On a Tweet and a Prayer

I personally think that having Twitter accounts will help attract youth to take a greater role in the life of the Church. It is evident that the lives of teenagers can be completely found online because that is where they spend a lot of their time. Almost every high school student is a member of at least one social networking site, Twitter being just about the most popular one. If they are surrounded by the Church via Twitter, they will be drawn to its messages and therefore be involved in the community.

The benefit of having our Church leader tweet is that we can become more attracted to the Church community because of its modernization. Instead of being and difficult to understand, we will be able to connect to our faith at a deeper level. Thus, our understanding of God’s call on our life will increase. I personally do not believe that there are any disadvantages of having our Church leader engage in the act of tweeting.

Yes, my parish takes part in the social media world to a certain extent. While it does not posses a Twitter or Facebook account, it does encourage the use of messaging and podcasts. Through videos and other forms of media, my church community is able to reach out to its congregation in an appealing way.

The Church can encourage our youth to get more involved through a universal Facebook page. Almost every teenager in the world is familiar with Facebook, and the news of a Catholic/Christian based account would draw lots of attention. On the page, the Church can connect with people all over the world and answer questions regarding faith, respond to prayer requests, and provide information. This way, the Church will be able to reach out to just about every teenager in the world.  

Social Media - The Good, The Bad, and the 'Not-So-Private'

            Yes, I am a member of a few social networking websites. The two that I use most often are Facebook and Instagram. I joined these networks a while ago because they allowed me to connect with my friends and always be in-the-know with events occurring at school, with my loved ones, etc. They are also very user-friendly, efficient, and quick. I am able to communicate and connect with whoever in just about no time, as long as I have internet access.

            I do not check my privacy settings often; however I always have my accounts on private. Absolutely no one who is not my “friend” on Facebook is able to view my personal information or pictures. That way, although people can find my account, they can never really view anything that I do not want them to.

            I personally think that it is unsafe to post personal information on social networking sites because, although privacy settings may be activated, nothing shared on the internet is ever really “private”. There are always ways to hack accounts and steal information from others. Some other unsafe activities are:

- bullying or harassing others

- posting specific times when you will be at specific places

- keeping accounts on a public setting

- allowing someone you do not know to be your “friend”

            We can become more responsible users of social networks by keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. Similar to the real world, online interactions can be dangerous. We must constantly be aware of our accounts, who can view them, and what we are putting out for the world to see.

Twitter Trouble

I definitely do not think that Khalidijah’s comments about her teacher were appropriate. Due to positions of authority, it is often hard for students to understand that teachers are indeed humans. Being humans, they possess emotions. It is obvious that Khalidijah was unaware of this. When she made the inappropriate comments, she was disregarding her sense of humanity.

I personally think that the appointed suspension was a just punishment for the students’ actions. It was reasonable for the school board to enforce this punishment because, had the incident occurred on school grounds, the students would have received a punishment of equal severity. Just because the bullying occurred online should not diminish its wrongness. Also, since the school board is entitled to create a safe environment for all students to learn and be educated, they are expected to protect every person in the school. Since the comments made by Khalidijah and others were offensive to people within the school community, the board had the right to take action in order to maintain a safe environment.

I do feel that students should be able to express their opinions freely; however they should not do so on public forums online. This is equivalent to public declarations within school grounds. If the students wanted to express themselves, they should have done so privately or without specifically calling out the names of their teachers. This method of tweeting, called “sub-tweeting” in the world of teenagers, is more secluded and cannot directly offend anyone.

           

Paparazzi: Scandalous?

I do not agree with the way celebrities are treated by the paparazzi. There is no question that the paparazzi do not care about the lives of celebrities; they simply wish to make money by invading their personal lives. Oftentimes, we forget that there is a human being behind the lens of the camera, and not just simply a name. We should remember that all humans are entitled to dignity, solitude, and peace. 

Seeing as the main goal of the paparazzi is to capture images and/or videos of celebrities while they are out and about, it is difficult to state the exact example of going “too far”. However, I personally think that the paparazzi have no right to directly cut into personal lives without permission from the celebrity themselves. For example, sneaking into the house of a celebrity is morally wrong, and I consider that to be “too far”. 

The paparazzi uses media networks to their advantage to post personal news about famous individuals because our culture is very immersed in technology. The targeted audiences of the paparazzi are children and teenagers; also known as the new generation. Since the new generation is almost always online, it makes sense that the paparazzi would take advantage of media networks to post personal news about celebrities. I personally don’t see the harm in using media networks to post personal information because I feel that it is not too different from writing information in magazines, newspaper, etc. The internet is simply another form of media, and it is used by businesses and individuals worldwide to exploit people. So, why shouldn’t the paparazzi use it too? 

Last year, Justin Bieber was stalked by a car while he was driving in California. The paparazzi within the car shouted insults at him, distracted him from fully pertaining to the act of driving, and was refused to leave after Justin had repeatedly asked him to do so. I do not agree with the way Justin Bieber was treated. I feel that a teenager such as himself should be able to live his life in peace, and not be bothered by unwanted paparazzi every second of his life. 

I would feel very upset if someone invaded my privacy. I feel that no one should be allowed to view my private life unless I give them permission to. If the paparazzi exploited me in the same was that they exploit other celebrities, I would feel utterly violated and helpless. 

iPhone Crazy... or not?

I would say that I am somewhat interested in getting my hands on top of the line electronics. However, I am not obsessed with them or feel like I ever really need them. Being your average teenager, a cell phone is almost always in my hand at school. It allows me to contact my friends leisurely and/or regarding work-related topics, and it is the perfect source for all information. I personally find that an iPhone works best for me, as I have had experience with Blackberries and smart-phones in the past. I simply prefer to use an iPhone, and the one I currently possess - which is the iPhone 4 - works wonders for me. I do not think I will be rushing out to purchase the fifth model any time soon. 

I find Apple’s bank of materials to be very interesting and alluring. Apple is truly a remarkable company. They have received worldwide fame and appreciation for their mind-blowing inventions and innovations. With each newly released product, they change the world as we know it. I feel that Apple’s bank of materials possesses highly advanced technologies that I would only dream of, and I feel that they will greatly contribute to the further development of society and its futuristic era.  

I think the iPhone will change drastically in the years to come, as it has already done so. As technology improves, new ideas to make the current iphone more ergonomic, efficient, and user-friendly will emerge. I think that Apple will make their new iPhone models smaller than the iPhone 5, which is quite long and difficult to tuck away into pockets and handbags. I would like to see a feature that portrays holographic images of the iPhone screen. This way, users can watch videos, view pictures, play games, and more in an advanced holographic form.