COVID-19 has given all of the chance to spend time at home and have more free time on our hands. For me, I have taken the time to watch a new hit series on Netflix called “Love is blind”. If you have not heard of this show, you might live under rock because it had everyone talking from my peers to Ellen Degeneres. This Netflix show is about a group of females and males that live together based on their sex and are able to talk to each other in pods. They can then after several talks decide if they want to get engaged with one another or walk away. The key to this all though is that they cannot see each other before deciding. Some couples who chose to get engaged have gotten married and stayed married for a year and a half and some couples chose not marry each other at the alter. The reason behind this show was to see if love actually is blind, hints the title. After watching this show it really proved to me how we allow physical attraction towards someone to play a huge role in whether we even give them a chance. The development of technology and the increase in popularity of dating websites are definitely to blame partially. Social media has also played part in the idea of what an “ideal” person should look like because of things like social media influencers and celebrities. The truth is: there could be so much character and lovely things about someone who does not live up to society’s standards of attractive.

The world is in, to say the least, a strange place right now. COVID-19 aka the coronavirus has put a pause on our everyday lives as we know. Adults are out of work, kids are out of school, and altogether I’d say everyone is out of their minds. People are trying to figure out new ways to handle this situation even though it has not been easy. One of the biggest set backs is that now in most families, everyone is home…but does this essentially mean more ” family time”? An article was released in New York Times that discussed how two moms are figuring out work and family during the spread of this virus. One parent said that because her kids are not in school and have more free time on their hands she allows them watch youtube for educational purposes, but also for entertainment purposes now because it keeps them distracted and out of trouble and harms way. So this really got me thinking. At a time like this when people are forced to stay home with their families and have no outside distractions, should we lessen up on how much technology is used or give each other the benefit of doubt and allow technology to be used more since it is one of our only sources of entertainment at the moment? This seems like the perfect time to enjoy family time with those we live with and create memories with our loved ones because we simply have nothing else to do. What are your thoughts on this? Or if you are in this situations, how are you handling it?

article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/work-from-home-mothers-coronavirus-covid19.html

Funny TikTok about how a mother is setting rules during quarantine:

https://vm.tiktok.com/s95bGS/

A few weeks ago Dwayne Wade’s now daughter came out about being transgender. It caused an uproar on the internet. The reason people were so appalled by this is because she is only 13 years old. People cannot understand how Dwayne Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union could allow their 13 years old daughter who now goes by the name of Zaya to go through the process of becoming a transgender. With this news came the opinion of thousands on the internet. Cyberbullying was at an all time high under the comment sections of the pages that posted about this situation. People were ruthless when commenting and I personally could not wrap my head around the fact that people would say such hurtful things about a 13 years old. I will never understand what anyone gets out of commenting disgusting things that can be detrimental to a person. Bullying leaves an effect on people for their rest of their lives. It’s okay to have a different opinion then the Wade family, but people should mind the business that pays them and worry about their own children before coming for someone else’s!

https://www.dailytargum.com/article/2020/02/zaya-wade-comes-out

I remember little elementary, middle, and high school fights I would have with my friends and a lot of them took place through text. I also remember wishing ” geez I wish I could just say this to their face not through text”. I know for me I am a very straight to the point kind of person, so I know some things I would say though text would come off more rude than I would have liked. I’ve always felt like I could not relay my feelings or attitude to someone the right way via text. Having to explain “and I don’t mean that in a rude way” or ” lol I am being sarcastic” with everything I say really becomes annoying. On the flip side, does anyone have that one friend who always does says everything through text? It’s like you guys would have just had lunch together but they’ll wait until they get home to express how they felt about something that happened recently. I personally think there is a fine line between what’s acceptable to text and what’s not. This fine line I believe was socially constructed, but should still be respected. No one wants to have to read through the lines to figure out what someone is trying to say because they could not verbally speak. Psychology has shown that communicating through text can actually be very damaging for any type of relationship and people should avoid communicating like this when possible. I found an article that goes into greater depths about the effects communicating through technology has on people.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/clear-communication/201706/are-you-hiding-behind-your-texts

Fine. I admit it. I do keep up with the Kardashians and in 2015 Kanye West went on a twitter rampage about he hates any and all apps that come with in-app purchases because his daughter accidentally costed them money for numerous purchases she made while playing a game. After Kanye shared his opinion people tagged along in agreement with him. Years after this incident, there was an increase of accidental in app purchases by kids. An article shared some of the funniest purchases made. Although the harm in children at a young age making memorable purchases is low, this does as well teach a valuable lesson. If young kids are unable to understand how games and apps work, are they too young for technology to begin with. Many harmful dangers come from young kids having phones and although I think the age should very on the maturity of the child, I do believe 11 and younger is far too young for any child.

https://www.thethings.com/15-accidental-online-purchases-made-by-children-that-will-make-you-lol/

I remember being a child and getting off the school bus, going inside my house, dropping off my book bag, and going right back outside for hours. Being in the house was so rare and I hated doing it. Kids nowadays barely go outside. It is almost as if they have to be forced to have interactions outside of the house. The reason kids are staying in is because they have all the technology to entertain them. An article made in 2018 discussed a few ways technology is changing childhood. Some of the findings were expected but the one that struck out to me the most was the statistics showing that 35 percent of teenagers who spend more than 3 hours a day online are more likely to be at risk of suicide. That is so scary to think and I am so grateful that my childhood was at a time that being social and staying outside until the street lights came on was normal and fun to us.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/digital-technology-changing-childhood-smartphone/

I myself am not a parent yet, but I do know the questions parents ask or wonder when it pertains to their child and technology. A lot of parents don’t know when they should give their kids a phone, let them be on social media, or how are they suppose to keep their kids safe. This video I stumbled upon really does a great job at explaining different ways to go about children and today’s technology while still having an upper hand in monitoring what they do. Some things they talked about included looking for opportunities to join the tech world. This would help with knowing about all the apps and trend kids are into. My personal favorite advice was “model the way”. Kids learn by watching. That is the first way they learn to do anything, so starting at a young age and continuing as they grow up to model how the digital world should be used and how it could affect them if they do wrong to me seems the easiest way to ensure the most positive outcome of introducing them to technology. Every child is different, therefore what works for one family may not be the best option for another, but there is nothing wrong with trial and error especially when it comes it a child’s safety.

As I was on Youtube watching a YouTuber travel to different colleges and ask the students’ about their experience, the side of my youtube page showed an interesting video on an interviewer named Gab asking people how they thought social media affected dating. I was so intrigued throughout the whole video because of how contradicting a lot of people were. For starters, when asked how social media has affected dating, more than half said positive things, but then when asked if they would ever date anyone they’ve met through social media, the same people who said positive things about social media said they would never date anyone from it. I am not sure exactly how that works though or how someone could have such contradicting things to say. The thing about this video is that only females were asked the questions. No men gave their answers. So I am curious to know how the answers of men would have lined up with the answers the ladies gave.

As for me I would have to agree with the minority and say social media has affecting dating in a bad way. Yes, it does give people a greater pool to choose from, but it also opens doors for havoc like trust issues, cheating, having “too many options”, publicity of the relationship, and etc. Not to mention, sometimes it can be dangerous. How do you guys feel about though? Do you think guys would have different opinions or if you are a guy, what do you think?

One thing that has crossed everyone’s mind one time or another is “mmm I wonder what they’re doing on their phone”. More so I believe this happens in relationships especially if our partner is not listening to us while on their phone, smiling randomly at their screen, or if they hide it when we come near them. The unsettling truth is that cheating is more likely to happen now that smartphones exist. The upside to this is that it is more likely to catch someone in the act of cheating because of smartphones. We can track peoples phones and look at their location, check their call logs and messages, go into their social medias since most people don’t log out. Then again, if you have to do all of this with your significant other…should you be with them in the first place?

https://www.techworld.com/apps-wearables/how-technology-makes-it-easier-for-couples-cheat-get-caught-3680013/

Everyday I hear my peers complain about the types of boys and girls they sadly feel like they have to choose from, and not going to lie…I do the same. I find it interesting that in the era where technology is so prevalent in our everyday lives, we still as millennials don’t take more advantage of it when it comes to our dating and why we feel so boxed in to only pick from those who live near us or even go to the same school. Technology, specificaly dating websites has become the second most popular way for heterosexuals to meet one another.

Technology changing the dating world in the Millennial age