As with my last blog post, today we are going to take a look at the future of today's children and how they're being affected by the social networking media and technology.
I have noticed that children have more access to technology at a much younger age than in recent years. It almost seems as if as the years go by, children who are getting cell phones are younger and younger.
Aside from most of these children with all this technology at a young age being spoiled brats, it is having a terrible consequence on them. I am sure well-intentioned parents want their children to be happy and safe with a cell phone, but in essence, it is hurting them.
It is hurting them because while spending most of their time in the digital world, their brains are working less and less to create images, process information, and attempt to understand what is going on around them. Being so in tune with the digital world to me seems almost synonomous to mindlessness. There is less human interaction, less thinking, and more time spending inside. These children are much more prone to being depressed, anti-social, and have trouble learning and retaining information.
This article does an amazing job detailing exactly how this happens and what other problems may occur.
With the introduction of social networking websites such as Facebook, children and teens are "spending time" with their friends online and less outside. There is close to no human interaction and is only done over the phone or computer. But not only that, some or even most of their "friends" they have never met before, which can be an extremely dangerous thing, especially when Billy Bob 13/M/WY can just as easily be a 47 year old sex offender.
Even I notice myself on electronics very frequently. I also notice that my thinking process slows down immensely and my ability to process things is nearly absent after being around electronics for 8-10 + hours at a time.
Although I believe that technology and social networking can be an amazingly benificial thing, I believe we need to be careful of how young children can have access these things when their brains are still developing.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Growing Up With Media
The media's influence knows no bounds as it continues to extort us for their own benefit. Even worse, it is actually negatively affecting everyone from children to adults. Society as a whole is getting dumber and rather than thinking for themselves, they are becoming used to having someone else think for them.
Television, video games, and electronics, are destroying society as we know it.
Since television has free reign over what and how they make advertisements for children's show, they inadvertently are persuaded by the subtle nuances of TV commercials.
The problem with television, or rather, the excessive amounts of viewing television, is not that it tells them to buy things and beg your parents to buy them for you, but the physiological issues that may arise. On average, todays children spend about seven hours a day in front of a TV. This kind of behavior can lead to attention problems, difficulties in school, sleeping and eating disorders, obesity, and diabetes. This article explains what parents can do to prevent issues in a child's behavior and attitude.
The combined use of television, video games, and electronics only enhances the issues I just detailed. More and more children are being diagnosed with ADHD and obesity in particular. The producers of advertisements and electronics know exactly what they're doing and what kind of effects they are having on today's children, but they do not relent. They continue to do so, so that they can make more money.
Television, video games, and electronics, are destroying society as we know it.
Since television has free reign over what and how they make advertisements for children's show, they inadvertently are persuaded by the subtle nuances of TV commercials.
The problem with television, or rather, the excessive amounts of viewing television, is not that it tells them to buy things and beg your parents to buy them for you, but the physiological issues that may arise. On average, todays children spend about seven hours a day in front of a TV. This kind of behavior can lead to attention problems, difficulties in school, sleeping and eating disorders, obesity, and diabetes. This article explains what parents can do to prevent issues in a child's behavior and attitude.
The combined use of television, video games, and electronics only enhances the issues I just detailed. More and more children are being diagnosed with ADHD and obesity in particular. The producers of advertisements and electronics know exactly what they're doing and what kind of effects they are having on today's children, but they do not relent. They continue to do so, so that they can make more money.
What Is Pornography Doing to Us?
Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry that plagues the world and more specifically our society. According to this article, it is approximately a $12 billion industry in the US alone.
Women are commonly portrayed as subservient, the target of abuse,and humiliated. A very large portion of the industry is geared towards mens' fantasies and only mens' fantasies; there is only a small amount of pornography intended for women. Because of this fact, that most porn is for men, it does not help at all towards women's issues and the fight for equality.
In today's world, pornography is all too readily available, even for children. All one has to do is go online and search something crude in Google and they are presented with a plethora of websites. The requirement to get inside? To hit the "Yes I'm 18 button" which one can easily lie about. Once inside, one is presented with an endless amount of images that sexualize and objectify women. The way woman are often portrayed, the over time have become the objects of man's pleasure.
Kerby Anderson's article, "Pornography Plague", notes that exposure to violent pornography can lead to anti-social attitudes and behavior.
Most people who view pornography tend to be more aggressive towards women and be less responsive to the pain of rape victims.
The article above cites resources that has shown that:
Even in pornography, the demographics only portray the ~2% of body types in the U.S.: young, white, and skinny. When a viewer is consistently exposed to this kind of "beauty", that is all they can look for. Their partners will not be attractive enough for them and sexual performance for both individuals will be lower.
Over time we start to become desensitized to pornography. The porn industry has to constantly find ways to stimulate us and starts to become more sexualized, more violent, more erotic, and more dangerous. This is an ongoing issue that we will have to keep our eyes on and hope it changes for the better in the coming years.
Women are commonly portrayed as subservient, the target of abuse,and humiliated. A very large portion of the industry is geared towards mens' fantasies and only mens' fantasies; there is only a small amount of pornography intended for women. Because of this fact, that most porn is for men, it does not help at all towards women's issues and the fight for equality.
In today's world, pornography is all too readily available, even for children. All one has to do is go online and search something crude in Google and they are presented with a plethora of websites. The requirement to get inside? To hit the "Yes I'm 18 button" which one can easily lie about. Once inside, one is presented with an endless amount of images that sexualize and objectify women. The way woman are often portrayed, the over time have become the objects of man's pleasure.
Kerby Anderson's article, "Pornography Plague", notes that exposure to violent pornography can lead to anti-social attitudes and behavior.
Most people who view pornography tend to be more aggressive towards women and be less responsive to the pain of rape victims.
The article above cites resources that has shown that:
- Pornography negatively influences a person's understanding of normal sexual practices
- Pornography causes people to become jaded towards sex.
Even in pornography, the demographics only portray the ~2% of body types in the U.S.: young, white, and skinny. When a viewer is consistently exposed to this kind of "beauty", that is all they can look for. Their partners will not be attractive enough for them and sexual performance for both individuals will be lower.
Over time we start to become desensitized to pornography. The porn industry has to constantly find ways to stimulate us and starts to become more sexualized, more violent, more erotic, and more dangerous. This is an ongoing issue that we will have to keep our eyes on and hope it changes for the better in the coming years.
Gay Lesbian Visibility
As I'm sure everyone has noticed, there has been an increase in the amount of gays and lesbians being featured in the media today. Around the 1970s the first television shows began to feature gays and lesbians and it actually became trendy to feature them in the shows. The gays and lesbians were always portrayed as the "flaming homo" or the "butch lesbian" to really show and enforce the idea of homosexuality. It would almost be like, "I may be a little feminine, but at least I'm not gay".
Once Ellen DeGeneres came out during an episode of Ellen, there has been a surge of gay and lesbian characters featured in the media. At first, they were incorporated into the shows to show how heterosexual the other characters were, to show how acting hetero is the "normal" way to be. But over recent years, we start to see more gays and lesbians coming into mainstream media such as "Queer as Folk", and "Queer Eye". In "Queer Eye", we actually see a shift from gays just being there to be trendy, to heterosexual men asking for help and advice in terms of fashion to help them be more successful in the world.
As you can see, a show like this was unheard of before until recent years. It seems as if it is slowly becoming more acceptable to be gay and is shown by the increase in visibility.
Once Ellen DeGeneres came out during an episode of Ellen, there has been a surge of gay and lesbian characters featured in the media. At first, they were incorporated into the shows to show how heterosexual the other characters were, to show how acting hetero is the "normal" way to be. But over recent years, we start to see more gays and lesbians coming into mainstream media such as "Queer as Folk", and "Queer Eye". In "Queer Eye", we actually see a shift from gays just being there to be trendy, to heterosexual men asking for help and advice in terms of fashion to help them be more successful in the world.
As you can see, a show like this was unheard of before until recent years. It seems as if it is slowly becoming more acceptable to be gay and is shown by the increase in visibility.
What's Happened to Weddings??
It used to be that two people who were in love, generally one man and one woman, would make an arrangement to get married. A wedding would take place and they would make their vows and kiss and be on their merry way. Anyone who was invited to the spectacle would be there to witness the binding of two people, and be there to support them. Today though, it seems as if that has changed.
The social media has changed this ritual over the past few years. The media has convinced us that for a wedding to be successful, we must spend a lot of money on frivolous things. Today it is expected to be a grandiose event, in terms of material things, with party favors for each individual guest (which they'll most likely throw away as they leave), the most expensive dress money can buy, a bouquet and an additional fake bouquet, and the list goes on and on. As we have discussed in class, who needs these things? Party favors? No one wants them, and yet if they are not given it, we judge the bride and groom for pinching pennies. Fake bouquet? Keep the bouquet, it'll die soon anyways, and is essentially the same thing as the party favors.
Along with the frivolous things to include in the wedding is an odd ritual that developed over recent years, saving the top layer of the cake in the freezer for the anniversary. Once a year has gone by, the couple take it out and "enjoy" it on their special day. I'm sure everyone will agree that if we actually think about it, its a very odd thing to do. The cake will be stale and disgusting and yet, we are convinced that this is the normal thing to do.
Marriages nowadays seem to not mean as much as it once used to. This article is worth a read if you have the time, but maybe marriages aren't as meaningful today because of how easy it is to get a divorce?? Whatever it may be, it seems as if the media is extorting marriages/weddings for their own benefit in order to sate their greed.
The social media has changed this ritual over the past few years. The media has convinced us that for a wedding to be successful, we must spend a lot of money on frivolous things. Today it is expected to be a grandiose event, in terms of material things, with party favors for each individual guest (which they'll most likely throw away as they leave), the most expensive dress money can buy, a bouquet and an additional fake bouquet, and the list goes on and on. As we have discussed in class, who needs these things? Party favors? No one wants them, and yet if they are not given it, we judge the bride and groom for pinching pennies. Fake bouquet? Keep the bouquet, it'll die soon anyways, and is essentially the same thing as the party favors.
Along with the frivolous things to include in the wedding is an odd ritual that developed over recent years, saving the top layer of the cake in the freezer for the anniversary. Once a year has gone by, the couple take it out and "enjoy" it on their special day. I'm sure everyone will agree that if we actually think about it, its a very odd thing to do. The cake will be stale and disgusting and yet, we are convinced that this is the normal thing to do.
Marriages nowadays seem to not mean as much as it once used to. This article is worth a read if you have the time, but maybe marriages aren't as meaningful today because of how easy it is to get a divorce?? Whatever it may be, it seems as if the media is extorting marriages/weddings for their own benefit in order to sate their greed.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Do Violent Video Games Make Us Violent?
Violent video games. It has long been a controversy to whether they make the people who play it violent or not. As we talked about in class, it does not make people violent, but what it does is change our views on violence. By being exposed more and more to violence we start to become desensitized to the blood and gore and it becomes acceptable, if not expectable.
Video games today are much more violent than ever before. Back when I first started playing video games at the age of 3, I used to play Mortal Kombat all the time. Now for those of you who don’t know what this is, it is a 2D fighting game that lets you kill the other player in horrendous ways after you have beaten them. The iconic “Finish Him/Her” comes up after beating the other player and after inputting a number of combination of buttons you may: shove a bomb into the other player’s mouth and watch them explode, rip out their skeletal frame - skull down to toes, cut them up into hundreds of pieces, and the list goes on and on.
This video shows all of the Fatalities in the new Mortal Kombat 9:
Now I haven’t played this game since Mortal Kombat 3 many many years ago, but this game has gotten so much more violent than it used to be. Unfortunately it seems like a LOT of games nowadays has a lot of violence like this.
Let’s not forget about Grand Theft Auto and the classic “have sex with the hooker and kill her to get your money back:
This is actually only a small portion of violent video games out on today’s market. And regardless of their “R” rating, even children can still get their hands on these video games.
So, I completely disagree in the statement that “violent video games make people violent” but it is undeniable that it has some sort of negative impact on us. I feel like a lot of people and especially children are slowly becoming more and more desensitized to violence (blood and gore and all). Not only are they becoming desensitized, but because they are getting used to the violence, the video game companies have to somehow make it more stimulating so people will buy their product.
Video games today are much more violent than ever before. Back when I first started playing video games at the age of 3, I used to play Mortal Kombat all the time. Now for those of you who don’t know what this is, it is a 2D fighting game that lets you kill the other player in horrendous ways after you have beaten them. The iconic “Finish Him/Her” comes up after beating the other player and after inputting a number of combination of buttons you may: shove a bomb into the other player’s mouth and watch them explode, rip out their skeletal frame - skull down to toes, cut them up into hundreds of pieces, and the list goes on and on.
This video shows all of the Fatalities in the new Mortal Kombat 9:
Now I haven’t played this game since Mortal Kombat 3 many many years ago, but this game has gotten so much more violent than it used to be. Unfortunately it seems like a LOT of games nowadays has a lot of violence like this.
Let’s not forget about Grand Theft Auto and the classic “have sex with the hooker and kill her to get your money back:
This is actually only a small portion of violent video games out on today’s market. And regardless of their “R” rating, even children can still get their hands on these video games.
So, I completely disagree in the statement that “violent video games make people violent” but it is undeniable that it has some sort of negative impact on us. I feel like a lot of people and especially children are slowly becoming more and more desensitized to violence (blood and gore and all). Not only are they becoming desensitized, but because they are getting used to the violence, the video game companies have to somehow make it more stimulating so people will buy their product.
The Glory of Mized Martial Arts
Today's definition of masculinity can easily be described as the hyper-violent and bulky muscular man. How has this changed over the decades when being big and muscular was a sign of low status or class, while being of a small stature was highly regarded? These changes have been ever so gradual over the years and yet where did it start? And how will this show of masculinity affect all the children who are being brought into this world.
It is presupposed that it is in man's nature to be aggressive and violent and it does not help that everywhere we go, this is the stereotype of man and how the media wishes us to behave. Today I want to talk about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that are aired on television. MMA is a hyper-violent "sport" that involves many forms of fighting techniques from boxing to silat, attacking the competitor with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, submissions, etc... until they are either knocked out or tap out of the match. These MMA matches are aired for entertainment much like WWE wrestling is, except this is real (excluding the trash talking and superfluous "moves" they use on each other).
So now I must ask.... why do we enjoy these violent sports where people are bleeding all over the mats and being beaten up so much? I mean, I love watching MMA and I get excited to see the matches that come up every now and again. There are many others who enjoy watching it seeing as how it is still being aired. But why are we so entertained to watch sweaty and bloody men all over each other on the ground, or punching and kicking others all over so much? What does it say about us as a society that we are entertained by violence?
For example:
This is an extremely short match, but I believe it shows exactly what I am talking about. This sort of violence is all too common in MMA.
This kind of trauma can have very permanent effects on the body, from broken limbs to brain damage.This article describes how dangerous MMA can be and what kind of effects it can have on someone’s mental state. This kind of violence is all too readily available for our children to watch and become desensitized to blood and violence. There are children out there who are fans of MMA and watch it religiously much like some children do with WWE.
Although children imitate WWE regardless of the fact that it is fake and done by professionals, children also imitate MMA as well. This kind of violence is shows children that as long as it is in the ring, it is okay to beat others up, but not only that but with the world of mixed martial arts expanding, it shows them better and more efficient ways to harm others. Although I love watching MMA, I can’t help but wonder what kind of effect it will have on the young impressionable minds that watch this. The influences that will shape their view on violence.
It is presupposed that it is in man's nature to be aggressive and violent and it does not help that everywhere we go, this is the stereotype of man and how the media wishes us to behave. Today I want to talk about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that are aired on television. MMA is a hyper-violent "sport" that involves many forms of fighting techniques from boxing to silat, attacking the competitor with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, submissions, etc... until they are either knocked out or tap out of the match. These MMA matches are aired for entertainment much like WWE wrestling is, except this is real (excluding the trash talking and superfluous "moves" they use on each other).
So now I must ask.... why do we enjoy these violent sports where people are bleeding all over the mats and being beaten up so much? I mean, I love watching MMA and I get excited to see the matches that come up every now and again. There are many others who enjoy watching it seeing as how it is still being aired. But why are we so entertained to watch sweaty and bloody men all over each other on the ground, or punching and kicking others all over so much? What does it say about us as a society that we are entertained by violence?
For example:
This is an extremely short match, but I believe it shows exactly what I am talking about. This sort of violence is all too common in MMA.
This kind of trauma can have very permanent effects on the body, from broken limbs to brain damage.This article describes how dangerous MMA can be and what kind of effects it can have on someone’s mental state. This kind of violence is all too readily available for our children to watch and become desensitized to blood and violence. There are children out there who are fans of MMA and watch it religiously much like some children do with WWE.
Although children imitate WWE regardless of the fact that it is fake and done by professionals, children also imitate MMA as well. This kind of violence is shows children that as long as it is in the ring, it is okay to beat others up, but not only that but with the world of mixed martial arts expanding, it shows them better and more efficient ways to harm others. Although I love watching MMA, I can’t help but wonder what kind of effect it will have on the young impressionable minds that watch this. The influences that will shape their view on violence.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Sound's Effect on Perception
So after reading/commenting on Victoria's blog, I became very interested in how much sound can affect how we perceive certain things, but mainly advertisements. With so many things going on in this world and so many different types of media stations bombarding us with images, I wanted to expand on this concept.
This is a video that I found a couple years ago and still gives me a good laugh, but you have to watch the entire video:
It isn't perfect, but you can see how drastically the sound changed how you viewed the video. And I mean drastically. I want to focus around the U.S Navy recruitment ad because I want to talk about how the media affects our perception of things, here in our homes. The original video is very dark, gritty, and serious, which in my opinion is trying to appeal to a darker, more primitive side of men. All of the people in this advertisement were men and not a single one was a woman, which really just confirms my thoughts that this advertisement was for the tough guys.
Especially after discussing how the media tries to influence how men think and act did I really begin to notice the kind of images and ideals they implant in our minds through advertisements. Among the many ways they try to take hold of us, a few are: telling men they need to be tough, be big, and be strong and muscular. There also seems to be this association of men to the dark, gritty, and "real" scene, opposed to women to bright colors and loud happy music. The sound/music added into the original video gives us a sense of seriousness and intensity, which they are implying men "ought" to be all the time.
But suddenly, when the music changes to the upbeat Japanese version, the recruitment advertisement becomes a completely different thing. Although we continue to see the images of men jumping out of helicopters, trenching through the beach in the night, and holding automatic rifles, the new music makes it very.... comical. It's funny, even hilarious and takes away from the original intent of the video so much.
It's astounding how much of a difference the sound associated to something can make and shows what kind of psychological affect it has on how we perceive the things we see.
This is a video that I found a couple years ago and still gives me a good laugh, but you have to watch the entire video:
It isn't perfect, but you can see how drastically the sound changed how you viewed the video. And I mean drastically. I want to focus around the U.S Navy recruitment ad because I want to talk about how the media affects our perception of things, here in our homes. The original video is very dark, gritty, and serious, which in my opinion is trying to appeal to a darker, more primitive side of men. All of the people in this advertisement were men and not a single one was a woman, which really just confirms my thoughts that this advertisement was for the tough guys.
Especially after discussing how the media tries to influence how men think and act did I really begin to notice the kind of images and ideals they implant in our minds through advertisements. Among the many ways they try to take hold of us, a few are: telling men they need to be tough, be big, and be strong and muscular. There also seems to be this association of men to the dark, gritty, and "real" scene, opposed to women to bright colors and loud happy music. The sound/music added into the original video gives us a sense of seriousness and intensity, which they are implying men "ought" to be all the time.
But suddenly, when the music changes to the upbeat Japanese version, the recruitment advertisement becomes a completely different thing. Although we continue to see the images of men jumping out of helicopters, trenching through the beach in the night, and holding automatic rifles, the new music makes it very.... comical. It's funny, even hilarious and takes away from the original intent of the video so much.
It's astounding how much of a difference the sound associated to something can make and shows what kind of psychological affect it has on how we perceive the things we see.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
A Woman's Place
The 1950s were such a controversial time period, especially looking back today. Shortly after the end of World War II, there was a drastic change from the Rosie the Riveter image to the sweet, helpless, housemother. The once popular show, "I love Lucy" was one of the many ploys to convince women to leave the paid workforce and to go back home, leaving their jobs for the men coming back home from the war.
This sitcom, along with so many others from this time period, has me screaming on the inside thinking that this is all wrong. I absolutely can not stand families that behave this way because I see it as being very fake and rehearsed per se. From the start of the day, women "ought" to have a schedule outlining all the housework, cooking, and cleaning they should do around the house and they go to extreme lengths to beat this into our minds. But what can you really expect from something in the 1950s?
Aside from portraying women merely as a subordinate to men, they are in a sense shown as something lesser. This clip from the show "I Love Lucy" is one of the many examples of this:
Although comical, in this scene Lucy is portrayed as not being quite as smart as her husband. He speaks Spanish very fluently to his friends from Cuba while Lucy is speaking to them as if they were deaf; it's clear they're not and her husband has to reaffirm otherwise. She struggles to communicate with them and appears rather silly in doing so, while her husband appears to be very intelligent in being able to speak a second language. With the changes between pre-WWII and post-WWII, the sudden distinction has women being encouraged to stay home and take care of their husband. With so many things influencing how they "ought" to behave, by men, it's no wonder they're given thse unrealistic and utterly ridiculous ideals.
This sitcom, along with so many others from this time period, has me screaming on the inside thinking that this is all wrong. I absolutely can not stand families that behave this way because I see it as being very fake and rehearsed per se. From the start of the day, women "ought" to have a schedule outlining all the housework, cooking, and cleaning they should do around the house and they go to extreme lengths to beat this into our minds. But what can you really expect from something in the 1950s?
Aside from portraying women merely as a subordinate to men, they are in a sense shown as something lesser. This clip from the show "I Love Lucy" is one of the many examples of this:
Although comical, in this scene Lucy is portrayed as not being quite as smart as her husband. He speaks Spanish very fluently to his friends from Cuba while Lucy is speaking to them as if they were deaf; it's clear they're not and her husband has to reaffirm otherwise. She struggles to communicate with them and appears rather silly in doing so, while her husband appears to be very intelligent in being able to speak a second language. With the changes between pre-WWII and post-WWII, the sudden distinction has women being encouraged to stay home and take care of their husband. With so many things influencing how they "ought" to behave, by men, it's no wonder they're given thse unrealistic and utterly ridiculous ideals.
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