Learning to Trust the Process on Social Media
In the previous class, Dave Sholler joined our class discussion and spoke on a range of topics. From social media usage to how to create a jumpstart in your career, I enjoyed having a different perspective in the class (especially from somebody who previously took the class). In high school, I remember Dave Sholler speaking at an assembly. It is inspiring to be able to witness somebody with a similar background to me rise up and become successful.
This week, I read Chapter 2 of Light, Bright, & Polite by Josh Ochs. Chapter 2 talks about how to present yourself properly on social media. Ochs gives tips on how to handle and react to negative social media posts. The proper etiquette is simple: do not be rude. While running for city council in May of 2009 for Hermosa Beach City Council, two residents would blog about him in a negative way. Rather than be angry, he responded with a smile! He reached out to these people and invited them to discuss topics over coffee. One replied by denying the coffee and promised to see him at the upcoming debate. When the debate arrives, Ochs remembered that people often are negative due to an agenda that is completely out of his control. However, his response is what he can control! He was able to respond to the displeased resident in a calm manner. Despite losing the election, Ochs says, "I gained much more from the experience than I lost" (25). He relates this experience to social media etiquette. When confronted by a troll or an angry individual, let them be angry. Their dramatic and combative ways will reflect poorly on them. If you allow yourself to be sucked in by the negativity, you lose the respect people would have had if you had just kept scrolling. Employers would not be pleased if they saw a potential employee who was quick to anger and could not control their responses.
Dave Sholler grew up in Egg Harbor Township and graduated from Stockton University in 2006. While at Stockton, he majored in communications. During his sophomore year, Sholler comprised about one hundred personalized resumes, packaged them in manilla envelopes, and mailed them to the general manager to every professional sports team. He told our class that only two teams replied. One was a denial, but the other would open the door that would change his life. This opportunity was provided by Philadelphia's 76ers, the city's basketball team. This taught the lesson that you may need to take multiple shots before making a score (no pun intended). Sholler reported on sports via The Argo, the college's newspaper, and WLFR 91.7, Stockton's radio station. After graduation, he worked in Las Vegas in the public relations for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before being offered an official position for the 76ers.
During the discussion, I could not stop thinking how his information can apply to me. Unlike Dave Sholler, I am not confident in what field I see myself a member of in the future. I posed the question on how to manage with anxiety that your career will not correspond with the major you study. He was understanding about my discomfort and advised me to focus less on connecting my career to a degree. I need to use college as a time to soak up as much information as possible. This way I can absorb as much knowledge as possible from credible professors and make the most out of my time at Stockton University. Excess worry will only inhibit me from working towards this goal.
Similar to Light, Bright, & Polite, Dave Sholler discussed social media etiquette. He presented the class with some golden rules, such as:
1) Never post while under the influence or around drugs
2) Never post while drunk or with a drink
3) Never post when feeling intense anger
Essentially, we were reminded to think before we post! We a product in the job market, so it is our responsibility to make ourselves marketable. Another note Sholler made was the number of followers does not equate to the amount of people who view a post. For example, somebody who follows you with triple the followers and decides to share your post will make you reachable to people not within your personal follower bubble. Remember to know who you are, what you stand for, how to portray yourself online, and be inclusive and open to new ideas!
Netflix released a documentary titled The Social Dilemma. It opens with former employees of Big Tech companies stating their prior positions. Despite the different positions for a variety of platforms, they all share a common fear. However, nobody was able to name the one problem, it is an invisible, nameless source. The documentary follows Tristan Harris, Google's former design ethicist. He expresses how addicted he felt to email and being the only one in his division concerned for users becoming addicted. He created a slideshow and sent it via email to his colleagues. To Harris's surprise, his presentation was well received. However, nothing changed. Tim Kendall, Facebook's former director of monetization and Pinterest's former president, reminisces how companies idolized Google. Jaron Lanier, found of Virtual Reality; Roger McNamee, an early facebook investor; and Aza Raskin, former Firefox employee, speak about advertisers and, "if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product." Essentially, companies only care about how to keep you engaged on screen. Using the app is free to the public because advertisers pay companies in exchange for their ads beings displayed to users. These companies track, watch, and measure user information for data. Jeff Seibert, former Twitter executive, reveals how companies will tack the amount of engagement per post. Companies have three main goals: engagement, growth, and advertising. Algorithms on the social media are designed to manipulate the people into staying engaged. Technology is becoming more persuasive through positive reinforcement and the variable ration enforcement. With photo tagging, companies are convincing you to open the application to view the photo rather than providing it in the notification. The psychological information used is produced by the "growth hacking" team. They exploit, "the vulnerability of human psychology," and in Edward Tute's words, "There are only two industries that call their customers 'users': illegal drugs and software." Dr. Anna Lembke, Medical Director of Addiction Medicine at Stanford, says that social media is a drug. People engage since their brain releases dopamine. However, social media is a double edged sword creates depression and euphoria. Johnathan Haidt, author and social psychologist, explains how depression and anxiety rates have increased in adolescences. The rate of self harm and suicide in teenage girls has skyrocketed since around 2011. Social Media is both a magician and a psychologist that manipulates all we do, view, and believe. The algorithm's intelligence has the ability to convince people that the world is flat, take Kyrie Irving for example, or that a pizzeria is running an underground pedophile ring. Guilliaume Chaslot, Youtube's former engineer, expresses guilt for participating in the creation of an algorithm that divides society. The division puts the fate of democracy at risk as countries implode due to social media sparking political wars. By the end of the the documentary, we learn what the common fear shared by the collective of former Big Tech professionals was civil destruction. We have to get in a reality where we are able to change our social dilemma.
This week, I learned so much about social media's affects on career potential. By representing yourself poorly online, you are slowly ruining your chances for success. With websites like the WayBack Machine, nothing on the internet is permanently deleted. While it may seem like common sense, it is important for these topics to be reiterated. If not, we may act in ways that will harm our futures! Once again, I would love to than Dave Sholler for appearing as a guest during our lecture!
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