Eliza's Midterm 1 Reflective Post: Consume/Create/Connect

These are the posts I’ve put online so far:

·         Call Me Eliza.

·         DigHT What?

·         Discovering on the Shoulders of Giants, e.g. with Pinterest

·         Science Writing in Moby Dick  

·         #LDSConf Experience

I don’t see much of a theme in my posts so far, but I would like to ponder on this page about a topic blogged about by Kylee of Team Ishmael in a post called “Seeing Good.” She talked about a perspective change regarding video games. I want to discuss a similar perspective change through my own lens.

Here’s where I’m coming from: Before my mission, I spent a lot of time online doing things that really weren’t necessary, every single status update on Facebook and hunting repeatedly for smidgens of news about upcoming films and albums. The internet helped me keep up with some news and people, sure, but I was overusing it to procrastinate and soothe. During my mission, I decided to spend less time on the internet and more time in “real life.” (Texting and Facebook were introduced in missionary work after I went home.) I have been slightly successful in that resolution and have been proud of it, so this class’ enthusiasm towards and focus on embracing and exploring technology and the internet is a bit jarring.

I didn’t realize that a clear, even public, online life is so important now in the real world, and I’m still concerned about excessive time spent online. That time online was mostly spent consuming, in my case, and it seems that many negative stereotypes concern excessive consumption. Our class emphasizes connecting and creating as the other two sides to the digital literacy triangle. Connecting and creating are crucial skills in the modern career world.

My research/writing question is this: what is the most effective way to help knowledge/social media/news junkies transition into regularly creating and connecting online?