Maddie's 150 Portfolio

image: ambar del moral/mashable Social Media has become a recent addition integrated as an advantage in everyday life. Almost everyone you talk to or meet, most likely has at least one social media connection; ie. facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram etc.. It's become an asset that we list on resumes, a platform to build a buisness and even has created jobs that we didn't think we'd have. But is it really all that great? Or is it a simulation of human needs? an updated, tactile, streamlined need. You want more friends? Connect your email with facebook and you'll be flooded. Feeling low self-esteem? Post a selfie, receive some uplifting comments. But what about the yucky aftertaste? What about when the social media doesn't fulfill those simple needs as much or as often as we'd like? Yes social media is an incredible addition to the internet and our smart phones, but what do we do when looking at a screen lowers our quality of life?

Around sometime last week, with the drowsy weather and end of school term, I encountered a bit of the blues. I'm not a stranger to these sad feelings, they've visited before. School was a newfound factor in my mental health. Facing challenges everyday with social anxiety and depression in school. The biggest challenge besides stressing about what I'll say to the cashier to make conversation less awkward, is understanding why I wake up feeling sad. This question can have many answers; stress, family, relationships, money etc... but really I wanted to understand more on the why instead of the supposedly superficial reasons.  My obsession with podcasts has been going on since the end of this summer, I find comfort in being able to have a voice;an invisible friend where theres no pressure to respond or interact with. I can also multitask and not feel like I'm wasting time in front on my computer on Youtube.  Using the podcast tool, and wanting to learn more o

Besides the fact that weed is now legal, check out this talk by Cannabis Nurses of Canada founder Kelly, a.k.a my mama. Last week in Kamloops she gave a speech on the help and use of cannabis to solve the opioid crisis in Cananda. check it out

A photo project on taking photos of my boyfriends project, a 240 coupe named Meredith. When I'm not at school or hanging at home, you can find me here sitting in the corner drawing or bugging Austin to change the song on Spotify. My essay gives an up close look at the community Austin's apart of. A community that's familiar with the blood, sweat, and tears for a little backward fun. View my photo essay here! 

Sherry Turkle's Ted talk, "Connected But Alone" is a relatable speech on the multitude of changes we have faced with social media . The argument she poses is this, "What happened to conversation?". Conversation is something we as humans have been doing since we've learned how to talk. Social media connects us even more as humans, to connect farther than we can touch. Sherry Turkle's argument, "we would rather text, than talk" resonated with me as an introvert. I would much rather text than have a conversation. I can edit my responses, I can reply on my time rather than instantaneously . Although this may seem like a great thing, it has hurt our communication strategies. We don't know how to have deep conversations anymore. Instead, we take snapshots to prove our social outings, and sit there in silence. We have been aware of this, and how do we plan on solving it? Do we leave our phones at home? Do we delete all social medias? Or, can we r