My name is Ruthie, welcome to Ruthie’s Writings.
Currently, my life revolves almost completely around the fact that I am a student. I’m living in a dorm, attending classes, I see my friends more than anyone else, and I’m trying to soak up this lifestyle. I am from Kansas City but am living in Omaha as a sophomore at Creighton University. Originally, my intent was to study Marketing so that I could eventually work in a trendy environment on modern projects. However, I’ve realized that my interests lie farther outside of Business than I thought. My goal is to be more creative and less analytical, I want to write, design, and explore technology and media rather than crunch numbers. My new plan is to major in Journalism with a certificate in Business, just to give integrity to my credits in Business. I am enrolled in this course to explore the field and eventually feel confident in making the switch from Business to Journalism.
Whether I like to admit it or not, technology and media seem to saturate my life. Given my age and the time period, these things aren’t simple to avoid. Having a cell phone makes it natural to engage with media and technology everyday. In fact, my phone is my main source of news and media updates, solely because it’s convenient. I would guess that on average, my phone dings seven times per day with a notification from CNN or the Washington Post. “Breaking News,” it reads and then it displays a short message explaining the gist of the article just recently posted. I must admit, however, it is rare that I swipe the banner to actually read the article. Once again, my goal is convenience. I read the short sentences and consider myself updated. Additionally, I receive a daily email from theSkimm which gives a fairly in depth yet modern and interesting run down of the current major news. I read this from time to time but this one is less convenient, as it is delivered in several long paragraphs. I think after reading this, you can probably tell that I do love my phone. However, I wouldn’t call myself a huge technology person, I think in comparison to other people, I use technology in fundamental ways. Technology doesn’t consume me, I love to be in settings where a cell phone is the last priority. But, in the era we are in, it’s difficult to ignore technology, namely phones and computers, for they are all around us.
Going back to the media and the news, as you can probably tell, I’m not very well-informed on the patterns of a variety of sources. Because of this, my opinions aren’t terribly strong. To me, journalists do better than ever before at creating controversial headings and content that intrigue the public, whether their claims are true or false. Even though I think journalists are skilled at this, it is one of the most troublesome parts of news media. It feels as if generating the top story or most compelling videos are more important than the sole purpose of it all, to inform. It’s a race to become the top news outlet, real news, or fake. Additionally, everyone and everything is so linked. This is simultaneously fascinating and alarming. While it’s nice to be able to connect with the whole world, it’s hard to feel like this isn’t dangerous. Similarly with the collection of data and targeting of ads, the world is benefitted, but it’s at the expense of human information. Living in a world consumed by media is great when it comes to the freedom it provides us to learn, connect, create, and share, but it’s also intriguing to wonder about the world before it was this way. I, personally, can’t remember a day without my cell phone or computer or the television, let alone a day completely free of social media and news updates.
In regards to programming and HTML, I have little to no experience. I have spent a great deal of time working with graphic design which I think falls into a distant but related category. As far as I know, my skills are remote from the world of programming, making it difficult for me to be able to speak on this. Despite my lack of knowledge, I’m eager to explore these topics and look forward to learning about what they have to offer to me, and the world!
Ruthie's Writings. 