Social Semiotics

 I've been sick this week and trying to study for and complete my finals while making sure I get enough hours in at work. Not a good time. I hope you all have been managing finals season alright, and I wish you the best at passing all your classes.

For the final discussion post, we're talking about social semiotics.

Image // Research Gate

So what even is social semiotics? It's the study of symbols as a part of social life and observes how meaning is created and interpreted in different contexts. It analyzes various modes of communication through images, texts, and gestures. This idea comes from Micheal Halliday and Gunther Kress.

Social semiotics is important because in social settings, there may be ways that it can be used in order to achieve the desired results of the poster, according to Theo van Leeuwen.

Some might post an image with a certain soundtrack to evoke a certain emotion from their audience, while another may phrase a post in a certain way to cause people to respond.

With social semiotics, however, the end perception is based on how the onlooker perceives a certain message. This can be tied with the narrative paradigm, where though social semiotics can be used to influence others, whether or not it is successful depends on the skill of the speaker/poster and the background and beliefs of the audience.

Arguing Online

     We've all seen it. Arguments happen online constantly. Open the comment section of almost any media and you're likely to find some form of debate going on. Though I wish to see less discourse every time I open Instagram to watch random videos of pets or see what my friends are up to, arguing, I fear, is a part of the human experience. That's why we should have some ground rules to make arguing a better experience for those who engage.

    Recently, a video series regarding avoidant and anxious attachment styles has been popping up in my Instagram Reels feed. The creator makes animated videos with the characters as cats. It sounds weird, I know, but they actually do a really good job at showing what it is like for an avoidant and anxiously attached person to be together, how they can hurt each other, and how they can hurt other people (while also giving the characters personalities outside of their attachment styles).

    The arguments I will be talking about however, are the ones in the comment section of the videos. A lot of people seem to miss the point that both the main characters who were hurt which caused them to develop their attachment styles, and because of their past they in turn, hurt each other. Instead, people often take sides as to which character is right or wrong and then shame the other without being able to see that both characters are flawed and hurting each other. 

    The argument I will specifically be talking about is from the comment section of this video where Mimi (anxiously attached) goes on a date with her new boyfriend and gets upset that he brought spicy food. This video isn't exactly about the attachment styles like many of the other videos, but rather about how Mimi is upset and lashes out at her new boyfriend because of her inability to regulate her emotions/personal character flaw. 

    Some people feel that Mimi's reaction was warranted while others believe that she should have just eaten the food. Some people took a more middle-grounded stance and said while she was right to be disappointed, she should have been kinder and more grateful.

    Here is just a short excerpt from a much larger debate. This section is actually quite tame and these individuals expressed their thoughts well while being respectful of one another. It certainly isn't like this with other commentators and in other videos, though. But, for this section, I believe these users were appropriate and respectful, following online argument guidelines.


Some rules that should be in place (that likely 90% of people will not follow) include:
1. Remember the human. You're allowed to express distaste for one's opinion, but don't turn your disagreement with their opinions/beliefs into a hatred for the individual. Be kind.

2. No doxxing. This is way too common and it makes the internet a dangerous place. There is no need to publically expose someone's address or start tracking down their family members just because you can't agree on whether the recent football match you watched had foul play or not.

3. Stay on topic. Let's not start dissecting another person's brain too much before you can get to the root of their current stance. Let's take one issue at a time! 

4. Use facts to back it up. If this is a debate that isn't simply personal preference, use facts! 

5. When it's over, don't keep fueling the fire. There's a time when you should just call it quits or when the debate has died down. No need to start trying to reignite the flame. If you like debating that much, go find another person to fight or become a lawyer or something.

The Toulmin Method

     The Toulmin method can be used for all sorts of situations in the online landscape! Today, I will be talking about how it can be used for online debates. Specifically, an online debate that we are all very familiar with that occurred several years back. The dress.

    Does this bring back memories for anyone? It does for me! I remember we even had a whole debate in my classroom over what color it was.

    The grounds for either side would be that there is a dress, and it is either gold and white or blue and black. The warrant would simply be because that's what each individual sees. Therefore, they would make the claim of which colors they believe it to be.

    The backing for the claim would be that many other people agree with them and see the same thing. It was about 50-50 I believe. So unless half of the population is colorblind, it would make sense that the dress is a certain color.

    However, we can't say that half of the people who see the dress as a certain color are colorblind, because that doesn't really match statistics. We can, however, say that the opposing side is seeing the dress differently due to the lighting. 

    My classroom discussion got very heated over this debate. And I'm certain it did online as well, even though I was less active on social media during this period. The problem is that people got emotional over this silly debate, blaming others, saying they couldn't see clearly, and so on. I'm sure people were even more... passionate... online. I also believe echo chambers could be created where people would agree with each other, saying they saw a certain color, so the other side must be wrong because how could they be right when so many people saw it the same way?

    This is a very silly example, however, there are certainly more serious and life-impacting examples that the Toulmin Method could be applied to, as well as more dangerous echo chambers and emotional outbursts. But I hope you enjoyed this lighthearted throwback to 2015!

Example of Toulmin Method from Purdue

Podcasts

Ah yes, podcasts. The links to the sites for this assignment didn't work for me, so I turned to Spotify. Which, aside from music, also has its fair share of podcasts.

The podcast I chose relates to the AI project assignment quite a lot. It talks about AI and its threats to higher education. There's many points made, such as the fact that we do not know the capabilities of AI, meaning we don't know how far it could go. Another point is that it will likely take over education sectors and replace teachers. It also points out that higher education is not currently prepared to handle these challenges and to deal with the emerging AI landscape that young people will be living in.

These are some pretty big concerns! The first one being frightening because we know that AI is the future and that it will go far and become a routine part of life. However, we don't know how radically our lives could change because of that. We don't know all the implications of AI because we can't predict the future and we can't know how far it will be able to develop.

The second is another concern because teachers will be losing their jobs and students will be taught by robots. While I can see how this would be beneficial, as AI has greater access to information that a teacher, it puts a lot of people out of jobs. Additionally, it prevents students from developing those interpersonal, human relationships that would occur between a mentor and student.

Finally, the US higher education system is not prepared to face the crisis that will be caused by AI. It's scary that so many students are spending incredible amounts of money of education, yet will likely struggle to get out of debt due to the job crisis likely to be caused by AI.

New Books Network. (n.d.). Global Media & Communication. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/show/4byiaFGNiTpb8gfAz1VkhF?si=d0ce0e306a6945f0

Lynch, S. (2017a, March 11). Andrew Ng: Why ai is the new electricity. Stanford Graduate School of Business. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/andrew-ng-why-ai-new-electricity

Online Opinions

Opinions can easily be shared through the online landscape. Almost everyone has access to this method! Public opinion has greatly shifted through online communication. For example, now everyone has access to various sources of information and can see different opinions on different issues. So long as someone is string within their own morals while maintaining an open mind, seeing different opinions can help people formulate their own, especially when factual information is used to accompany that.

However, there are also some issues. One being the algorithm. The algorithm pushes certain things onto certain audiences and this can lead them to only seeing one opinion on an issue. This will likely lead them to believing this outlook on things since it is the only thing they are exposed to. If other opinions cannot be observed due to the algorithm and lack of outside opinions, it is likely for individuals to become deeply rooted in beliefs that might not have even originally been their own.

Additionally, I personally believe in mass hysteria, which is an underresearched mass mental health crisis. Though this isn't well researched, it is when the general public falls into a certain line of beliefs that may be unhealthy in order to cope with their own struggles. This generally happens during turmulous times. Here's a link to a video on this topic:

Personally, I believe this to be especially true with "political" issues that shouldn't be political, where people are fed a certain idea that they begin to believe and become so deeply rooted in. But I'm not really in the mood to be discussing such topics due to, well, you know, the election. However, I think that many exteremists on both sides become this way due to what they see on the internet.

Those in generations prior to mine say that in the past, politics weren't so full of hate and extreme measures, with people with different beliefs unable to find common ground. Maybe they are misremembering or maybe it's because the internet wasn't used as a political weapon back then. Or, maybe those who did hold such beliefs just didn't have the platform to express them.

Who knows. I'm tired. A lot of you probably are too. Good luck out there.

Photo // Djalma Paiva Armelin (Pexels)

SafetyWing -- Travel Insurance

     Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog! This week I will be talking about a brand that I am quite familar with, as I am personally a customer. If you read my inital post in week one, you would know that I don't reside in the USA, and rather, I live nomadically, moving from country to country. Despite the cost of health insurance being generally cheaper overseas, I never know what lies around the corner. Maybe someone could steal my laptop and then I am unable to do my school work, or perhaps I could have a diving accident, or maybe my appendix will rupture like the rest of my family and I'll need an emergency surgery. Though I sure HOPE none of these things happen while exploring the world, it's impossible to predict what the future holds. That's why I use Safety Wing Travel Insurance. And today, I will be taking a look into their brand.

Here is the link to their site: Safety Wing Travel Insurance

AND if you have plans to travel internationally and want to make sure your trip is insured, click on the link below to get $20 off your plan! Yippee! 

https://safetywing.com/nomad-insurance/profile?referralToken=4be176b0-5951-4bbd-b97d-9e45a89f1642

    First I'll discuss their website. There's a clear distinction right when the page opens up to display two kinds of insurance: insurance for nomads and insurance for remote teams. Nomads are for people on-the-go, often working remotely on their own. Remote teams would be a company that does not have a requirement to be in-office, or perhaps there even is no office at all!

    I would classify as a nomad. I move from place to place, doing both school and work online. But, anyone who is simply taking a trip, be it for a week or indefinitely, would also fall under this category. You can see at the top that nomad insurance is for "individuals and families."

(Screenshot taken directly from the Safety Wing website)

    While Safety Wing is for anyone traveling abroad, they specifically market themselves to those who generally don't have a home base due to the growing popularity of the "work & travel" lifestyle. I've met plenty of people during my adventures who have been traveling the world and working remotely for an extended period of time, enjoying life to the fullest. Nowadays, it's possible to work anywhere with a good internet connection! In my experience, this lifestyle is much more affordable than living in the United States, which is likely one of many reasons it has been increasing in popularity, but I digress.

    Generally younger generations are more interested in pursuing this lifestyle, but Safety Wing Insurance has plans for people of all ages. I've even met a woman who works and travels solo who was in her 50s! It seems that Safety Wing is really marketing to an audience who lives this type of "digital nomad" lifestyle. 

    Safety Wing also promotes this lifestyle on their Instagram platform: @safetywing where they most multiple times a month about what it's like to be a digital nomad. However, they don't seem to have this account be their main focus of promoting their brand. They do run ads on the platform which I've come across, but despite overall good content on their Instagram page, their engagement is lacking. I think they could try and post more engaging content and perhaps boost more of their posts to attempt and reach a wider audience to focus more on communicating on their social media. This way, people could see more about what other people think of the brand and ask questions in the comments rather than rely on the site's online chatbot, which would allow more people to see the responses.

    One thing they place a higher priority on is influencer marketing. They collaborate quite often with YouTubers to promote their insurance to a wider audience. That's how I initially discovered the company. I can say that so far, I quite enjoy the affordable rates and ability to adapt my plan as needed, even purchasing insurance while already abroad. 

    To compare, in the past I used World Nomads Insurance, which I had no issues with, but purchasing it was in a bulk sum for a greater amount of money. Safety Wing, however, is overall more affordable and renews monthly (for me, since I live nomadically. However, it would be different if it was purchased for only select dates), which so far I am enjoying more.

    Unfortunately, I'm not an influencer who makes money from promoting Safety Wing (though to be transparent, I do get a discount on my own insurance plan if you use the discount link I provided), but I feel confident that my health is in good hands with Safety Wing. When I did need to contact them due to some issues during a typhoon, they were quick to respond which reassured me that if I'm ever in an emergency situation, I have nothing to worry about as long as I'm insured by Safety Wing.

    Thanks so much for checking out my blog post for this week! I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day. Additionally, good luck on this week's midterm and any other midterms for your other classes! Take care!

Digital Natives and Immigrants -- Perspective of Generation Z

     According to Mark Prensky, there are two types of people when it comes to the online landscape: digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives being people who have grown up with technology their whole lives, and digital immigrants being those who did not, but later began to use technology (Prensky, 2001).

    Digital Natives learn differently, according to Prensky, by being accustomed to receiving information really fast. This is absolutely true, and nowadays we see it even more and more as people have decreased attention-spans and short-form content becomes more popular. Prensky provides other examples, albeit a bit outdated, on page two of his writing linked here.

    By Prensky's definition, I would be a digital native. However, I think there may even be another divide these days between my generation and the one to follow. See, when I was a kid, we had landline phones and my parents had flip phones, but I had access to neither unless one of my parents helped me call someone's number. Most days I spent my time outside with the neighbors, riding bikes and scooters, swimming in pools, making up some games, and playing in the snow that piled up in the cul-de-sac. Occasionally, we'd play Mario Kart on someone's Wii, but the vast majority of the time in my early years was outside-- maybe we had a radio playing, but otherwise we didn't use technology much during playtime. It wasn't until the evening when I returned home that I'd watch a nature documentary or Disney show on TV to settle down. 

    As I approached 10 or so, however, technology began to adapt to be more similar to what it is today. I got my first iPod Touch to use for games and I played some old Adobe games on the desktop computer. I watched a lot of YouTubers as well. By the time I entered middle school, I had a touchscreen phone and learned what Instagram was back when it still had the original icon. It certainly impacted my relationships and lifestyle-- for the first time, I began to be exposed to people different than myself. I learned of different cultures, which absolutely brought me to where I am today, as I made new friends across the globe and developed an interest in languages. It's thanks to technology that I was able to learn Mandarin, learn that I could study internationally (and do so), and now become a digital nomad through online work and schooling.

    However, despite my lifestyle, I have never been technologically adept. I didn't ever download Vine nor did I use Musically before it became TikTok, and even today I never check TikTok. So even within my own generation, I've missed out on a lot of the ever-changing society run by technology. The memes are over my head and I can't understand the humor. I don't know a lot of functions even within the apps I frequent because it feels complicated and unfamiliar to me.

    I see an even greater difference between my generation and Generation Alpha. If I were to go to the grocery store now, it's likely most kids that I'd see would have a phone or tablet in their hand, even at kindergarten age and younger. It's easier to let kids be distracted by technology than to help them cope with their own emotions, it seems. And even within my own generation, much of social media is exactly that-- a distraction. I won't deny that it has plenty of upsides, but a dinner with a friend seems disconnected because of how often they check their phone and most people, regardless of gender, have a skewed body image due to what is presented online. But that's a whole other topic.

    Presky's article does not take into account how different Gen Z and Gen Alpha are simply due to the time which it was published. However, I think it would be interesting to dive more into the differences of growing up alongside technology (Generation Z) versus growing up dependent on technology (Generation Alpha). And this is not to slander the generation after my own, either, as they've simply been thrown into this busy world and have learned to cope (and learned much of what they know, whether good or bad) through technology due to being allowed an excess of screen time and potentially content that is not suited towards their age group. But if that is all they know, it is hard to claim that they truly have a choice in the matter. It's up to their parents to control that, but again, that is a topic for another time.