AJA's Limits ᝢ analysis

Hello!

This blog is a sample essay to the 2019 Debate Fair. I chose to analyze the ways in which AJA could be limiting the community and its . This is a question I will leave open-ended for you, the audience, to decide the answer to by the end of the reading.

The Community Aspect

Often when we think of limits on a platform like AJA, what first comes to mind are the ways in which the 'rules and guidelines' are regulated to satisfy the general well-being of the platform. It is key to , though, that places like this Amino come to also exist for its and cannot simply be labeled a “platform” for rules and regulations but a ─community of people─ to give back to in ways most of us do not think to consider.

Some examples might include starting cool trends, working together with others to achieve a certain goal or embracing common interests that keep many of these places active and running. This, too, is true for all kinds of communities: for school associations, cities, churches and places not 100% exclusive to the web or the Amino franchise.

Best of Both Worlds

As time goes on, so does life and all sorts of people will enter in and out of your life every day for all manner of reasons. It could be to cut ties with old communities or to explore the unexplored and meet new folks, but sometimes the freedom to pick and choose how we want to freely spend our time becomes less of an option when we discover there are people, goals and places to prioritize, pushing us away from these communities and that's the sad truth.

Life is full of surprises after all, and even the most organized and well-managed humans cannot dodge every turn like cramming for huge exams.

Unfortunately, it is sometimes because of our own actions that lead us to these disasters. One example is how easy it is to stay up until 4 in the morning on a school night only to wake up to the dreaded sound of an alarm clock at 6:00 AM. I will tell you that I know many people who have stayed up until all hours moderating, chatting, or fulfilling group duties (myself included), eating away at several precious hours of sleep across days, weeks, even months and have seen devastating consequences.

... But the solution is easy, right? Just go to bed earlier.

Not all solutions are this straightforward and most times they vary based on the person in understanding how to go about catering to his or her individual needs to see improvement in the short-long term.

When is Enough

Some people recognize bad habits when their effects are first seen and adjust themselves accordingly while others face great difficulty coming to with what’s important. In the previous example it is your mental health and getting enough sleep as opposed to staying up late on Amino.

It is only when these bad habits, or vices, develop into something more frightening, and begin to weigh your overall time in said community. You might be forced to look at different areas that need to be improved before any serious decisions like taking a break, deciding when to leave or something similar to this ideal “work-balance” situation we see in the outside world.

The following are a list of determiners to see if you are someone uncertain about your place in the community.

Distance…

Am I spending too much or too little time on AJA?

I.e. is this procrastination or free time

Should I be spending more or less time here, and if so, will I feel satisfied?

Most importantly, am I willing to be spending this amount of time here?

Dedication…

Who or what am I willing to stay for?

Is there some place/activity more or less worthwhile than AJA?

I.e. other hobbies or people like reading a book, drawing, studying, family, or meeting friends on the outside.

Responsibilities…

Do I have lots of responsibilities in groups or people to keep up with?

Am I staying because this is what I want to do?

Is my workload intervening too much with outside priorities, like studying or achieving decent grades?

If so, do I need to step down from my duties (permanently/temporarily) or lighten my work load?

If none of the aforementioned apply to you, imagine a scenario where you would need to step away. Would you keep going or let go of AJA and for how long?

︿

Push-Pull Theory

As part of this project, I have collected on a few of the pushes and pulls to stay on AJA. The push-pull theory is often pictured when migrating from one country to another which are the lists you see below, and are clearly only a small fraction to the dozens of different reasons might have to take into consideration.

Here is what the general consensus has been. Stop and ask yourself where you fall into these categories:

Now, my final question to you is,,,

Is AJA limiting you?

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