Video Games

I have never been a one to play video games. Growing up, we had a wii and sometime I would watch my brothers play games, but I never got into them myself. They just never seemed to interest me like other forms of media. Well recently, my husband and I got a ps3. We got it after the lecture on video games, so I, of course, had some hesitations and laid out some ground rules. We both decided we never wanted sexual or violent games in our home. Soon after getting the game system, we headed to Game Stop to purchase our first game. I was pretty disappointed that there weren't a whole lot of games to choose from that fit out guidelines. That was kinda sad to me, but it also makes sense- violence and sex sell.  Eventually, in the used game section, we found one that sparked our interest: Lego Harry Potter. I'm guessing someone had sold back this game because it wasn't exciting enough? as in.. it literally has no sexual themes and no violence (other than casting spells).

When we got home, we decided to try this game out. We sat down on the couch together and played for about an hour. Much to my surprise, it was so much fun to play this game with my husband. The game involves a lot of looking around for small clues and trying to figure out what you are supposed to accomplish in order to move on. It felt good to work as a team and progress through the levels. After playing, I felt closer to my husband- as nerdy or weird as that might sound haha. I can relate to the study done on brothers and sisters playing together and having less contention afterwards.

This being said, while at first I was skeptical, I now see a place for video games in our family- as long as they have good themes and encourage the bonding my husband and I felt. I guess it goes to show, don't knock it til you try it.

Grateful for Txts

Lately, I have been very skeptical about the positive things about media.. if you couldn't tell from my last post. Well, this week I was reminded of the wonderful things that can come of media.

My cousins, Ashley and Lauren, are basically sisters to me. We are so close and love love love spending any time we can together. Unfortunately, we don't get to see each other too often. However, because of the constant group message between us three, we are able to stay updated with each other's lives. This past week, my cousins asked why I decided to delete my Facebook. I shared with them how I felt about it, and also shared some personal feelings about my insecurities. Within 2 minutes, my phone was exploding with prosocial txts from my cousins. Here are a couple of their txts:

Ashley: "You're gorgeous inside and out my sister! But I totally understand where you are coming from."

Lauren: "You are so naturally beautiful and have such an amazing body without even trying! Even without makeup you are stunning. Compare yourself to yourself only. Who you were yesterday and who you are tomorrow are the only people who matter."

Immediately, my spirits lifted and I felt so loved. What sweet things they chose to say. It warms my heart to read them over again. How grateful I am to be able to communicate so readily with people who use technology to uplift others. I am so lucky to be a recipient of other's kindness, and I am grateful that I can have the opportunity to do the same for others when I can't always talk to someone in person. I am blessed!

Why I Deleted My Facebook

After attending Marion Underwood's lecture, I went home and deleted my Facebook. I had been thinking of doing this since the start of the semester, but something she mentioned gave me the final push to do it. 

If you remember the study on 13 year olds, you might remember some of the findings. Marion mentioned that many of the teens had experienced emotional distress from social media due to feeling socially excluded and social comparison. Not only this, but there is a correlation between media use and depression. She also shared a story about a girl that committed suicide after months of comparing herself to others through Instagram. 

Something clicked in me, and I realized that for the past year, I have been feeling emotionally distressed every time I check Facebook. There was very little positive and too much negative coming into my life due to Facebook. And I realized how sick I was of it. How sick I was of seeing everyone's "glamorous" lives. Sick of seeing everyone only post things about themselves. Before deleting my account, I did a little experiment and scrolled through my feed for five minutes. In that time, I counted any posts that were uplifting and not, in any way, selfish. I could only find one. All the others were things like: "Made this dinner for my beautiful family tonight" (with a picture of a Pinterest worthy meal) or "My husband just randomly came home with this necklace for me. Im so blessed" or "Our one year anniversary! He treats me like a princess. I have a giddy, perfect life!" (with a picture of the couple). Not to mention all the selfies I saw in that short time. I just finally came to the conclusion that the posts I see don't make me feel good about myself. They only motivate me to get that "perfect picture" or make the "perfect dinner" and post about myself. As if I need to keep up with everyone else in the competition for "Best all around person in the world." 

When I first made my Facebook, I remember that much of the posts were good. They were about others. Or about important news that relatives and friends would be interested in hearing. But lately, its been a lot less of those posts, and a lot more of the self-indulged posts. And it's very sad to me. Its sad for me to look at the way I think now. When I go places, I want to take pictures. When I do something great, I want to post about it. Not to mention, I secretly always want my husband to post something sweet about me. It's just ridiculous. And I've decided that I want a change. I want to change. And I feel deleting my Facebook will be a good step in the right direction. 

Since deleting my Facebook on Thursday, I have not once regretted it. It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. It's been nice. Im done ranting now. I'll close with two quotes that also inspired me to delete Facebook:

"You won't inspire your teammates by showing them how great you are. You inspire them by showing them how great they are."

"If you want to give light to others, you have to glow yourself" -Thomas S. Monson