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The different ‘wall’ in china

In December 2012, China allegedly reinforced its own firewall in attempt to be able to block politically sensitive information. From here it continued to grow and block most global websites.  What exactly is the great firewall? It is a “system that prevents access to websites deemed undesirable by the government of the People's Republic of China.” In other words it was put in place to stop and block any information that deemed sensitive. What is with all these politicians wanting to put up walls? 

I know right? I had this same reaction. I was fortunate enough to live in China was 5 years however I don’t remember any of this happening to the internet but I was around 5-10 years old so that's probably why. It was also a while ago and the internet wasn’t as prominent in people’s lives.  During todays day and age this happening would make individuals feel so disconnected to the rest of the world. In 2017 they decided to block Facebook, Youtube and WhatsApp which are 2 very big social media websites. 

Don’t need to cry about it cause there are solutions! China have a variety of app’s that replace the mainstream one’s.  These include: 1. WeChat: In replacement of WhatsApp and Facebook messaging  2. Youku: In replacement of youtube 3. Xiaonei: In replacement of Facebook  There are always going to be other app’s available however, individuals who can’t get the mainstream media would probably feel left out on what’s happening within the specific community. 

Not bad right? I mean it still is bad that all these everyday app’s are banned but they do have there own so they’re not missing out on too much. These app’s are also thriving in china so they wouldn’t really care about the firewall.  How about wanting to use a VPN? It is not illegal to use however those wanting to use it has to be registered with authorities. Foreign VPN’s might have their websites blocked by the firewall in the first place and hence will not be effective. 

What do we have to conclude from this? The firewall while maybe unnecessary wouldn’t really affect those living in china considering they have all the replacement app’s such as WeChat and Youku so they are still essentially getting exactly what we're getting minus anything the government considers to be sensitive. 

- Shanae ♡ 

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Is social gaming social?

I have a particularly biased standpoint on this topic. Whilst I do love me some club penguin, wii sport, papa’s freezaria; I do however hate video games. This is probably just me voicing my hatred due to past boyfriends and current boyfriend ignoring me for them but thats not what I'm here to talk about today. 

‘Social’ gaming is “ is the activity of playing online games with other members of the same online group”. The first thought I have when it comes to social gaming is about all the games we play on Facebook such as Wordswithfriends, draw something or even when we use to play Farmville. Facebook now has a little tab where you can click and play a variety of games with your friends. 

They are classified as ‘social’ since we play them with someone else. For example me and my boyfriend sometimes get bored and play wordswithfriends (I always win) and the great thing about it is, you get a notification when its your next, tells you who else is playing the game and it gives you a leaderboard of who's winning. But can we call these types of games social? Yes we talk to people whilst playing them but since we’re not with them in person is it still social? I personally believe that since it’s something done online it’s not considered social, however some argue that since you are talking to individuals online it can be classified as social.  Let’s do some research and find out what it actually is categorised as. 

Some believe that it is social considering you’re playing with your friends and its just another way to interact. However, people can be playing a game together in the exact same room not talking to each other one bit. That is the definition of antisocial. I’m very biased but I do think there is a social aspect to it when it comes too gaming conventions. There is where you meet up and talk to people and finally become s o c i a l. 

So there you have my very biased opinion. Not sorry about it :)  - Shanae ♡ 

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The dark side of social media

Yes, you heard right. Social media has a dark side. Social media is all fun and games until our mental health comes into play  Social media can affect our mental health drastically (unfortunately). Whether it’s our self confidence decreasing from instagram or our FOMO (fear of missing out) increasing, social media does tend to affect us mentally. 

Yep, unfortunately the thing we love and cherish (well I do anyway) is seriously harming our mental health. A study that was done by the university of Pittsburg found that there is a correlation between time spent scrolling through social media and negative body image. “Those who had spent more time on social media had 2.2 times the risk of reporting eating and body image concerns, compared to their peers who spent less time on social media.” This is worrying as social media is still evolving everyday.  Excessive social media use can increase: 1. Depression  2. Anxiety 3. Loneliness  4. A fear of missing out (thanks snapchat maps) 5. Eating disorders 6. Low self esteem  And many many more mental illnesses  I’m not saying this happens to everyone but this number does keep increasing overtime. 

The more we see people’s ‘perfect’ lives the more we think our lives suck in comparison. There are many factors that come into why social media is affecting our mental health so drastically. For younger kids this could be due to online bulling or a fear of missing out.  And for teenagers this could be from: - Comparing to others (especially influencers even though they photoshop most of there photos) - Again a fear of missing out from seeing friends together on Snapchatmaps and stories  - And one of the biggest one’s I believe is following accounts that support mental illnesses such as ProAna Thankfully the first thing that comes up when you search up anything to do with mental illness you see this message

However, just this message isn’t going to help as you can still click to view search results. I believe Tumblr is one of the worst places for those with mental illness as there are so many pages on proAnorexia or Proselfharm that it just doesn’t do anyone any favours and makes the individuals health even more detrimental. Twitter is also very bad in this category while Instagram over harms people with photoshop.  The other day I saw this posted on @Phillydefranco 

Instagram are testing out hiding likes from instagram. It is actually being tested out in Canada at the moment to see if it’s effective. Their main reason for doing this is so individuals stop comparing likes and to “prioritise mental health”. I’m all up for this idea as I am one of the ones who think “It has to get over 500 likes otherwise I'm deleting it” Which is such a bad mindset so I hope this is put in place but for some reason I don’t think it would be since likes is one of the main things about instagram.  Overall it’s quite upsetting that social media affects our mental health since it is such an everyday thing in our lives (or every second..) but hopefully platforms start putting in place new things to help decrease this number.  - Shanae ♡

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Have a yellow Pete for Mental Health Awareness Month. 🌻🌼🌻🌼🌻

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Why Crowdsourcing is amazing

What is crowdsourcing? Crowdsourcing is “The practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers”. In simpler terms it is when individuals give their services, money or food to individuals during a tragedy. This is incredible to do, individuals taking time and effort to help those in times of crisis. 

I for one think this is amazing. I saw the benefits Crowdsourcing has had during events such as the California wildfires, many celebrities and Youtubers shared links to where people can donate money.Crowdsourcing makes our community come together and team up to help those in need.  With our growing connectivity it is way easier for people to contribute to these types of things. For example when a tragedy strikes individuals can see on Facebook those who are marked as ‘safe’. This helps individuals know if their friend or family members are safe during a crisis that is near them and can put their mind to ease. According to Facebook this is activated when “an incident such as an earthquake, hurricane, mass shooting or building collapse occurs where people might be in danger, a global crisis reporting agency alerts Facebook.” You may get a notification on facebook asking you to mark yourself safe and it will let others know. 

A big part of crowdsourcing involves individuals donating during a crisis. One company I see a lot during tragedies like this is GoFundme. GoFundme is a for-profit crowdfunding platform that allow individuals to raise money for life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents, illnesses or a horrific event (hurricanes, shootings etc). 

My favourite thing about the website is it gives categories of what you can donate too. This includes medical, emergency, non- profit, animals and many more categories. 

You can fundraise for almost anything on the website but it is mostly used when big tragedies happen so individuals can easily raise money. Since the internet is now such a worldwide thing it is able to bring everyone together to help those in need.  Overall, I think Crowdsourcing is an amazing tool and is immensely helpful to those during a difficult time. 

https://prezi.com/view/Crb2NzRJDqfVy5B5PKhY/ 

- Shanae ♡ 

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They broke her wings, then told her to fly.

etoile-filantes (via etoile-filantes)

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Sashay Away trolls

What is an online troll? Trolling is defined as creating hostility on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people by posting inflammatory or off-topic messages in an online community. Basically someone who ‘trolls’ someone online starts an argument based on their own entertainment.  Sounds stupid right?

My reaction to whenever I see anyone trolling honestly. I don’t see the point in getting into an argument with a stranger online for entertainment. I mean love the tea but there’s also no point in doing it.  I personally have never experienced this happen to me but I have seen it happen to many many youtubers considering a lot of Youtubers do videos called “Reacting to my hate comments”. 

Making up things and being mean to people online for no reason is pretty sad but at least these youtubers can make a video about it and get that coin. 

Why do people troll?  According to Psychology today, there are 8 reasons to why people troll and be mean online.  1. Anonymity: Some people think since it’s online they can say whatever the hell they want and can get away with it. 2. Perceived obscurity: Even though they know they’re not 100% anonymous, some people still think they are. 3. Perceived majority status: Some individuals think they are in the majority in a certain setting, hence they will more freely express their opinion than those who see themselves as in the minority, and may feel rejected if they express an unpopular opinion.  4. Social identity salience: Some people may form a different identity online because they want to escape from their lives. And from this someone who might be really nice in real life might turn into a jerk online.  5. Surrounded by ‘friends’: ‘People may perceive their online environment to be full of people like them. Thus, individuals feel confident self-expressing because they anticipate support or agreement from their network,’ 6. Desensitisation: Over time, we may get desensitised to social media platforms and it’s environment. We use to think about the consequences of what we posted, now we just spout without thinking about it.  7. Personality traits: Some people might just be total assholes and thats why they turn into online trolls. Or some people might of just had a bad day and decided to take it out on a complete stranger.  8. Perceived lack of consequences: People just say stuff before they think of the consequences and with social media so prevalent in our lives it happens even more often.  Some of these reasons might sound insanely stupid but it’s real and it’s what happens on a daily basis unfortunately.

What are some ways individuals deal with it? - The main way is to try and ignore them. This could be insanely hard but there’s a block and report button for a reason 🤷🏼‍♀️ - Don’t give them the reaction they’re looking for. People who do this want you to get angry and want you to fight back. Don’t give them that satisfaction  - If it’s really serious and really bad tell an adult. They’re more wiser than us anyway  - Delete there comments and moderate your account  And lastly tell them to 

- Shanae ♡ 

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students skipping school to demonstrate for our planet

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