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Are we too connected to our phones? Many say “yes”

Students and faculty at American University discussed this week their phone habits and their thoughts on the implications of that usage with many wondering about addiction in a constantly-connected society.

Victoria Knight, 26, a summer intern on campus, said she uses her phone for alarms, reminders and maps, noting the usage is “embedded” in the way most of us live.

“It is so hard to navigate life without it,” Knight said of her phone.

According to a Baylor University study, 44 percent of Americans said that they couldn’t go a day without their phones. That has led researchers in the last decade to study whether phone addiction is as dangerous as other compulsive behaviors and what the societal implications are.

Every single time we get a notification on our phones, our brains get a hit of dopamine–the feel good neurotransmitter. We are constantly on our phones because our brains crave that good feeling. According to The Dopamine Project, all addictions stem from the brain’s desire for dopamine.

The main attraction to our phones stems from our need to be constantly connected.

Hannah Kim, 19, said that she thinks that society is “going to become more dependent on social media because of how easy it is to connect with people.”

Alongside it being easy, social media is also convenient. We don’t even have to move to talk to our friends and we can stay up to date with family and friends even when we don’t have the time to see them.

Two American University students stare at their phones while out on the campus quad Thursday. Photo by Maya Broadwater.

Although being constantly connected may seem a bit invasive, for some it can be very beneficial.

Kim uses her phone for networking opportunities to find jobs.

John Tam, 21, claimed that being connected can be very helpful, especially during emergencies.

Tam also added that “you have access to the internet, you have access to people, you have access to just the whole entire world in the palm of your hands.” He believes that smart phones have the power to educate the world.

Born in the late 1980s and 1990s, millennials individuals grew up with technology right by their sides. According to an analysis done by the Pew Research Center, older generations aren’t as dependent of their phones because of “unique barriers.” These include physical challenges in manipulating technology and lack of confidence in adapting.

Knight noted that it is harder for millennials to stay off their phones because it has been with them their entire lives.

Though they can’t even begin to imagine their lives without their phones, Kim and Tam admitted that they would be living totally different lives without them. Kim believes she would be more physically active and even went as far to say that she “would feel more personally connected to the world.”

On the other hand, Tam believes that we would all be majorly inconvenienced in a no-phone life.

“Life would be vastly different,” Tam explained. “It would be a lot harder to stay connected. I think we would still find a way to communicate without our phones, but the ease of what we have now wouldn’t be there, that instant connection.”

Phones aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

According to the Pew Research Center, cellphone ownership has risen from 62 percent of Americans in 2002 to 95 percent in 2018.

Due to the changes we have seen so far, we can predict that phone use is going to increase exponentially in the coming years.

When asked how she would resist the urge to become completely embedded into the technological world in coming years, Kim said that she would “try to recognize and focus on what is most important.” She added she hopes her life won’t be centered “around technological use.”

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Social media can influence self esteem

biology student checks phone

Students shared on Wednesday their views on social media and its effects on mental health and self esteem at American University in Washington, D.C., with many saying they see the negative effects but refuse to give up their phone.

It is very unlikely to find a millennial who isn’t glued to their cell phone, scanning their screen. Social media is used by many millennials in order to stay updated, develop a voice, or create content, and research shows that it can have both positive effects and negative ramifications.

However, many students feel that the advanced network causes their self esteem to take a hit, even though it can help them stay connected to friends and family who may be far away. 

Many students studying or working at American University this summer expressed their thoughts on how social media affects their confidence.

Justine Coleman, 20, is like many others interviewed who said they compare themselves to others on social media platforms.

“Sometimes it can get a little in your head,” said Coleman, a journalism and mass communications student at George Washington University. “People just put out the happiest versions of themselves.”

biology student checks phone
Maryam Yamadi, 22, a biology graduate student at American University, checks her phone while studying on Thursday, June 21. Photo by Jordan Anderson.

According to the National Psychologist, around 81 percent of the U.S. population has at least one social media account.

Using social media is a part of many peoples’ daily routines.

Hannah Kim, 19, a film and media arts major, said that she uses it “really often, almost maybe every hour of the day. Just to check.”

Kim added that “a lot of the younger kids now are growing up a bit too fast and they’re taking inspiration from social media.”

As teenagers develop and undergo changes, they may feel insecure as they observe their friends or celebrities on social media.

“That’s all they’ve grown up with,” Coleman said.

Social media has advanced with Generation Z as they age which affects their mindset. It’s difficult for the younger generation to separate reality from idealism.

“They have grown up with social media, so it’s always been embedded in the culture,” Amanda Luthy, 21, a film and media arts major commented.

However, many of the students overcome the feeling of being pressured.

“There’s a whole team of people behind them producing this content,” Luthy stated on the topic of social media influencers. “It’s not always genuinely that person them self.”

Many students also express how common it is to have a social media cleanse. “Taking some time out is a good way to cope with it,” Coleman said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reactions mixed to Roseanne reboot being cancelled as spinoff planned

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A man responds to the ABC sitcom Roseanne being booted from the air. Photo by Jordan Anderson.

William Jeffrey remembers watching re-runs of the ABC sitcom Roseanne.

He liked the characters, specifically the two daughters on the show.

“It was pretty funny,” Jeffrey said, adding, “I thought it was a pretty good story line.”

Jeffrey won’t be watching Roseanne Barr on screen any time soon after the comedian’s show was cancelled after she tweeted about Valerie Jarrett in what many considered was a racist comment. ABC, the network owned by Disney that was airing Roseanne’s reboot, has since announced that she was fired, but that the show will return in the fall without her as The Connors.

Robert Iger, Disney CEO, tweeted the following after Barr’s tweet drew international scorn. He wrote: “From Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment: ‘Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.'”

Most people in Washington, D.C., agreed there should be consequences for the actress.

Being the 21st century it takes very few minutes on social media for hundreds of people to get their hands on a nasty public thought. Zayne Anderson continues his thought by adding, once the comment is out in the “twitter sphere” now the tweet is public, it has been “dispatched.”

Many people interviewed this week in Washington, D.C. agreed Barr’s tweet about Valerie Jarrett was disgusting.

“And to end the TV show I think it was fine because it is terrible for someone to say that,” said Matthew Hub, 13.

In Tenleytown, located near American University in Northwest Washington, D.C., Dave Terbush thought it would be interesting to see the reboot, even though he didn’t enjoy the original because of the characters’ personalities. He described them as “rough.”

Even though it is sad to see the classic television show leave the air, some District of Columbia residents enjoyed the show at one point.

 

 

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The celebrity effect? Some say it’s important but research says influence comes from closer to home

Students at American University this week provided various perspectives of celebrities’ power in the media, explaining the influence their advocacy has on multiple issues including mental illness and the criminal justice system.

Amanda Luthy, 20, who is a senior, said she looks up to director Ava DuVernay. Luthy described DuVernay as a person who embodies female empowerment and is a role model for women of color, and Luthy said she is drawn to a message of her increasing diversity for people in media.

Lamar Smith, a teaching assistant in the Discover the World of Communication summer program, said he looks up to famous athletes including Chris Paul, who made Smith aware of Hurricane Harvey and police brutality. 

Amanda Luthy discusses her views on celebrities. Photo by Myra Strickland.

“It enlightens you,” Smith said about learning about current events through celebrity involvement.

Although interviews on campus revealed the importance of celebrity advocacy for some teenagers, research shows that’s not always the case, with many turning to people they know rather than those they see on the screen.

“Young adults are less likely to trust the celebrity endorsement of a candidate or issue, and are more likely to trust the endorsement of someone they know,” according to Valerie R. O’Regan of The Department of Political Science at California State University. That work titled “The Celebrity Influence: Do People Really Care What They Think” was published in June 2014.

Sejung Marina Choi and Nora J. Rifon showed in their work that “personalities, lifestyles, appearances, and behaviors” are influenced the most rather than political views or social stances.

“Favorable responses to celebrity endorsements might occur only when consumers perceive the images or meanings the celebrities represent and convey as desirable,” the authors wrote in a 2007 Journal of Popular Culture article. 

 

 

 

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Trust in the media plummets

Jessica Himelfarb is wary of the state of the news media.

She said in a recent interview at American University that amidst the publicity of fake news, she doesn’t trust the media to give her accurate information and inform her fully about what’s going on.

“It’s brought to the awareness of everyone the pervasiveness of fake news and inaccurate information and how politicians and journalists and news companies are making a profit in the United States, so they’re trying to sell a story instead of trying to get it right,” Himelfarb said.

Jessica Himelfarb at American University in July. By Courtney Cohn.

Himelfarb is not alone, as many people are skeptical of what they hear and see in the news especially after the 2016 election.

With claims of fake news being presented daily–even by President Donald Trump–the media is under more scrutiny than ever before and many people now believe that they can’t rely on the news sources they’ve always followed to get their news.

This affects how much people trust their news sources to give them the accurate, unbiased information they’re seeking.

According to a 2016 Gallup Poll, “Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year.”

As trust in the media plummets, the belief that the media should be investigating government officials remains a common idea for many Americans.

However, many people’s skepticism of the media urges them to believe that bias doesn’t allow for thorough investigations.

James Valentine, 71, wants the media to look into investigations to hold government officials accountable, but if they project bias into the news, then the investigations will not be very beneficial.

“If they just investigate them and let the facts dictate where they went, that’s what they should be doing, but if you investigate from the standpoint that you have a pre-perceived notion, it doesn’t do much good,” Valentine said.

Even though many people’s faith in the media has decreased in the last year, there are some exceptions to this trend.

Also according to a Gallup poll, Americans over the age of 50 are more likely to trust the media than people under 50 years old.

Alicia Rockmore, 52, trusts the media more with all of the news on the Trump administration’s involvement with Russia.

“I feel more of a need to defend the media because they are actually the ones that are telling the truth,” Rockmore said. “To me they’re the heroes, they’re the ones that are digging out information that we need to know.” 

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Social media brings big risks; opportunities

Adolescents, who have the ability to connect constantly on their phones, may be putting themselves at a higher risk for mental health disorders and poor quality in personal relationships.

The entertaining features of smartphones have created an unhealthy atmosphere for some, where people are not living in reality. Because of this consistent use, problems like distorted body image, low self-esteem–and even extreme cases like suicide–have emerged as result, researchers say.

For teens like Ana Valera who feels connected always, the risks are on their minds.

“I think definitely a stigma around having the perfect Instagram body or just comparing yourself to other people that you see on social media, that can be very destructive,” said Valera, 16, talking about the negative impacts of social media.

Shuttle bus riders frequently stare at their mobile phones. By Reagan Gerrity.

With the constant scrolling and checking new updates, teens and young adults are more susceptible to the idea that their bodies are not good enough, comparing themselves to photos of models, celebrities or even their friends–not knowing that photos may have been altered. According to research, those who consume more social media place more of an importance on things like body image and how others perceive them, harming their self-esteem.

Social media has also impacted the way students interact in a learning environment, a fact noticed by several professors in the last five years.

Nicole Cox, an assistant professor of mass media at Valdosta State University in Georgia, said that even the way students wait for class has changed. There is no conversation, just people staring intently at a screen.

Cox also observed that phones have affected students’ attentions spans. She said they no longer have the ability to be engaged in class with something much more entertaining in their pocket.

Not only does social media impact a student’s classroom performance but it could be a matter of life and death.

13 Reasons Why, a Netflix original series, became extremely popular this year, but also brought about issues concerning copycat suicides.

“I could understand how people would think that it would romanticize suicide in a way,” Valera said.
“I feel that the intentions of the producers were to shed light on the issue of being bullied and suicide.

“Maybe the execution wasn’t as good as it could have been.”

13 Reasons Why displays suicide as the only way out for a troubled teenage girl, who uses it as revenge against people who upset her. Young people who have watched the fictional series worry this may give ideas to those who are already considering suicide.

“I feel like showing the suicide wasn’t really the best way to go about it,” said Saira Greywald,19, an American University student. “It may have been triggering to those who have gone through depression and attempted suicide.”

Despite what many see as the risks and potential for harm, social media does have benefits.

Some interviewed this week said it helps them communicate and stay connected with friends near and far.

“I feel like Snapchat helps you keep in touch with people even if you’re not around them because you’re seeing them everyday through pictures. And Instagram, you can see what people are up to,” said Caroline Down, 16, of Pittsburgh.

One must keep in mind that with the advancement of communications, comes the responsibility of managing social media and some of its negative impacts.

“It’s really negative,” Greywald said. “People compare themselves to other people and are constantly judging other people and themselves.”

 

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Public preference shifts towards digital news as cable news declines

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A broadcast tower stands above American University’s campus in Washington D.C. Photo by Peter Billovits

People on American University’s campus gave their opinions in July regarding digital methods of accessing news in contrast to cable news services, an increasing concern about accessing information in a democracy.

The decline of broadcast and print news sources is no secret to the American public, as the Internet gains popularity as an alternative news source. The prominence of social media, current events websites, and other means of communication make the Internet an all too tempting alternative to replace the organizations displayed daily on linear broadcast television.

Emily Davis, 28, believes that an array of news sources is necessary in order to dodge political bias and get a balanced perspective.

Others, like international student Shuang Shan, 23, are distrustful of large sources of information.

“I think almost every news source has its own biases,” Shan said.

Shan’s home country of China is known for its censorship of news, a practice which she disagrees with. As such, she embraces the accessibility of sources like Vox, a popular news website. Shan predicts broadcast news will stick around.

“I think people will still watch broadcast news for some things like events happening in real time,” Shan said.

According to a Pew Research Center report about news services, cable news lost 140,000 daily viewers in 2014. It also released a report on the digital news media audience, showing the total amount of viewers on digital news sites has increased.

Among the top 10 digital news sources, the combined total of unique daily viewers is more than 1.8 million.

Satire shows also serve as a news source for many like American University student Audrey Schreiber, 21. Schreiber, a rising senior, enjoys watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central.

“He presents it in a way that you can swallow it, but presents it with a passion,” Schreiber said.

The question of whether traditional news is still relevant in an era of booming online sources and apps seems to be a subject of never-ending debate. Schreiber sees the decline of cable news as an opportunity.

“The more you try to save these dying newspapers, or whatever you want to call them, the less they get saved,” Schreiber said.

Lindsay Studer, 23, prefers to stay clear of major networks and instead resorts to theSkimm, an online service that emails select articles to a subscriber.

Even so, not everyone seems to want to abandon the tradition of watching their news and entertainment on television sets.

High school English teacher Maria Crudel, 47, think that it is essential for broadcast news to remain as a key source.

“I don’t care to sit in front of a computer and get my information because I already sit at a computer all day long,” Crudel said.

If there’s one thing that people seem to agree on, it’s the importance of keeping up on current events.

“That’s what a democratic process is all about,” Crudel said. “It’s about being informed and not having decisions made for you. And as an electorate, we have to know what’s going on.”

 

 

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Social media brings risks and rewards

With increased technology and mobility, social media has become a staple of everyday life and teenagers and young adults this week in Tenleytown voiced their opinions about the positives and negatives of the trend.

A majority of people interviewed this week in Northwest Washington D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood use outlets such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook strictly for social interactions. Many said that they have become more aware of both national and international events because of these applications.

“With the burning of churches or police brutality, the youth are starting to become more informed because it’s always on Twitter first,” said Stephanie Reyas, 18.

For 19-year-old Gabriela Berrios, the positives of social media outweigh the negatives and it’s a personal accountability issue.

“If more people are intelligent with the way they use social media there wouldn’t be any problems at all,” Berrios said.

Gabriela Berrios, 19, texts while eating lunch at a Panera in Northwest Washington D.C. Photo by Geena Provenzano
Gabriela Berrios, 19, texts while eating lunch at a Panera in Northwest Washington D.C. Photo by Geena Provenzano

But, others interviewed stressed the darker side of social media including anonymous users causing harm. A 2015 Pew Research Center report on teenagers and social media found 11 percent of children aged 13 to 17 who own a cell phone use anonymous sites or apps like Ask.FM.

That had some in the district worried.

“You don’t know the people you’re talking to so it could get you in trouble,” said 25-year-old Jeff Ninson.

Olivia Renee, 14, saw social media as a gateway to cyber bullying.

“I have been a victim of bullying online,” Renee said. “If people don’t bully in person they automatically turn to social media. I think that’s a problem at my age.”

Renee is not alone.

According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report, younger adults are more likely to be harassed online than older users. But, regardless of age, roughly 40 percent of Internet users have experienced some form of online harassment.

Some interviewed this week in Washington D.C., believed that social media has become a way for children to isolate themselves and said kids have become too dependent on technology.

“They use it instead of communicating with people in real life,” said John Belisario, 17. “Kids text on their phones instead of going outside.”

 

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Social media helps students and grads network, stay informed

Students on American University’s campus use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to obtain news, contact others and even find jobs, ushering in a new era of social media unknown to past generations and even foreign to some millennials.

Journalism and Arab World Studies major Jacquie Lee, 20, interned for a Republican senator from Ohio and wrote for Street Sense, a district publication that advocates for homeless rights. In both positions, social media was a small part of the job. She composed tweets and posted on Facebook.

“It is assumed since you are young, you are good at writing for social media,” Lee said. “But this may not always be the case.”

For Lee, who is headed to study abroad in Jordan in August, Twitter is a great way to see top headlines. It also allows  stories that wouldn’t receive coverage to gain international recognition. Lee talked about the Arab Spring and women in the Middle East.

“Citizen journalists are reporting stories that they see instantly,” Lee said regarding the way news breaks over Twitter.

Not only do students use social media to find out information about the world, but they are also capable of giving the world information about themselves. Many students agreed that the use of Facebook and Twitter is a great way of branding themselves and getting recognized .

Business and entertainment major Toye Adenekan, 20, uses social media to help him stay fresh in his industry.

“I use it for tidbits of news but I am able to put my name out there,” Adenekan said.

Yolanda Martinez, a 26-year-old who earned a graduate degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley, uses social media to find news, sources and jobs.

“I definitely view it as a positive,” Martinez said.

College students know the importance of making connections to get ahead. Seventeen-year-old AU student Cassie Castro is pursuing a path in political science and keeps up with others in her field. She uses social media to branch out and make relationships with others.

“Networking is huge, especially in college,” Castro said.