Things That Inspire Me: Social Media Edition

Hello there,

How are you?

I was just here not too long ago.

If you were to scroll and read through all of my posts on this blog so far (it would be an easy thing to do, because I don’t have enough posts to make said scenario improbable or cumbersome), you would notice that I have spent a significant portion of my writing on the downsides of social media.

Indeed, I have done it so much that it would be perfectly reasonable for you to ask me as to why I am choosing to stay on social media.

For this post, I am going to keep it short and simple and list a few inspirations that I have come across through social media. The order that they appear has no bearing on the actual relevance.

Back on the Fitbit Wagon

Hello there,

How are you?

Where I live, spring has finally decided to show up and I am beyond joyous (even though I don’t want to complain, but it did take nearly 4 full months, aka, 33% of an entire year).

I mean…

I can see the sun again! Aren’t you as excited as I am about this?!

Tech Trends in 2018 I Don’t Understand

Hello there,

4.20 will be here in 2 days, but I hope the month of April has had you feeling high since 4.1.

Today’s post is about… well, as the title suggests, certain trends in consumer technology that I just do not understand. The inspiration for this post was a passing thought I had on the state of smartwatches about a week ago, after a few weeks of chatter on tech. social media and blogs about the Fitbit Versa – the newest smartwatch attempt from Fitbit. It led me to think about a few other phenomena in consumer tech. that I have found to be mind-boggling, a lot of what I write below are said in jest and is meant to get you thinking.

Let’s get started!

Online Dating & Trust Issues

Hello there,

Good to have you, how are you?

I’m gonna talk about online dating today, not in terms of sharing details of my personal experience, but more so some of the observations I have made and some of the thoughts that I have had.

I suppose the inspiration for this post is the fact that one of my classmates was involved in a catfish incident recently (ok, nearly a month ago): someone made a bogus account on Tinder while using her pictures, and even linking the bogus account to her actual social media accounts. This obviously resulted in a lot of unwanted incoming messages and distress for her, especially considering how she is in a relationship.

Now, the good news is that the incident was eventually resolved with Tinder removing the bogus account, even though it took an unreasonable amount of convincing from both

When Obsession Meets Fitness Trackers

Hello there,

How have you been recently?

As someone who lives within the vicinity of Toronto (loosely speaking), and as someone who has somewhat been a wreck emotionally as a result of S.A.D. and a few other stressors (factually speaking), I have been thankful for the re-appearance of the sun during the past few days.

The fact that it reached 12º C (or 53.6º F, for those of you reading in the U.S.) two days ago was almost too much for me to handle.

I am also on Reading Week/Spring Break, which arguably means I shouldn’t be counting on my classmates to read this, because, well… quite a number of them are away on vacation in the tropics. I also learned that lesson during the Ontario College Strike of 2017. #TooSoon

#BellLetsTalk? Well, Let’s Talk

Hello there,

I haven’t been here in a little while, how have you been?

Seasonal depression naps have been taking over my life, and if I don’t regain some semblance of control, I would run the risk of ruining the rest of this semester – and essentially the program – due to pure lack of productivity. I’m not even joking here.

It also means this is possibly the closest you would get from me in terms of me writing as someone in an episode of depression. I say “closest” because: 1. S.A.D. is mild in comparison; 2. this writing is somewhat constrained, as I have no desire to turn this blog into a real-time therapy session that’s disguised as a diary.

A few days ago – Jan. 31st – was the Bell Let’s Talk Day, an annual mental health awareness day in Canada that has been going on for the past 7 years. Any post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk would result

S.A.D. Concluded 2017, Now What?

Hello there, good to have you.

Now that we are almost 24 hrs. into it, how has 2018 been treating you so far?

Me? I recently took a 7-days long leave of absence — Dec. 24th – Dec. 31st — from all forms of social media, and more-or-less the Internet. It certainly wasn’t an easy decision, especially when my S.A.D. kicked in and I found myself heading down the rabbit-hole of rumination, and became tempted to seek any and all distractions from the smoldering anguish.

The funny thing is I started to notice where some of my thoughts were headed a few days prior to taking said break. It was all rather minor at first, and then everything took off once my school’s winter break started and I truly had time for myself.

As a result, I probably spent 3 – 4 days conducting one-person dialogues — at times out loud when nobody else was around — while being my own counselor and therapist. Maybe I should rephrase what I said earlier: I recently took a 7-days long leave of absence from anything resembling normal human life.

Mental-Health & Tech.: Social Media & FOMO

Hello there, how are you today?

What have you been up to lately?

Have you experienced FOMO recently?

Well, I’ll let you in on a secret: I had absolutely no idea what FOMO meant until approx. 2-3 weeks ago, when I came across the definition while perusing an article for one of the earlier posts. I don’t know why I never bothered to look it up, because now that I think about it, I have seen the term on numerous occasions before.

According to the reliable, universally-respected Urban Dictionary, FOMO refers to the “fear of missing out” (the top definition has been in existence since Oct. 2nd, 2006). But the exact history of the phenomenon is unclear, a quick search traces its origin to the 2003-era Boston, or just as likely, 1996. Given the fact that fear is an emotion, and humans have been social animals for hundreds of thousands of years, I think the basic

Mental-Health & Tech.: Social Media & Anxiety

Hello there, how are you?

When was the last time you felt anxious*?

What if your anxiety cripples your ability to function on a daily basis?

We all have our own reasons to feel anxious: maybe you become extremely nervous each time you’re expected to speak in front of a large audience; maybe you are very self-conscious about your body; maybe you are afraid of heights; maybe you fear being stuck inside of a tight space, etc. I have been feeling anxious as a result of the uncertainty of the ongoing Ontario College Strike, because I made the decision to return to school with the hope of making a career-change. There are numerous possible triggers for anxiety, they’re partially what make anxiety disorders so challenging to deal with.

Mental-Health & Tech.: Social Media & Depression, Pt. II

Hello there, good to have you.

I hope you have been well.

Today, I continue where I left off last time: for introverts suffering from mental illnesses, including major depression, the use of social media can easily exacerbate a lot of the symptoms. Remember how I contended that your self-awareness is heightened when you are stuck in an episode of major depression? I made the assertion based on personal experience, as well as conversations I’ve had with others as a mental-health support line volunteer.

In general, introverts are renowned for having our heads ‘in the clouds’, this tendency gets amplified when depression comes into the picture: rumination is a key component of depression. The ills of rumination is something those who struggle with chronic anxiety can relate to, then again, diagnoses of anxiety and depression are positively correlated. Spending time on social media, for most intents and purposes, worsens rumination, which in turn… Well, I’ll let you finish the sentence there.