Pros and Cons of Social Media

One pro of social networking is that it helps students do better in school. 59% of students with access to the internet report that they use social networking sites to discuss educational topics. College students in particular use more because our assignment nowadays have to deal with social media. This impacts me because I am constantly looking up things on the internet, which is normally google. Some of the sites might not be reliable but i still using some of them, I admit because I don't want to spend more time finding the information somewhere else.

One con of social networking is that criminals use social media to commit and promote crimes. Gangs are using sites to recruit younger members, coordinate violent crimes and threaten other gangs. This is very important because others can use this as ways to avoid or even report things to the police on activities being done by gangs. This impacts me very little because i do not personally have any involvement in gangs, but it does help to avoid where they are going to be and that way i don't get myself into serious trouble. 

Celebrities vs Everyday People

Celebrities are different from everyday people in a lot of things in everyday life. Celebrities are idolized on almost everything and they have people to do things for them instead of doing things themselves, unlike everyday people that do everything their selves. Like with the example in class with Taylor Swift were she didn't carry her own gym bag, she had some handler carrying it. She also has created this image of her not being able to wear the same thing twice. Everyday people don't have the money to be doing that, we can't afford to be constantly buying new clothes, or we don't have the connections to be borrowing clothes for their free publicity.

Celebrities are used for our entertainment because we enjoy hearing stories about them. They influence everyday life for everyday people. Everyday people tend to want to do things that the celebrity is doing, it gives us verisimilitude which is a connection to reality and it also gives us identification which also gives us a connection to ourselves. 

Social Currency

1. Pancheros:  This uses the Leverage game mechanics. Pancheros has created a card/ benefits where you can get a free burrito if you go in so many times. So you get something out of it, and it motivates us to go into to Pancheros more. http://www.pancheros.com/rewards
2. Snapchat Lenses: This is an example of Remarkability, because a lot of people mention it and it is brought up a lot. They are also very unusual lenses that make you look crazy so that might make you want to share with more people.   https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/ca/lenses
3. Kylie Jenner's Lip Kit: This is an example of making people feel like insiders. Her product uses both exclusivity and scarcity because it sells out very quickly. Her lip kit is also very exclusive because it can be on the expensive side of pricing for lipstick. There are alot of people that don't want to buy it because they can get cheaper lipstick somewhere else. http://kyliecosmetics.com/

Tattoos creating mixed message

One point that they author makes about mixed messages within our society is individuals use tattoos for identity expression and formation, but what is creating that mixed message is that people are keeping their tattoos secret from the public. While I understand why you might need to cover them up for job purposes, but why do people keep getting them in places where no one can see them. People like the way they look and the attention it gives to famous people but then again they can't show them because there is a law that states have a right to enforce a dress code and companies have a right to fire you if your appearance if it relates to companies business objectives.

Another point that she makes is that tattoos are seen as deviant and might also assume they are signs of psychological problems. There have been examples in the media of actors dying of an overdose or something along those lines and they would tie it right back to their tattoos because they are seen as deviant. An example of this is Amy Winehouse, which I don't completely understand because it's not like her tattoos were big and bold and stuck out like a soar thumb. Even with this mixed message, nowadays its not considered to be something within just the working class; doesn't carry a socio-economic stigma.

Torture

Some of John Oliver's examples represent the cultivation theory in that we tend to live in the reality of the television world believing that things happen that don't really happen in the real world. He talks about how they are torturing prisoners to get information out of them, which doesn't seem to be working because they continue to commit crimes. Another example that he talks about is that the fact that other countries could be portraying us differently because of the way television shows portray violence or torture. He says that torture seems to work on tv (it helps to move the plot along), but in real life it doesn't seem to work that way. Another example of the cultivation theory is that he says 57% of Americans believe that torture through interregation actually works, which is based on the cultivation theory.

Why we play

In the Ted talk by Jane she mentions a video game that helped her get through you brain injury and how her attitude changed. Because she was going through a tough time so was going back on forth on whether she should be alive and in the article they talk about how we need reassurance or that we seek stability, and that if these adjustments get out of balance, we experience the stress that Jane talks about. Her game also made her feel better. and in the article the author talks about how stress is relieved through the attitudes associated with play. Playing a simple game can help us improve our mental and physical health.

The article talks about the role of social contact through game playing and how players often gather to play competitively or cooperatively at friends homes. The games give people a chance to talk and although some online games may not see or touch each other they sparked an interest in social network. Like the article Jane has said that just by social contact creates gratitude and makes you biochemically primed. Sociability gets you juices moving or gets you thinking. Jane also makes a point that article also states, that it boosts your mood.   

Men's bodies in mass media

Men's bodies in popular culture are more on the masculine (more muscular) side and women tend to be sexualized like seen without clothes more often and tend not to have as much muscle. In movies for example men are seen as more athletic and you can see the outlines of their muscles (like with the superman example given in class). As you would probably guess women are seen more with clothes off and as object like what we talked about in our last unit with those ads. Even though there are ads that do this to men too, its more common with women.


Men and Women are similar in the way that our bodies are treated is that they both tend to stereotype that we aren't sexy unless are bodies are in shape.
Even though they way men are supposed to look is changing the media tends to protray that women or men aren't supposed to overweight and that it's not healthy. If we are over certain weight they tend to say that its not sexy or attractive when that statement is completely false, i know tons of people that look a different way that are still beautiful. Why do we continue to degrade people by the way that they look?