Online all the time: Youth and The New Media

A while ago, one of my friends, Alanda Kariza, encouraged me to participate on a blog competition held by The Indonesian Youth Conference. I kept on saying that I didn't want to, I just didn't feel like I had any ideas what to write. But then after some consideration, I finally decided to give it a try. The essay follows this intro, and I'm sorry there are no photos in this post. I'll update again in a couple of days with some of my all-time favorite photos from the past. Read on everyone, your comment would be a delight!

P.S : Have we met on Twitter yet?

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"Online all the time: Youth and The New Media. The impact of social networking and the online world on Indonesian culture"

Nowadays, internet seems to be a vital need for everyone. Ever since the innovation of social networking websites, more and more people got involved in the use of the internet. It was years ago when I was first aware of the internet and what it offers. Not only that I feel that it is the best search engine ever, it is also the media for me to find my friends and (sometimes) interesting strangers. As a teenager, being on a social networking website is pretty much a common thing. It's like, you can totally find anyone there, anyone! By being on these sites such as Friendster, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,etc., information about everyone on it is easily reachable. Personally, I have found that these sites have influenced me a lot in my daily life. Without any scientific reason, I feel like I always have a need to be online to check on updates on my friends' online profiles.

What? What do we teenagers do on the internet? We do all sorts of stuff, but generally, we socialize (as what those social networking sites are created for). A weird fact about how important the internet is to our lives-- it's crucial! Even though we know we won't die without it. I might say some parents (who aren't on the internet) are concern with this fact. Most teenagers prefer to stay at home in front of the computer rather than riding their bike in the afternoon. Not to mention, it has been said that teenagers no longer cherish their backgrounds & cultures.

If I had to donate my voice, I'd strongly say that I'm a very proud Indonesian and I disagree. Okay fine, so less teenagers go to traditional dancing lessons, listen to keroncong music or dye Batik patterns on textiles in this century. But it doesn't mean that we don't treasure our roots. Even though, frankly, sometimes I feel weird when I see my little cousins all hyped on the internet, while I remember that at their age, I was one of the best "Tak Jongkok" players. But even so, I'm also glad that we're no longer left behind from other developed countries. And yet, we can actually promote our culture through the internet so people from around the world can see what a beautiful country we're from.

Before writing this essay, I thought a had a clear idea about this particular topic. But apparently, I didn't. All I'm saying right now seriously comes out directly from my heart to a blank page of my notepad. And I'm even constantly checking my Twitter updates while typing. But hey, what's wrong about that? I wouldn't ever make any judgement whether the impact of the internet on our culture is negative nor positive. I'd say it's a matter of perspective. From where I stand, as an active user of the internet and as an Indonesian, I admit that I might have less knowledge about the culture my ancestors have left me, but because of the wonders of the internet, I can easily catch up and do some research about them. I can even discover so many random facts about my country. And I know that I'm not the only teenager who thinks so. All those school home works and college papers discussing the Indonesian culture; I guess that most of us students do our research on the internet! Sometimes Indonesian teenagers even discuss the matters of this country on their blogs, online profiles, and even while chatting on the web messenger. Internet has changed our centuries-old culture, but it doesn't mean that the online world has made a barrier for us to not be able to learn them. The online world has become one of our cultures! In fact, the online world has made us, the teenagers of Indonesia, unite much more easily than ever before. For that, I can't wait till this technology spreads throughout the whole nation to the most remote areas, so we can all take joy in the use of the internet.

So, who's with me? What would you say about the impact of the online world on Indonesian culture?

Vacation / Twitter / Suave Magazine

Finally! Vacation! Even though my desire to go to Bali couldn't be fulfilled, Jason kept his promise to take me on a vacation away from the capital city where I don't need to think about college or any sort of responsibilities. We went to Batu Karas beach! Located not far away from Pangandaran beach. It took almost 9 hours for him to drive me there, sadly I can't drive so I kinda felt guilty that he had to drive all the way. But gladly, he said it was worth it. Once back in high school he told me that it's paradise, and indeed it is. At first I was a bit disappointed because there was so many people spending their long weekend there, so I couldn't enjoy the beach 100% privately, but as long as they don't spoil my fun I knew I'll be fine with the company.

I didn't take much photos because I'm currently learning to make videos, so I recorded our whole trip instead. I guess Jason felt a bit weird because there was only the two of us, which means he's always the object of my video recordings. Hehe sorry love :p

Hope you enjoy the video, it's really not that good because I still can't figure out how to adjust the colors and stuff. I can't even hold the camera motionless haha. But at least I shared it with you. Watch away!

I seriously had so much fun; watching the sun rise and set at the beach, hearing the waves splashing, and getting some eye-candy from the good looking tourists. But most importantly, I had 4 days of Jason for myself only which is the best part of the trip!

PS : The devil has defeated me, and now I'm on Twitter! Also, my photos are in Suave Magazine this month, you get can the magazine for free at some places but you can also download the magazine at http://www.suavecatalogue.com

As Jason said in the video, PEACE LOVE AND GAUL! Love you all blueberry pies, for those starting college, welcome to the club ;}

Forgotten Creative Hours

Yes, I've been obsessing about the holidays like since months ago. But if you knew what I've been doing ever since I came back from China, pff you'd be deeply disappointed. Seriously, I'm not even close to doing anything productive. All I've been doing is sleeping, eating, and I'm going crazy playing the Restaurant City online game on Facebook. Indeed, laugh out loud people. And I'm not the only one totally competitive about it, so is Jason. So we've been consumed with competition for a week now, and we're playing chase. Today I'm level 19, and he's 16. But that's after I was left 5 levels behind. Does any of you play Restaurant City? Hahaha, my mom is start to yell at me because of my habit of waking up every 2 hours to check on my sweet beloved restaurant on Facebook. Check out how my restaurant looks like ;)

So anyway, because of that stupid foolish game, I haven't done anything I've planned to do yet. Well, I did get my tattoo which looks uber cool today. But other than that, I'm always at home and I only go out when I desperately need to see Jason or if I'm hungry for a burger. Two days ago, I was reading along my older posts, and I realized that I totally forgot that I promised Kimo Allegra that I'd post my sketches. (Sorry sweets, so sorry! This post goes out for you! xoxo). Well, here they are. These are my latest ones, which aren't so good if compared to Kristi's sketch of me. But compared to a 5-year-old kid's drawing, I think mine aren't that bad.

All done pencil on paper. This is what I do to kill time when I'm no longer creative with my cameras.
(left-right: Random lady, Twiggy, Random lady 2, Yoko Ono & John Lennon, Shrek)

Where have all of you been? Keep those comments coming, and I'll keep my promise to come and stop by at your blog. And you know I've never missed that one. I'm quite busy nowadays, I've got a lot of work (which equals.... MONEY! Yummy!). Jason and I haven't been more happier, we're so happy lately and I keep finding myself loving him more and more each day. Mmm, what else should I update? Mmmm... Well, you can ask me anytime whatever you need to know, click on that Yahoo messenger button over there on the left, we can chat! Hope you have a nice day. And for you guys in school, study hard! The future's already knocking your door, hugs!