Camden's Site

My ability to adhere to MLA formatting and maintain proper sentence level structure has improved thanks to this class and the books read this semester. The classroom lessons on MLA formatting for paper setup and citations helped me greatly when writing essays for class, and the book, The Little Seagull Handbook used in class helped me keep up the proper MLA formatting in all my projects for this class and others in this semester as well. This book is something I plan to use for the rest of my years here. Local revisions, or changes in sentence level structure, has also been something I have improved on in this class. In previous years, this idea was an afterthought, where I would simply go through the essay and check for spelling errors. However, I have become much more meticulous with my work. I now comb through my essay checking for ways I can not only improve spelling, but grammar. This is to not only fix spelling errors, but make my ideas more clear and find a way I can express them with less words that are in turn more effective. One specific example of this practice in effect is my “Big Data” project. I had stayed up late to work on it, and wanted to go to bed, yet, I stayed up for at least another hour to carefully read through the essay to make sure it would make sense to any reader. This required reading it multiple times, both internally and outloud. This is a critical skill that unfortunately receives less development time than other areas, yet is extremely important, and will help me immensely.

Most of the places in which most of my data is generated is on my phone and laptop, specifically in images, text based communications, and social media browsing. Throughout the day I take pictures of the things I see around me, from homework assignments to the outside world to my fish tank, and either save them to my phone or upload them online. A lot of text based communication occurs at any point of the day as well, from social media posting to sending text messages to friends and family. A third source for most of my data comes from browsing on social media. This refers to not really the actual posting online but the observation of online content. Understandably, this creates a reasonable amount of data about me that companies can use to their advantage, either in understanding their consumers or selling this data to other corporations.

Social media allows individuals to project whichever part of one’s self onto the internet forever. While this may seem cathartic, it could also be viewed as “junk food for the brain” as many describe it. Projecting a self or feelings onto social media might be helpful, however, what is shown on social media isn’t the “true you”, which applies to everyone. This can be harmful when comparing other people’s online personas, their desired self, to a true, offline self that may not be as fun or interesting or happy as what people see around them. Susan Greenfield, a researcher on the internet and its effect on everyday life, would agree with this statement. In her own novel, Mind Change, Greenfield states “the Internet provides individuals with a unique opportunity for self expression” (Greenfield 114). Greenfield, as a researcher, understands the nature of activity on the internet. Because she understands the nature of the internet, though, she understands its effect on people.

Danah Boyd’s theory of teen identity on social media is extremely insightful because it sheds light on the idea of teen expression on social media. This is a topic that is commonly debated by scholars and columnists alike, yet Boyd is the only author to do this well. One piece of evidence that stands out to myself and other readers is a common pattern for youths discerning their online identity, stating “People make decisions about what to share in order to act appropriately for the situation and to be perceived in the best light” (Boyd 48). According to Boyd’s own words, most social media identities are for the most part, chosen by what individuals wish to portray for themselves. This could either be through positive or negative posts and images about the self, society, or interests. However, misunderstandings of these identities can easily be misconstrued by individuals as close as family to the original poster. Boyd refers to these instances as a “context collapse”. This is when people are “forced to grapple with unrelated societal context that are rooted in different norms and seemingly different societal responses” (Boyd 31). Different perspectives of individuals viewing different times can make understanding a post more confusing than intended. Overall, Boyd’s first chapter cements her ideas she will convey in her book, and accurately describes and analyzes the life of teens on social media.

In his TED Talk, Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Harvard University, makes the claim that good relationships are they key to living a longer, happier, and healthier life. Myself and other listeners can verify his statements. After all, this is an age old belief. Society has always believed that surrounding yourself with friends can make you happy, an idea that is commonplace in general discussion and in the media; in fact, one of my favorite video game series involves forming close relationships and spending time with friends. This information comes from a generation-long survey of individuals from across the nation. After decades of sample and analysis, Waldinger asserts good relationships are both emotionally AND physically healthier, and conversely, loneliness is extremely toxic. To add evidence to his claims, Waldinger then reports his study, stating that individuals in healthy relationships are not only more satisfied with their own lives, but retain their memories and mobility over time. In return, years of loneliness and depression damaged the emotions and the brain, making remembering moments harder and impacting physical health. In order to live life to the fullest, and keep oneself happy as they go through life, one must “form relationships with family, friends, and community”.

I do have different social media accounts but they are for mostly the same audience. I used to have a different self for each platform. On Instagram and Snapchat, I tried to capture nice things and be somewhat funny, on Twitter I would try to be funny and form smart takes on current events, and on Facebook I would post and save my interests and be there for family. Now I just have one unified self, a persona that has devolved into terrible alternate humor, filled wth irony and cynicism for myself, the things I post, and the world around me. I interact with others on each platform, but typically only the same few people.

Follow me on twitter @CamdenSalcedo I want to be Twitter famous and I want Scott Benson or Arby’s to notice me

Rip in pip my OG Facebook self. Once optimistic and making meaningful additions to the community, I’m now cynical, cursing the world and adding to the meaningless digital chaos.

About Me-

Welcome to my site! Here you will find my work along with things I appreciate. You can follow me on my Twitter @CamdenSalcedo for random bits of absurdist nonsense, or the YouTube channel my brother and I created for ourselves known as Salceduo Films. Feel free to follow my Spotify playlist known as Slam Jams, a playlist full of songs I enjoy to listen to no matter the occasion. All are extensions of myself, and combine with the schoolwork included on this page create a sense of who I am as a person.