Instagram Etiquette

The depiction of the female ideal on Instagram encourages unrealistic beauty standards which ultimately lead to a negative body image. A study which examined negative body image among women ages 18-25 reported half of the participants say they would prefer to be run over by a truck than be fat, and 2/3 who would rather be mean or stupid than fat (Klein, 2013). Instagram is amplifying body dissatisfaction among women and negatively altering their self- perception. Social media is a platform where users generate their own content, and because of this women have a responsibility to stop posting or reposting retouched images that encourage unrealistic beauty standards.
The unrealistic beauty standards promoted by social media platforms that are predominately visual such as Instagram and facebook have been correlated to the rise of serious eating disorders (Klein, 2013). Girls and women seek use these platforms to find images of what they want to look like which leads them compare their own bodies to what they see on the pages, thin beautiful models and celebrities. They become dissatisfied with their own bodies, which leads to increased body surveillance, disordered thinking and potentially disordered eating (Klein, 2013). The consequences of anorexia nervosa and bulimia are life threatening. Brown and Tiggemann, (20160 in their study, Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women's mood and body image found that exposure to peer images had a similarly negative effect. They compared exposure to to celebrity and peer images to exposure to travel images
and found the former increased negative mood and body dissatisfaction relative to travel images.
An overview of research on social media and body image by Fardouly and Vartanian, (2016) found consistency in the association between social media and body image concerns and also that these associations strengthened overtime. The recommended more research on social media platforms such as Instagram as much of the research to date has focused on Facebook. This is important as Instagram is nearly exclusively image based and has become more popular among females than other social media platforms. I myself have found that when I am spending a lot of time on this platform I engage in body and beauty comparisons and begin to feel more negatively about myself. Fardouly and Vartanian, (2016) recommended body image literacy programs to address the negative impact social media is having on body image.

While I agree that these literacy programs are an important step I think we all have a responsibility to be more aware of this negative impact and use our own content to combat this issue. Woman should focus on posting content that is unrelated to their appearance and all social media users should put efforts towards showing real, unedited and perfectly flawed images of woman. Socially responsible posting and media awareness are a way society can prevent unhealthy relationships between a woman, her body and her social media network.

References:
Brown, Z., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women's mood and body image. Body image, 19, 37-43.


Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current research and future directions. Current opinion in psychology, 9, 1-5.

Klein, Kendyl M., "Why Don't I Look Like Her? The Impact of Social Media on Female Body Image" (2013). CMC Senior Theses. 720.

More Bike Lanes Please

Victoria is a environmentally friendly city that already has a great bike lane system. However, bike lane expansion is sill something that would be beneficial in various ways. An increase in the number of bike lanes will increase accessibility and may encourage their use. If more people rode bikes for transportation, the city would be able to reduce its environmental impact. There is a large cycling community in victoria and also a great majority of environmentalists meaning the majority of victoria's population could get on board with this motion. In addition leaving a lesser carbon footprint, victoria would also become a happier city.  Studies have shown that exercise and the endorphins it releases can alter an individual's mood. Victoria has a large young adult population that are attending post secondary schools, an age vulnerable to mental illness. The average age of onset of depression is 19 years old. Young college students are known for attempting to survive on microwavable meals, ramen and anything else that they: is quick, cheap and easy. Using bike lanes to get to school might help in preventing the “freshman fifteen”. Many students feel they don’t have time to exercise and thus don’t. Biking is a good form of cardiovascular exercise that if the bike lane system expanded could become a part of students every day routine. 

Free Tuition

Tuition costs in Canada are continuously rising and creating financial hardship for the majority of post secondary students. In 2017/2018 Canadian university tuition fees jumped 3.1% for undergraduate programs. Average tuition has risen 6.2% annually since 1990, three times the rate of inflation (Harris, 2012). This financial hardship has become so significant it negatively impacts not only the students but also society as a whole. To reverse this negative impact tuition should be free.

In order to cope with the rising cost of tuition students are taking on considerably more debt than previous generations. “Thousands of students still go into debt for a post-secondary education, knowing that the burden will distort their careers and their personal lives” (Kilian, 2012). They convince themselves this debt will be manageable and is ultimately a good investment in their future. However, when students graduate owing an average 27 000 dollars, reality inevitably sets in. For those that are unable to secure full time employment after graduation or those who have chosen lower paying careers, repaying this debt is overwhelming. This creates considerable stress on individuals at a crucial time in their life when they also have other challenges they must face such as starting a family or buying a home.

In general post-secondary education provides greater earning potential and thus improves quality of life. This opportunity should be available to all citizens in Canada but because of the current cost of tuition, it is not. Students who are from low-income families are frequently forced to forgo higher education because of how much it costs. Students who face other challenges, for example mental health issues, cannot cope with the combined stress of school and financial hardship and frequently have to drop out. Those who are in the most need of improving their lives, face the greatest barriers.

If post-secondary tuition was free, all people would have the same opportunities to improve their economic standing. When countries have a higher standard of living economies prosper. In addition to economic advancement post secondary learning contributes to personal growth, which in turn enables individuals to contribute in important ways to society.

References:

Kilian, C. (2012, September 29) The case for free post-secondary tuition. Retrieved             from: https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/09/29/Free-Post-Secondary/

Get ready for $10k tuition: Canadian university fees rising faster than incomes and inflations, report says. (2012). National Post. Retrieved from    http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/get-ready-for-10k-tuition-canadian- university-fees-rising-faster-than-incomes-and-inflation

Student Media

I pay minimal attention to news reports in the newspaper, radio and TV.  When I consume media I prefer it to be intentional. I receive my news digitally on YouTube or read on online news publications such as CNN.com.  The only times I am listening to the radio is when I’m driving, which is a time where I enjoy listening to music. As a student, I cannot afford Cable and mainly use Netflix and YouTube for entertainment.  In addition, due to the overwhelming amount of News, It’s a habit of mine to tune out the constant flowing news stream for my own sanity. There are other things that need to be my primary focus, and while staying up to date with current events is something I believe has importance, I try to limit it to vital news that’s on a need to know basis.

With my media attention in mind, I feel that public relations are very important for Camosun College. I think that most students will pay as much or less attention to News as me. Doing the bare minimum of public relations isn’t going to reach many students. If Camosun College placed greater emphasis on public relations, they are more likely to have the desired effect of communicating with their students. In addition, Camosun should be utilizing social media platforms to the fullest as their target demographic mainly consumes media this way.

Tweeting Exercise

Here are 3 Mock tweets related to the National Widget Company's recent news.  

1.     We at the National Widget Company, regretfully announce that we will be laying off 200 employees due to a highly competitive market. This will give us an oppourtunity to restructure the company to ensure the oldest run company in Canada continues its legacy.

2.     We are excited to announce that we are rehiring the 200 previously laid off employees. We plan to be fully operating with in 6 weeks. The National Widget Company thanks you for sticking with us throughout this transition.

3.     We are hiring 100 employees in the manufacturing branch in Regina, Sk. We believe this will allow us to compete with the Chinese market. Follow us to show your support!

Reading the Entirety

Below is my analysis of A blog by Jeff Atwood. 

Jeff Atwood observes the blogging world has changed. Post counts have become the focus rather than the content itself. The blog cites two studies which shows blog readers aren’t reading the entire blog post before scrolling down to the comment section to leave a comment.

The audience is likely 18 to 40 year old men and women who are social media users. The audience is likely educated and working in a field where social media and digital communication is relevant to their job.  Atwood’s tone and imagery throughout the blog are indicators that this is his intended audience.

A study done by Ars Technica, The Banana Study, showed people aren’t reading to the end of blog posts. An analysis done by Slate Magazine showed people are only reading half of an entire post.  Atwood’s solution to encourage reading and reduce skimming is to eliminate pagination, offer reading times; reward readers who’ve read the entire post, and continuously update comments so that the comment section is an actual conversation.

The studies, Atwood cites only shows readers are not reading every word of a post. Though Atwood does not prove that this has any effect on reading comprehension.