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.
    

Connections in the Online Landscape

     Using Knapp's relationship model, I'm going to share how I made a friend 9 years ago, who I still keep in touch with today, and even traveled halfway across the world to meet.

    Our initiation phase started when we saw each other's profiles on a language exchange app. She was looking to learn English and I was looking to learn Mandarin Chinese with an interest in learning Korean in the future, and she spoke both. I don't remember which one of us reached out to the other, but our language goals were compatible, so we started talking.

    We started practicing with each other, getting to know each other and using the language skills we'd developed so far to hold basic conversations. When one of us made a mistake, the other would correct them. We both gained knowledge in our target languages and information about one another. 

    Korean speaking has a formal language, used for people older or those you don't know well. We decided to drop honorifics after getting to know each other better when speaking Korean. This was during the phase where we'd gotten a bit more comfortable with each other.

    We became close friends, talking to each other often and decided to use an app other than the language exchanging platform to talk. The apps we've used have changed a lot over the years but some that we have used have been KakaoTalk, WeChat, Whatsapp, and Instagram. We'd talk about our friendship to our other friends and family as well.

    I'd say we'd "bonded" once we started sending physical letters and packages to one another. She lived in China at the time that we were mailing each other things, and unfortunately a lot of the letters and packages we'd sent never arrived, but sometimes they did! But this showed that we trusted one another enough to share our physical locations with the other.

    Last year, I traveled for 6 months. She lives in South Korea now and I decided that I would spend a few weeks there to stop in and meet her in-person for the first time in our 8-years (now 9) of friendship. We did a lot of activities together, and to both of our surprise, we actually didn't feel awkward at all! We'd both thought that it would feel strange to see each other or that we may be different than we'd expected, but we both had a great time.

    Here's a short video I made and posted onto my YouTube channel that includes some thinsg we did together. I had permission from her to include her in the video, so I'm happy to share with you all!
Bus Adventure in Seoul, South Korea

The Pros & Cons of Social Media and the Loneliness We Face

    Social networking sites certainly have a wide range of benefits and drawbacks. I think most of Generation Z is aware of the amazing things social media has brought to us, while also aware that there are some negative effects. Social media has allowed people to become more connected than ever. This, in many ways, is a good thing. It allows us to stay up-to-date on the lives of our loved ones no matter the distance between one another. Another benefit is allowing people to be exposed to people who are different from them. Not everyone has the luxury of living in a diverse area, so many people are able to learn more about cultural and lifestyle differences through social media platforms. It, for those who are willing, allows people to become more open-minded about the different ways people live and the struggles they face.

    Another benefit is that many people have been able to find a sense of community online. For example, I grew up in a very small town and I've always had obscure interests, such as raising betta fish, world geography, travel, and other cultures. In school, I wasn't able to meet many people I could connect with on such things, but the internet and social media helped bring me together with those who also were excited about the same things as myself. Additionally, it helped to expand my knowledge and perspectives on such topics.

    But that doesn't mean social media is all good. A lot of people have become addicted to it-- not only younger generations but even older ones. The issue is that many people don't see the issue with continuously checking one's phone at a dinner or social gathering because it has become so normalized that social media is a part of our daily lives. Yet, this behavior is a clear sign of dependence on one's device and hinders real-life social interaction. While I said that it can help to build communities online, it can also damage real-life connections if one is not careful. I will be honest and say that I definitely am on social media more than I'd like to be, but one thing I am good about is putting my phone away while in the company of others. However, many of the people in my life struggle with this. We could be having a serious conversation and they constantly glance at their device, or having a dinner where it would be wonderful to have a conversation, but they're too busy watching videos on their phone. I think, for both sides, this could be an attribute to the loneliness epidemic currently being faced (which you can learn about more in-depth and see additional correlations between social media and loneliness here). While one side struggles to connect because the other is on their device, the one on their device is too dependent on social media to form deep real-world connections. 

    Another issue that may arise is that some people seek validation through online posts rather than finding ways to validate themselves alone or through other means. This can also lead to being dependent on social media, but also, it has become easier than ever to become dependent on the ideas of others. Not that this didn't exist before, but now the opinions of some strangers who may not know anything about the poster are highlighted more. This can also lead to a decline in mental health if the responses to a post are not up to the standards the poster had wished for (ie. like count) or if harmful comments or messages are left on it.

Photo // Rawpixel Ltd.

    However, despite this, I don't exactly believe it is a social media platform's job to promote mental health among users. At least, not more than most already do. I absolutely agree with having guidelines for what can be posted to prevent gore-media and sensitive, triggering posts to be made. I also agree with being able to block and report those who may be harassing someone on social media. But I believe those are the general rule of thumb for most online platforms. With social media addiction, as I discussed earlier, at the end of the day it is each individual's responsibility to maintain a healthy balance. Just like how someone can drink alcohol but not be an alcoholic, someone can use social media without becoming dependent on it. It's our job to be responsible and aware of the risks so that we don't overindulge in either. One system in place to help prevent overusing Instagram is a feature that can remind you to exit the app after a certain amount of time. However, it is up to each individual to set that if they'd like to lessen their screen time. And then, it is also up to them to close the app. It can be very challenging, but it is a choice we have to make.

Social media apps are absolutely exploitative, but so are ads and many other types of companies and brands. At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to take our lives into our own hands. Unfortunately, from my perspective, until enough people break the cycle of social media addiction, it will likely remain challenging to form meaningful, lasting connections in the real world.