In my article, I will be researching how the mental health of college students has been affected because of Covid-19. 

Many college students struggled to keep their mental health stable for various reasons even before there was a worldwide pandemic. I plan on finding statistics comparing how many students have been facing mental health issues before the pandemic to how many are currently facing those issues. I will also dive deeper and find data that specifies what aspects of the pandemic are causing them such issues regarding their mental health. I plan on finding both stats from across the nation and doing a random sample from various Bloomsburg University students.

To show this data, I will use a line graph to show how the number of students with mental health issues has increased /declined ever since the pandemic started. After this graphic, I will also include a chart that shows the specific reasons as to why so many students are facing these issues and the percentage of each one. Financial troubles, online learning, the difficulty of self-isolation, etc. will all be shown on this graph.

My project is about how students with mental health issues are combatting both a pandemic and their classes at the same time. I chose this topic because I knew I could get a lot of information on this topic as well as a large variety of responses. In addition, I believe I can briefly talk about another topic idea I had (students putting off classes/graduation) which will make the article more interesting to read and add even more relevancy. 

As far as finding sources, I currently have two interviews planned. The first one is with my roommate who actually took the semester off because of the troubles they were facing regarding their mental health and having everything online. While my other interviewee is not taking time off, they did significantly cut their workload down. I’m also talking to a possible source who took on a larger workload than usual in order to get multiple different sides of how the pandemic is affecting people’s studies. All of these people have faced mental health issues including anxiety, depression, etc. so I wanted to explore many different sides in my project. I also found a podcast, surveys, and more data that I can reference.

I found this article which I think will be very beneficial for my project. It talks about how students’ mental health is continuing to worsen as the pandemic goes on. It does not incorporate any videos but I think it would have greatly benefited if it did. It has a story-telling type of structure with a lot of quotes from different people. It might have gained even more attention if instead of writing it down, they bounced from person to person in an interview. 

This article is another example of an article that could have benefited from using audio/video. It is about a study where people were surveyed about how their mental health has worsened based purely on factors created by the pandemic. While it was very informative, it did not have any quotes from anyone to make it more interesting. If they wanted to keep the article the way it was, adding a video of interviewing people based on the different categories listed would have made it more pleasurable for the audience.

College students have always had many struggles with mental health. However, a new study shows that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has caused the mental health of college students to plummet even further.

• Students most at risk include women, Asians, students under age 25, those in poor health, those who knew somebody with COVID-19 and lower-income students
• Surveyed more than 2,500 students from seven public universities
• Zoomed in on mental health stressors directly from the pandemic
• 85% of students experienced high to moderate levels of distress
• Women were twice as likely to fall into that group, Asians were 30% more likely
• People who spend eight or more hours in front of screens also had an increased risk
• Colleges must meet students’ basic and psychological needs before anything else

The topic I have decided to pursue for this semester is how students with mental health issues are combatting both a pandemic and their classes at the same time. I chose this topic because I knew I could get a lot of information on this topic as well as a large variety of responses. In addition, I believe I can briefly talk about another topic idea I had (students putting off classes/graduation) which will make the article more interesting to read and add even more relevancy. 

My first source covers mental health issues in adolescence and young adults in general. This can give me some background information to include towards the beginning of the article. In this tweet, it names a professional in the mental health field, a mental health hospital, and links a NYTimes article where I can find more information on the topic.

The next source I found further implores how college students in particular have had their mental health weaken due to the pandemic. This article and journalist will be two things that I keep looking back at while I’m working on my article as it directly correlates with points that I will try to hit.

A third source I found refers to students possibly using mental health apps. It shows both the benefits and the drawbacks (including invading their privacy) of using these apps. I think this could be something really interesting to talk about in my article. I could interview a few students to see their opinions on this and maybe even someone who works at the mental health center on campus to see if this is something they have considered.

Lastly, I want to source Pam Belluck. She is a reporter for the New York Times who has covered mental health numerous times. I believe her work will be very helpful to source in my article as she is an expert in this field. 

My first project idea is about how BU is suspending many Greek life organizations. While this would gather a lot of attention, my biggest challenge would be finding interviewees since I am not involved in Greek life nor do I know many people who are.

Another idea I have is talking about how students with mental health issues are combatting both a pandemic and their classes at the same time. This would be way easier to find people to interview, however I believe this would be a popular topic so it may be challenging to make my project stand out.

https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/psychiatry/michigan-psychiatry-resources-covid-19/adults-specific-resources/coping-covid-19-pandemic-college-student

My last project idea is about how many students are delaying graduation/minimizing their school work because of Covid-19. This idea would be the hardest of the three to get content for however it would be very relatable for the students at BU who are struggling to decide what they want to do.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-dilemma-facing-college-students-during-the-pandemic-delaying-graduation-could-have-long-term-financial-consequences-2020-06-22

I honestly thought that Emergent Media was a really fun course. It covered a large variety of topics while keeping me interested throughout the activities. I even enjoyed the sports unit which was especially surprising considering the fact I’m really not that big of a sports fan. I was also shocked that I enjoyed the video broadcast. I’m not the type of person who likes being on camera but it was fun talking about something I was knowledgeable about. 

The online format was a lot easier than what I thought it would be. It took me a couple weeks to practice my time management skills but now I do not procrastinate nearly as much as I used to. I also liked being able to do things at my own pace. If I had a week where I did not have a lot of work from other classes, I could work ahead so that I was not as stressed when I did have extra work. 

Despite the fact that I enjoyed the course greatly, there are a couple things I would change. For example, I wish we would have dove deeper into the blogging aspect. The blogs were my favorite part of this course. I loved being given a topic and being able to write whatever I wanted on it. The only other thing I could think of changing would be the time limit on quizzes. Sometimes it takes me a little bit to figure out the answer to a question so I cut it close a few times with the time limit. I do not think it should be a large change, but going from 15 minutes to 20 minutes would have been a little less stressful for a couple of the quizzes. 

Overall, this was a very enjoyable course. It not only taught me more about the media, but also more about myself and how to manage my time. I now know that online classes are not as terrifying as they seem as long as it is taken as seriously as physically going to class. I will definitely take everything I learned with me in the future.

While having a right to privacy is not its own right in the Constitution, it is implied in many of the amendments. Despite this, I really do wonder if we actually do have any sense of privacy. With the latest technology, our phones know everything about us. When I first wake up in the morning, I check my phone to see what time it is. By doing this, it knows when I wake up and sends that information to some database. The same thing goes for when I don’t touch my phone for over eight hours. My phone interprets that as me going to sleep. Everytime I look something up, I get ads for something similar for weeks later. My phone knows everything about me and I just let it happen. We all do. It’s actually pretty terrifying if you think about it. 

How can we protect our privacy? I really do not know the answer to that. Nowadays people are so reliant on technology, we practically ask for it to know everything about us. The only answer I can give to that question is probably the most basic one: be careful what you put into your phone. But without putting a lot of information about yourself into an app, you cannot really use it for all of its features. So even then that really is not an answer. In this case, the real question is: do you want privacy or technology? 

The only things we can do is make sure that we only get reliable applications for our phone and are connected to reliable networks. Especially when we put in extremely important information into our phones or laptops, such as banking information. As technology advances, this issue will only get worse. People will get smarter with technology, and our privacy will decrease more than it already has. So if you’re not scared now about your phone listening to you and knowing everything about you, you will be.

Going over chapter four made me realize many things but there were two in particular that really stood out. The first one being just how many niche audiences I am apart of and how I now have a deep interest in discovering more. The second one being that my Instagram definitely knows how to make me spend more money based off the ads it continuously gives me. While I refuse to go on about my sad bank account (but happy closet) for a couple paragraphs, I genuinely enjoyed learning all about the niche audiences I’m in. From being a college student (aka being broke) to an avid online shopper (aka being even more broke), it’s clear that I’m definitely a target to many advertisements. Everyone is apart of different niches which is how people connect. The media allows people to be connected in many ways, which is why media literacy is so important. 

Media literacy is what allows people to access, evaluate, and create/manipulate media. It shows the essential skills of self expression and builds an understanding of the media’s role in society. A world with no media literacy is a world where people have no idea how to communicate and create messages in a variety of forms.

The media is an important resource for people to use, but it’s actually often the one using us. It uses the niche audiences we associate ourselves with and then uses those to point us in the direction of places that are profitable to that audience. While sometimes this is helpful, it could also be hurtful to those who are not as media literate. If we increase our media literacy, we increase the control we have over the mass media when it tries to herd us into audiences for their profitable messages. 

As time goes on, media expands each and every day. In other words, social media is taking over our lives as we know it. In a way, aren’t we all being brainwashed in a sense? Like it was said in the Unit 3 presentation, people take in information as if people themselves are computers- kind of like robots. We process all of this information, a lot of times without even realizing it. While people are not robots (yet), they do consume an excessive amount of social media. Whether it be binge-watching Netflix or keeping up with Snapchat streaks, our phones, computers, etc. are almost always being put to use. Even while I’m writing this post I’m simultaneously listening to Ariana Grande’s last album on Spotify (so excuse the possible references if they are brought up).

If I’m being totally honest, I too am a victim of being turned into a social media “robot”. It has influenced probably every part of my life. Who hasn’t been influenced by social media? Some people my age claim that they are “old-school” but are they really? Have they never binged “Stranger Things”? Or streamed their favorite artist on Spotify when their new album came out? Or scroll through Instagram mindlessly between classes? With all due respect, I sincerely doubt I’m the only doing all of these things. As my parents like to say, “back in the old days, we didn’t have [insert technology of your choice here]….” So lets be real, social media is taking over and pretty much everyone has been made a victim to it. How about instead of scraping on to the hope that you’re different for not using these things, embrace it.

While I do not mean for one to actually turn into a robot, it’s important embrace the social media accounts! I can talk to any of my family/friends at any time and keep them updated on my life. Embrace the being able to look up anything in the world! Any time I have a question about anything, I can figure it out in seconds. Embrace the fact you can listen to any song in the world just with the click of a button. Seriously, Lizzo has become a part of my daily routine. However I do not endorse falling down the rabbit-hole on YouTube when you’re getting ready for bed. Instead of sleeping, I end up watching the top ten best places to live in Pennsylvania without any clue as to how that showed up in my recommended (but my hometown was #3 so it was worth it).

Overall I get it, social media is scary. It really has taken over a large part of my life and honestly, it’s not all breakfast at Tiffany’s and bottles of bubbles. Sometimes I am more introverted than what I’d like to be, especially when it comes to meeting new people. But there is literally no way to fight this takeover, so use social media to our advantage and just enjoy it.