"Selfie-Love": Are We Addicted To Social Media?

By: April D. Byrd

"looks like the first lady just wasn't having it!"

So, Roberto Schmidt the photographer that took the selfie that blew up on the internet says "Pictures can lie"... "the first lady's stern look was captured by chance". I say it looks like the first lady just wasn't having it! Did she really make the President change seats? and Exactly how inappropriate are selfies at a funeral? In his AFP blog post, Schmidt also said that All around him were South Africans dancing, singing and laughing to honour their departed leader. "It was more like a carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid." and it was totally relaxed. 

Social Media has seriously magnified the popularity of selfies. Now we'll probably never be able to tell whether it's vanity or really some in depth form of art? We can learn a lot about ourselves through a self-portrait. Mashable even made a list and rated The 16 Best Selfies of 2013. Social media has definitely made us "selfie" obsessed! Where is the dividing line between Arrogance and Confidence? Surprisingly the most arrogant  Self-confident rapper Kanye West recently made an anti-selfie move. At his concert "Yeezy" wore a mask that covered his entire face. To his credit when a fan shouted for him to take it off. Kanye screamed "I'm Kanye motherf**king West." then had the woman escorted out of the concert.

 we hope the fan got a full refund!

The impact of fame or recognition can make people a bit crazy sometimes. Social Media has done just that. Instagram is continuously upgrading with videos and now direct messages. Facebook is expecting a new upgrade as well. How bad is Social media really making us? The Diagnostic and Statistical  Manual of Mental Disorders has now actually included Internet Addiction Disorder and listed it for further study. Psychologists fear that Internet and mobile technology contributes to "compulsive personality traits" and is related to ADHD and OCD. Newsweek printed that a third of smartphone users go online before getting out of bed. 

I can personally admit that I'm a social media fanatic. My obsession even led to an internship. It's easy to get lost in social media world because those instant "likes" can make us feel like we're actually getting something done. However, It can be an effective tool, if we use it right. So I monitor relentlessly and hash-tag my heart out, all the while getting distracted by some other post in the process. Despite all the reports and statistics, Social Media is not all bad, it does give exposure. Without it I never would've started a magazine or met my she-ro Trey Anthony. In the instance that we do have something meaningful or interesting to say, it serves as a great platform. So by all means, Let the digital fun and discourse continue. 

What do you think of the Kanye and the President's behavior?  Do you consider yourself addicted to "selfies" and  Social Media?...how many hours a day are you on for business or personal reasons?
Share  and comment below.

April D. Byrd is a Writer, Founder of BOLD Journal online magazine and resident Social Media Blogger for Trey Anthony Studios. Send your feedback via social, you can catch her on Facebook and on Twitter/Instagram: @aprilinspired.

Kanye West Debuts New Video with Kim Kardashian

This week Kanye West premiered his new music video exclusively on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He talked about his relationship with Kim Kardashian, his proposal, and baby North. So How exactly do we feel about "Kimye"? Is it a love/hate thing? They're the most talked about couple in the world and now they have a video. Kanye was heavily involved with the concept and editing of the video. The visual for his song "Bound 2" with vocals by singer R&B singer Charlie Wilson includes Kim happily riding topless on a motorbike. The new video is creating a lot of buzz.  I must admit I wasn't that impressed with it and didn't like it all that much.  

What are your thoughts about it?

Check out the video below:

Baby mama drama: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announce they are having a baby

Kanye West has done it again. Earlier this week the rapper, who already has a rep for speaking before he thinks, announced that he and Kim K are expecting a baby in 2013. But of course, he did it in true Kanye fashion – he interrupted his own song to ask the crowd to “make some noise for his baby mama”.

Of course the online world promptly exploded in talk about Kim and Kanye’s baby. The Kardashian family and other celebrities tweeted their congratulations and the twittersvere erupted into a conversation about what will happen if this baby hooks up with Blue Ivy in the future. Blogs and celebrity news sites picked up the story and in the span of only 2 days everyone has heard the news and it seems everyone has an opinion.  

The couple seems genuinely excited and happy so I wish them (and their child) all the best. But I want to know what you think about Kanye’s use of the term baby mama to describe Kim. The words have stuck and are being used in headlines such as “Kim Kardashian: From Divorce drama to baby mama” and “Kim Kardashian goes from Kanye’s ‘Perfect Bitch’ to his ‘Baby Mama’” ( a reference to the song that he wrote about Kim earlier this year).

And of course many people couldn’t help but notice the irony in his describing Kim as his baby mama given that he used the term in his song Gold-digger to describe a woman who uses her kids to get money from her ex. Those lyrics of course have been dug up and are being thrown back in his face now.

Usually when someone refers to their baby mama/daddy it’s someone who they are no longer involved with, where no other term seems appropriate. Kim and Kanye are in a relationship so he definitely could have reworded his announcement. But the term baby mama is a controversial one regardless of who is using it and there has been a lot of discussion about when, if ever, it is appropriate to use it.

Do you have a problem with the term or do you think it makes sense to use it? Would you refer to yourself or the other parent(s) of your child as a baby mama or baby daddy? I’d love to hear what you think so meet me in the comments section and let me know what you think about Kanye’s announcement. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a clip of the video:

Bitch Bad: Hip hop and the B word.

Have you guys seen Lupe Fiasco’s newest video, B**** Bad? Released 3 weeks ago and watched over a million times already, it’s also nominated for a BET Award in a new category – Impact Awards. The song challenges the use of the B word in hip hop. There’s been a lot of talk recently about the B word and the way women are portrayed in hip hop, with Kanye West and Steve Harvey both getting into the conversation, just to name a few examples.

But this video gets into other topics too, such as the mixed messages that kids get from the media and their parents. I really like that he looks at both sides of his argument. He acknowledges how hard it can be to protect your kids from mass media. But he also calls out those parents who expose their kids to dangerous messages without recognizing how it affects their kids.

And the way blackface is used in the video really brings his whole point home and calls out the industry for its lack of authenticity. Not only is Lupe reminding us that artists are playing into a role, but he also asks artists to take a look at the roles they are playing. By the end of the video, the characters seem to realize that they've been playing a role and decide not to play along anymore.

B**** Bad asks hip hop artists and fans to question a number of things about the music that is being created these days and the video uses some really interesting story telling techniques that you don’t see often in rap videos. But, some people are saying the video is irrelevant. What do you think – does it deserve the attention (and the award)?

Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Ni**as In Paris???

Recently Gwenyth Paltrow tweeted a picture that had Twitter on fire.  She attended the Jay-Z Kanye West concert in Paris with some of her celeb friends Beyonce (of course), Kelly Rowland and Spike Lee.  And while she was there she tweeted a picture with the caption "Ni**as in paris for real" (see pic below)

Gwyneth Paltrow on WhoSay

Why is everyone going crazy? At the concert that night, Jay-Z performed his song 'Ain't No Ni**a' and EVERYONE in the room was singing every lyric (including all the White girls to their Black boyfriends in the audience that night).  After all, it's just the name of the song title...right?

Reaction to this innocent (I don't think that she did it maliciously) has been varied...some say that she shouldn't have used it.  Some say get over it.  Some say that White people shouldn't use it.  It's enough to make your head spin.

So what are the 'rules' we need to live by concerning the every controversial N-word?  Is it OK to use it in hip hop circles only?  Do Black people get to use it towards each other at free will and every other race has to tread lightly when using it?

Do we allow this to go by as innocent and frown upon a  Dutch magazine calling Rihanna's style 'ni**gabitch'?  (Click here to read more)

I don't think we'll ever come to a consensus on the use of the word...but I'm curious to know if any of you use the word.  Do you get offended when Black people use the word?  Other races?  Maybe it's the context that matters most?