These days, a lot of people use social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Especially in universities, including DCU, students are seen taking photos and editing them to post on Instagram or texting to friends all the time. Social networking services are very useful to gather information, to contact people in all over the world, or to know how others are thinking about a particular thing.

Some people think those services have badly affected our lives, for example, due to dependency on online relationships. People stay at home and sit in front of their computers all day and chat with ‘friends’ on the Internet. They do not join any community in the real world. Actually, this kind of lifestyle is possible. People do not have to go physically shopping anymore, due to online shopping, to go to work, due to home office and have the ability to see their family or friends by using video call. Therefore, the problem which arises here is whether the lifestyles which completely depend on the Internet would be accepted or not and how people can distinguish the real from the virtual world. Perfect examples are the social networking services Twitter and Instagram.

Twitter is very popular for its convenience to find people who have similar interest, to interact with one another, and to learn others’ point of view. However, I found an interesting tweet. A person who works for Twitter Japan said: “at first, Twitter was a space where we can tweet anything in our mind freely. But somehow, it turned into a public space. Today, we will be attacked if we tweet something not humble”. 

This seems a big problem – should Twitter be public or free? Some people regard Twitter as a public space. The definition of the word ‘public’ here is that people should tweet only humble opinions and radical tweets should not be allowed. Therefore, those who support this position sometimes criticize other Twitter users who strongly tweet different opinions from them. Also, they aim for an effective and constructive exchange of opinions with other users on Twitter. However, others consider Twitter as a tool to express their opinions freely and to just enjoy communication. Since they want freedom of expression, they admit radical or extreme tweets to some degree. In addition, they actively try to find those who have similar interest to them and share information. Therefore, Twitter should be a space where people can tweet their opinions freely at all because freedom of expression should be kept. 

Twitter states on its official blog: “Our goal is to instantly connect people everywhere to what is most meaningful to them. For this to happen, freedom of expression is essential. Some Tweets may facilitate positive change in a repressed country, some make us laugh, some make us think, some downright anger a vast majority of users. We don’t always agree with the things people choose to tweet, but we keep the information flowing irrespective of any view we may have about the content”. Thus, Twitter users should be widely allowed to post freely along with the law and Twitter terms of service.

Instagram, on the other hand, is popular for its pictorial expression, especially among young people. On Instagram, people usually post “instagenic” photos. The word “instagenic” is a recently coined word which means that a picture is photogenic and suitable for posting on Instagram. There is a reason for posting instagenic photos – the psychology of instagenic. 

Many people try to post cool or beautiful photos that they believe will make their followers fascinated. According to the brain scientist Kenichiro Mogi, people who are famous for posting instagenic photos can have benefits such as opportunities to find friends on social media or even to get a job. Also, people establish their identity through communication with others and communications on social media are included in the process of establishment of identity. Therefore, many people try to get more likes. Accordingly, young people naturally try to take and post instagenic photos. However, some people feel uncomfortable about this trend, believing they need to stay protected from any form of online presence, so they cannot be seen on screen. Furthermore, some of them dislike people who are trying to take nice photos. Thus, the trend of “instagenic” is likely to remain for a while, but young people should realize that there are a lot of lovely things outside the virtual world and they can be seen only through ones own eyes.

To sum up, modern life is getting more and more dependent on the Internet. The Internet helps people in many ways, but it is usually invisible. What people are watching on their smartphone screens cannot be detected by others looking at them. In conclusion, social media will get bigger and bigger and the Internet will play more and more important roles in people’s life. However, it is needed to find the best balance between virtual and real life.

Yuki Yanagida

What is happening on the field? Players with ‘hurleys’ running everywhere, the ‘sliotar’ flighting from a part of the field to another, a score displayed with four different numbers… Are you lost?

To tell the truth, I felt a little bit confused when I assisted to a Hurling game for the first time at the Croke Park during a rainy Saturday afternoon this winter.

Hurling, have you already heard that word? It is actually one of the oldest sports played in the world and the oldest field game in Europe! It is Irish and was invented 3,000 hundred years ago, the first written reference being a manuscript dating back to 1272 BC. It tells us that the national hero Cuchulainn would have won a hurling game alone against 150 opponents. Later, on the recent history during the British occupation, some said that Irish nationalists played hurling with rifles. They held it by the muzzle simulating ‘hurleys’ to mislead the British surveillance. An historic sport then. The female version of the game is named Camogie, it is very similar and was created in 1903, the first game took place in 1904.

But concretely, how is it working on the field? The first thing you need to know is that Hurling is very complex, fast and said to be fairly violent. Here are some figures: 2 teams play against each other. Each team is made up of 15 players or ‘hurlers’, consisting of 1 goalkeeper, 6 defenders, 2 midfielders and 6 strikers. The size of the field is 140 meters long by 80 meters wide, it is bigger than a soccer field (105×68 meters for a championship FIFA game). A match last 60 or 70 minutes divided into 2 halftimes. The goal is to score points. In detail, every player has a stick called ‘hurley’ or ‘camán’ and try to catch the ‘sliotar’, a small ball little bigger than a tennis ball but much harder. Hit by a ‘hurley’ it can reach 110 km/h! Now that you have the framework, you are ready to try! The game goes fast, then you have to be reactant. Put your helmet on, take your ‘hurley’ and let’s go!

You just received the ‘sliotar’, what to do? All the adversaries are coming to you, the important is not to panic! You cannot pick up the ball with hand if it is on the ground. Two options: pick it up with your ‘hurley’ or with your feet. Now you have it, the two next options are to pass or to run. To pass? Ok, as there are no offside, you can try to send the ball far ahead to one of your teammates, kicking strongly the ball with your stick. But a closer teammate is maybe better placed, you can pass to him with your hand, kicking the ball with your palm. Indeed, launching the ‘sliotar’ directly is forbidden (as for the Gaelic football). You can also launch the ball with your feet. However, you still have the possibility to run towards the opposition goals. Be careful, with the ‘sliotar’ in your hands you cannot go for more than 4 steps, after that a pass is a possibility. If you want to keep the ball for a solo-run, bounce it or keep it balanced on the flat end of your ‘hurley’, and of course, do not forget to run. Easy! 

Now scoring. You might be surprised on how to do that. It is actually not that complicated. The goals are ‘H-posts’ like in rugby. There are two possibilities to score, in both cases the ‘sliotar’ has to be sent with the ‘hurley’. If you send it between the opposition’s goal posts, over the crossbar, you score a point. If you send the ball below the crossbar you score a goal, which worth 3 points. You scored a goal! Congratulation! 

Before celebrating the victory, have a look on the score. For each team, two numbers are displayed. For example, Dublin 0-18 Wexford 2-14 has been the result of the game I went to see. Who won? Wexford of course, with 20 points. Why? Let me explain: the first number is for goals, the second for points. In this case that means 0x3+18 = 18 versus 2×3+14 = 20. After such an exercise take some rest, you deserve it!

Actually, you can enjoy hurling in another way, less sporting but just as exciting. Going to watch a game at the Croke Park is a great experience. Croke Park is the biggest stadium of Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe. Its particularity is that it is dedicated to Gaelic sports only. I went there for a game of the Allianz Hurling League, Dublin versus Wexford. A frenzied game with a lot of action and suspense up until the last minute. The 80 000 seats stadium was not full, but the atmosphere was still there. The supporters were very active to encourage their favourite team, to cheer the beautiful actions on the field and eager to ‘boo’ the misconducts. It was tense with a plenty of yellow and red cards and even a penalty. The supporters were mixed in the stands and I had the chance to be placed just in front of two groups, one for Dublin the other for Wexford. Great lesson of Irish slang shouted in my hears. 

The 70 minutes of the games went by very fast and that was the end. Time to leave the stadium? No! There is now a Gaelic football game. What? Irish have their own football? Yes, they do and that is very interesting and exciting. But I’ll take a rain check for that story.

Nathanaël Leymarie

No, this article is not about the latest Netflix series! It’s about fake tan. When I came to Ireland for the first time as a foreigner student, I was confronted with a new culture, tradition and a different vision and ideal of beauty. The first thing that caught my eye in my first lecture was the skin of other girls. Little by little I began to observe the skin of girl’s on-campus and women in general when I walked through the city. Something seemed to be unusual, a little weird to me. I am referring to the ‘fake tan’ of women if it still does not click for everyone. But first of all, what is fake tan in precise?

Fake tan is a “lotion containing chemicals that react with the skin to produce an artificial suntan” according to the Oxford dictionary. This phenomenon is not only occurring on young girls. Women, in general, apply the product mainly to parts of the body that are not covered by clothing, such as their hand and ankles. As the sham tan is not usually used on the face or neck, it is relatively easy to recognise by the difference in colour. After application, the sham tan gives the skin an orange colour. It does not look natural at all, as the skin colour is not homogeneous. I share the idea of looking tanned, it makes you look better, but we all know that Irish women are not tanned due to hours and hours of sunbathing. Although strong and too much sunlight can be dangerous for the skin and cause problems like cancer, I believe it is healthier than using these products. I wonder what the dangers of self-tanning products are. Are they harmful to health or is it comparable to a simple skin lotion?  

In my own culture, the French, women use Fake Tan as well, but it is less common than in Dublin. In my culture women prefer to look natural and are using tricks to go unnoticed as if they don’t have used it. Maybe Irish women have more of the American culture, with heavy make-up and a lot of craftsmanship. For example, most French people wear make-up so you don’t see it, while most Americans wear make-up so you can see it. These cultural differences are especially visible in social networks like Instagram, where people show their self-expression or new make-up products and publish make-up tutorials.  Irish women are perhaps more visible in American culture. 

I have noticed while walking through supermarkets and drugstores, that there are many different brands of fake tan. I have never seen this before, which I think explains why wearing fake tan is very common in Ireland and the demand is very high. I have spoken with a lot of Irish people about this subject, their opinion is divided, some like it, others do not. However, I have noticed that men do not use this product or if so, then just a minority. On campus, there is another way to get tanned. Students have the opportunity to get an appointment at the beauty spa inside DCU Sports Complex, as they offer a service for tanning. The application of spray tanning by a professional can look more beautiful, more homogeneous and without distinction, it leads to a more natural look. Suggesting this service to students on campus is a good idea, as the professional will ask questions about the customer’s skin before application and can also prevent abuse and danger.

The cultural differences are striking, I am often told that I look French, so I asked them why? Their answers were: my short hair, my clothes (fancy classics) and how I wear make-up (not too much). Irish girls look rather pretentious. I believe they don’t care what other people think. They wear a short skirt, large boots, a narrow cut top and coloured hair: blue, purple, red or platinum blond. As for the men, I have noticed that many wear tracksuits to go to university. In France, we are not allowed to do so, as this type of dress is considered “lazy” or only practical when doing sports or relaxing at home. When I returned to France and saw some Irish people in the Neo-Masque school again, I was surprised, because some had changed their clothing habits. I came to the conclusion that they do care about how they represented themselves in public, but their behaviour has been previously influenced by their own culture and the environment in which they found themselves. In France, it is very important for students to be dressed up when they go to university, but maybe it is because they spend more time on campus than they do here at DCU. I have noticed myself that since I have been at DCU, I have paid less attention to how I look at lectures, as I live only a few minutes away from the campus and therefore I am usually only on campus for a short period of time.

Everyone behaves according to the habits of their culture, but this can change with age, the discovery of a new culture or a new ideal of beauty. There is no such thing as a universally accepted ideal of beauty, just as there is no such thing as a deprived ideal of beauty. Every personality and culture make up the richness of our campus at DCU.

Eglantine Vigneron