Tag: social media

I Forgot My Phone

I forgot my phone at work on Friday evening.  At least I think so it may be lost somewhere for good.  I thought about going back to get it since I have access to the office but between not wanting to make the drive back, heavy rain and not wanting to see anyone at work over the weekend I decided to do without it for the weekend.  I thought this could be a good test to see if I had created an idol in my life.

Being without my phone wasn’t a huge loss.  I have a land line phone in my home.  (I’m not sure how many people that would call me actually have that number though.)  I also have a tablet and a laptop.  I bought the tablet after forgetting my phone at work once before.  I didn’t want to be deprived of my nightly Instagram intake.

The biggest loss was I was unable to take my weekly #churchflow pictures.  There is a camera on my tablet but it is absolute garbage.  My selfies were grainy and looked like Bigfoot pictures.  So the prechurch photo shoot was cut short and I was only fifteen minutes late to church this morning.  I was there early enough to help usher.  That would be a gain.  Less vanity and more serving the Lord.

The other side is that I didn’t have an epiphany of how I need to unplug from social media and tap into the people and things around me.  I don’t think anyone is missing much by checking social media when they have spare time as long as you are not driving or performing surgery or something while you’re checking Twitter.

So that’s my unremarkable weekend without my cell phone.   I can live without it but I sure am looking forward to getting to work on Monday.

#TeamRob

I think we all knew this day would come.  I’m talking about the crash and burn break up of Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna.  I watched the show “Rob and Chyna” and I strongly suspected that Chyna was using Rob for attention and financial gain.  The relationship did not seem genuine and Rob seemed kind of vapid.  Chyna was not very nice to Rob at all and she was very controlling.  I don’t think Chyna is a nice person at all and she’s a complete idiot to top it all off.

Before Rob and Chyna started dating Rob was struggling with his weight and he was not getting along with his family.  He seemed to have self esteem problems and then Chyna came along and acted as an earthly savior for Rob.  Chyna took full advantage Rob and his fragile mental and emotional state.  But I could tell on their reality show that she never really loved or liked the man.  At best I thought she was lonely and desperate and was just trying to make the relationship work out.

It has been revealed through social media that Rob showered Chyna with expensive gifts and even plastic surgery.  I don’t believe that anyone should use someone for money but my goodness if you’re going to do it maximize the potential of the situation.  Blac Chyna short changed herself if you asked me.

Chyna probably could have married Rob.  And then she would have been Mrs. Kardashian, the only Mrs. Kardashian.  That would have been a proud moment in Black history.  I also think she missed a huge opportunity by having one baby and dumping Rob.  She needed to have a boy in order to keep the Kardashian name going.  Being Mrs. Kardashian, ex Mrs. Kardashian or the mother of Baby Boy Kardashian would have supported her and Dream for the rest of their lives.  But Chyna’s dumb ass blew it.

Chyna was thinking short term which is child support while Dream is a minor.  But then what?  Chyna will be an ex D.C. stripper in her mid forties.  She’s probably not going to go to school and become a nurse or something respectable.  She and dream are going to be back to hustling.

The problem there is that they are Black women and Black women could never get away with the nonsense that the Kardashians have gotten away with.  If Ray J had made a sex tape with a Black women she never would have had the opportunity to turn that into a multi million dollar family business.  The American public would have never taken interest in that.

Besides that we don’t know what Dream is going to look like and looks are everything in the world she was born into.  There’s a good chance that she will be attractive because both grandmothers are beautiful and her mother is gorgeous when she’s working with her stripper body.  But we just don’t know.

I don’t think I could date Rob Kardashian but he also doesn’t seem that bad to me.  Chyna should have just stuck it out for the long haul.  I really don’t understand these people that get attached to people with tons of money and then show their ass.  The best opportunity folks like Blac Chyna, Amber Rose (Wiz Khalifa’s ex) and Kindu Issacs (Mary J. Blige’s ex) was their marriage.  How did they mess this up?  None of them are going to make as much money as their former partners so why not make nice and stay in the relationship.  They need to take a lesson from Vanessa Bryant who is a smart woman.

Chyna sent Rob a picture of herself kissing some guy and another picture of a different guy in Rob’s bath robe.  Are either of those men going to buy her a diamond watch or a Lamborghini?  Neither one of them probably can which is what makes Chyna is an idiot.  I really don’t know why Rob is even pressed over this.

I’m a believer in everlasting love, loyalty and friendship.  But if you’re going to hustle for a come up do it right and make the most of a situation.  Chyna had the whole world in her hand and blew it and she probably won’t get it back.  I really hope this is all just a Kardashian publicity stunt that the entire family will cash in on.  Because I hate to see a Black woman making such poor business decision.

Instagram Culture

It’s time for an Instagram cultural revolution.  I really enjoy Instagram.  It’s frivolous, light hearted entertainment.   It is my favorite social media platform.  It’s fun to see people tell their stories and express themselves through visual images.  Instagram is very well suited for those of us that are nosey.  I have learned the darnedest things about celebrities, old classmates, relatives and even beautiful strangers.  And Instagram doesn’t carry the emotional baggage of Facebook or Twitter.

There are people in the world that make their livings as Instagram models.  I don’t exactly understand what an Instagram model is because it seems to me that everyone that has ever downloaded the app is an Instagram model.  But these so called models make a living posting pictures of themselves and promoting products on their pages.  Good for them.  Many of them seem to do quite well for themselves.

My problem with these Instagram models is that most of them have zero style.  I don’t see any fashion.  Fashion requires fabric and thread you see and most of these women are as close to naked as Instagram will allow.  That’s pretty darn naked.

I don’t consider myself to be a prude.  I have no problem with a person photographing their nearly nude or even completely nude body.  But why does everyone need to do that?

When you scroll through Instagram images most of the women that are photographed are wearing sexually suggestive clothing in suggestive poses.  Perhaps they are Instagram models or that is their goal.  But it is sad to me that young women are being taught that in order to be successful and have financial freedom you need to look a certain way and put your body on display.

Instagram models photograph themselves in luxurious surroundings with high end goods.  A lot of them date or imply that they date wealthy men.  These images are juxtaposed with images of them in bikinis.  And these are not natural looking bikini shots of them enjoying a day at the pool with friends.  They are in bikinis in full make up, oiled up, with their hair did arching their backs and **** like that.  The message that is being conveyed to a very young audience is that if you want to be successful work on your body and sell it.  Some of these girls talk about their higher education.  That’s great but they’re not using their education to be successful.  They’re using their flesh.

There needs to be an alternative.  That’s why I love Kate Middleton.  She is a young woman with a good figure but she presents herself with modesty, dignity and class.  And she’s going to be a queen one day; not some fly by night reality star or the baby mama to a professional athlete.

I am far older than Instagram’s target audience.  I am not wealthy and I don’t live in a glamorous, coastal, high rent city.  But I have more style in my left heel than all of the Instagram models that I have seen.

If you are a stylish woman, even if it’s only on special occasions you should put up a few Instagram shots too.  The world needs them.  Someone needs to remind the world that women can be pretty and her beauty can be admired without being ogled and lusted after.  And if you’re going to call yourself a model of any sort please have some style.

My name on Instagram is showmeshannon.  I would appreciate your follow.  I would also appreciate it if some of you ladies would show the world your style and creativity through fashion.  Kate Middleton and I can’t do it alone.

VICTORIA, BC – SEPTEMBER 26: (NO UK SALES FOR 28 DAYS) Catherine Duchess of Cambridge attends a Goverment of British Columbia reception at Government House on September 26, 2016 in Victoria, Canada. (Photo by Pool/Sam Hussein/WireImage)

#nomakeup – Shannon in Kansas City

There’s a new feminist movement sweeping social media.  It’s called the #nomakeup movement.  The #nomakeup movement encourages women to not wear make up.  I’m not exactly sure why we shouldn’t wear make up anymore.  I think it’s because Alicia Keys doesn’t want to wear it.  She says that she wants to challenge beauty standards and she wants the world to see her for who she really is.  Well good for Alicia Keys and her newfound independence from make up but can I live?

I’m not real big into natural beauty unless you are talking about landscapes.  Just about everything else can stand a little improvement and manipulation in order to look more appealing.  I don’t see anything wrong with that at all.  You don’t let the grass in your yard grow wild.  You take your car to the car wash once in a while.  But women are supposed to just throw ourselves to the wind to prove that we are confident, self assured women with our self esteem in tact.  Not me.  Not ever.

I enjoy makeup because I feel like it adds a little glamour to the mundane.  Putting on my makeup is sometimes the best part of my day.  I just like what a little mascara, eye liner and lipstick does for me.  I feel more put together and I know I look better.  I also feel like women look more feminine with make up.  Elegant femininity is becoming rare in these times that we live in but I’m a woman that wants to take a stand for it.

When I put on make up I don’t feel like I’m trying to look like someone else or live up to anyone else’s beauty standards.  I think that I am presenting the best version of myself.  I’m not hiding low self esteem under make up.  I am spending time on something that I care about.  I care about myself and the impression that I make on others.

I think that there is too much “keeping it real” in the world.  I want to break it to you all.  The world doesn’t really care about your authentic self.  There is a precious circle of folks that you can “keep it real” around.  Everyone else would like a polite, attractive representative until we choose to get to know you a bit better.  No one owes it to you to appreciate the most tore up version of yourself.

Alicia Keys’ #nomakeup campaign is really a bit arrogant.  The pictures that she posted on Instagram with no make were taken in a professional photo shoot.  The photos still look like they belong in a fashion magazine.  Alicia already has the mate and career she wants.  She is wealthy and probably doesn’t have to work another day in her life.  I think it’s kind of easy for her to say that she wants to abstain from cosmetics.  It’s really easy to not care what anyone thinks of you when you are a thirty five year old multi millionaire.

But Alicia can do what she wants and if she feels liberated going make up free good for her.  I applaud any woman for choosing not to wear make up if she doesn’t see the value in it.  I doubt that there is any real pressure for these women to wear make up but go ahead and rebel against the oppression of the cosmetics industry.

I just ask that you don’t make assumptions about those of us that enjoy our daily maquillage.  We all don’t suffer from low self esteem and self hatred.  Most of us just like to look our best and put a little polish on what God blessed us with.