Video Games

To me everything is good in portion. I can see how video games can help with some things, but to much of video games is not good. Even if you do the physically active games like DDR, or Wii Fit, that isn't a substitution for actual physical activity. So I say that video games are good, if you don't play them to much, and don't think of them as a substitution for actual physical activity.

Public or Private?

To me whatever you put on the internet is public, even if you have a privacy setting on it. You can even find photos or messages you have sent from your phone on the internet. Nothing is safe anymore. Your address, phone number, SS, etc.. should be private. Nobody should be able to know those things without your consent. But things like your name, and your birthday are okay to have public, because they are just general that anyone can know.

Mass Media So Far

The most important thing we have learned in Mass Media so far is how media impacts and has influence in our lives. It is one of those things that is so out there, it makes the effect it has on us more subtle because we are just used to it, and don't pay enough attention, or don't want to.
I think our discussion on the Jeremy video was one of the funnest things. It was still teaching us stuff, and how to use the critical thinking process, but we got to watch a video and interpret why they put the stuff in the video that they did. The discussion was really fun afterwards too, because we got to see how different our interpretations of things are, but yet how similar they are too.

Monday, Feb. 18

Will we pay attention to the way social media is affecting our real lives?
Prediction: No. We won't pay attention in 2013, but the issuse won't go away.
I agree with this Forbes article question on social media in 2013. Many Americans, and even people in general, don't take the time to see how it is affecting their lives. They won't see the issue with it unless we inform, and educate them on it.

Challenging the Media

It is a problem if we don't challenge the media because then we would be just "going with the flow," and not actually thinking of our own opinions on the subject they are presenting to us. I have a problem with this because if I don't know a lot on the subject I am more inclined to just go with what the media says, but if I actually know what they are talking about I am able to form my own opinion and "debate" it with them (most likely my mother). TED Conversations has some great insight into this controversial topic.

February 11-Global Community

I think it is a problem that American culture is bombarding other cultures. If everyone just followed the American way, we wouldn't actually be individuals, we would just be like eachother. We won't have different cultures that make us different from eachother. This BBC Article, is a great thing to look at.

To Ban or Not to Ban

We have all read the hunger games, yes? No. Well you are definitely missing out. Now on the Top 100 banned books for 2000-2009 from Calpoly.com. I can see how people would want to ban it from all the violence in it, but is it any better than the stuff we see on the news? At least with this book we know it is fiction, but the things on the news or that we see nowadays are real. We really have a screwed up system if that will ban a book, but they can still show it on the television or internet.

Who shapes society?

I believe that society and media are so closely related - especially in the 201st century- that they are basically the same thing. Media chooses topics off of what society likes, but at the same time society knows what the media tells us. I think it is more society's fault because without society we would not have media or the stories that the media tells.