Week 1: Topics 1 and 2

Topic one:

My name is Sydney Amundsen, I played volleyball here at Linn-Benton for the last two years. I came to Linn-Benton because of the volleyball program, Jayme Frazier, the head coach is amazing. This is my last term taking classes through Linn-Benton Community College and I am excited to be moving on. But, I have really enjoyed  Linn-Benton and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to play volleyball and take classes here. I will be playing volleyball and taking classes at Multnomah University this upcoming fall. The major I am interested in is Business/Organizational Psychology and I am not sure what career I am interested in yet.

What I am excited to learn about in this media class is how to blog and get more accustomed to technology as a whole. unfortunately, I am not technologically inclined and would rather just do everything with pencil and paper. But, because the world as a whole is making major leaps in advancing technology, I should really get comfortable with it.

What I am very passionate about besides college is playing volleyball and weightlifting. I have been playing volleyball for almost 13 years now. I started playing in the third grade and have played every years since then. I am actually pretty short for the position I play, which is funny because I am 5'8. which is average. But I have managed to stay in the middle blocking position because I have a good vertical. I really am passionate about weight lifting because it is good for my body and it makes me feel that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. I started weight lifting three years ago and it gave me confidence and an outlet to de-stress. But, with lifting heavy and developing muscle tone came backlash from male peers. I have been called manly and have been asked many times to get smaller by many of my guy friends. That has been a huge motivator to me because I believe that is not an issue to look more muscular and enjoy weight lifting. It has given me a huge sense of power and I am very excited on where my fitness journey takes me.

Topic two:

What I consider to be my three main sources of information are Facebook, Instagram, and word of mouth. Facebook is my number one way of getting any information because I am on it a lot. It is easily accessible and very time efficient because some of my friends share important news articles and I can see what my close family and friends are up to all in one sitting. Instagram is my second, but not for news on what is happening in the world. I use it mainly for following cross fitters or body builders to get the latest workouts and new food ideas. I also like to check out the new ways of experimenting with fashion and makeup. Instagram is for more of a fun pastime that can also be informational. I also get a lot of information just from having conversations with my professors or friends about what is happening in the world or in the school. I believe that is one of the fastest ways to get updated besides the internet. I believe Facebook can be reliable, but it can also be biased depending on who wrote the article. Same for talking with people, but the story can change when information is being passed through people talking.

I am a little bit concerned about the information in the media ecosystem because it can either be downplayed, like the girls in the Ted Talk, or over reacted. In the media ecosystem today articles are very biased depending on the news outlet. The steps I take to ensure that information is accurate are scanning headlines over many sources of news to try to find a balance between conservative and liberal viewpoints and try to discern a full range of real news that is happening in the world. I also ask myself, who is the author? So that I know where the author stands and how they write articles.