overandunderthehill

[overandunderthehill]

A Digital Recluse's Calling

A project pitched by our group “Spice Girls” for our final requirement in our CAMPUBL class involves the exploration of stories that featured three Generation Z “digital recluses”. A digital recluse refers to social media hermits or people who avoid sharing and participating on social media trends. Compared to other people from their generations, these three are considered people who are “out of the norm” since in this era, having a digital presence is what connects people with each other the most.

Audrey’s interviewee is Andrew Cole, a student at the University of Toronto who will be taking up neurobiology. In summary, Andrew explained to her that social media really hurt his self-esteem during COVID-19. He saw many of his friends going out and doing stuff while he was stuck at home, it was just very mentally draining.

We also interviewed one of our classmates, Christian D. Chua. He is a quiet and introverted guy who always kept to himself during class times. He would come early to class or meetings and also be the first one to leave. This made us curious about him so we decided to search him up on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. However, we could only find him on Facebook but even his profile did not feature any pictures of him except for a drawing. We were skeptical to add him on Facebook at first because we thought it was a fake account. Christian clarified that it’s his real account to keep in touch with family and school. Due to his given reasons, we decided to interview and write one of the feature stories about him for the project.

Davey felt affectionate towards the topic as he is somewhat of a social media recluse, so getting to interview one of his old friends and find out the reason why his friend didn’t want to use social media in the first place was refreshing for him. Davey’s interviewee, Aedryn Campos summarized his reasons on why he avoids social media. Essentially, it is due to the toxic environment and the “cancel culture” that made him turn away from it.

So far, as of writing this brief report, the feature stories have been achieved. With the three individuals interviewed having a somewhat the same lifestyle but different reasons as to why they avoid active involvement on the internet. It gave the target audiences various reasons why someone from Generation Z could be a recluse online despite our reputation being the ones that are digitally inclined.

Of course, there were obstacles in making the project come true such as the time for us to make the written content as well as the website. Our group also faced obstacles in finding a way to set up an “engagement counter” that would record our metrics for success. In the end, we got to find solutions for these. However, the biggest concern that we failed to address in time would be our project’s social media presence. The group decided to share the website link through our personal profiles on social media instead of making social media profiles for the project. This is due to the lack of time on the developing part. Although, in the end, we were able to reach our minimum target of 200 website engagements.

This was a huge learning experience for our group and it also made us realize that publishing isn’t really that easy, as opposed to our experience in posting on social media. Professional publishing takes a lot of time and effort to do compared to social media publishing. Through this project, I realized that publishing factual information is important and the need to go through a rigorous yet fair process is needed. Just like what journalists have been doing for centuries, publishing is a social responsibility that Communication Arts students like us need to make aware of. Social media is just a medium but the obligation to deliver interesting yet relevant information rests on our shoulders.

[overandunderthehill]

Introduction

Hello! My name is Audrey Rodriguez. I’m an ID121 student taking up Communications Arts in De La Salle University.

My hobbies include digital art, listening to music, and creative writing. My goal in the future is to simply live a life with no regrets, doing what I love regardless if it is my job or my hobbies. I was born on July 3, 2003 in Manila and have lived in BGC and Makati my whole life. I have two dogs named Drew and Charley who reside in my apartment.

This blog is about my classes, personal life, and designed with my aesthetic in mind 🌸

[overandunderthehill]

A Day In the Life of Isa 

I have known Isabel since the moment I was born. Though older than me she is in fact my niece as her mom is my first cousin and we have a large age difference. Nevertheless it always felt like we were cousins and we used to spend hours playing together as children: playing spa, with her Barbies, as well as make some clothes together.

I have always noticed that Isabel liked to be on camera, and so it wasn’t a big surprise to me when she suddenly had an online presence. She had always loved vlogging and making mini music videos and as a result, she has over 10.9k followers on TikTok, garnering 551.k likes. On Instagram, she has 4,315 followers.

Isa likes posting fashion videos, such as what she it wearing to class, outfit ideas, hauls of things she bought, and even does sponsored videos. Aside from fashion she also posts “A Day in My Life” videos from time to time such as jogging. 

Last Sunday I got the chance to interview Isabel on my cousins Margie’s bridal shower. We went through a spa day and as we got our nails done next to each other. She was happy to answer questions I had for her regarding her experience as an influencer.

A: What kind of content do you make? I: I make beauty and fashion content.

A: Oh! So what made you decide to go that route, into beauty and fashion? I: Cause I like to dress up!

Isa's most popular videos are outfits that she buys online and shows off on her TikTok. She often gets comments from her viewers, asking her where she bought certain tops or skirts.

This led me to my next questions, specifically what made her decide to make content on her platforms? (YouTube and TikTok)

I asked her this question off the camera and she mentioned that no one motivated her to do so, she just always knew that she loved to do so. Frankly I wasn’t surprised as she always loved being extroverted, friendly, and stylish.

A: So have you made any mistakes so far? What’s the most important things in handling it? Is there anything you’ve learned from being a social influencer? I: “I think the most important traits are humility, consistency, and passion!”

Isa had began running to maintain this positive attitude. Running is always a good way to destress and freshen your mind, as well as to relax and get healthy.

A: So what are you goals for in the future as a influencer? I: “For me to grow a bigger community and to branch out and do YouTube” A: Ooh what kind content do you do on YouTube? Same?” I: “Like vlogs! Vlogs and other videos.” A: How do you make sure your content is ethical? I: “I think that I just think before I post and make sure to spread love..only!” 

Isa has always been a hard worker as a communications student in Ateneo de Manila University, and balances her time as an influencer and enjoying it at the same time. I have always admired her fashionable style, her confidence, as well as her drive and ambition to always seek out opportunities that would help further her career.

She is set to graduate next year and I have no doubt that she would be a wonderful fit wherever her career may lead her to.

TikTok

IG

[overandunderthehill]

Knock, Knock, Guess Who!

October 21, 2023 7:24AM

Recent news was announced last night in Tuber company Nijisanji that they are graduating (stopping streaming activities) of three of their livers in the Indonesian (ID) branch. This is not the first time Nijisanji has done this as this year they have graduated several of their other ID livers.

One of the livers in question is Mika Melatika, a long-time member of Nijisanji's ID branch.

I looked into tweets and checked whether they were fact or not and you can check them through this spreadsheet

The first two tweets I classified as facts. The first tweet is a direct statement from the subject of the news herself: Mika Melatika. The second tweet is a transcript from a twitter user best known for tweets quotes from recent livestreams; as a result this is factual as it directly quotes Mika.

Tweets 4-6 as well as 8 I classified as opinion as these are viewers expressing their feelings on livers graduation. Some of these stating that they were sad to see Mika and other livers go as they felt connected to their Indonesian branch due to their Indonesian background.

Others hope that she will join recently graduated Mysta Rias and Nina Kosaka from NijisanjiEN, as these livers have moved onto another company called Vshojo. Another calling out the company stating that they felt like it wasn't really a matter of "if" but "when" for the ID graduations.

Another user stating that they feel like Nijisanji had stopped caring about their less popular ID branch as compared to those in JP (Japanese) and EN (English)

Tweet 7, 9, 10. I put under misleading as the tweet can misinterpret that Mika has graduated to be a match teacher. I checked this by checking clips as well as her recent livestream discussing her graduation, and this seems unlikely as Nijisanji had previously announced this year that they would be graduating their ID livers in batches. For her to do this on her own is unlikely as she would have had her own separate post if she was graduating by will.

Another tweet says that they now for a fact that Mika will be reappearing as a new Vtuber is also misleading as she has not stated that she will be doing so in her graduation stream, and even if she is, she is not allowed by management to announce that as indicated multiple times by previously livers.

Lastly, a tweet saying that ID gets no management support by the company can be misleading because of Luca Kaneshiro of NijisanjiEN's statement on hatred towards the company. Nijisanji is infamous by the internet due to the speculation of treating their members poorly. However Luca states that while he is upset about some things, he states that most of the hate is very misinformed. Fellow EN liver Millie Parfait also states that she herself was always treated well by her manager.

Twitter (X) is not a reliable news source in itself, it's the account you must trust or not. However it is also a place where people can spread their thoughts on situations without being under some kind of filter, and those types of options should be respected regardless of whether they are true or not.

[overandunderthehill]

Sitting down with Media

By: Winnie Angelica Li, Davey Ian Laciste, and Audrey Rodriguez

When it comes to reporting news, there are bound to be moments when the news can not cover the whole situation for the public. The traditional media structure enables only the media organizations to wield power over controlling the narrative. However, humans evolve and so does the mediascape (a product of human inventions and interactions). Humans compile information for words to get around, which results in people being informed of events around them and how they may affect them, but people within a certain media organization can only do so much in delivering “complete” news. There are bound to be sides from unexpected parties that media organizations themselves may not reach. The ability to gather information from all possible sources is expanded considerably through the emergence of social media.

Media organizations have lost their power to be the sole distributor of “credible” information. They have also compromised and shared their control with the public in determining what news is “newsworthy”. The digital revolution has initiated so many shifts in gathering, publishing, and disseminating information that the media, at large, had to adapt. One of the Philippines’ earlier newspapers, the Inquirer, is an example of adaptors of change when they shifted from a media organization to a multimedia organization.

The Philippines has always been known for its way around gossip, news, and information. Inquirer, established in 1985, is one of the most prominent newspapers in the Philippines. Often regarded as the Philippines’ newspaper of record, they are an English-based newspaper that covers the latest breaking news of both local and international. 

It was first run and founded under Eugenia D. Apostol, Betty Go Belmonte, and Max Soliven. Interestingly the Inquirer was one of the first papers to be published under the final days of former President Marcos, a time when the media was under heavy control. As time went on, the media of Inquirer was able to document several important events like the campaign of Corazon Aquino as well as the People Power Revolution. It is said that this period was one of the heights of the company as there were around half a million copies sold per day.

In 2017, Inquirer became the most-read newspaper in the Philippines, especially with the expansion of their service to online platforms. With this, information has become much easier to access with their online domain. Even with the domination of their online presence as technology moves forward with consuming online content, Inquirer garners nearly 3 million reads a day, and it is considered one of the most trusted news sources in the country. Currently, the company is run by President Rudyard Arbolado and their main office is located in Makati City, Metro Manila. They offer many columns aside from breaking news such as discussions, news analysis, opinions by the authors, and editorials. They also have a dedicated website for their stories and archives as well as an online presence on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter (now called ‘X’), and even TikTok as they never fail to keep up with the current media trends for their audience.

We sat down in one of De La Salle University’s classrooms in Miguel Hall with one of the Inquirer’s photo editors, Mr. Remar A. Zamora. In the 30-minute interview, we tackled the different issues that Inquirer may be facing in this digitalized mediascape.

Rem Zamora

There is no doubt that the shift not only initiated great changes within the media organization system but also the audience behaviors. When asked about the changing preferences in consumption of the public, Mr. Zamora mentioned that “the declining readership has had direct consequences on the business side of journalism, which prompted them to reshape their organization’s operations.”

This decline in readership not only results in decreased revenues but also places constraints on resources such as budgeting. Furthermore, it requires the editorial team to adjust to the changing preferences of their readers. Davey Laciste, our interviewer, referenced his learning experience in his Fundamentals of Publishing (CAMPUBL) class regarding the shortening attention spans of recent generations. Mr. Zamora agreed with this statement and further reinforced the idea of the required editorial adaptation to the recent social media trends and platforms.

Alongside the profound changes in audience behavior and the impact of social media on news consumption, Inquirer has been facing other major challenges in this age. The organization has also been facing trust issues and skepticism as a credible news source from social media users. Newspapers have been slowly phasing out and citizen journalism has replaced them as a “more reliable” source of news. This trust issue has led to decreased inclination to gather information from established media outlets.

To regain trust, Mr. Zamora emphasized the importance of “awareness”. People should understand that not all online content is factual or unbiased. This is where news organizations have the upper hand in publishing trustworthy news as they follow rigorous journalistic protocols and can be held accountable for their content. The quality of journalism, adherence to processes, and editorial integrity set them apart from self-published online sources. 

"We are accountable for what we publish or what we broadcast. I'm not saying all people publishing online are bad, it's just that there are certain protocols that people should follow. There are certain processes and ideologies that journalists follow that most self-published people on the internet do not do.", Mr. Zamora stated.

To tackle these issues, Mr. Zamora indicated that Inquirer has been planning to be more adaptable to the demands of the public by providing news forms. Just like the shift from newspapers to radio form to television, media organizations have continuously adapted. Even in this era of AI-driven innovations, Mr. Zamora has not diminished the potential of this technology. According to him, “AI is already here and it's here already. But the thing is ChatGPT can eliminate the mechanical type of job. Like, there are a lot of organizations using AI already to do, let's say, sports, statistics, or business reporting with the stocks.”

He suggested that “human journalists can provide analysis for AI to relate to”. However, there is no guarantee how long the innovation of AI will develop to replace human journalists. Mr. Zamora emphasized the superiority of good journalism derived from good sources with factual information.

Ultimately, journalists still have a role in this world as well as media organizations. These people work hand-in-hand to deliver timely and credible news to the masses. For the youths who look forward to being part of the media industry, Mr. Zamora advised that “even if technology is really diverse and may seem intimidating, it comes with a sense of excitement in discovering a good story to tell. People will listen, even if you present them with different forms of media.”

While some struggles have been encountered by media organizations just like Inquirer, they eventually conformed to the new standards and started producing quality journalism for the ever-curious readers. Good journalism always prevails and just like Mr. Zamora’s final quote, we should remember that “while the medium may change, the power of a compelling narrative remains timeless.”

[overandunderthehill]

Writing for a Good Audience

https://x.com/AudreyEliz6439/status/1708385073094123699?s=20

I unfortunately was not in attendance in last Saturday's class but was able to catch up by reading the modules on Canvas. The video explained what good writing was, knowing your target audience, what they want, and what they would take away from it.

As an avid tweeter and writer myself I believe that those these points seem simple and self explanatory, they are immensely helpful when it comes to publishing your work; especially if you want it to reach a wider audience. Tweeting about academic work however was a new experience and I found it to be an interesting way to view my classmates work as well.

[overandunderthehill]

Over the Hill? Or Here? Or There? I Really Wonder Where?

It’s almost the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning. Despite my heavy eyelids, I rub them to let them adjust to the light of the screen. I catch up on notifications to see what news I may have missed in the middle of the night, whether that may be messages, emails, social, or entertainment.

Frankly, it makes me curious how others in my generation consume news.

I’ve interviewed Davey Laciste, a third year student in De La Salle University, on how he obtains his news. I’ve put together the following infographic for his responses.

When it comes to myself, three observations I’ve seen while viewing news is first: the audience is important. Knowing their opinion, where they come from, what point of view they may have, is very important as they formulate their responses to news based off that. I usually see this on Twitter. 

Second: The audience has a short attention span so important and catchy headlines as well as visuals are important to the viewer 

Third: Everyone will always react differently to news, and they reactions of other individuals may sway the opinion of those who cannot find one. 

News is very subjective to each person, and no one is more influential than a human being. It’s important to immerse yourself in society but at the same time it’s also important not to lose yourself or your values and opinions within the process.

Author's Note: The title of this article is a reference to the lyrics of the theme song of Disney's "Alice in Wonderland", the main creative motif behind this blog.

[overandunderthehill]

Streaming the Life of Winnie Li

When I first came to DLSU (online, that is) one of my block mates had organized a Discord server where we could meet each other, as it was still the height of the pandemic and classes were done online. After introducing ourselves to one another, another girl joined the call. She, I, and one other student were the only girls in the server so I instantly wanted to talk to her. Eventually I got to get to know and work with this girl more when face to face classes started and she has become one of my closest friends in university. 

December 20, 2021 (Winnie on the bottom left and me on the upper left)

Born on September 6, 2003, Winnie Angelica Li came to De La Salle University in 2021. At 20 years old, she is taking a double degree for Communication Arts and Entrepreneurship. Despite taking two courses, her academic life and personal life are well balanced.

Winnie enjoys playing video games such as Minecraft, Sims 4, Fortnite, Valorant, Solasta, and Gerna Undawn. Being in a similar environment, her other hobbies include analyzing the the Valiant e-sports scene.

Among her favorites, Project Zombie and The Sims 4 are her go-to comfort games. As for the ones she plays competitively, Valorant is her favorite. She also hopes that streaming will be in her future and dreams as well.

Outside of her PC, Winnie doesn’t travel much but loves going to the beach once in a while since she used to live in Batangas. She’d love to go to Japan one day with her boyfriend, Neil, as he wants to go and she feels like it has so much cultural experiences that she would find interesting. 

Winnie and Her Boyfriend Neil

I wanted to ask Winnie a different type of question, so I asked her if she ever had a near death experience. She did, in fact, have a specific one and answered right away! 

“I was driving a motorcycle without a helmet and license, with someone as my passenger too, and I crashed into a tricycle. The tricycle had 4 people on it including the driver.” 

That takes guts. 

Then I proceeded to ask whether she had a “Main Character” moment in her life. She thought about it and said that it was probably the time when she and her team won in a Nation Business Convention for their business proposal plan.

To conclude it, I asked whether she felt like she changed from the pandemic or not. Winnie responded saying that the isolation really changed her, as she feel like she became more introverted in a way and lazier since it was just two years of her sitting down and playing games.

Winnie Li is truly one of the best people you can meet both as a friend and a classmates, and I'm glad to have met her and got to know her better. We have gotten close ever since working and seeing each other face to face and I truly hope that she is a friend that I have for life.