Life in the eyes of an international student

 Blog Entry # 9 TikTok TikTok became more popular during the covid 19 pandemic in 2019. People stayed at home, bored and needed something to entertain themselves and be entertained. TikTok was the answer to it all. It all started with '' Don't rush'' challenge, people made videos of them looking their worst to them looking their absolute best. It was an entertaining thing to watch, and most people were engorged in it. Influencers gained more followers from these challenges. Today, challenges on TikTok have become the order of the day. Celebrities wanting to gain popularity create a video and hashtag it as a challenge. Other popular artists imitate similar content or try to make it better.  The disadvantage of this is that people go the extra mile to injure themselves to gain followers. They believe the crazier the more it goes viral which normally happens since people are attracted to negativity or crazy content. An example is the ''The Milk Crate Challange ...

 Blog #8 The Effects of Social Media and Mental Health in Young Adults Our worldview is mostly shaped by the things we do, say, and see. This poses a great challenge if our perception of people and the world is mostly shaped by what we see on social media platforms. According to the American Psychiatric Association, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), “body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is classified along the obsessive-compulsive Spectrum. Those suffering from BDD are preoccupied with at least one nonexistent or slight defect in physical appearance. This can lead them to think about the defect for at least one hour a day, therefore impacting their social, occupational, and other levels of functioning. The individual also should have repetitive and compulsive behaviors due to concerns arising from their appearances.  Furthermore, an increasingly destructive facet of social media use is the prevalence of cyberbullying. This pervasive issue poses a sig...

 Blog #7Hashtags Hashtags serve several key functions in the digital landscape. They act as a categorization tool, allowing users to label their content with relevant keywords. This categorization enhances discoverability, enabling users to find and engage with topics of interest. Hashtags play a pivotal role in highlighting trending topics, providing a real-time pulse of the online conversation. In 2007, when the pound sign was first used by Chris Messina as a metadata tag to find topics of interest with ease, no one could have predicted hashtags would have become extremely popular among social media users around the globe. Just in two years, Twitter adopted the use of hashtags into its code, turning the concept of hashtag marketing into a viable marketing tactic. People use Hashtags to create or start a movement for example #blacklivesmatters ,#bringourgirlsback etc create a platform for awareness.   Beyond categorization and trends, hashtags are instrumental in bran...

 Blog Entry # 6. Peer Pressure Peer Pressure is any kind of influence on an individual whether positive or negative influence. According to a psychologist Erik Erikson, individual between the ages of 12-18 goes through the stage 5 which is Identity and confusion. As they transition from childhood to adulthood, teens may begin to feel confused or insecure about themselves and how they fit into society. As they seek to establish a sense of self, teens may experiment with different roles, activities, and behaviors. Teenage girls mostly struggle with their looks where they find ways to appear perfect amongst their peers. For example, they try diet plans which may lead to eating disorders, they wear makeup to look pretty. Teenage boys may start dressing differently to impress their peers or girls they are attracted to. Teenagers also form groups and these may impact them negatively. They can begin smoking or drinking only because everyone in the group is doing. According A study from CD...

 Blog Entry #5 Is a degree relevant? Do you believe a college degree is necessary to become a successful adult? Some people may disagree but, a many agrees including the current governor of Arizona. In an article he highlighted how education is the key to the American  dream. He States ''  with better-educated citizens also see economic benefits. These states have better luck recruiting and retaining quality employers, and they enjoy lower overall rates of unemployment, poverty and welfare dependency  '' ( Ducey).   Even  though there have been evidence of people earning good income i.e., 6 figures without a college degree, I believe you need a college degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the employment rate was higher for those with higher levels of educational attainment. For example, the overall employment rate was highest for those with a bachelor’s or higher degree (87%); and lowest for t...

  Blog Entry 4: The Dipo puberty rite of passage Africa is endowed with cultural and traditional practices and Ghana is no exception. In this blog post I would be sharing a traditional ceremony practiced in Ghana called the ‘’ The Dipo rite of Passage’’ It is celebrated to initiate a girl child to adulthood, this is similar to Quinceanera but celebrated differently. Dipo ceremony is celebrated by a tribe named the Krobos in the Eastern region of Ghana.   It is celebrated every year in April and takes four days to complete. During this period, the girls are dressed in a special way to show that they are initiates.  During this period,they have food restrictions and are only allowed to drink water from a special well. They are taught the Klama dance, undergo a ritual bath and the crux of the rite is when the girls are made to sit on a stone which is believed determines virginity. Any girl who is found not to be a virgin at the time of the rites used to be ostracized in th...