Dark Marks

The words we say define us, moralize us. If a person is a blank piece of paper, then his/her words will color him/her.

In a society where people believe in hearsay, it’s dangerous to let out misinformation about ourselves. It’s easier to be described as “unappreciative” than to be thought as “considerate.” The negative views of a person could devour him/her, it’s like having a dark marker blackening all the good qualities of him/her, then all people can see in that person is darkness.

I dislike one of the social norms these days—exposing a celebrity of committing an immoral act, therefore destroying their lives completely. We’re poisoned by the fact that we praise and suck up to those normal people with commentary nonsense then cursing them to go to hell after learning about a bit of their real life like headless chickens. Even myself who just wrote the last sentence is influenced by this norm as I hold prejudice against people I’ve never met on the ground of some evidence I’ve never seen.

Is this where we’ve fallen to? Are we just dark markers marking everywhere heedlessly?

Photo credit: hope1032.com.au

Breaking the Internet (Bias)

Photo Credit: http://www.marccx.com

Some adults nowadays blame technology for the current generation’s immaturity, saying that we’re obsessed or addicted to technology. Now, I’m not denying that we use quite a bit of technology, but I don’t understand how it is seen as so terrible. Kids now have an outlet that adults didn’t have; but that’s all technology is: an outlet. Kids aren’t obsessed with technology because they want to waste their lives in front of screens, but because those screens can make their lives better

TV shows allow children to escape their lives and fall into different ones. Whether it be a show about rich, teenage socialites or FBI agents solving crime, they can temporarily forget the next test or project. Children can take a break from the stresses society places on them and dive into this new fairy tale.

Music isn’t a way to defy adults and headphones aren’t a weapon of that defiance. Rap songs, however vulgar to certain listeners, can give a narrative to a child going through the worst. The same goes for a child who drowns out their inner demons with rock or metal. Pop songs aren’t these three-minute snippets of lifeless beats and strums, but rather anthems that give children something harmless to identify with.

And while social media has its own problems, these websites allow kids to find people who are experiencing the same struggles. It is amazing how many grief support groups there are online. Even though teenagers don’t always see who they’re communicating with, the advice given to them can help make a trying situation that much less difficult.

Finally, if it weren’t for adults, the Internet and all these “harmful” websites wouldn’t have even been created. Children aren’t the CEO’s of Netflix and YouTube and they shouldn’t be ridiculed for simply enjoying something.

(Read more positive effects here.

Internet Censorship

I can’t believe that it has gotten to a point at this school where we will have our every move monitored while using the internet.

I can understand that students have been using the internet for inappropriate things during inappropriate times, but I just can’t believe that it has come to this.

All I want to do is to go on Facebook for a few minutes during my free period and play some tetris, look at some photos, and chat with people from back home. But, because student have been extremely stupid and disrespectful, I can’t even spend a few seconds on facebook in my “free” time, and I have to wait until weekends or after study hall.

Personally, I don’t do anything wildly inappropriate on the internet. Sometimes, I’d go on facebook during study hall or play a few games during my free period. I also like to use Skype to get information about homework from my other friends that don’t live on campus.

I like to think of myself as an adult, and my peers would think of themselves as the same. It’s ridiculous how we are treated like children and monitored, even if we want to do something simple like watch a video on Youtube.

I’m so over this…

Beverley Knowles

During the past week, many OVS students received a friend request from Beverley Knowels on Facebook. Some of the students added her as a friend, but some of them have questioned who she is, and they rejected her request.

Beverley Knowels stated that she is an alumni of OVS. However, some students have realized that there is no such a person in OVS history. In the boys dorm, we even had a dorm meeting about this issue. The faculty and student leaders  told students not to add her as a friend.

Some people think that the definition of “friends”  has changed a little bit since Facebook has become popular. People accept people they don’t really know. They accept their friend requests just because they both have mutual friends or they just want to have more friends on Facebook.

It is very dangerous to add someone who we don’t know on Facebook, because other people will know all our information. This is now a very serious problem for everyone who uses Facebook.