What I’ve Learned This Semester

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What I Have Learned This Semester
Coming to the end of the semester is quite a remarkable achievement given the tricky balance between the rigor of class work and general fun within the school. As I finalize, writing up and handing in my last assignments, it would be befitting to reflect on the closing semester, especially, the positive impact of my professor and the great things learned. I will for a long time, treasure the memories of my English class given the much that I have learned, courtesy of my professor, as well as the fun- filled class sessions that only made it more than enjoyable. My professor of English has had a tremendous impact on me throughout the semester, teaching me in an excellent manner, and helping me appreciate and understand the various dynamics of social media.
Social media has always remained an intriguing and attractive reality to me given the endless moments I spend online chatting up friends, exchanging photos, videos and memes across various platforms. I have literally remained glued to my phone during any of my free moments, always engaging on platforms such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram and so forth, and just like every person my age, I had not engaged my mind on the various dynamics involved. My English class, this semester was thus a perfect opportunity to learn about and better understand social media, with my Professor going an extra mile to teach us in an engaged and even practical manner. I have thus come to appreciate the need to exercise caution and maximum restraint when using social media, and even the need to consult an adult person whenever anything seems to be in doubt regarding our judgment or decision.

During my English class this closing semester, I have learned about the negative effects or dangers inherent in an unrestrained use of social media. My Professor introduced to our class the concept of online or cyber- bullying, explaining to us the various ways in which it manifests and reasons and how we should always protect ourselves. The anonymous nature of social media platforms where users can adopt pseudonyms and fake identities, I have come to appreciate, makes it a fertile ground for cyber- bullying. Individuals are stalked by harmful characters, and subjected to so much anguish, for example, with foul language and insults passed on as private messages or even widely displayed on public profiles. Others have bullies monitoring and frustrating their activities through hate- filled and ridicule laden updates on their timelines or any comments made online.
Cyber- bullying, therefore, has the negative effect of harming victims’ self-esteem through the psychological nature of the abuse involved. A perfect example would be teenagers in the volatile stage of adolescence and who are so conscious of their looks if the myriad photos and videos regularly posted online is anything to go by. Cyber or online bullying similarly degrades users’ images or looks through negative hate- filled comments on photos or videos posted online or through sharing hate inspired memes on public profiles. Extreme cases of cyber bullying on social media platforms, more so those that attempt to reduce the social standing of teenagers by ridiculing their looks have usually led to tragedy. My Professor presented to us examples of adolescent social media users who, overwhelmed by the psychological toll of online bullying, committed suicide.
The English class sessions on social media equally presented to me the deception that lies on social media platforms, and to which users should be wary. I learned how individuals on social media adopt pseudonyms and other fake names to mask their identities, and at times intentions. One should, thus, not take for granted or be fast to believe in any information presented on a user’s profile, but rather exercise due diligence in verifying the information.Social media users could, for example, lie about their names , residences or even put up fake photos, at times even creating fake accounts under the names of celebrities or VIPS. The deception is usually fuelled by a crave for attention for peers or a desire to be extremely popular online, in the case of users within the volatile stage of adolescence. Others could, however, lie for various negative social intentions like the need to win over the best romantic partners, using lies and deception on self-identities.
Social media no doubt a powerful tool for social interactions has, however, fallen prey to criminals and other negative characters, as lectures from my Professor during class sessions attest. I learned in the course of further analysis of social media, the online presence of criminals engaging in online fraud, pornography rings, credit card rackets and pedophile activities. The anonymity presented by social media platforms has given rise to the emergence of criminal elements out to take advantage of the goodwill and online interactions to swindle users. Some of them, befriend users, win their trust over time and eventually defraud them through their credit card or other banking information.
Pedophiles similarly register fake accounts usually posing as children or teenage friendly; befriend them over time up to the point that physical meeting is possible. It is during the visits or meetings with the usually gullible and unaccompanied young people that the pedophiles subject them to abuse. Other individuals use social media to promote pornography rings or even recruit unsuspecting young women to prostitution, usually attracting the social media users through appealing to their romantic desires. A deceptive platform could for instance market itself as one dating site in which people can find potential mates, while in the real sense it is for recruiting innocents into pornography or even prostitution rackets. Adolescence is a stage in which individuals become sexually conscious and is particularly significant to the efforts and abilities of online pedophiles or pornography rings. They strive to inspire an appeal among a younger online audience, for example through sharing of pornographic images and videos, as a recruitment strategy.
The semester has thus been extremely wonderful having had a great learning experience during my English class by a terrific professor. I have learned important information and dynamics about social media, stuff that I did not originally think of or even appreciate. That beyond the fun filled, addictive use of social media, lays a fundamental need to be cautious or restrained, given the dangers involved is profound. My Professor thoroughly taught me about online or cyber- bullying and the various ways through which it manifest, deception on social media facilitated by pseudonyms or fake identities and the glaring online presence of harmful characters such as pedophiles among others. Looking back at the semester, my Professor of the English class has had a tremendous impact on me through excellent teaching and I am now more empowered, through a better appreciating and understanding of social media dynamics previously unknown to me.