narcissism and social media

Has Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr made us more narcissistic? Are we too caught up in how the world perceives us to pay attention to what really matters?

Everyone knows I am a strong advocate for technology and social media. While, I agree, it has its cons, I believe that the pros far outweigh them. And even when facing this question, one that is asked a thousand times over again by previous generations to criticize our generation, I side with Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

I believe that it is in human nature to express our own thoughts and opinions and want to make them known. That is one of the most beautiful things about humanity. Our brains give us the ability to not only understand what is going on around us, but also how we feel about it, and why we feel that way.

Since the conception of the written language, people have written down their feelings and thoughts.  Diaries and journals of common people have been crucial in understanding past eras and time periods. One example of this takes place in Elizabethan England. People would have these giant books where they wrote stories, poems, or drawings that they thought were important. They also included personal passages on feelings and opinions. When one friend went to visit another, it was customary to share books so that the two could share and exchange ideas. They would copy down things that they liked and wanted to add to their own collection to continue the process of shared ideas.

Sounds familiar? These books or diaries were basically the world's first Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook, providing a platform for people to share ideas and be social despite considerable distance. The only difference is that our platforms are much, much bigger. While the sphere of influence that could be reached by an Elizabethan book could spread to a handful of individuals over a life time, social media sites can reach the other side of the globe, theoretically 7 billion people, in a matter of seconds.

The rising levels of so-called narcissism of millennials has been dubbed "The Selfie Generation". I have no problem with this title. The criticism of selfies are that they focus too much on outer beauty and make people superficial and unpleasant. I disagree. In a world where advertisement and media push beauty standards down our throats, sometimes we just need to say "Hey, I'm beautiful". Again, portraits, especially self portraits, aren't a new concept. Take one peek in an art museum and you'll be confronted with rows of paintings of wealthy merchants or noble families. The only difference is that now everyone can take these images at a considerably more convenient rate. This sounds more like a good thing than bad.

Social media and the World Wide Web has been a huge element in igniting rebellions, changing minds, and uniting people from all over the world. It introduces the possibility of a global revolution, everyone from all over the world rising for a single idea. It allowed for movements to gain immense amounts of popularity that they never would have been able to gain without the help from the internet. Take #JeSuisCharlie, #BlackLivesMatter, #YoSoy132 as just a couple of examples. If social media didn't hold so much power, then governments like China and Iran wouldn't have a reason to be scared and ban it.

The internet is a truly beautiful thing. It is the only platform in the history of the world where everyone has equal say and totally equal opportunity. Obviously this can be skewed by a couple of factors (like follower count, money, promotions) but the concept is pretty much intact. I am so thankful and proud of the internet for forming a weird but generally helpful community that allows people to share their thoughts and feelings on a completely equal level.

This is where the often misquoted line comes in -

"With great power comes great responsibility" 

said by Voltaire (NOT Stan Lee or Winston Churchill), a 19th century French writer. As I stated, social media is an incredibly powerful tool, and people have used it as such. However, I agree with cynical Baby Boomers when they say that yeah, people really abuse it. Technology seems to have totally taken over our lives, and not in a good way. It seems difficult now to have a simple conversation with someone without them pulling their phone out. While I love sharing things with my friends on my phone, a night out with buds shouldn't be a bunch of kids sitting at a table on their phones without any actual interaction.

I like to classify this as growing pains. This stuff is new! We haven't figured out a way to be totally responsible with how we use it. It is up to parents to train the next generation that life exists outside of social media. The internet is a supplement, not your life. A quote that I've recently discovered says that "Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it". The responsibility to teach proper usage of new tech and limit internet addictions lies on both the users and their parents. We're in this together. Complaining about it won't help.

I don't have any solutions to internet addictions. I'd recommend thorough research and an open mind. But to answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this post, I don't think so. Every human has an element of narcissism, we just see more of it now because we interact with more people than ever before in history. Real life is both on the internet and off. Our human desire to share our inner thoughts or life experiences is only magnified through social media. While many oppose this change, I feel lucky to be living through this time of invention and accessibility.

As usual, thanks for reading. I set a goal for myself this week to post at least once on this blog. It is only Tuesday and this is my third. I hope to keep it up.

On the topic of social media, I might as well plug my own since I have yet to update my "Contact" page. I'm on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Beme and Vine with the handle @theonechameleon (although my Beme and Vine pages are particularly underwhelming). I have a Pinterest and a Reddit too (also @theonechameleon) but I only think I've used each of those platforms twice. If that.

Guess what my Tumblr URL is. I dare you.

Camille

some better holiday starbucks designs

Recently there has been a lot of controversy over the new Starbucks Holiday cup designs. This year, Starbucks went for a minimal approach, with just a red gradient cup rather than adding designs or decals.

I actually love the new design. Minimalism is my jam.

However, according to Buzzfeed, some Christians are super pissed about the new cups. Apparently, just plain red isn't "Christian" enough for them. Some even went so far to say:

I won't be gifting🎁any #Starbucks Gift Cards 4 Christmas🎄Hate Christians but love❤️our money🤑https://t.co/BqfIJ5mgfA pic.twitter.com/SzmO3ulwxY

— Feisty☀️Floridian (@peddoc63) November 5, 2015

( I recommend reading the Buzzfeed article. It is really nice. I stole the tweet above from there).

I, rightfully, became little peeved. Do Christians really think that their holiday is the one of the most importance? So much so that Starbucks is required to feature Christmas and ONLY Christmas in their cup designs?

This, obviously, is absurd. While I do think Starbucks does a fairly good job of being secular, they aren't perfect. The color red is an obvious allusion to the red attire of Saint Nick (aka Santa Claus). By using the color red and many of their previous designs, featuring Christmas trees and other religiously linked objects, they are subtly excluding people of other religions.

I decided to take this matter into my own hands. I made four new Starbucks cup logos for the Holidays that pay homage to different religions and cultures. I did my best to keep with the minimalist theme of this season. Enjoy.

Disclosure: I am not a graphic designer. These cups are not the most beautiful or well done. Bare with me.

Hanukkah Cup - Judaism

Kwanzaa Cup - African American

St. Lucia - Sweden

Winter Solstice - Atheism/Many Other Religions

Holiday season makes me very uncomfortable as it is with the obvious dominance of Christian culture. Let's try and limit that this Holiday season and let Starbucks do its thing.

Plus, it's only November. Don't forget about Thanksgiving.

Thanks for reading. If there is anything you want to tell me, comment or tweet me @theonechameleon.

Camille

"be yourself" is overrated

For a little context, I want to talk about individuality. Individuality is very important to me. There are many reasons for this.

1. My race has always made me a bit of an outsider. I don't quite fit in with the white kids, the black kids, the hispanic kids, the jewish kids, nobody. In my neighborhood, my ethnicity alone makes me stick out like a sore thumb. Rather than reject my background and assimilate to white midwestern culture, I embraced my uniqueness and used it to my advantage.
2. I have a fraternal twin. Since we aren't identical, we always have looked for reasons to make ourselves different from each other. We were so used to being lumped together as one person, we each pushed to become individuals.We quickly tired of questions like: "So, we know you look different, but are you basically the same person?" Answer: We aren't. We made sure of it.
3. I went to arts school for 5 years. Enough said.
4. I think it's just in my nature to be rebellious. This is something I don't have a logical explanation for. Ever since I was little, I fought against the status quo (without even realizing what that was). When every kid liked dogs, I said I liked cats. When all of the girls liked pink, I claimed my favorite color was blue.

I'll admit, the title of this post is meant as click-bait. I don't actually hate the phrase "Be Yourself". In fact, I love it. However, I think it is way overused. People tend to just throw it out when they want to sound inspirational. But what does the phrase "Be Yourself" really mean?

Let's break it down. Literally, being yourself means to just be in your body and living. As long as you are living and breathing in your own body, you are being yourself. Easy. Figuratively, it means that you aren't changing your personality to model after or copy somebody else. That you stay true to your values and personal motivations.

As someone who has been in school for the majority of my life, I can attest that schools from PreK-12 are covered in posters telling you to "Be Yourself". You can barely walk down a hallway without being confronted with the tacky patterns and neon text. But at this time in their lives, especially when in elementary school, do kids really know who they are? They know what they parents have told them, what their teacher's have taught, and maybe a couple of things they like to do. But overall, young people haven't even explored various aspects of their personality, let along had enough life experience to figure out the core of their being. Even I, a 17 year old high school student, have no clear idea what I want to do with my life or who I want to become.

Is it really helpful to order children to be themselves when they don't even know who they are yet? In order to truly inspire individuality, I think we need to change this phrase to something that is more appropriate for what it is trying to accomplish. Here are some of my ideas:

Find Yourself.

Who do you want to be?

What makes you weird is what makes you great.

Embrace individuality.

Be the person your dog thinks you are.

Do what feels right.

Don't give in.

Originality is key.

Make goals and stick to them.
Change is good.

Stand out.

Fitting in is boring.

You control your future.

"Be Yourself" is a great phrase in many situations, but I definitely think people need to think a little more about how they might be overusing it.

Thanks for reading my word vomit. Let me know if you have any comments, concerns, or suggestions in the comments or on my twitter @theonechameleon.

Camille

back to the future II day

Happy BTTFII Day! I don't know if that is the actual abbreviation used, but I think it works.

I haven't written in a while, so I don't exactly know why I've chosen this day to write. But it's currently 8:30 on Oct. 21st 2015, so if I don't get this written in three and a half hours, it loses all meaning. Whoa, melodrama!

For some reason, as excited as I am that I'm actually living through this time captured in the iconic Back to the Future II film, it has got me insanely stressed. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels like this is it. This is the only day that I'll have to do something really, really neat. It's an iconic day. I have to do something worth it.

I guess it has to do with my strange fear of commitment that manifests in the most random situations. I don't think it's unusual for me to be afraid of forever. I hate the idea of a door closing and never being able to open it again. I'd rather hold on to a thousand keys and never use them than have only one key that I know I'll use but I can't exchange it for the rest of my life. Weird analogy. I'm strangely existential tonight.

But what does that have to do with Back to the Future? Today is the only October 21st 2015. This day will never happen again. After midnight tonight, I will have lost the chance to do something really cool today. Like, Marty McFly cool. I'll never be able to go back to this exact date and make it worth while (I mean, neglecting the possibility of time travel of course). For some reason, that scares me.

You probably shouldn't have expected too much out of this post. Does it even make any sense? I just needed to get it off my chest.

 I want to put a dumb joke in here at the end, but they're just not flowing tonight.

Or maybe they never are?

Make the most of today.
Goodnight,
Camille

#BLACKLIVESMATTER or #ALLLIVESMATTER?

I had the idea for this post a couple of days ago in my government class. It was something I was yearning to discuss, so of course I had to write a post about it. I jotted the idea down in my notebook. I had written "#blacklivesmatter or #alllivesmatter?" in big black letters on the top of the page so I wouldn't forget it. Shortly after, the teacher called for lunch and we were dismissed. I left the page open on my desk and exited the room, thinking nothing of it.

When I returned, I noticed that something had changed. One of my classmates had circled "#alllivesmatter" in my notebook. I was astonished. For some reason, I hadn't imagined that my habit of writing down all of my thoughts would turn into a very strange and short lived conversation. I admire my classmate for their bravery to deface my notebook to express their obviously firm belief. (That sounded sarcastic. I wasn't supposed to be). For that reason, I would like to address the rest of this entry to my anonymous peer.

Dear friend(?) in my government class,

Hey, good for you! I think it's really cool that you have formed an opinion on a topic that a lot of people seem to dismiss. I'm actually really glad that you chose to show it to me, a person who is stubborn and, depending on the subject, hostile when it comes to my beliefs.

However, I disagree wholeheartedly with your preference for the label that "All Lives Matter", and here's why. (Hold your breath, here it comes. Sorry....you asked for it!)

Let me start with an analogy.

Let's say you and your friend start a club. Book Club? Why not. As you and your Book Club friends sit down to discuss financing the club, you notice that your club gets significantly less money from the school compared to other clubs. Naturally, you decide to start a petition to the school to give your precious Book Club the funding it deserves. You decide to call it "Give Money to the Book Club".

A friend who is not affiliated with your Book Club, however, suggests the name "Give Money to All Clubs". What? Why? Your friend explains that all clubs deserve to have appropriate funding, why should you only show preference towards the Book Club? You, as the Captain of the Book Club, ignore this silly opinion. Of course all clubs need money, but right now, we are just focusing on the Book Club.

Of course all lives matter, but right now, we are just focusing on the black ones. 

Unlike my nifty analogy, denouncing the hashtag "Black Lives Matter" does a lot more harm than denouncing "Give Money to the Book Club". We're not talking about money. We're talking about lives. Human beings.

First of all, it completely erases the issue. Claiming that "All Lives Matter" seems like you think the problem doesn't even exist. And it does. There are so many statistics and studies concretely proving that police officers are much more likely to be violent towards a young black man than any other demographic. (If you disagree, Google it. I don't have time to argue with inaccuracy.)

Secondly, it is the epitome of white privilege. When (primarily) white people take a movement targeted towards black people and shift it to also include themselves, they are exemplifying what history has already proven, white people are power hungry. In this situation, it almost seems like white people are the favorite child in a family. When the parent (America) finally pays attention to the other child (Black people), the spoiled favorite child (White people) freaks out and demands attention. "Whoa, Camille! That is so racist! I can't believe you just said that about WHITE people!" Listen, I get it. It might be hard to swallow, but its the truth. But you're not in this, white america. This issue requires your support, not for you to make yourself a victim too.

When it comes to "All Lives Matter", it isn't the words that are the problem, it is the way they are said. If they are said to fill in the clear gap that yes, some lives seem to matter less, then it works. It it is said to blatantly state that All Lives Matter without paying attention to whose or any inequality in the subject, that is an issue. Judith Butler, a Professor at UC Berkeley explained the issue perfectly when she said,

"When some people rejoin with “All Lives Matter” they misunderstand the problem, but not because their message is untrue. It is true that all lives matter, but it is equally true that not all lives are understood to matter which is precisely why it is most important to name the lives that have not mattered, and are struggling to matter in the way they deserve."

To read more of Butler's opinions on the matter, I encourage that you read this amazing article from the New York Times.

I apologize if I seem angry or unfair. It is hard to talk about something as emotional as this while maintaining complete composure.

Thanks for tuning in. Please tell me what you think on the issue in the comments, or feel free to tweet me @theonechameleon.

xxCamille