nykhaela

Disclaimer: This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class. Thank you for understanding!

[nykhaela-ackerman]

QuaranThoughts: A Glimpse Into My 2020 Psyche

     It seems like it’s almost been a year since everything suddenly changed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Overall, 2020 has been filled with one tragedy after another. Starting off with the eruption of the Taal Volcano, threats of World War 3, the pandemic crisis, issues of racism, government incompetence, and many more events that shook the whole world. As someone living through such seemingly historical events, I felt anxious of what the world will come to be in the future, as long as what could happen to me. There were even times wherein I felt so anxious and restless because not only did I fear for my own safety, but also for thinking about what the point is in all this.

     I felt sad and helpless for living in such a world wherein fighting will never stop, and that it only seems like a pipe dream for governments to be competent enough to deal with certain issues. Not just in the context of the Philippines, but for the world in general, it seems as though no matter what happens, humanity will always be at war with one another, regardless of there being weapons or not. “Humanity will never stop fighting itself until it shrinks to a size of one or fewer,” said Erwin Smith, though he may be fictional, I believe that his words hold the truth. Humans will always find something to fight about, no matter how insignificant a few things might seem and vice-versa.

     This world of ours is a dog-eat-dog world, you can’t really trust anyone, not even yourself at times. So, in times of global crises, who will you turn to? The government who seems to only prioritize maintaining the positions they hold? The church with their false promises of comfort? Your school or university that even rids students of scholarship opportunities due to fears of spending too much money despite being owned by a literal billionaire? Your family who you may or may not even feel comfortable living with, depending on your relationships with them? Your friends who you don’t even know if they truly care about you? Yourself, who’s not even sure about your identity or reason for being alive? All we know is that we don’t know, after all we’re just human beings who were suddenly thrown into this world and now have to deal with the chaos that comes with existence.

     Anyway, before I end up getting way too depressing or overshare too much of my personal existential crisis, let me go back to talking about the pandemic. So first of all, I would like to share my own personal experiences and sentiments about being in quarantine, before I delve deeper unto more meaningful thoughts in terms of its effect on society. As a lazy introvert who never liked going outside nor have never experienced going anywhere without any family members, I personally do not mind the thought of just staying indoors all the time. As a matter of fact, I even feel relieved that I don’t have to actually socialize or interact with anyone because of how socially awkward I am and how I just don’t feel comfortable with dealing with social cues and all that stuff. Also, one of the reasons why I prefer online classes is also because of my personal self-image and self-esteem issues.

     During online classes, I don’t have to show the rest of my body nor wear an uncomfortable uniform whose buttons could burst anytime while worrying about the weird looks I get from people. In addition, I can express my thoughts easier during recitations or presentations during online classes because I do not have to deal with the social anxiety that comes with having to stand in front of a crowd and think about things like maintaining eye contact or monitoring bodily gestures and such. I could also sit however I want more comfortably, while also not having to worry about using the bathroom during class because I can easily do it at home while wearing Bluetooth headphones so I wouldn’t miss out on class. However, the fact that I can think about all these things is a sign that I seem to be privileged enough to actually be able to consider having to deal with online classes instead of face-to-face classes as a better situation personally. This doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge the plethora of issues that others are facing because of it, I was just sharing things from my perspective.

      Upon observing what my fellow students have been posting on social media, along with the many news articles out there, I have been dragged back into reality. Not everyone is lucky as I am to have WiFi and gadgets at home to be able to comfortably deal with online classes. Many are struggling to buy load for their cellular data so they can attend classes, others are also suffering from how the pandemic crisis affected their families financially, causing them to likely even drop out and work instead of pursuing their studies. In addition, there are also those who have to deal with balancing the already exhausting mountain-loads of schoolwork, along with helping out around the house with chores or taking care of their younger siblings or ailing relatives. I then realize that there’s more to life than academics, and that there are bigger problems out there in the world that take priority.

      Also, upon further reflection, I have realized that not everyone has access to such technologies required for online classes, especially for those who live in far-off areas; those who go to decrepit public schools, those who live in tribal communities, and those who live with a seemingly inescapable sense of poverty looming over them. As a citizen of a third-world country who has been more exposed to foreign media, there were time s that I have forgotten that the educational norm for the Philippines is way different than that of those living in first-world countries. I have remembered how there are many people in this country of ours who lack capabilities to enroll in academic institutions for high quality education, along with not even having enough finances to even survive living in the slums, and yet they are expected to have the resources to deal with online classes. Also, what about children who can barely even read or write? Do they expect them to be able to send emails at the ripe age of five?

     I think the heads of such universities or schools are forgetting that students and teachers are also human beings in need of breaks and that just because we’re at home doesn’t mean we have all the time and energy in the world to just do nothing but deal with academics. Even machines can overheat or explode due to overwork, there needs to be a time to cool down, so that we may spend even just a little bit of time to be just people, to just be ourselves and live our life beyond the confines of stressing over exams, quizzes, modules, grades, and such. There’s more to life than just slaving away and doing what you’re told to do, school shouldn’t be a medium to train people into becoming tireless slaves who will always bend to the will of those in power. As a matter of fact, because of spending almost all of my time dealing with academics, I barely have anytime to explore who I am and what I want in life; I don’t even see a future for myself beyond graduation, I can’t even see myself as not living as a student. Just because I have seemingly good grades does not mean that a bright future is automatically guaranteed for me; how am I supposed figure out how to survive in the real world while I further continue to lose the will to live as time goes by?

     While I sit comfortably at home as I pursue my other hobbies or stress over deadlines of activities, many people out there are starving and struggling to look for jobs, and many are fighting for their rights to be treated as human beings instead of yet just another number in the ever-growing mortality rate due to the pandemic or even because the government silenced them for speaking against those in power. The world is at war with itself, and yet there are many of us who act like frogs sitting in a tub of water without realizing they are slowly being boiled alive. We’re not in a sauna or in a relaxing hot spring, we’re in a living hell where of everyone is exposed to the same amount of fire. They may say that we’re all in the same boat, but we’re actually in the same ocean in midst of a storm; we’re all on different boats, some may be lucky enough to have yachts or cruise ships, while others are struggling to stay afloat on a piece of driftwood. Even if this pandemic crisis someday comes to an end, the struggles of humanity never will.

      This then begs the question, “Why do we even try so hard to survive in such a cruel world? What’s the point in living? Why even try if we’re all just going to die?” Personally, there are many times wherein I contemplated just taking the easy way out and I still do; I know I’m still young but it doesn’t invalidate how tiring it feels to be alive, and how it will just continue to get even more tiring and difficult as I continue to live. Well, as Mikasa Ackerman puts it, “the world is cruel yet beautiful at the same time,” so if we truly want to see how such a world can show such beauty, we must continue to try to survive in this world we were born into so that we may find what it means to genuinely be free.  After all, as Eren Jaeger puts it, “if we win, we live. If we lose, we die. If we don’t fight, we can’t win. So fight. Fight,” so that we may be able to see a world worth living in. Fight, so that we may be able to live someday in a world where we no longer need to fight, as illusory or delusional as it may seem.

     Before I bombard you with any more Attack on Titan references or depress you with my own personal issues, it may be time to end this essay of mine. Overall, whether it be a global pandemic crisis or any other issues surrounding human conflict, it cannot be denied that this era we’re living in will be a part of human history for future generations to read about. Even if it seems that humanity’s cycle of hatred, greed, and incompetence  will never end, we must still strive to make this world of ours somehow worth living in so that we may alleviate suffering, as we continue to grow and evolve as beings aiming to find the meaning of being. No one may know which paths we may take, nonetheless, we should still try to break down these walls, overcome these barricades, and dedicate our hearts so that we may proudly keep moving forward as we fly with our wings of freedom towards the scenery of true liberty. If we just sit here, do nothing and just wait for our corpses to start rotting, what’s the point in living?

Disclaimer: This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class submitted to @bertongbigtime​. Thank you for understanding!

[parissstuff]

. ︵ . ︵ . ︵ . ︵ . ︵ . ︵ . ︵ .

❀ ┈ 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑔 ⊱ 天啊 ─

፧ ʕ ˵• ₒ •˵ ʔ ꜛ ♡:: ﹫ 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚎 🙇‍♀️ ˚ | ⺌ ᭝. 𝑎𝑛𝑑᭞ 🐩 ⌟ 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦₊ 〄 ))

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[nykhaela-ackerman]

The Influence of Influencers

      For influencers, it may be considered quite essential to know how to actually reach out to audiences or else they may not even be considered as competent in their respective fields. In addition, not only is it important for one’s content to actually have a wider reach, but also for it to contain supporting sources, depending on the type of content being presented so as to provide viewers or readers with a seemingly higher sense of credibility when it comes to the things being presented in such digital publications. Moreover, it may also be vital to consider using strategies which may further optimize the fostering of engagement with audiences, such techniques may involve utilizing methods that may aid algorithms in boosting such content to more likely viewers or readers. By taking all of the aforementioned into consideration, influencers may end up building a more visible online presence and actually being considered worthy of being referred to as an “influencer.” After all in order to be perceived as an influencer, one must actually have the capabilities required to actually influence many people.

       In the online world, “cancel culture” seems to be quite prevalent, wherein public figure may end up being condemned or possibly even doxed by netizens due to committing certain mistakes; as such, influencers must take extra precaution when it comes to presenting content in order to avoid falling victim to being flamed by so-called “keyboard warriors” or “social justice warriors,” which may endanger one’s reputation and source of livelihood. In order to do so, influencers must learn how to appeal as decent human beings to their audiences by showcasing credible references whenever one makes certain claims, or even doing background checks on seemingly controversial companies before accepting to collaborate or do a sponsorship. Furthermore, when it comes to sharing other influencers’ content, it may also be good to ask for their consent to do so, especially if likely issues may arise if one chooses not to ask for permission before pushing through with something.  Speaking of sharing things online, in order to not seem too unreachable or pretentious, it may also be recommended to have a visible presence on social media so that audiences may relate more to such influencers without seeming too arrogant or self-serving. Overall, in order to be well-established influencer, content creator, or digital publisher, one must first learn about the ins-and-outs of what netizens may consider as worth their time or of excellent quality of content; not only is it important to have a wide reach but for the content itself to actually have a positive influence on audiences and oneself.

Disclaimer: This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class. Thank you for understanding!

[nykhaela-ackerman]

The Rise of Digital Publishing

     In this day and age, it may not seem surprising that digital publishing seems to be growing more relevant compared to print media. Not only does going digital save a lot of time and money, but seems overall convenient for everyone involved. This seems especially evident during the current state of society, living in the pandemic era, wherein it seems that people rarely go outside to purchase products of print media as a way to avoid getting infected from the virus.  As revolutionary as it may seem, going purely digital may also negatively impact printing industries, causing many to lose jobs. However, considering that the technological progression of society will seem to keep moving forward, it may be considered of great essence to learn to adjust with the times, despite losing a few things along the way.

      For companies, going digital may be regarded as a wise decision to cope with the ever-changing information sphere of society. Not only will they be able to reach wider audiences through the Internet, but they’ll also be able to earn more revenue from advertisers, while being cost-efficient as well due to lack of dealing with printing expenditures. Meanwhile, for the readers, relying on digital media seems to be a way to access information quicker at any given time, while also saving cash instead of going outside to purchase printed materials. In addition, this may also be considered as a way to save space in one’s living quarters, instead of having to deal with arranging or disposing of outdated newspapers, magazines, and the like. Overall, although some might miss holding physical copies of printed media, it seems like the movement towards the conversion to digital outlets seems to be the more logical choice in this society.

@bertongbigtime

Disclaimer: This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class. Thank you for understanding!

[nykhaela-ackerman]

Imagine getting paid for sleeping on camera...

            The Internet can be a strange place wherein people may end up developing a somehow unusual sense of humor or gaining interest in something that may not seem that interesting upon first thinking about it. Such content may end up becoming viral hits if enough people even find it mildly interesting due to its seemingly weir nature. A good example of this is how there seem to be trends when it comes to livestreaming or showing videos while sleeping on platforms like Twitch, Douyin (Chinese TikTok), and many others, while allowing viewers to mess with the streamer by playing seemingly harmless pranks and donating subs. At first glance, such an idea may seem ridiculous, but its ridiculousness may be the key to what actually drew audiences to such content in the first place. However, in order to be successful in actually gaining viewers for this kind of content, an influencer/streamer must somehow already have established a visible and notable presence in the field of online content creation through possessing enough charisma and charm to attract audiences into supporting their content.

However, in terms of the video wherein a man just happened to be caught sleeping amidst a seemingly overjoyed crowd, the man himself may not be the one who seems to have a significant following or number of peers, but the person who initially uploaded the video. On the other hand, those who livestream themselves while sleeping seem to also likely appeal to the somehow dark side of human desire to want to have control or power over others; in contrast to this, such unusual content may also appeal to the eccentric meme-loving netizens who just indulge in anything weird or even slightly interesting or hilarious. This pretty much showcases literal audience engagement, wherein the viewers seem to have the power themselves in terms of how entertaining livestreams can get, depending on how they get the streamer to react to their little pranks. By doing so, these kinds of streamers are able to achieve new feats when it comes to online content, which may be a factor in proving that content does not necessarily have to be meaningful and deep to go viral, sometimes it just has to be humorous, interesting, engaging, attention-grabbing, or entertaining (or maybe even infuriating). Overall, through analyzing how such sleep-related funny viral videos end up getting much attention, it may be incurred that in order to be a successful online content creator, one must be able to learn to think like there is no box and just learn to explore uncharted waters so as to get a better idea of what people may find entertaining to watch or take part in.

@bertongbigtime

Disclaimer: This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class. Thank you for understanding!

[nykhaela-ackerman]

My First Encounter with Tulfo

     As someone who has never watched “Tulfo in Action” or any of Raffy Tulfo’s videos, I felt disturbed, horrified, and disgusted by what was being showcased in the program. However, I do find it understandable as to why these videos get so much views, especially considering the fact that the masses tend to be easily intrigued with such controversial situations occurring within the personal lives of average Filipino citizens. In addition, this program frames these conflicts in such a dramatic manner while showcasing raw vulgarity and angst; which the viewers may end up feasting upon as if they’re watching a fictional television series, instead of real people dealing with real problems. Moreover, such a show may appeal to the viewer’s curiosity or voyeuristic tendencies when it comes to issues surrounding violence, sex, petty crime, and other similar obscenities. A strategy such as this, may be deemed as an effective way of appealing to the masses, who may be more likely to find programs like these not only entertaining, but also possibly even relatable.

             Personally, I find the format of such a program to be quite inappropriate and extremely tabloid-like, as it possesses tendencies to make light or make fun of the personal struggles that ordinary people are going through in their daily lives. Also, the host himself seems to display extremely unprofessional behavior when it comes to dealing with guests, going as far as laughing at their faces, making misogynistic and homophobic implications, making children relive traumatizing moments, and many other seemingly tasteless acts. Such issues surrounding one’s private life should be consulted with professionals such as marriage counselors, psychologists and the like; meanwhile, crime or abuse-related conflict should be dealt with by the police. In my opinion, Raffy Tulfo does not seem to possess the required qualifications to handle such situations; but since media companies need to earn profit, they came up with such programs to exploit the plight of the poor, as a way to survive in this capitalist society. Overall, I believe that programs that sensationalize serious issues for entertainment, like “Tulfo in Action,” should not even exist in the first place; instead, it may be better for media networks to organize more educational and informative programs that will not only help people gain a more in-depth and accurate understanding of the world, but while also entertaining them in a tasteful manner.

@bertongbigtime

Disclaimer:This is just an exercise for our Digital Publishing class. Thank you for your understanding.