ePlatforms:
My work and digitalization at work
I myself work as a project coordinator at Kuopio University Hospital. I mainly work remotely, so I use a huge amount of digital tools in my work. For the most part, I do my work through the teams application, where I have all the files, written assignments, plans and powerpoint presentations. In Teams, we also hold all meetings and meetings, and we are in constant contact with the team via video connection. I also use Outlook email a lot in my work, because we don’t have fixed spaces to work in, so almost all communication happens via email and team meetings. We also hold trainings via teams.
TEAMS
This is what I use in my daily work all the time. On days when teams crashes or doesn’t work properly, I can’t really do any work tasks. When working remotely, I need constant network functionality, because all meetings and trainings take place remotely. The positive thing about using Teams is that we have extensive national networks using it. The negative thing is that no one has to see each other live anymore, which takes away some of the interaction and encounters with each other.
I use Whatsapp as a backup tool in my work. If teams doesn’t work and I need to connect with my partner during the workday and meetings, we use whatsapp to keep in touch. Whatsapp also makes it easy to send screenshots, links and quick things to a colleague, because we are practically always at the phone. This is the downside of whatsapp, you are always around it and you can’t let go of it even if you want to. The good thing is that there the connection to another is quickly available.
Instagram is a familiar application for me in my free time. My attitude towards Instagram is contradictory, because even though it’s easy to get in touch with friends there, real encounters are often left unarranged when you can already see how your friends are doing on social media. Apps serve best when they bring people together, but they shouldn’t be the only way to meet. Instagram also has a lot of thought-provoking updates from people you don’t know, because you don’t have to be a “friend” to see many people’s public updates. In my work, social media could be used more extensively to communicate with Instagram, for example, the results of project work could be easy to share with people through social media for information.
Facebook is probably the first social media app I’ve downloaded to my phone. That’s also where I’ve been producing my own content for my own facebook friends for the longest time. My attitude towards social media has varied a lot over the past 15 years. Sometimes I’ve been very active on social media, sometimes I’ve deleted all my updates and taken a break from social media altogether. In my opinion, social media puts a lot of pressure on and loses the real way people meet. On the other hand, it is also very much up to the person themselves to see people genuinely and not just on social media.
Snapchat
Snapchat is an app I’ve used to locate my kids. The attitude towards the snapchat app is contradictory, because it is very binding in the world of teenagers and there can also be a lot of bullying, for example. Photos and messages disappear quickly in the app and leave no permanent trace. The good thing about the app is that young people can keep in touch quickly and closely, but the negative side is that encounters through the app reduce genuine encounters.
Self evaluation
I notice that social media evokes a lot of conflicting thoughts in me. I use it because everyone else does. There are a lot of good things out there and a huge amount of information available. On the negative side, social media reduces the number of genuine encounters. Genuine encounters would be very important for a person’s mental health. Social media also tends to increase people’s comparisons to each other, which is a bad thing. Social media may only show your own good things in life, in which case someone may think that another person’s life is perfect. This may cause you to feel that your life is worse or lacks perfection. This task has also made me rethink how we could present the results of our work more on social media and thus make the good results of our work visible to people. There is more communication today than ever, but we certainly do not know how to make the most of it. Particular attention should therefore be paid to this.
This course has taught me many things at the same time: how to use digital tools, how to start a blog, how to think about digitality and, of course, how to produce English text! The course has been instructive and refreshing in its diversity compared to other multidisciplinary studies!