Random Thought Friday: Saturday Again!

You can tell there is a problem with the "Random Thought Friday" name when there are the same number of these posts written on a Saturday as there are on a Friday. I may as well just take out the "Fri" and replace it with something else like "Sat" or "Any". Seriously though, it is becoming an issue. It just that every Friday there seems to be some reason why I am not home enough to write these. In itself, that is weird considering I can stay up later than normal as there is no school the next day. Though I do have Piano in the morning and now with the Leaders of the Future Program I generally have something on Sunday mornings as well so basically I get no sleep in and have to go to bed early to get enough sleep to get me through the week. Wow, I am really starting off this random thought post straight away. Anyway, the next few weeks are going to be a pain mainly due to exams. However, as the exams are later than usual I can sleep in and since my brother does not go to school anymore (as he is doing VCE and their exams finish next Friday) I do not have to get up early to go with him. People do say that every cloud has its silver lining. Anyway, moving on to more random thoughts. This is a really long introduction.

Source: http://blogs.qut.edu.au/library/tag/exams/

You want to know what is really annoying? Well, as well as all the other stuff I complain about on this blog. Why do I even ask these rhetorical questions when it is not as if I have two alternate posts with a link for each answer. Hey, I should totally do that. It could be a sort of "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" post except it is not really an adventure but merely an interactive post. Anyway, back to being annoyed. What I was saying before my random thoughts got in the way is how annoying it is when you are in a rush for something and you need to park but at that one moment in time there are no car parks. Does this happen to everyone else or is it just my incredibly bad luck? Granted, I am generally not the person driving and if I am I tend to stay away from busy car parks (I do not want to make the other drivers self-conscious once they see my driving skills #seatbeltssavelives) but it does happen to me a lot. Talking about hashtags, I am so behind on some of the internet trends. For ages everyone on Facebook was changing their profile pictures to giraffes. It was not until I read a news article about it that I understood that people who did this had answered incorrectly to a riddle that was circulating. Even recently there is another craze going around where everyone posts little cartoon scenes of themselves (generally with others) with a 'funny' caption underneath. It was not until I found a Facebook page full of them that I found out they were called "Bit-Strips" or something along those lines. I am so far behind on some of the internet trends it is not funny. Seriously, you guys reading this may be amused but it is not a laughing matter. Come to think of it, my mind is in a really random mood at the moment and most of what I am saying is probably sending you all on random tangents that never really had any connection in the first place. I better stop before we get to the "bad metaphor" stage.

Now do you see why I need this weekly post so badly? See you tomorrow!

Did you really just say that?

Do you know those times when you are talking to someone and they say something and you are taken off guard? Or when you scroll through your Social Networks and see something that someone posted and have to ask yourself "why?" If you have experienced that then the best you can do is know that you are not alone. Statistics (that I just made up) show that at any one moment there is a 97% chance that one or more people are thinking this. Sometimes I think it when I see studies like this. Some people are amazed at the findings. I am just amazed that someone was interested enough to do a study on whatever it was they were studying. Some just seemed overly complicated. It is times like this that we question the thinking processes of certain people. Sometimes it can ruin your view of the future.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/11/dog-lovers-cry-foul-over-comments-from-jay-leno-and-chris-rock-about-michael-vick.html

Sometimes you just need to think before you speak. Do not just think about what you are going to say, think about whether or not that statement could hurt someone's feelings or make someone feel less about themselves. There are some incredibly thoughtless people out there who just say things and try to pass it off as a joke. Even if they are joking it does not make it hurt any less. Once it is said people begin to look at themselves and they realise if it is true or not. Believe me, the "it was only a joke" line never does you any favours. It just makes you look like more of a prick. On Facebook you see it all the time. People just posting meaningless statuses just so people ask them what they are on about. Talk about an attention whore. If you want people to notice you more, say something intelligent or interesting instead of something that makes you look like a self-important person. Seriously guys, I have said to think before you speak but you should also remember to think before you post. Think about how that post could make you or others look or feel. Once you feel confident enough that you know what you are saying can not offend anyone. Then you can post it. Of course, there are times when you need to voice your opinion and sometimes this can hurt people's feelings. The important thing you need to find is a balance and the fine line between opinion and just aiming to hurt someone.

Think before you act, see you tomorrow!

Smartphones

This is a post which goes hand-in-hand with yesterday's post and it is basically an expansion on one of the points I made in yesterday's post. If you have not read this post, click here. Yesterday I mentioned how socialising had updated to meet the current world standards of technology and how this has impacted us both negatively and positively. I made a point about smartphones and their impact on socialising and so today I am going to expand on this point as well as discuss some other areas of our lives that smartphones are affecting. As I said yesterday, they are limiting our face-to-face interactions while also stimulating our world-wide connectivity. Even on a local scale people text more to each other than they would talk about face-to-face as they do not have to face the social awkwardness that a topic or question would bring up.

Source: http://urbantimes.co/2013/09/this-restaurants-policy-put-your-phone-down-and-socialise/

Smartphones, in fact most phones, have made it easier for the rise of the global community. People are now easily able to instantly communicate to someone on the other side of the world and receive an instant reply. In this respect, smartphones have made great headway in this respect by making it even easier to communicate quickly through video-calling and texting which saves individual conversations. They have also limited our world-view. If you go to a concert today you will most likely be seeing the majority of people (probably including yourself) using their phones to record the concert, take photos/selfies, check Facebook and do everything but enjoy what they paid so much to see. It has become socially accepted and if you go to a concert, expect to be watching it through someone's smartphone camera. Even when on dates you see both people on their phones texting other people. Sometimes you even walk past a group of people texting each other! As I said yesterday, it can make for less socially awkward moments but it can also leave people with very little social skills and manners which you can only gain through experience. Even when you go out with family and friends you seem some people living on their phones. My brother is an annoying culprit for this. No matter where you go, be at a restaurant or someone's home, he is always on his phone for the majority of the night. Not only is it rude, it is incredibly annoying. Especially when you need to repeat yourself several times before he understands what you are going on about. It is really frustrating.

Smartphones are both an improvement and a hindrance in our modern society, see you tomorrow!

WATCH the video that sparked these posts: