Video Production: Social Media Addiction

Task
That’s right, form a group to make a short film: your topic, your camera, your production values. This film could be as simple as a series of interviews that you conduct on camera, or can be an edited selection from clips that you find from other sources. The goal here is not to produce a feature film or something with high production values, but to engage in a process of collaborative production. Learn by doing. This film should stand on its own, with no additional verbal commentary

Click the "Read More" link to read the analysis of our video.

Video Analysis
For our film we did a short film based on a fictional depiction of one of our group members who was addicted to the internet and it’s form of social media and networking. The film opens with clips of a young male on several networking sites, sharing his random thoughts and feelings. It then goes on to show how he harasses his seemingly only friend by also sharing these thoughts, but doesn’t actually want to interact with her in the real world. This causes a conflict, showing that the male actually exists in an alternate world. The work was distributed among group members in three different ways. We had two members do create a concept and write a rough script and outline for the film, two members act, and two film and edit the movie into it’s finished product.

 Through the film, we learned that there are many outlets in which social media can affect and consume our lives. With so many different social networking platforms, one can be completely obsessed with it, deciding to use it as a form of communication rather than traditional forms, such as verbal or face to face discussions and interaction. The film allowed us to step back and take a look at certain ways in which our group members used said forms of communication; discovering that some of the characteristics that were dramatized were actual traits and habits we displayed ourselves. Through our film, we show that social networking actually allows one to live in a different reality with a different perspective. Since you can view nature online, why would one want to venture outside? Social media and communication gives way for one to become a complete recluse, while still having active contact and information on and with the current world.

Yet while we depict social networking sites such as tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and the like in a negative aspect, the question of how bad they really are is brought to light. For some, social networking can become completely addictive and time consuming. However, it can be a useful tool to communicating with many individuals all around the world; people we may not otherwise be able to contact. There are two extreme views when it comes to social networking: that it is good and that it is bad. When it is abused, it takes away all real ‘social’ aspects and turns into a pseudo form of friendship and contact. However, when used correctly, it can be a strong communication tool.