obscene music. Suggesting that if a child engages in violent activities they are more likely to go out into The world and inflict this same violence they once glorified onto others. And excerpts 1:55 and 1:59 from Miss representation: “So, matter what else a woman does, no matter what else her achievements, their value still depends on how they look.” This picture shows successful woman such as a Dr, Teacher, and even an Astronaut looking into a glam mirror to make sure they are well put together, wearing high heels because they still have to be beautiful no matter how smart they have proved themselves to be. Upon finishing, we were instructed to post our pictures on the white board so that we could all view one another’s work while listening to Mozart (how cool) during our fine art exhibition we got to see how we all picked equally important selections. Ranging in eye opening points of views. Though they were all different and not one person picked the same excerpt, they all had very political points and statements. This was a very enlightening class. |
Tiffany swanI will use this blog to express my thoughts, creativity, and lust for life through literature. Archives
May 2019
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