One Sunday every month my husbands side of the family has a joint family home evening with his mother's parents and her siblings.  Most of them live in different states, so they all connect using google hangout, which allows them to all video chat together to share a spiritual thought and catch up on what everyone is doing. We were over this Sunday for it and I thought that it was such a good way to use technology and cool that even though they are all in different states, they are able to connect once a month as if they were all in the same room.  It really is amazing the ways that we can use technology now and how it can benefit our lives.

On Saturday evening I had the opportunity to go to women's conference with my mom at the conference center. I always love when we get tickets and are able to go and actually be there in person.  As I was sitting there waiting for it to start I was thinking about how the media can be used in such great ways and how it makes it so the conference could be broadcast to people all over the world and in different languages. Once the meeting started, the woman sitting in front of us was on her phone the entire time and it was so distracting. She would switch from texting people to checking her email and would take pictures.  It just reinforced to me how much of a blessing and a distraction media can be in out lives and how sometimes it distracts us from what is truly important.

A few blog posts back I talked about wanting to get on and check Facebook less and do something better with my time.  To help me stick to this, I have decided to move the Facebook app from its usual spot on my phone and put the scripture app there instead.  Then when I automatically go to open Facebook, I will open the scriptures instead. I know if is kind of cheesy but I wonder if I will notice a difference in my day by reading a couple scripture verses when I mean to go to Facebook.  This will also prevent me from forgetting about my goal and getting on Facebook without realizing it. I feel like it will be a much better use of those couple of minutes that I would have used to look at something unimportant on Facebook and I know it will have a more positive effect on my day.  

I really liked our discussion in class today about media violence. I was especially interested in the finding on relational aggression and that being exposed to a lot of relational aggression can cause us to be more relationally aggressive.  It made me think about the kind of shows I watch and how they could be affecting me.  I do not enjoy watching violent movies or shows, so I knew that was probably not affecting me much.  However, I realized that most of the shows that I do watch have a lot of relational aggression in them.  I now want to be more conscious of what I watch. I want to try to cut down the amount of relational aggressive shows that I watch and see if it makes a difference.

I just read the chapter in our textbook about the family and media.  There were many things that were eye opening to me about how much families use media, but the thing that I keep thinking about is media use during dinner or family meals.  It made me reflect on what I do while I am eating meals with my husband or even by myself.  I have noticed that when I eat alone, I tend to turn on Netflix or the TV to entertain me.  However, I am now realizing that this is probably not the best thing to do.  I have also noticed that sometimes when my husband and I are eating dinner together, we will be looking at our phones or some other type of media instead of interacting with each other.  I have made it my goal this week to cut out media while I am eating meals, especially with my husband, and see if I notice any differences.  I am sure it will be much better for me and I will not feel like I am wasting so much time.

I thought it was really interesting talking about fear in the media this week in class.  I have always been the type of person that refuses to watch a scary movie.  I have never enjoyed being scared and I don't think it is fun at all. I thought it was interesting talking about seeing something scary in the media when we were younger and how those fears and memories stick with us.  It reminded me of when I was seven years old and The second Harry Potter movie came out.  I thought it was SO scary and I hated the giant spiders in it and the snake that you could hear in the walls of Hogwarts.  I remember going to see it with my parents and brother and I was so scared that my mom had to leave the theater with me and we ended up leaving the movie early because it made me so scared. It is something that has stuck with me ever since! I still have a hard time watching this movie and it is by far my least favorite of all the Harry Potter movies.

Last week I decided to try to not get on Facebook so much during the day and to not just look at it when I am bored. I found that I wasted so much time on it and I wanted to try and do other things that were a better use of my time.  It was definitely a lot harder this past week than I thought it would be! I found myself still going to look at it on my phone out of habit and having to remind myself not too.  I didn't think it would be so hard for me so I was surprised when I found myself constantly wanting to look at it.  I might just have to delete the app off my phone this week so I am not as tempted. I hope I can do a better job this week of avoiding it!

During the first week of school, I tried to go one whole day without using media. To be honest, it was really hard for me and I did not do a very good job of avoiding media.  However, the more I have thought about it, the more I want to try and reduce the amount of media in my life overall. I don't want to be as extreme as the first week of school and completely cut it out, but I want to try and cut out one thing at a time that I feel is not a good use of my time or takes too much of my attention.  I have decided that for this week I am going to try to cut out Facebook. I realized that most of the things that were posted on Facebook I didn't even care about and I found myself mindlessly scrolling through when bored or trying to pass time. Instead of just going to look at Facebook when I am bored, I am going to try to get other things done that are more important. I hope I can stick to it!

Recently in class we talked about advertising and its effects on us and society.  I thought it was really interesting because I have never thought a lot about advertising and its effects.  Because today was the super bowl, I made sure to pay close attention to the commercials and the different tactics that we learned about in class that advertisements use to try and get you to pay attention to their product. It was eye opening to while watching some of the commercials and the messages they portrayed. There were some that I thought were inappropriate and too sexual but there were also some that I thought were hilarious! My favorite commercials were the Doritos commercial and the Toyota Hybrid commercial.  They were both really funny and were not inappropriate which I really liked.  It showed me that even though we have to be careful when it comes to advertising, it can also be for our enjoyment and to simply make us laugh.

A few days ago my husband left for his internship in Scotland for a month.  I have been dreading him leaving for months now and was so sad when the day finally came for him to leave. I was so happy when he finally arrived in Scotland and he was able to factime and send snapchats.  It made all the difference getting to see him and talk to him for a little bit.  Having him gone has made me realize how grateful I am for media like snapchat and facetime! How lucky are we to be able to see and talk to loved ones that are half way across the world.  It reminded me of how media can be such a blessing when used the right way. It has made having him gone a little easier and made me so glad that we can use different forms of media to still talk with each other.

One of my favorite things to do on Sunday is watch Downton Abbey. I started watching the show when it first started and have been watching it ever since.  I think I love it so much because it is different from most shows out there right now.  I love the characters and their different personalities.  I also love all the costumes and the set.  But the reason I like watching it so much is because my mom loves it too.  We try and watch it together every week and it is something I really look forward too. We love talking about all the controversial moments and speculating what will happen next week.  I think that is one of the biggest benefits of media.  It can give us something to bond over with other people, and if used correctly can help bring us closer.

On the first day of class, my professor had everyone go around and say what their favorite TV show was.  I was suprised at the number of people who said that their favorite show is Gilmore Girls.  I had heard of it and always considered starting it but had just never gotten to it. After that class, I decided to start watching it and now I am hooked! I can see why everyone loves it so much.  It was so refreshing for me to watch a show that doesn't make some inappropriate joke every minute and is not overly sexual.  It is nice to watch finally find a good show that is appropriate and still funny and so addicting.  I love the characters and already feel attached to them. I am on season two now and I can't wait to see how the story develops.