As Spring Break comes to an end, it's time to catch you up on what I've been busy with this week.
I hope everyone had a rested and fun spring break. I went to 3 concerts, and 3 cities! Atlantic City, New York City, and New Brunswick. Waaaaaay better than Cancun if you ask me. Over break, I was able to think about the direction I want my project to go in, and was even able to reflect on my own social media habits with the knowledge that I've gained from my research. I even noticed patterns brought to my attention from my research within the close friends I have around me, and it definitely produced some inspiration for podcast material.
My project focuses on the impact social media usage has on women's mental health. I've progressed by attaining all of the sources I will refer to when I produce my podcast discussing social media, mental health and women. I know that my target audience for this podcast is Gen Z women. I feel that women have a really unique and complex experience on social media, and I can't wait to highlight that and amplify those voices in my podcast. I've decided I would like my podcast to be a discussion. From personal experience I know that Gen Z, my audience, has a comparable attention span to the Dog from Up. Gen Z typically have an attention span of just 8 seconds, how sad is that?
Because of that, I decided while I'll use my research to form my questions, I will for the most part allow my guests to direct the conversation with their shared experiences. I know that personally when I listen to podcasts and it's just one statistic or fact after another, I grow very bored. I don't want my listeners to find themselves getting distracted or bored with the material, so I'd like to incorporate the comedic dynamics of some of my friends. I plan on having at least two guests who are Gen Z women with mental health struggles that have been on social media since a young age. From there, I will ask my guests questions to give the audience a better insight into a young women's experience online.
I've learned quite a bit from my research thus far. I'm definitely more conscious of how much I rely on social media for instant gratification and validation. It's eye opening to look at social media from a different and more educated perspective than I did when I joined social media at the ripe age of 11. I'm glad that I'm doing this extensive research now, and even feel that it could help me as a parent when that time comes. Examining the affect social media has on adolescents brains when they begin using it at an early age has highlighted more cons than pros to me, and I now know how I can provide guidance to either adolescents on social media, or parents asking how to manage their children's social media habits.
I'm looking forward to hearing the outcome of my podcast, and my next step is developing entertaining, but also educational questions for my guests.
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