GENRE 1: POEM
A glass half full is seen by 2 people
While a glass half empty is seen by 50
A statistic so overlooked
A vision remaining forever misunderstood
A screen so thick and wide
A human so small lacking pride
We start to subside
What’s mine is not yours and what’s yours is not mine
But ours become yours and yours become mine
Losing a mind that’s hard to find
Following the big ego on the outside
Lost in this confident race inside
5th place with myself in a haste
In loving memory of the one that felt so misplaced
Erased and ashamed
No distinction in this game
Follow the leader
Wait
I need a place to rest
I’m far behind within this yellow race
To catch up I must deactivate
I need to breathe
I need to put down the screen that so thick and wide
So, I don’t lose what’s on the inside
So, I can gain my pride
So, I won’t subside
So, I could live my life like it’s mine
Sigh
GENRE 2: INTERVIEW
Participant 1: Neutren Harmon
64 years old
Black male
Born and raised in Guyana
- Describe yourself for me.
“I am a caring, empathetic, soft spoken Cariribean man”
2. What do you do in your free time?
“I like to DJ, meditate, read and watch sports”
3. Do you use social media? (yes – how often; no – why not?)
“Yes, for rough 15 minutes twice a day”
4. What social media apps do you use and which one do you use the most?
“I mostly use Facebook. I don’t know if Whatsapp is considered social media but I use that too”
5. What makes you want to use this app the most?
“It’s easy to use and free of cost”
6. What do you gain from using these apps?
“Updated news about what’s going on in Guyana and the ability to interact with my friends and family”
7. How do you feel before and after using this app?
“No kind of way”
8. I know that this may be a personal question but, what are some goals that are impacted by social media?
“None”
9. Do you like your body?
“My body is my temple”
10. What are some unpopular opinions that you have?
“None; some of my political views”
11. Have you ever taken a break from social media? If so, how did it feel compared to being on social media?
“Yes and I felt no different”’
12. What are your thoughts on social media?
“On social media everybody writes what they want to write so you always come across peculiar posts”
13. How would life be without social media?
“Normal”
Participant 2: Idi Morris
Black male
Raised and born in Guyana
32
- Describe yourself for me.
“A tall, dark and handsome man from GT budday”
2. What do you do in your free time?
“I don’t get much free time but when I have some I spend time with my family”
3. Do you use social media? (yes – how often; no – why not?)
“No. It is a distraction, it should be named social distraction. I refuse to prescribe. It puts blinders on people””
4. What social media apps do you use and which one do you use the most?
“Wait I lied I use twitter”
5. What makes you use this app the most?
“You are able to get the news from different sources, not just the accrual news castman. You get multiple perspectives”
6. What do you gain from using these apps?
“The ability to know what I want to know when I want to know it without waiting for the news”
7. How do you feel before and after using these apps?
“Before: No way, after: I feel well informed”
8. I know that this may be a personal question but, what are some goals that are impacted by social media?
Don’t use it.
9. Do you like your body?
“Yes. I look good for my age”
10. What are some unpopular opinions that you have?
“Almost everything”
11. Have you ever taken a break from social media? If so, how did it feel compared to being on social media?
Don’t use it.
12. What are your thoughts on social media?
Already stated
13. How would life be without social media?
“Life would move at a slower pace. Social media is a form of communication. You can talk to people from anywhere at anytime about anything, without it there would be no more networking or making connections with people you’ve never met”
Participant 3: Armanny Carbon
17 years old
Born in NY,
Moved to FL at a young age
- Describe yourself.
“I am tall, dark and handsome. Nah im joking, I am the only boy out of 4 girls and I grew up with a single mom”
2. What do you do in your free time?
“Look in the mirror, watch someone on my phone or workout”
Follow up: Why do you work out?
“Because I want to be sexy. My biggest fear is that I won’t be able to lift up my girlfriend”
Follow up: Why is that a fear?
“I always thought that I wasn’t good enough to do certain things. I always felt like I needed to prove myself to adults”
3. Do you use social media? (yes – how often; no – why not?)
“Yes; 3 hours a day”
4. What social media apps do you use and which one do you use the most?
“Youtube the most, Instagram, Twitter (but just to browse)”
5. What makes you use this app the most?
“Youtube is very entertaining. Social media can be used to interact with people through comments”
6. What do you gain from using these apps?
“An insane dopamine rush to the skull”
7. How do you feel before and after using these apps?
“Before: a sense of anticipation because I know what I am about to watch. After: a sense of satisfaction and relief”
8. I know that this may be a personal question but, what are some goals that are impacted by social media?
“Being successful…. I get to see more into other people lives and see the stuff that they get from their hard work and makes me thing I want to be like them”
9. Do you like your body?
“I love my body. I made it like this….Its an unfinished product of all my hardwork”
10. What are some unpopular opinions that you have?
“Affirmations are stupid… believing in fate is supid”
Follow up: Are you open with these opinions?
“ If someone I didn’t know asked about it I wouldn’t let them know because its unnecessary”
11. Have you ever taken a break from social media? If so, how did it feel compared to being on social media?
“No, I never felt the need to. There are times that I didn’t use social media and after that I felt more productive”
12. What are your thoughts on social media?
“ I love it. It has a positive impact unless you’re a bitch, by bitch I mean a softy…. It encourages my need to live a perfect life.”
Follow up: What is your perfect life?
“Have a 6 figure salary at the age of 36 with a beautiful wife, 1 son and 1 daughter, daughter first, live in Miami City with a beach front view”
Follow up: What makes this the perfect life?
“A video I watched with a man and his wife”
13. How would life be without social media?
“A lot of people would be more physically active”
Participant 4: Ryan Davidson
Black male
16 years old
American with Jamaican descent
- Describe yourself.
“I like science, writing poems,funny as hell and I like psychology.”
2. What do you do in your free time?
“Watch Netflix, do laundry, cook”
3. Do you use social media? (yes – how often; no – why not?)
“Yes about 3 hours per day”
4. What social media apps do you use and which one do you use the most?
“ IG,Tiktok, Snap but mostly IG”
5. What makes you use this app the most?
“I don’t know… the shade room”
6. What do you gain from using these apps?
“Entertainment”
7. How do you feel before and after using these apps?
“Nothing”
8. I know that this may be a personal question but, what are some goals that are impacted by social media?
“Alot. I see people doing stuff on social media and it makes me want to do it but in a different way because I’m not trying to be the common person.”
Follow up: Why not?
“You have to think outside the box”
“Social media is a platform showing people who to be. These influencers want people to follow them and act like them but then there is a problem when everyone acts the same”
9. Do you like your body?
“No”
Follow up: Why not?
“There are certain parts that I don’t like.”
Follow up: Why not?
“I have to get bigger sized jeans that don’t even fit right. It just messes with my wardrobe”
10. What are some unpopular opinions that you have?
“I don’t think I have one. I can’t think of it right now”
11. Have you ever taken a break from social media? If so, how did it feel compared to being on social media?
“Yes. I feel refreshed I guess”
12. What are your thoughts on social media?
“It is brainwashing our community”
Follow up: Are you brainwashed?
“No”
Follow up:Why not?
“It’s possible that I can be eventually but as of right now I am not”
13. How would life be without social media?
“ Better. People can be themselves and there would be no more cyber bullying…. Insecurities would decrease. Wait for a lie because social media allows you to see people who are similar to you.”
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