TOW #21- Social Disgraces

Regardless of how you feel about Facebook and Twitter, there’s no denying that they’ve changed our world. But the topic of debate that surrounds social media is whether or not they’ve changed the world for the better or for the worse. Kristin Appenbrink’s essay, “Social Disgraces,” takes a closer look at this topic and shares common social-media faux pas that many of us do. To a certain extent, it is easy to see why the “limitless opportunities to connect with others… and irritate them” can make us rethink our ceaseless usage of social media. But at the end of the day, the positive impacts that social media brings into our lives outweigh the negatives.

Communication is the single most important aspect of social media and it is something that many of us take for granted. It allows us to message, share pictures and videos, and keep in touch with people on the other side of the world. Last year, my friend studied abroad in Spain for a year. Needless to say, I missed her and social media helped me stay in contact with her. I could view all her pictures and send her messages with just the click of buttons. The half a world away that distanced us was irrelevant and helped keep a friendship alive. Social media lets us be close to the people in our lives that we love, even when we are nowhere near them.

Sure, we consume a solid amount of time on Facebook and Twitter that could be spent doing other things. Sure, we have probably irritated others on social media at one point or another. But these things do not compare to the value it brings into our lives. And whether or not people agree with that or not doesn’t matter because social media has and will continue to shape the world around us, for better or for worse. 

TOW #20- My Stroke of Insight

            Oftentimes, we hear people describe themselves as strictly “right-brained” or “left-brained.” Right brain thinking is non-verbal and intuitive while left brain is verbal and analytical. Although we may identify with one hemisphere of the brain more than the other, they work together in our everyday lives to process information. Chronicled in Jill Bolte Taylor’s discovery and enlightenment in My Stroke of Insight, there is great importance in having a balanced brain.

            In 1996, when Taylor was a thirty-seven year old Harvard-trained brain scientist, she experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate, Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized she was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was completely lost. Taylor’s stroke was a blessing and a revelation for her. It taught her that by "stepping to the right" of our left brains, we can uncover feelings of well-being that are often sidelined by "brain chatter."

            The right and left sides of the brain focus on different skills which, when combined, enable individuals to be rational and spontaneous, analytical and creative. It wasn’t until experiencing the stroke that Taylor’s consciousness shifted and found deep inner peace. This was an eye-opening experience for her because it was the first time that she was really able to see the power of the right hemisphere. She came to the realization that the two sides must be balanced in order to maximize our quality of life, believing that “the more time we spend running the deep inner peace circuitry of our right brain, then the more peace we will project into the world, and ultimately the more peace we will have on the planet.”