We get to live in a time that we get to use social media as a tool.
- Gigi Hadid
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HOWDY! My name is Sydney Madison Daniel, and I am a 24-year old graduate of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville, and a graduate student at SIUE'S Graduate School of Marketing & Public Relations. In February, I had the honor of being crowned the inaugural titleholder for Miss Volunteer America as Miss Illinois Volunteer. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I had to represent my state and build this platform, Time to Turn Off. I'm passionate about social media education and have used this year in many capacities - most specifically, to travel hundreds of miles, educate students, community organizations, and professionals about the effects of living in your screen and taking care of your "in-life" self.
I became passionate about this in my undergraduate years, as it became apparent that those around me were more concerned of lives online than they were with the person they are and the people in front of them. In my communications courses I was instructed that social media was the end-all be-all of the next generations, but during that time, my eyes were opened to the other side of the screen and truly realized what was happening to those who didn't take the time to turn off their devices.
While we are conscious of the need to protect our bodies, we have not been educated enough to do what is necessary to do so. The overuse and negative impacts of social media are affecting more than just our social life: physical health, emotional well-being, mental care and overall productivity are being neglected. From young children to senior citizens, the challenge of balancing our technological usage is a daily reality. I have seen the impacts of the overuse and I have learned many startling statistics on this growing problem. Seeing the profound depth of harm to my generation is horrifying. Thus why, I chose to invest my time online educating others on turning off.
I created my platform and program, “Time to Turn Off”, with the intent of using social media, where my audience already lives, to help educate users on how to use social media for the benefit of their whole selves and offer ways to find time to step away from the screen and spend time with their "in-life" self.
I became passionate about this in my undergraduate years, as it became apparent that those around me were more concerned of lives online than they were with the person they are and the people in front of them. In my communications courses I was instructed that social media was the end-all be-all of the next generations, but during that time, my eyes were opened to the other side of the screen and truly realized what was happening to those who didn't take the time to turn off their devices.
While we are conscious of the need to protect our bodies, we have not been educated enough to do what is necessary to do so. The overuse and negative impacts of social media are affecting more than just our social life: physical health, emotional well-being, mental care and overall productivity are being neglected. From young children to senior citizens, the challenge of balancing our technological usage is a daily reality. I have seen the impacts of the overuse and I have learned many startling statistics on this growing problem. Seeing the profound depth of harm to my generation is horrifying. Thus why, I chose to invest my time online educating others on turning off.
I created my platform and program, “Time to Turn Off”, with the intent of using social media, where my audience already lives, to help educate users on how to use social media for the benefit of their whole selves and offer ways to find time to step away from the screen and spend time with their "in-life" self.