The social media outlet that I chose to explore for different Ashford Universities groups was Facebook. Upon searching the many groups available, I requested to join a few that I think will really help me during my time as an Ashford student. The one that stood out to me the most, and that I think will be most beneficial to me is the Ashford University Online group. I think this group will be beneficial to me because sometimes it’s easy to feel alone while attending school online, and this group provides support and others going through the same things to communicate with. It is easy to connect with others in this group, and administration in the group provide a safe, caring environment. I think being a part of this group will provide help, a place to vent, somewhere to go for motivation and support, and as they state, “a virtual shoulder to cry on.” Sometimes while going to school online it’s difficult to feel supported and understood by others, although I have a wonderful support system, it is difficult for me to connect to them and for them to fully understand what you go through while going to school online. This platform provides others going through the same feelings, and also alumni that have felt the same feelings and have gone through the same things we have. Which is encouraging because they are there for you to motivate you, and to be an example of how you can succeed, work through your struggles, and accomplish your goals. I also think this Facebook group will benefit me during my academic time at Ashford University, by offering me another source to ask questions and to find support with assignments. By being able to connect to other online students, and students within my own courses I will be able to ask questions and get a sense of reassurance that I am on the right track with assignments, and papers.      I found the Ashford Video provided so enlightening. Two people from different states connecting over social media and forming a lifelong friendship. They were able to find support and academic connections through just one post that grew into something so much more. Finding a social media platform to connect with other online students will help remind me that I am not alone, just like the two women from the video. In my last class I met a girl who lives in London and is attending Ashford University for the same degree as me, we have a lot of similarities and connected on Facebook to stay in touch with each other and to be there to support one another. So even though we are in different classes now, we are still able to be there for one another and offer a long-distance friendship. I can only think of one drawback by connecting with others on social media through school, and that’s feeling like I have to keep up with that other student I have connected with. Making sure I turn in assignments around the same time, making sure my responses are as good as theirs, just comparing myself to others. So, I think comparing myself to oth.

1. The social media outlet that I chose to explore for different
Ashford Universities groups was Facebook. Upon searching the
many groups available, I requested to join a few that I think
will really help me during my time as an Ashford student. The
one that stood out to me the most, and that I think will be most
beneficial to me is the Ashford University Online group. I think
this group will be beneficial to me because sometimes it’s easy
to feel alone while attending school online, and this group
provides support and others going through the same things to
communicate with. It is easy to connect with others in this
group, and administration in the group provide a safe, caring
environment. I think being a part of this group will provide
help, a place to vent, somewhere to go for motivation and
support, and as they state, “a virtual shoulder to cry on.”
Sometimes while going to school online it’s difficult to feel
supported and understood by others, although I have a
wonderful support system, it is difficult for me to connect to
them and for them to fully understand what you go through
while going to school online. This platform provides others
going through the same feelings, and also alumni that have felt
the same feelings and have gone through the same things we
have. Which is encouraging because they are there for you to
motivate you, and to be an example of how you can succeed,
work through your struggles, and accomplish your goals. I also
think this Facebook group will benefit me during my academic
time at Ashford University, by offering me another source to
ask questions and to find support with assignments. By being
able to connect to other online students, and students within my
own courses I will be able to ask questions and get a sense of
reassurance that I am on the right track with assignments, and
papers.
I found the Ashford Video provided so enlightening. Two
people from different states connecting over social media and
forming a lifelong friendship. They were able to find support

2. and academic connections through just one post that grew into
something so much more. Finding a social media platform to
connect with other online students will help remind me that I
am not alone, just like the two women from the video. In my
last class I met a girl who lives in London and is attending
Ashford University for the same degree as me, we have a lot of
similarities and connected on Facebook to stay in touch with
each other and to be there to support one another. So even
though we are in different classes now, we are still able to be
there for one another and offer a long-distance friendship. I can
only think of one drawback by connecting with others on social
media through school, and that’s feeling like I have to keep up
with that other student I have connected with. Making sure I
turn in assignments around the same time, making sure my
responses are as good as theirs, just comparing myself to others.
So, I think comparing myself to others, especially others I have
a personal connection with is a drawback for me personally.
Although connecting to others around you can be so
beneficial it can also be a bit scary at times. After reviewing the
privacy settings on Facebook, I was thankful for the refresher
and the ability to edit preferences I didn’t know
existed. Facebook tells you what the owner of the company will
and will not do with your personal information, it gives you the
option to make anything you want “private” just for you to see,
allows you to block users, hide your location if you choose,
and alert you when your account has been logged into from a
different device. But how private and secure is it really?
Is Facebook collecting our data, photos, videos, and information
well provide? We have family that lives overseas, and out of
state, so we post pictures of our son on Facebook to provide a
family connection with family we don’t see often. I worry how
secure those pictures really are of him, I wonder who can
actually see them and save them, no matter how secure I think
I’ve made my account. I guess we will never truly know. I
remember years ago reading an article about how Facebook
tracks where you’ve been and how long you were there, and that

3. it also saved your most frequented locations to a certain part of
your account. With the addresses provided! I was floored, I
couldn’t believe it to be true until I followed the step by step
instructions to deactivate the setting and found it on my account
too. Ever since then I have always been a bit worried
about Facebook, and I have been more careful with things I
post, and who I connect with. I do feel like there are some
positive aspects to their privacy setting policy. Allowing us the
options to who can view our items, blocking our friends lists
from others to keep our friends protected, being able to block
people who are bothering us, and although the location setting
is a bit scary, I also think it can be help under the right
circumstances. If a child runs away from home or someone goes
missing, I feel like being able to track people through their
social media locator is a tremendous help. I know there have
also been times that some horrific things have happened
on Facebook Live, and although they were awful, having that
open to public allowed authorities to apprehend people doing
criminal activities who provided their location on Facebook.
Link (Links to an external site.)
I think my current social media presence impacts my ability
to meet my professional and academic goals in a positive and
negative way. I am only on a few social media
platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, which I don’t
think is a lot compared to others. Being a part of these social
media platforms has helped me, and will help me, in a positive
way academically and professionally by allowing me to connect
with others in the teaching world. I am in social media groups
that offer support and help with working mothers who are back
in college, and I am also in groups that provide relaxation help,
and reassurance that going back to school with a family is
beneficial to all, although it is easy to feel guilty. Having this
support allows me to have an outlet of academic help with
providing me answers to my questions, and ways to clear my
mind before starting an assignment. Social media platforms like
Pinterest will help me when it comes to my future profession.

4. Having a source to find project ideas, worksheets, and
educational games to play with my students will help me in
future. It also helps me with my current profession because I
have joined Registered Behavior Technician support pages, our
job is very physical and emotional. Having that outlet to vent,
and to know that you are not alone in your worry and frustration
provides a nice peace of mind. I think my social media
presence also negatively impacts my ability to meet my
academic and professional goals, because it is a time waster,
and a distraction. It’s easy to see a notification and veer off
track or click on one video and get sucked down into the video
vortex of useless information. Social media can also provide
information that isn’t true that I might use and an assignment,
and although you don’t want to think poorly of people, you
never truly know who you are talking to on the other end of
social media. Which is a scary reality when it comes to
academic or professional help, because the information you are
provided with might not be true or accurate.
To me all social media platforms have their positives and
negatives. Becoming more aware of their privacy settings and
making sure you research any information provided to make
sure you are given correct information is very important. It is
also important to separate yourself from your social media
distractions while doing your schoolwork, and while spending
time with your family. We will never get these moments and
time back again, so for me, it’s better to live in the present than
to live with a social media presence.
The social media outlet that I chose to explore for different
Ashford Universities groups
was
Facebook
. Upon searching the many groups available, I requested to join
a few that I think

5. will really help me during my time as an
Ashford student. The one that stood out to me the most,
and that I think will be most beneficial to me is the Ashford
University Online group. I think this
group will be beneficial to me because sometimes it’s easy to
feel alone while attending school
onli
ne, and this group provides support and others going through
the same things to
communicate with. It is easy to connect with others in this
group, and administration in the group
provide a safe, caring environment. I think being a part of this
group will p
rovide help, a place to
vent, somewhere to go for motivation and support, and as they
state, “a virtual shoulder to cry
on.” Sometimes while going to school online it’s difficult to
feel supported and understood by
others, although I have a wonderful suppo
rt system, it is difficult for me to connect to them and
for them to fully understand what you go through while going to
school online. This platform
provides others going through the same feelings, and also
alumni that have felt the same feelings
and have
gone through the same things we have. Which is encouraging
because they are there for
you to motivate you, and to be an example of how you can
succeed, work through your struggles,
and accomplish your goals. I also think this
Facebook
group will benefit m
e during my

6. academic time at Ashford University, by offering me another
source to ask questions and to find
support with assignments. By being able to connect to other
online students, and students within
my own courses I will be able to ask questions and
get a sense of reassurance that I am on the
right track with assignments, and papers.
I found the Ashford Video provided so enlightening. Two
people from different states
connecting over social media and forming a lifelong friendship.
They were able t
o find support
and academic connections through just one post that grew into
something so much more. Finding
a social media platform to connect with other online students
will help remind me that I am not
alone, just like the two women from the video. In m
y last class I met a girl who lives in London
and is attending Ashford University for the same degree as me,
we have a lot of similarities and
connected on
Facebook
to stay in touch with each other and to be there to support one
another.
So even though we
are in different classes now, we are still able to be there for one
another and
offer a long

7. -
distance friendship. I can only think of one drawback by
connecting with others on
social media through school, and that’s feeling like I have to
keep up with that
other student I
have connected with. Making sure I turn in assignments around
the same time, making sure my
responses are as good as theirs, just comparing myself to others.
So, I think comparing myself to
others, especially others I have a personal conne
ction with is a drawback for me personally.
Although connecting to others around you can be so beneficial
it can also be a bit scary at
times. After reviewing the privacy settings on
Facebook,
I was thankful for the refresher and the
ability to edi
t preferences I didn’t know existed.
Facebook
tells you what the owner of the
company will and will not do with your personal information, it
gives you the option to make
anything you want “private” just for you to see, allows you to

8. block users, hide your
location if
you choose,
and alert you when your account has been logged into from a
different device. But
how private and secure is it really? Is
Facebook
collecting our data, photos, videos, and
information well provide? We have family that lives overse
as, and out of state, so we post
pictures of our son on Facebook to provide a family connection
with family we don’t see often. I
worry how secure those pictures really are of him, I wonder who
can actually see them and save
them, no matter how secure I th
ink I’ve made my account. I guess we will never truly know. I
remember years ago reading an article about how Facebook
tracks where you’ve been and how
The social media outlet that I chose to explore for different
Ashford Universities groups
was Facebook. Upon searching the many groups available, I
requested to join a few that I think
will really help me during my time as an Ashford student. The
one that stood out to me the most,
and that I think will be most beneficial to me is the Ashford
University Online group. I think this
group will be beneficial to me because sometimes it’s easy to
feel alone while attending school
online, and this group provides support and others going
through the same things to
communicate with. It is easy to connect with others in this
group, and administration in the group

9. provide a safe, caring environment. I think being a part of this
group will provide help, a place to
vent, somewhere to go for motivation and support, and as they
state, “a virtual shoulder to cry
on.” Sometimes while going to school online it’s difficult to
feel supported and understood by
others, although I have a wonderful support system, it is
difficult for me to connect to them and
for them to fully understand what you go through while going to
school online. This platform
provides others going through the same feelings, and also
alumni that have felt the same feelings
and have gone through the same things we have. Which is
encouraging because they are there for
you to motivate you, and to be an example of how you can
succeed, work through your struggles,
and accomplish your goals. I also think this Facebook group
will benefit me during my
academic time at Ashford University, by offering me another
source to ask questions and to find
support with assignments. By being able to connect to other
online students, and students within
my own courses I will be able to ask questions and get a sense
of reassurance that I am on the
right track with assignments, and papers.
I found the Ashford Video provided so enlightening. Two
people from different states
connecting over social media and forming a lifelong friendship.
They were able to find support
and academic connections through just one post that grew into
something so much more. Finding
a social media platform to connect with other online students
will help remind me that I am not
alone, just like the two women from the video. In my last class I
met a girl who lives in London
and is attending Ashford University for the same degree as me,

10. we have a lot of similarities and
connected on Facebook to stay in touch with each other and to
be there to support one another.
So even though we are in different classes now, we are still able
to be there for one another and
offer a long-distance friendship. I can only think of one
drawback by connecting with others on
social media through school, and that’s feeling like I have to
keep up with that other student I
have connected with. Making sure I turn in assignments around
the same time, making sure my
responses are as good as theirs, just comparing myself to others.
So, I think comparing myself to
others, especially others I have a personal connection with is a
drawback for me personally.
Although connecting to others around you can be so
beneficial it can also be a bit scary at
times. After reviewing the privacy settings on Facebook, I was
thankful for the refresher and the
ability to edit preferences I didn’t know existed. Facebook tells
you what the owner of the
company will and will not do with your personal information, it
gives you the option to make
anything you want “private” just for you to see, allows you to
block users, hide your location if
you choose, and alert you when your account has been logged
into from a different device. But
how private and secure is it really? Is Facebook collecting our
data, photos, videos, and
information well provide? We have family that lives overseas,
and out of state, so we post
pictures of our son on Facebook to provide a family connection
with family we don’t see often. I
worry how secure those pictures really are of him, I wonder who
can actually see them and save
them, no matter how secure I think I’ve made my account. I

11. guess we will never truly know. I
remember years ago reading an article about how Facebook
tracks where you’ve been and how
I liked the pin (Links to an external site.) with the inspirational
quote, “If you’re tired of starting over, stop giving up.” While
starting and stopping can be exhausting, for me, it more
suggested a call for a shift in perspective. Instead of perceiving
eating a cookie as a diet ended and now a diet that has to be
started over from scratch, just see it as a pause. Do not let
yourself feel like you have completely stopped; just keep going
from there. The same applies to job progression or other
personal growth. Just because this interview did not end in a
promotion does not mean it is time to give up. Stay on the grind
and keep working forward even if it is not a fast as you
originally wanted, it will still be faster than going back and
starting at the beginning. This shift in perspective will help
keep me motivated through professional and academic setbacks.
I mostly use Pinterest for memes and crafts. I have also seen the
value in getting writing tips and interview tips that help me at
work and academically. These tips make the tasks easier to
accomplish, making motivation easier to maintain.
---
Summary of Pinterest Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
You agree to the policy by signing up for the service. You must
be over 13 years of age, or order based on local regulations.
Linked accounts may share contact data depending on your
settings on those other accounts. Technical data gathered
includes but is not limited to the approximate location, Pinterest
embedded websites you visit, and devices used. What you click
on at while on Pinterest is also monitored and used with the
other data to show you relevant content, other users, and
advertisements. Pinterest also analyses how users interact with
features to design better versions of them and report back to
partner the success of their ads. This data may not be stored in
your home country. You can change several settings related to

12. your privacy in your profile. Information is shared with law
enforcement and the government as required by laws,
regulations, and other legal requests. You may request to see,
correct, and/or delete your data. Residents of regions with
specific data privacy laws have extra protections and ways to
report breaches of those protections.
I was impressed that relatively little of the policy was written in
legalese, and I felt like I could understand it. Verification of
any website that has the “share as a pin” option was linking
back to my Pinterest account whether I shared or not was useful
information to know. The sharing of my data with advertising
corporations should alarm me more as it is a vessel of targeted
propaganda.
---
In a time of work from home, social distancing, and online
school, social media can help overcome the feeling of isolation.
Humans are gregarious and true isolation is detrimental to our
mental health.
I have linked my place of employment with my Facebook and
learned the hard way that in doing so, now what I put on
Facebook has work-related conciseness. I posted a comment
about how I disagreed with Justin Bieber being a spokesperson
for our company. Within a week, my manager had a sit down
with me about the post. I am lucky I used professional language
and did not get carried away, or I could have lost my job.
I liked the
pi
n
(Links
to

13. an
external
site.
)
with the inspirational quote, “If you’re tired of starting
over, stop giving up.” While starting and stopping can be
exhausting, for me, it more suggested a
call for a shift in perspective. Instead of perceivin
g eating a cookie as a diet ended and now a diet
that has to be started over from scratch, just see it as a pause.
Do not let yourself feel like you
have completely stopped; just keep going from there. The same
applies to job progression or
other personal
growth. Just because this interview did not end in a promotion
does not mean it is
time to give up. Stay on the grind and keep working forward
even if it is not a fast as you
originally wanted, it will still be faster than going back and
starting at the be
ginning. This shift in
perspective will help keep me motivated through professional
and academic setbacks.
I mostly use Pinterest for memes and crafts. I have also seen the
value in getting writing tips and
interview tips that help me at work and academica
lly. These tips make the tasks easier to
accomplish, making motivation easier to maintain.
---
Summary of

14. Pinterest Privacy Polic
y
(Links
to
an
external
site.
)
You agree to the pol
icy by signing up for the service. You must be over 13 years of
age, or order
based on local regulations. Linked accounts may share contact
data depending on your settings
on those other accounts. Technical data gathered includes but is
not limited to the
approximate
location, Pinterest embedded websites you visit, and devices
used. What you click on at while on
Pinterest is also monitored and used with the other data to show
you relevant content, other
users, and advertisements.
Pinterest also analyses ho
w users interact with features to design
better versions of them and report back to partner the success of
their ads. This data may not be
stored in your home country. You can change several settings
related to your privacy in your

15. profile. Information is
shared with law enforcement and the government as required by
laws,
regulations, and other legal requests.
You may request to see, correct, and/or delete your data.
Residents of regions with specific data privacy laws have extra
protections and ways to re
port
breaches of those protections.
I was impressed that relatively little of the policy was written in
legalese, and I felt like I could
understand it. Verification of any website that has the “share as
a pin” option was linking back to
my Pinterest accou
nt whether I shared or not was useful information to know. The
sharing of my
data with advertising corporations should alarm me more as it is
a vessel of targeted propaganda.
---
In a time of work from home, social distancing, and online
school, social med
ia can help
overcome the feeling of isolation. Humans are gregarious and
true isolation is detrimental to our
mental health.
I have linked my place of employment with my Facebook and
learned the hard way that in doing
so, now what I put on Facebook has wor
k
-
related conciseness. I posted a comment about how I

16. disagreed with Justin Bieber being a spokesperson for our
company. Within a week, my manager
had a sit down with me about the post. I am lucky I used
professional language and did not get
carried away,
or I could have lost my job.
I liked the pin (Links to an external site.) with the inspirational
quote, “If you’re tired of starting
over, stop giving up.” While starting and stopping can be
exhausting, for me, it more suggested a
call for a shift in perspective. Instead of perceiving eating a
cookie as a diet ended and now a diet
that has to be started over from scratch, just see it as a pause.
Do not let yourself feel like you
have completely stopped; just keep going from there. The same
applies to job progression or
other personal growth. Just because this interview did not end in
a promotion does not mean it is
time to give up. Stay on the grind and keep working forward
even if it is not a fast as you
originally wanted, it will still be faster than going back and
starting at the beginning. This shift in
perspective will help keep me motivated through professional
and academic setbacks.
I mostly use Pinterest for memes and crafts. I have also seen the
value in getting writing tips and
interview tips that help me at work and academically. These tips
make the tasks easier to
accomplish, making motivation easier to maintain.
---
Summary of Pinterest Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
You agree to the policy by signing up for the service. You must
be over 13 years of age, or order
based on local regulations. Linked accounts may share contact

17. data depending on your settings
on those other accounts. Technical data gathered includes but is
not limited to the approximate
location, Pinterest embedded websites you visit, and devices
used. What you click on at while on
Pinterest is also monitored and used with the other data to show
you relevant content, other
users, and advertisements. Pinterest also analyses how users
interact with features to design
better versions of them and report back to partner the success of
their ads. This data may not be
stored in your home country. You can change several settings
related to your privacy in your
profile. Information is shared with law enforcement and the
government as required by laws,
regulations, and other legal requests. You may request to see,
correct, and/or delete your data.
Residents of regions with specific data privacy laws have extra
protections and ways to report
breaches of those protections.
I was impressed that relatively little of the policy was written in
legalese, and I felt like I could
understand it. Verification of any website that has the “share as
a pin” option was linking back to
my Pinterest account whether I shared or not was useful
information to know. The sharing of my
data with advertising corporations should alarm me more as it is
a vessel of targeted propaganda.
---
In a time of work from home, social distancing, and online
school, social media can help
overcome the feeling of isolation. Humans are gregarious and
true isolation is detrimental to our
mental health.
I have linked my place of employment with my Facebook and
learned the hard way that in doing

18. so, now what I put on Facebook has work-related conciseness. I
posted a comment about how I
disagreed with Justin Bieber being a spokesperson for our
company. Within a week, my manager
had a sit down with me about the post. I am lucky I used
professional language and did not get
carried away, or I could have lost my job.