Burkitt Chapter 8

This was a great way to end the book. This book has helped me understand the different theories and concepts about the self. From this chapter I really enjoyed this quote, “As individuals we are born into a world of social relations that have been made by previous generations, and, even though we can work to change these, nevertheless we can work only with the materials and tools we have at hand” (Burkitt, p.187).We are born into social relations that our parents know and when we get old enough, we have the decision to stay down that path or to find a way to break free and become someone else. This book helped me find who I am as a person and I have learned to stand by my beliefs 100%. You have to always stay true to yourself and do what makes you happy.

World Wide Web

The internet has completely evolved since the early 90’s. This article was written the year I was born and it’s interesting to read about how the internet got started and how it was on its way to evolve into something great. We got our first computer when I was seven years old. I never used the internet; I only used the computer to play games. It wasn’t until middle school when I started to use the computer more for completing homework assignments. Projects and essays were to be turned in typed, not hand written. It’s crazy to think the internet has transformed into what it is today and I was a part of that. Younger generations today grew up with the internet being accessible and more evolved than ever. The end of the article talked about the future improvements of the internet. It seems like today there’s nothing else to be done to improve the internet, but back then it was just being created and evolving.

Attention

I really enjoyed reading this article. It focused on how media uses certain tools in order to get us to pay attention to their programming. The part about Sesame Street was interesting. I recently took a child development class last semester and one of our topics covered how Sesame Street uses certain techniques to get children’s attention. Sesame Street is broadcasted all over the world and it was interesting to know that they adapt and change their characters to fit specific cultures. They don’t just want their show to be entertaining for children; they also want children to learn from it. It was fascinating to learn that they use friendly, likeable characters to get children’s attention, but these characters are the ones that teach the children life lessons. There’s so much work that goes into trying to figure out how to get viewers attention. People need to know what people want to watch and have to execute it in a way that it keeps bringing them back to watch more.

Burkitt

 I found this chapter to be very insightful. It was interesting to read about the story where the man went to pay his respects for Princess Diana, who had just died. He admitted that the death of Princess Diana had a bigger impact on him then the death of his own mother. The media plays a big role in how we get so caught up in celebrities’ lives. We become attached and always want to know what the latest gossip is. We become so attached; we sometimes forget that the ones closest to us in our lives are the most important. In the chapter is always talked about how people can take the time to make sure you are still friends with someone that lives far away, yet you barely know your next door neighbor. Communication these days, like texting, emailing, and even using Facebook makes communicating with others much easier, allowing you to sustain those close relationships.

Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma

In the article “A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma” it talks about how much time people can invest their time when it comes to online communities. This emotional attachment that people can create towards these online communities can create issues and confusion in their future. In the article it states, “One of the most touted beliefs about Internet communication is that the medium strips away users' offline identities and leaves them free to reconstruct a tether less online persona” (p.203), which I totally agree with. In online worlds people are given the freedom to create a whole new identity. I’ve read in the newspaper before about grown women who created a fictional online identity. She pretended to be a sixteen year old and did this so she would be able to torment another sixteen year old girl that had been bullying her daughter. This online bullying ended with the girl committing suicide. It’s said to read stories like this. People should never get so involved or emotionally connected to online communities.

The End of Books

From my understanding, “The End of Books” article was talking about how the advances of technology have and are going to continue to make hardcover literature outdated. Advances with computers have allowed us to read news, magazine, and literature articles online. It’s made readings more accessible. Online classes have become more popular and some classes I have taken on campus make us get the readings from the web. More and more people prefer to read articles online, but I still like have the physical textbook in front of me. Throughout the article the author talks about hypertext and it is hard to understand what he truly means by that. It sounds like the author is referring hypertext to be used as a type of storage for any type of literature. He thinks hypertext has a different writing style in comparison to hardcover literature.

Research Topic

Research Question: "What are the effects that social networking sites have on teenagers and young adults?" I chose this topic because I am interested in understanding, if any, the effects Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., may have on teenagers. I either want to focus my study on teenagers’ ages 13-18 or ages 13-21. I’m curious to why social networking sites have become such an important part of teenagers’ lives. They are constantly talking about them and it has become something they will look back on as a part of their childhood. I want to know the reasons teenagers use these sites, what makes them sign up?
For entertainment?
To meet new friends?
To be able to feel more confident about themselves in the online world?
I am hoping to answer these questions so I am able to get a better understanding why social networking sites have become popular within teenagers.