"Television: The Plug-In Drug" by Marie Winn

Winn, M. (2011). Games. In S. Cohen (Ed.) , 50 Essays (pp. 196-201). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

In “Television: The Plug-in Drug,” Winn argues the effects of television on family life. She reveals the television has changed the way of family activities. Especially, on the children that have been influencing by television which is changing the family’s communication, sleeping time, and child group activities. She pointed out that in the past, television seemed to bring the family together, because each family could only afford one television. In this modern day, with the low price of television, almost every family can have two or three or for each one in the family. From this reason, family member started to separate time of watching television from each other. From my opinion, the television seems not to be the cause of problem but the parent who give their children everything want. What if we just started to think about what really is the cause of the problem and solve it from there?

“The World Wide Web-Miracle or Menace” by Dian Katz

Katz, D. (2009). The World Wide Web-Miracle or Menace. Lesbian News, 34(10), 32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

This article Katz reveals the reflection on the positive and negative sides of the World Wide Web. From her opinion, the Internet was designed only for technical groups to share information instantly with a few keystrokes. From time to time, it evolved into people life living, all information can be found from the Internet. On the positive side, the Internet is fun, exciting, a learning tool, and you can communicate with a lot of new friend. On the negative side of the Internet, it may cause addictive behavior, invade privacy and also there are a lot of charlatans, liars, cheats and criminals. If we realize that all things have good and bad sides, and being aware of what we are doing, we will avoid any troubles in this high technology world.

An Interesting Blog From My Classmate's Blog

From the post topic “Driving distraction” on “Marc blog,” He suggests, “One of the main distractions during driving that we have now is our mobile devices.  We constantly get texts messages and have this urge to read it while driving.  Not just text messages but status updates from Facebook, or notifications.  Looking at your mobile device is really dangerous to our now society of driving.”

This topic is very interesting because it has become a serious problem that everybody should pay more attention to and not try to be a part of it. However, in this case it is hard to stop what people want to do. Even though, some countries have made a law to not use the phone while driving, but still a lot of people sneak to do it. There are many ways that we can use a telephone with out making any problems. Sometimes, you can pull over in the safe place when you need to use the telephone or wait until you get to your destination if there is no important phone call. It is everybody responsibilities to work together to solve this problem.

“The Machine is Us/ing Us” by Michael Walsh Sheppard


Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

In this interesting video, Sheppard points out how incredible internet can do on writing and how we should use technologies which he calls “The Machine” with realization. From a pencil scratching on a piece of paper has become fingers touching on keyboard and click by one finger. His video shows how simple and fast. We also can simply revise the digital text, and research the sources we want for our wring. Moreover, he shows off the way we can add an element such as, picture, video, and link to design the writing.  From his main idea of this video, he reminds us of the human right such as; copy right, authorship, ethics, privacy, love and family. In my opinion, there are a lot of people who know the limit of what they can make the machine to work for them. Also, there are a lot of people who only want to take all of what they can to get themselves a convenience as they can. It seems like nothing we can do to stop these people, we can only hope that they will stop and think of how much they should expect the machine to do things for them. Before we run too fast to follow the modern machine, we should stop and think of what if we do not have it? What can we do with out it? Can we live with out the machine?

"What Makes Facebook So Popular" By Sturat Mitchel

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Makes-Facebook-So-Popular&id=1317349

In this article Sturat Mitchel points out four factors that make Facebook, which has over 64 million subscribers, so popular.

1.      Share photos with the word with no limits and add comments under your friend’s photos.

2.      Discovering a friend’s status in current time to let you know what your friend is doing.

3.      Sending time notifications that can become an online invitation.

4.      Interacting with friends through games and applications which require no face-to-face to have fun.

                From these incredible four factors, we are shown how network makers use people‘s needs to have their product succeed. There is no doubt that in the future we will see a newer website which may have a lot more factors than Facebook.

China Bans Electric Shock Therapy for Internet Addicts

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5835417/China-bans-electric-shock-therapy-for-internet-addicts.html

In this article, Malcolm Moore pointed out the way China uses electric shock to treat Internet addiction. Like anywhere else in the world, the revolution of Internet addiction in China has become a serious problem. In my opinion, using the electric shock is not the way to solve the cause of the problem. There are a lot of better ways to solve the internet addiction problem such as: to cut off electronics that can connect to the Internet and limit time that they can spend on the Internet by making them do something else. To solve this problem with children is a parent responsibility to find the way to be in control in the Internet world, by teaching and watching their children, not by hurting them. 

"Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted" by Malcolm Gladwell

In “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” Malcolm Gladwell reveals the way protesters, in the past and today motivate people to join in protest. In the past protester motivated people by: word of mouth, flyers, and poster. All these ways take time to get people together. In today society, high technology in social media abuses people to communicate through network media which take less that a second to send a message to each other. Gladwell shows that social media like Facebook and Twitter have changed social activism which effected traditional relationships between political and popular authority.  This article shows us how the Internet has become the tool which has an authority over people.

Is Google Making Us Stupid by Nicholas Carr

First “Stupid” is a very crude word, so I will avoid using it. From “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr points out the way people, including him research information for their writing on the Internet. This is changing the way people read and think by their senses. He explains that the more people use the Web, the more people can not stay focused on long written pieces. With only a few Google searches, they then click and quote what is right there. From his points people stop listening to their senses and follow the quick information and use the network media as a quick, brainless solution. From my opinion, Google does not make us ignorant (stupid) but shows how increasingly lazy people who think that they are smart. On the other hand, Google helps us save time with reading for only one quote; and we are able to save money, instead of buying a lot of expensive books.

Cheating by Chatting

Mileham, B. (2004). CHEATING BY CHATTING. Hispanic, 17(3), 28-29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Mileham reveals that flirting in Internet chat rooms has impacted marital relationships and creates reasons for seeking sexual thrills online. He reveals that the reason for seeking sexual thrills online was the lack of sex in the marriage, boredom, and the excitement of the dating world. From his interviews, about 83 percent did not believe that online liaisons are a form of infidelity. They think that online sex involves no touching of another human being, even though 17 percent believed that it is. His researched points out that if online liaisons are not infidelity, why are the chatters hidden their chatting from their spouses? When the spouses find out they feel betrayed, angry, and hurt. One-third of divorce litigation is caused by online affairs. This high technology world could destroy many marriage relationships if we do not accept that online communication is infidelity.

"Games" by Steven Johnson

Johnson, S. (2011). Games. In S. Cohen (Ed.) , 50 Essays (pp. 196-201). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

In “Games,” Steven Johnson points out the difference between the benefits of reading and games. From his idea, we are shown that to being an avid reader is good for your education and the job market skills which are important for life in the future. By comparison, games help you exercise your brain and some parts of your body: through hand-eye coordination and visual intelligence but not much in the way of education. The most interesting part of his argument is that a book makes you use your imagination and it makes you understand a complicated message better than television or a video game. This essay reveals how modern media has a limitation of benefit in learning.

The Printed Newspaper is not Facing Extinction (Yet)

(2008, November 3). The printed newspaper is not facing extinction (yet). Advertising Age. p. 14. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

Today we can see the printed newspaper around us in many places, but not as many as in the past. In today’s media and technology evolution, the newspaper business has two separate print and web editorial staff in the newsroom to deal with news reporting situations. According to Advertising Age (2008), “The Christian Science Monitor announced it would be lying to rest the print version of its daily paper, switching to a weekly print model and housing everything else on the web.” Most people who read print newspapers are older and are used to the old-fashioned, printed newspapers. You hardly see a teenager pick up and read a newspaper. Most people use computers and the Internet; they do not want to read the news in print. Instead they prefer to pay for the Internet to get the same news. These are the reasons that are causing the printed newspaper to become extinct.

"Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" By Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau, H. (2011). Where I Lived and What I Lived For. In S. Cohen, 50 Essays (pp. 403-409). Boston: Bedford St. Martins.

           

This writing reminds me of a self sufficient life style. The way that Thoreau pointed out his idea of a life style that he wanted to live in the woods was peaceful concept. His idea was to run away from convenient appliances and modern services, which he thought made life is go too fast. He thought that is why we make our lives more complicated in a world that was created by humans. Technology and modern conveniences make the way we live pass paced, instead of just getting along with nature. Thoreau (2011) suggests “Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion…. For my part, I could easily do without the post office. I think that there are very few important communications made through it…. What news! How much more important to know what that is which was never old!” (P. 403-409). A lot of people would agree with him including me, but in reality we have to accept that human needs are eternal.  Everyday we are creating new appliances, especially electronic media and technology that makes life go faster than Thoreau would have ever imagined. If he were here today, in the high social media world, I would like to know what he would write in his journal.

Kids' Digital Day: Almost 8 hours

Greg, T. (n.d). Kids' digital day: Almost 8 hours. USA Today. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

This article shows us how electronic media threatens our normal way of living. The author reveals a study of kids time spent with electronic media, such as: cellphones, iPods, video games and computers and found that it was more than 53 hours a week. We can see that in one week which has a168 hours, the kids gave 53 hours for electronic media, and 56 hours to sleep and 40 hours for school. They only have 19 hours left to do things likes homework, study, eat, exercise, etc. The author also informs that this revolution of technology will never stop increasing by pointing out the percentage of cellphone and iPod ownership is increasing every day. From this article, all parents should start to realize to teach and control their children on using and spending time with the electronics.

An Authority of the Internet and Technology

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxJ2x8Di-xI&feature=related

           An adult may think that the Internet has changed their lifestyles, but a teenager who grows up with this technology and the Internet world, all the see and learn only from these modern electronics. They would not see how things and people in this world have changed their lifestyle; they follow technology that quickly grows up in each day. Most people are racing to get the most recent, high technology elements to stay up to date. Instead, people have to work hard to earn money to buy food and medicine to live but almost all the money that they earn goes to the Internet and technology.

Social Media Today

BLANKENSHIP, M. (2011). How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education. Education Digest, 76(7), 39-42. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

           Blankenship presents social media, such as Skype, Twitter, and Facebook as online tools in higher education. He also points out that social media impacts creativity and teaching styles in the classroom.  He discusses the fact that talking via Skype on webcam does not make him feel palpable. Instead, it was frustrating for him because he thinks that the best idea come from actual communication with someone. Social media is changing the way people get an education in school. In the past, we had to go to school with a pack of note books and pencils to listen and be lectured face to face with a professor in class. With social media revolution in this modern day, students can study any where. They only need a computer and an Internet connection. Although social media cannot replace person-to-person interaction, it does give us an additional opportunity to educate ourselves.