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Action Letter to Netflix CEO

Dear Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr., My name is Erin Spencer and I’m writing a letter about my concern for how asking for consent has been portrayed in the media. There is an astounding lack of consent being asked for in our television shows and movies. After watching 8 hours’ worth of shows that have been made in the last 10 years, my colleagues and I found only 1 instance of someone verbally asking for consent. That’s only 1 out of 70 instances of initiated romantic contact. That’s extremely concerning to me.   A 2010 study done by Dr. Melanie Beres, a professor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, found that most college students believe that asking for explicitly consent is awkward or uncomfortable and prefer to initiate romantic or sexual contact non-verbally. This can’t continue if we are trying to normalize giving and receiving consent! We have to find ways to show people that not only is consent necessary, it can also be romantic. So, I am asking you, as CEO of Netflix to comm
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Tangled and Existential Crises

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This week, I watched Tangled (3D!!!!) with my nieces and nephew (ages 4, 7, and 9). The youngest, Charlotte did not  know why we were wearing glasses, and mostly had them off the whole time. I was worried that she wouldn't like watching it, because the movie is completely blurry without the glasses on, but it seemed like it didn't bother her at all! It reminded me of when I used to go to the 3-D movies and wear those red and blue paper glasses (oh, how technology has changed!), but I wouldn't wear them, because they didn't fit my face! I, too, watched some completely blurry movies. You gotta do what you gotta do to be comfortable lol. Anyway, I forgot how much that movie makes me FEEL THINGS!!! The part on the lake? With the lanterns? Let me tell you, that is an incredible experience in 3-D.  I really really connected with the part right before the lanterns come out and Eugene and Rapunzel are just sitting waiting for it to start.  Rapunzel looks thoughtful and says,  &
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A Pandemic of Misinformation

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The COVID-19 outbreaks brought on a slew of information, which we turned solely to media to make sense of the panic we were feeling. Unfortunately, the media we turned to then framed our idea of what was going on for the rest of the year.  It is so scary to me how quickly social media speeds false information. And it's even scarier that we see people turning to new apps because they "don't censor". I understand the point of view that censorship can be scary. In the view of some people, it easily covers up truths that society or the government doesn't want you to hear. On the other hand, if we can't trust media, who can we trust? If the government really is keeping things from us through FACEBOOK, what can we trust? What can we believe? Why is your truth, from conspiracy theory websites, more accurate than my truth, from mainstream, but highly rated media companies? WHY IS TRUTH SO RELATIVE?? Okay this is a chaotic post, mostly just full of ramblings, but the m
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Seinfeld (at a thirty feet minimum)

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My parents' favorite show is Seinfeld. When I was younger, they'd watch it after my sisters and I went to bed because it was too inappropriate for children. I would be in my bed down the hall, listening to my parents laugh and laugh (especially my dad) and wonder what I was missing that was so funny!  Sometimes, if I couldn't sleep, I would walk out to the living in my little nightgown, bleary-eyed and try to speak to my parents over the sounds of Jerry Seinfeld's beginning or ending monologue. Most often though, I would fall asleep to the distant sounds of Seinfeld and joy! Then, when I was an older teenager, my parents felt better about watching it with me, and I would enjoy it alright. Pretty soon, I realized that it wasn't exactly my sense of humor, but I LOVE how much my parents love it. So, when they would watch it, I would leave the room to do something else, but I still heard my parents laughter echoing from the other room and Jerry Seinfeld's voice sarc
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24-hour Technology Fast

I decided to start my technology fast on December 6 th   at 11am. I didn’t think I was going to do it, because I had so much to do and was afraid people might need to contact me, but I impulsively decided to it anyway 10 minutes before 11am. I am so glad that I followed through. Because of that, I wasn’t able to tell everyone that I was off the grid, but it worked out okay. During church, I enjoyed the experience and wasn’t constantly wondering what time I could go home, which is the opposite of my regular experience. This semester, for some reason, I’ve been feeling so anxious when I’m at church and I didn’t feel that way this time. I’m starting to wonder if I should leave my phone at home for church all the time! I’m not sure I will be able to do that though, because they asked us to use our phones so much in the meeting, for scriptures, hymns, etc. One interesting development was that I was a lot less concerned about missing out on things on social media than I thought I would be. I
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Creating Less Distractions for Myself

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The day after our lecture on how distracting our phones and multitasking can be, I decided to utilize Dr. Coyne's idea of turning off my notifications when I'm trying to focus. I didn't put my phone on airplane mode, because it trips out my phone for a bit when I do, but I turned my phone on Do Not Disturb and put it across the room. That day, I got so much homework done, and I was so energized in doing it!  The next day, because I didn't have too much I needed to get done, I wasn't as excited about the prospect of staying focused, and I got out of the habit. As I was writing this blog though, I remembered my commitment to stop multitasking so much, and I turned my phone and computer on Do Not Disturb again. It has felt good to be intentional with the focused time that I give to tasks.  I think I might also use my phone to keep my brain awake as I do homework though, so I am honestly nodding off a bit while writing this. But I'm sure that the more I get used to
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Harry Potter and the YSA Ward House Cup

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Honestly, this semester I was so worried that I wasn't going to feel very connected to my ward. In the past, we've had so many activities and game nights and whatnot, but we, understandably, aren't allowed to do too much anymore because of COVID regulations. Then our Activities Committee came up with this idea of a Harry Potter competition.  On Sunday, we had our sorting ceremony. Bishop and his wife were dressed up as Dumbledore and McGonnagal and each FHE group was sorted into a Hogwarts house. My group was sorted into Slytherin, which was exactly what I wanted!!  I recently realized that my name (erin) is even inside of the word (Slyth erin ), but I've never been able to claim the house because I truly am a Hufflepuff through and through (repeatedly proved by online quizzes, including the official Pottermore), and if not a Hufflepuff, usually a Ravenclaw. Now that the sorting wasn't determined by personality traits, I was finally  put into the coolest house (JK R
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