Androids and What I Want From Life

It seems you can blog on the move, what you eat, your current state of mind and what's going on where you are. The reality is that mobile blotting has been available for a number of years, I used to sit outside lecture theatre updating and reading blogs in my first year of university. That was two years ago. The difference now is that mobile software developers have created shiny new applications for all kinds of purposes. I am an owner of the official Blogger application, this is why I can sit up in bed writing to you now without having to log on to my laptop.

Yesterday I spent a considerable amount of time updating the software on my phone. For your information, my phone is a Sony Ericsson Xperia 10 that operates on Android. I didn't expect the update my phone so much, after the update my phone seemed pretty much like a new phone. The operating system had been updated and now I was able to download applications that were not compatible with my phone before. The official Blogger application being one of them.

Another application that I downloaded immediately was Androidify. Over the past few weeks a few of my friends have been using Androidify and I was kind of saddened that it wouldn't work on my phone before the update. In a nut shell Androidify allows you to create characters based on the android that's famously used as the Android logo. This allows you to create people that you know and save them as contact pictures or even share them on the web. I got pretty carried away with androidifying my friends and myself last night and shared some of them on Facebook.

Now I've finished talking about my new technology (that I could probably live without) I am going to touch upon a topic that I find important ... my future. I'm taking inspiration from a blog that my friend posted earier but discussing why psychology and what the future holds rather than fashion design.

First off, why psychology? I can honestly say that making career choices hasn't been an easy journey for me. I left school with the impression that I was going to go into the computer industry and started my journey by studying a double A level in ICT. Looking back now, it's not surprising that this didn't work out for me, I ended my first year with poor grades and a needed change of focus. I had took an As level class in psychology that academic year too. I found the subject interesting but didn't get good grades as I felt depressed at the time. This is when I decided that a career in psychology was the right choice to make.

The following academic year I turned over a new leaf and restarted my A levels. This time I studied three A levels: psychology, sociology and communication studies. During this time I developed a passion for the study of communication from both a psychological and sociological stand point. I studied a module about technology and communication that was more so from a sociological perspective and enjoyed it a lot. As I couldn't find a real world application for technology and human communication at the time, I applied to do a psychology degree with visions of becoming a therapist.

A few months into my degree my focus changed as I developed a strong interest in quantitative research methods and want to persue a career in research. Furthermore, I studied a module in the psychology of communication which encorporated the use of technology. I decided that I wanted to develop a career in researching communication and technology and throughout the rest of my degree this developed into a strong interest in cyberpsychology. Which had an influence when designing my final year dissertation which is about deceptive communication and morality in cyberspace.

I suppose all of that doesn't directly answer the question, why psychology? But it does explain how I ended up doing what I am doing now. If you want a simple answer, I study psychology because I love people and have a passion for scientific research.

Now to answer, what does the future hold for me? It's safe to say that in September I will be studying a year long Masters degree in psychological research methods. I already have plans for my dissertation research and want to continue researching the topic as a phd thesis and as a career. My topic of interest is problematic internet use, particulary it's relationship with studying behaviours in university students. My huge aim is to design an intervention to prevent and help students overcome problematic internet use.

Although my career path seems well planned and adventurous at the same time it's worth discussing what else I want from life too. I want to spend some of my time going on cultural trips. I'm interested in visiting Japan, Tibet and also Australia. I also want to settle down with a nice like-minded man and see what the future holds from there.

Well I hope that this blog has taught you all something about me. By writing this entry I have certainly learnt a bit about myself.

Bye now,
Jodie