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The Power of Twitch or "Are You Really Watching Someone Else Play Video Games...While You Are Playing That Same Game?"

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If you are child of at least the 80's, then video games, more than likely, has had impact on your life. Whether you were trying to get the high score in Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, or Space Invaders at your local arcade. Or putting in the Konami code (Up Up, Down Down...you know the rest) or putting in codes to get extra weapons and unlimited ammo in GTA, the knowledge of what video games could be was something that always passed down, whether you had an older relative who would share that knowledge, or you were that wise sage that would guide everyone else to the promise land. We would watch those we knew try time and time again to achieve something that seemed impossible, to accomplish the achievement that maybe your parents wouldn't understand. But those in the know, those would share that passion, would celebrate you when you completed your task, then try it for themselves as they studied what you did. Not only that, but we would use this second hand information from our peers to...
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Exploring a Digital Identity aka "Are You Who You Say You Are"

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Identity, what is it? Oxford defines it as "the fact of being who or what a person or thing is". Does that mean we look at ourselves in the mirror, live our daily lives, and that's our identity? In the real world, we all live a certain way, our mind and personality dictates who we are. But what about in a digital world? Who are we on social media? In my opinion, there are 2 different types of people: those who like to speak, and those that like to watch. In my real life, I, more than often, fall into the latter rather than the former. What goes through my mind, I wouldn't say to most in person. But when I would get in an online forum or chatroom, or even the comments section, I would be a different person. I think social media allows us to wear a mask to cover who we are. Or is the mask we are wearing is our non-digital self?  I was raised to believe that there are 3 topics that you never discuss with someone you never met before: Religion, Politics, and Money. A new ...
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Finding a Positive Within a Negative aka What Is Something Good That Has Come From Social Media

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 I'll say it. I owe MySpace a lot. We, as a society, did Tom dirty. All he wanted to do was to connect us and give us a platform that could allow us to express ourselves and our interest to others. Think about that first MySpace page you created if you had one. I realize there are those who don't know what I am talking about, so indulge me. For those kids from 2004-2006, MySpace was everything. It was a status symbol. Facebook is the same layout for everyone. As with all social media sites like it. But not MySpace. It allowed you customize your site for those to visit. Look at what we were making: We were teaching ourselves how to code without realizing we were doing it. Embedding music from other areas of the internet, or sharing codes with our friends to customize our sites. It was allowing us to put out hands directly in the internet and create what we wanted. The only thing that would get you in trouble is maybe the wrong picture you don't want everyone to see, or the d...
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My First Forray into Blogging aka Escaping The Matrix

So, I will be completely honest. Doing this right now makes me feel like Doug from the show,...well, Doug. Or Disney's Doug for those who subjugated themselves into that nightmare fever dream. What's crazy about this experience is that maybe a few years ago, my life revolved around social media. It was all about being on Snapchat, Facebook (being one of those who had it in college when you needed a college email to access it), Instagram, Twitter etc. The only thing that I was always hesitant to use was TikTok because I had reached my internal limit to the social media accounts that I had for myself.  I always wanted to be someone who had information and could share that information with others. Call it the Mass Communication major in me, but I love just knowing and sharing things. Especially if they spark an interest for me. It was also a way to communicate and update my life to others. People who I haven't physically seen in years I could still talk to like we see each oth...
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