2020 has been one strange year. We are currently in a pandemic, the United States has elected a new president, and we witnessed people in America fight alongside the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Live Matter has become a global movement against racism and police brutality. Thousands of people from multiple different countries gathered to protest racism and police brutality after the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police. The Black Lives Matter movement began to rise in July of 2013, 17 months after the death of Trayvon Martin. However, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter did not become nationally recognized until 2014, when Michael Brown died by police hands. This … [Read more...] about Opinion: Reflecting on 2020 as a year of change
social media
Advice: How to avoid social media
Social media nowadays can be very toxic and time-consuming. People find themselves having to post every day and spend a lot of time on apps such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Reduce the constant use of social media and let go of those habits. Let Go of The Phone A few tips on avoiding social media is to not always have a phone around. Having a phone around causes a person to lose interest in what they are doing just because that person wants to check on their social media page. Avoid using a phone when hanging out with friends and family. It’s more fun when a person can dedicate their time and energy just to the person and not the phone. According to the Pew Research Center, 79% … [Read more...] about Advice: How to avoid social media
Quarantine life through the eyes of Remy
Former CSUSB student Jorge Razo is taking advantage of the extra time during quarantine to showcase his creativity. Razo has been generating memes involving Remy, a character he created in 2013, being stuck at home during this pandemic. Razo has enjoyed drawing ever since he was a kid. "As I got older, I didn't have the same free time to draw, so I set aside all my drawing supplies and forgot about them for many years," Razo said. "It wasn't until I started reading children books to my daughter that the idea to write her a book and illustrate it came to mind." In 2013, Razo started an instagram page and called it "wiidoodle" and used the platform as an incentive to draw every … [Read more...] about Quarantine life through the eyes of Remy
Student candidates campaign via Internet
The 2020 Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) Elections are underway, but the road to victory for candidates has been an uphill battle as cyber campaigning has become the new norm. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates have marketed themselves through various social media platforms and Zoom meetings. Though campaigning has become completely digital, this hasn’t changed the morals, values, and identities that students are choosing to campaign for. “It’s just a learning curve for how we are going to do what we would usually do on a virtual platform. Marketing is going to be a struggle,” said Presidential candidate Sage Keyner. Keyner has been involved in ASI for … [Read more...] about Student candidates campaign via Internet
Sexting: a criminal trend on the rise
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department teamed up with the Redlands Unified School District (RUSD) to discuss "Sexting: Teen Criminal Trend" with concerned parents on February 10, 2020. Clark Morrow, a Crime Prevention Program coordinator from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, and MaryRone Shell, a Community Outreach Communication and Social Media Specialist from the Redlands Unified School District, met with concerned parents and students to bring greater awareness to the dangers of teen sexting. Although with a fair turnout, RUSD’s board room was silent when Mr. Morrow described how easily underage youth commit prison-sentencing crimes related to … [Read more...] about Sexting: a criminal trend on the rise
New Instagram update, more likes or no likes?
Instagram’s newest update has been causing some controversy over followers not being able to see how many “likes” they get from their posts. On November 14, Instagram announced on their Twitter account that they are, “expanding the test of private counts globally and you’ll no longer see the total number of likes and views on photos and videos posted to Feed unless they’re your own.” CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, stated that “our hope is to better understand how this idea changes how people feel about using our platform, particularly young people.” It is no surprise that social media has a huge effect on today’s society, especially with the idea of becoming a “social media … [Read more...] about New Instagram update, more likes or no likes?
Are social media influencers concerned for their safety due to what they post online?
Social media influencers get paid to put their lives online, but is it worth it once their safety becomes a concern? Popular social media influencers have had to deal with fans stalking them and showing up at their houses. The fans do this in hopes of meeting their favorite influencer. They don’t consider the boundaries they are crossing which put these influencers in danger. These social media influences consider their online presence as a part of their career. With such a large audience online, they are given many opportunities that others without a following would not get to experience. Dante Paul, owner of the furniture company West Coast Coffins, considers his account to be a … [Read more...] about Are social media influencers concerned for their safety due to what they post online?
Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?
Whether we like to admit it or not, technology has changed the way we communicate. It has allowed people to express themselves in ways that were previously not possible. But how much time do people really spend on social media? According to a study done by Digital Information World, the average person spends about 134 minutes per day on social media. This is equivalent to 2 hours and 13 minutes per day. “I am constantly using social media," said CSUSB student Amanda. "Every free minute I have, I am on social media. I would say that I spend something close to about 3 hours a day on there.” CSUSB student Jacob Hernandez also admitted to spending much of his free time on social … [Read more...] about Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?
Instagram Fame: Behind the Posts
Millions of us wake up every day, grab our phone and check Instagram. We scroll, like posts, follow someone here and there and go about our day. But how would our relationship with Instagram be if we had 61,000 people watching our every post? Is social media fame as glamorous as it looks? This is what 19-year-old Valentina Carrick deals with. Carrick (@chovvder) arose to Instagram fame two years ago, and now has over 61,000 followers on the platform. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtFgN8mA1kl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Being a social media influencer is something many people strive to be, but for Carrick it came out of nowhere. “It’s been about two years when I would refresh my … [Read more...] about Instagram Fame: Behind the Posts
Social media leads to hate crimes
By Geraldine Carrillo |Staff Writer| "There is going to be a fight today after school on Walnut St.," was a post on Facebook from one of my friends during my sophomore year of high school. Soon after this post, other students then replied with the location and time of the fight on social media to create an audience for that fight as an amusement to go watch. This made safety patrols aware, which led to a raid by police. Keeping an eye on social media has been a good way to prevent hate crimes throughout the new digital era. But the extent to which it has been utilized is ridiculous compared to the hike in the number of committed crimes. Hate crime is a crime motivated by … [Read more...] about Social media leads to hate crimes