MySpace and Facebook
The article that I chose to do my blog entry on was MySpace and Facebook: Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Exploring Friend-Networking Sites. By reading this article I learned many things. Most importantly I learned how MySpace and Facebook have changed the lives of millions of people of all ages. Before friend networking websites existed, mostly everyone used emails and instant messaging for.
The article points out that MySpace and Facebook are two friend-networking that are very important in the lives of high school and college students. It has been estimated that MySpace has over20 million registered users, with a sign-up rate of over 230,000 users per day, 7 and Facebook was estimated to have approximately 9.5 million users as
Of September 2006.8 these networking sites have number of features that allow individuals to communicate with others. Both of these sites allows its users to post information about them, post pictures, and leave messages for friends. These sites allow their users many different styles of communication. The different types of communication are very important; because they keep the young generation entertained and if you can keep their attention then your business will prosper.
The article talks about how there was a study done on a group of students in which when students arriving to the study section, they were given a two-part packet to complete. The first page contained only one question, “Do you have a My-Space or Facebook account? Students responded by checking yes or no to this question.
Part I of the packet was filled out by students who had MySpace or Facebook. There were four sections in this part. Section 1 asked the students general questions about how long they had been involved in these sites. In section 2 students were asked to for what reasons did they use the sites. In section 3 students why doesn’t everyone have accounts on these sites? The fourth and final section of Part I obtained information including sex, age, and ethnicity.
Part II of the packet, completed by students didn’t have MySpace or Facebook account, also contained four sections. Section 1 asked students general information about why they did not have a MySpace or Facebook account. Section 2 had students indicate the reasons for not having an account, for example was it because they didn’t have many friends? In section 3, students were asked to predict why other students would have accounts on these sites. The final section of Part II obtained information, including sex, age, and ethnicity.
The results of the study indicated that 87.1% of students said they had a friend-networking account online. The article states that because of spring semester there was an increase in the number of participants having accounts and that the same study conducted with primarily freshman in the fall semester would have lower percentage. Most students said that they had had their accounts for 7 to 24 months, extending back past the start of the fall semester. The article also states that it is impossible to note the number of college students using these sites and the amount of time per day students spend on these friend-networking sites. Overall, results suggest students spend almost 3hours per day either on their accounts or someone else’s account.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Work Cited MLA format
Work Cited
"Cell Phones." 30 Oct. 2008 .
"Cell Phones." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Oct 2008, 07:33 UTC. 30 Oct 2008
.
Glorias, Shaebudia. “Cell phone users say friendships are maintained in the long run by communication.”
Democraticandchronicle.com. 28 August 2005. <
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/ pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20050828/cellphones/280335/1001>.
“Is the Cell Phone Undermining the Social Order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective”
Hans Geser
Inc. 1 Apr. 2008. 30 Oct. 2008
"Cell Phones." 30 Oct. 2008 .
"Cell Phones." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Oct 2008, 07:33 UTC. 30 Oct 2008
Glorias, Shaebudia. “Cell phone users say friendships are maintained in the long run by communication.”
Democraticandchronicle.com. 28 August 2005. <
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/ pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20050828/cellphones/280335/1001>.
“Is the Cell Phone Undermining the Social Order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective”
Hans Geser
Inc. 1 Apr. 2008. 30 Oct. 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
ModuleII Essay
Cell Phones
Cellular phones have been on the market for over 14 years and the cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) estimates over 51 million users across the country. Due to the tremendous increase in popularity of cellular phones, many questions are surfacing concerning safety, health and environmental issues. Cell phones are a very important part of our society today. Everyone from students, businessmen to a stay at home mom rely heavily on cell phones every single day to insure protection of their families, friends and businesses. Cell phones give us many advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion cell phones do more good for our civilization than bad.
According to Hans Geser Cell phones have not interested many sociologists are trying to disconnect us from the social part of what life has to offer. “The telephone has interested very few sociologists, because it is too exclusively connected with the very lowest level of social life” said, Hans Geser. This is a very strong point that Geser made because no longer do we have to meet face to face with people in order to discuss potential business deals or just to keep in touch with people in our communities. We have become so reliant on cell phones that we no longer for the most part go to people’s houses to talk with them or discuss business matters; we just make phone calls and do everything over the phone. So where is the social face to face conservation that enhances the communication between different individuals?
Today million dollar investments and deals are made right over the phone with people from different countries. Businessmen exchange million’s of dollars without even looking at the face of whom there trading with. All they know is that the company does very well in that particular country, so they just invest in it. If things keep going as they are, then one day we may not have any social gatherings at all, because it is so convenient to do everything over the phone, and saving time.
One of the advantages of cell phones discussed in the article by Hens Geser, says that Cell phones have strengthened ties among people. “Despite its technical capacity for making any individuals immediately accessible to each other, the phone has nevertheless contributed to strengthening ties among people already familiar with each other” said Hens Geser. I agree with this statement made by Geser, because with the help of Phones people, who already know each other can talk with one another everyday to maintain strong bonds of relationship with one another. It is because of phones that relatives from different countries and Maintain a strong bond with one another by talking to each other everyday. I am originally from India, when my family moved here 8 years ago, we left behind many relatives of ours. We were able to keep in touch with them by using phones, without hearing our relative’s voices; we may have lost touch with them over all these years. So from my opinion cell phones do more good for our communities than bad.
Most media reports would have you believe that research studies on the negative health effects of cell phones use are few and far between. Many reports on the health risks of cell phones have been published over the last few decades. A study led by Dr Agarwal, Ph.D summarizes some of the researched health consequences of the microwave radiation we are exposed to through cell phone use. “Cell phones expose humans to wavelengths at very dangerous levels that could ultimately result in human DNA strand breaks and also in the reduction of melatonin, which is a hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland from the amino acid tryptophan” Dr Agarwal Ph.D.
The use of cell phones has also been related to Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease as many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. So, cell phones even with all the advantages they offer humans can be very destructive to the human body.
Cell phones are very important in our society and will remain important for many years to come, because they have much to offer to the human race. Adults and Students of all ages today are already very amused by cell phones, because they allow many different forms of communications with one another. Not only can we use the phones to talk with one another, but today we can also text messages back and forth with one another saving time. It is just not the teenagers that use texting to drastic measures, but also the adults today that manage many businesses or have many responsibilities also use texting on drastic measures to insure the safety of their businesses, families and friends. Essentially in my opinion everything breaks down to saving time and efficiency. Cell phones offer both and that’s why they are so popular within our society and will remain important for generations to come.
So, in conclusion cell phones offer many advantages and disadvantages to humans. But if we can overlook some of the defaults in the cell phones, we will see that life without cell phones wouldn’t be the same. In our society today everything if about saving time and cell phones allow us to save time and have communication with anyone from anywhere. This is exactly why cell phones will remain in our lives until the day we die and will be passed on to oncoming generations. Cell phone is a device that has been created with no end. So, overall in my opinion cell phones do more good for humans than bad.
Cellular phones have been on the market for over 14 years and the cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) estimates over 51 million users across the country. Due to the tremendous increase in popularity of cellular phones, many questions are surfacing concerning safety, health and environmental issues. Cell phones are a very important part of our society today. Everyone from students, businessmen to a stay at home mom rely heavily on cell phones every single day to insure protection of their families, friends and businesses. Cell phones give us many advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion cell phones do more good for our civilization than bad.
According to Hans Geser Cell phones have not interested many sociologists are trying to disconnect us from the social part of what life has to offer. “The telephone has interested very few sociologists, because it is too exclusively connected with the very lowest level of social life” said, Hans Geser. This is a very strong point that Geser made because no longer do we have to meet face to face with people in order to discuss potential business deals or just to keep in touch with people in our communities. We have become so reliant on cell phones that we no longer for the most part go to people’s houses to talk with them or discuss business matters; we just make phone calls and do everything over the phone. So where is the social face to face conservation that enhances the communication between different individuals?
Today million dollar investments and deals are made right over the phone with people from different countries. Businessmen exchange million’s of dollars without even looking at the face of whom there trading with. All they know is that the company does very well in that particular country, so they just invest in it. If things keep going as they are, then one day we may not have any social gatherings at all, because it is so convenient to do everything over the phone, and saving time.
One of the advantages of cell phones discussed in the article by Hens Geser, says that Cell phones have strengthened ties among people. “Despite its technical capacity for making any individuals immediately accessible to each other, the phone has nevertheless contributed to strengthening ties among people already familiar with each other” said Hens Geser. I agree with this statement made by Geser, because with the help of Phones people, who already know each other can talk with one another everyday to maintain strong bonds of relationship with one another. It is because of phones that relatives from different countries and Maintain a strong bond with one another by talking to each other everyday. I am originally from India, when my family moved here 8 years ago, we left behind many relatives of ours. We were able to keep in touch with them by using phones, without hearing our relative’s voices; we may have lost touch with them over all these years. So from my opinion cell phones do more good for our communities than bad.
Most media reports would have you believe that research studies on the negative health effects of cell phones use are few and far between. Many reports on the health risks of cell phones have been published over the last few decades. A study led by Dr Agarwal, Ph.D summarizes some of the researched health consequences of the microwave radiation we are exposed to through cell phone use. “Cell phones expose humans to wavelengths at very dangerous levels that could ultimately result in human DNA strand breaks and also in the reduction of melatonin, which is a hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland from the amino acid tryptophan” Dr Agarwal Ph.D.
The use of cell phones has also been related to Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease as many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. So, cell phones even with all the advantages they offer humans can be very destructive to the human body.
Cell phones are very important in our society and will remain important for many years to come, because they have much to offer to the human race. Adults and Students of all ages today are already very amused by cell phones, because they allow many different forms of communications with one another. Not only can we use the phones to talk with one another, but today we can also text messages back and forth with one another saving time. It is just not the teenagers that use texting to drastic measures, but also the adults today that manage many businesses or have many responsibilities also use texting on drastic measures to insure the safety of their businesses, families and friends. Essentially in my opinion everything breaks down to saving time and efficiency. Cell phones offer both and that’s why they are so popular within our society and will remain important for generations to come.
So, in conclusion cell phones offer many advantages and disadvantages to humans. But if we can overlook some of the defaults in the cell phones, we will see that life without cell phones wouldn’t be the same. In our society today everything if about saving time and cell phones allow us to save time and have communication with anyone from anywhere. This is exactly why cell phones will remain in our lives until the day we die and will be passed on to oncoming generations. Cell phone is a device that has been created with no end. So, overall in my opinion cell phones do more good for humans than bad.
ModuleII Questions
Questions
• According to the article, how do most Teachers and people of our communities feel about Cell phones? Why do they feel this way? Do you believe cell phone addiction can occur that causes people to use cell phones from the classrooms every minute of the class?
• Should cell phones be banned on the roads, when people are driving, because they are hazardous to our communities well being?
• According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Cell phones; do you agree or disagree?
• Explain how cell phones have kept you in contact with others. Explain why you prefer to use cell phones over other ways of communication for keeping in touch with certain people?
My question for the paper: According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of cell phones; do you agree or disagree?
• According to the article, how do most Teachers and people of our communities feel about Cell phones? Why do they feel this way? Do you believe cell phone addiction can occur that causes people to use cell phones from the classrooms every minute of the class?
• Should cell phones be banned on the roads, when people are driving, because they are hazardous to our communities well being?
• According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Cell phones; do you agree or disagree?
• Explain how cell phones have kept you in contact with others. Explain why you prefer to use cell phones over other ways of communication for keeping in touch with certain people?
My question for the paper: According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of cell phones; do you agree or disagree?
Cell Phone Experiment
Cell Phone Experiment
Who: College Students
What: Cell Phone Removal
When: two Classes
Where: two different Classrooms
Why: Mental Analysis of Cell phones
College students rely very much on their digital devices to keep them connected with the world. None of those devices is more important than the cell phone’s they have with them 24 hours a day. We will be conducting an experiment in which, we will have two separate classrooms, one room the students are allowed to keep their cell phones for one hour and the other room the students get their cell phones taken away from them for one hour. After the rooms are divided up into the control group and the experimental group, we will take each of the student’s numbers in order to call them later on. After the numbers have been acquired each of their cell phones will be placed in front of the room, where they can see them and know that it is there cell phone ringing, when we call each of the cell phones from another room. There will be multiple cameras placed in both the rooms to record each of the student’s reactions as their phone rings.
As time goes on in the classrooms we expect the control group room to be very happy and satisfied and the experimental group to be very upset and frustrated. Overall, most students will find the situation very uncomfortable. At the end of the class period, we will ask both groups of students to answer a few questions describing how they felt during the experiment.
After seeing how the students answered the questions, we would see the different responses between the students, who got to keep their cell phones as oppose to students, who got their cell phones taken away. The results should indicate that students, who got to keep their cell phones, will be much happier than the students their cell phones taken away.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Future of Teenagers?
Question #2
Future of Teenagers?
In our society today teenagers are strongly criticized of being overly excessive on electronic usage. These individuals are referred to as “tech-savvy” by many people except by Vaidhyanathan. Vaidhyanathan believes that the young people of our society are not becoming way too dependent on electrical devices for means of communication between each other and education. In my opinion, having a form of communication over the computer and phones with other students is a great tool but if our society doesn’t change our dependent on technology for education means, than one day there will be no schools and all the education will be done over the computers from home just like this Comp106 class.
Vaidhyanathan is a professor, who has seen from first hand experience what teenagers go through to get their education. Not every student has the economic means to gain access to certain devices that help with the educational process. These students are the ones that are left to adapt to devices, which are less helpful than what the rich kids can afford according to Vaidhyanathan. So to create some sort of equilibrium, when it comes to interaction between the high and low class teenagers today major companies have created websites like facebook and myspace, which allow teenagers to interact and exchange information. This is essentially a system, which was created for one-size-fits-all, no purchases needed to be made to become a member of these websites.
Not all teenagers wanted to create accounts on facebook and myspace, but they had to because it was the only way to communicate with people of their own age and similar backgrounds of education and race. So these teenagers adapted to the changing technological dependent society just so they wouldn’t be left out. So if we were to assume that this is a one-size-fits-all and exactly, what kids were looking for would be a false statement. Because there are many teenagers, who didn’t even have a computer, but they had to adapt and buy a computer, just so they have a form of communication with their peers.
In my opinion, I do agree with the assertion that Vaidhyanathan makes because it is true and does relate directly to many teenagers. I myself remember when facebook was first introduced to me by my friends, when I was in my senior year in High School. Since I would no longer be seeing some of my closest friends because they would be going to away to different colleges, facebook was the only way to keep in touch with them. Fortunately for me I had the economic means to have a computer and other devices that I use today to keep in touch with old friends and communicating with professors and students in my classes.
From my point of view facebook was a great idea and worked out for me. But you have consider other teenagers, that don’t have computers and can’t use facebook to talk with their old friends on a regular basis and can’t use facebook to communicate with students in their classes over class material and the only form of communication they have is the phone, which is not entirely helpful, when it comes to long discussions on class material. So this one-size-fits-all system didn’t work out for some students and they ended up having to adapt and work extra just so they could afford to buy a computer and then ended up paying other companies like Comcast, just so they could have internet services on their computer.
Education is a very important part of our lives today and since there are new options other than going to directly to school today, the High School’s sand Colleges of today are facing a tough future if things continue as they are. Technology has created an outlet for many people who can’t go to school because they don’t have cars and gas prices are too high. Technology has allowed people to pursue their careers right from their homes, because there are online degrees now offered. In which the people don’t even have to leave their homes to get four year of education and a degree. I believe Vaidhyanathan would agree with me on the fact that if were able to get a four year education from home today, 50 years in the future we might not have Schools, because why buy a car and waste gas money to travel to a school, when you can get the same level of education from your couch. So, in conclusion I disagree with Vaidhyanathan on his claims about how kids are alright and there getting the right amount of technological means of communication and education. As I have argued in this following essay, I do believe that there is much inequality, when it comes to online education and communication between different classes of students and if things don’t change kids will become way too dependent on technology and we might not have School in the future, because kids will want to pursue their career’s right from their homes using online universities, which allow you to get four year degrees from home.
Future of Teenagers?
In our society today teenagers are strongly criticized of being overly excessive on electronic usage. These individuals are referred to as “tech-savvy” by many people except by Vaidhyanathan. Vaidhyanathan believes that the young people of our society are not becoming way too dependent on electrical devices for means of communication between each other and education. In my opinion, having a form of communication over the computer and phones with other students is a great tool but if our society doesn’t change our dependent on technology for education means, than one day there will be no schools and all the education will be done over the computers from home just like this Comp106 class.
Vaidhyanathan is a professor, who has seen from first hand experience what teenagers go through to get their education. Not every student has the economic means to gain access to certain devices that help with the educational process. These students are the ones that are left to adapt to devices, which are less helpful than what the rich kids can afford according to Vaidhyanathan. So to create some sort of equilibrium, when it comes to interaction between the high and low class teenagers today major companies have created websites like facebook and myspace, which allow teenagers to interact and exchange information. This is essentially a system, which was created for one-size-fits-all, no purchases needed to be made to become a member of these websites.
Not all teenagers wanted to create accounts on facebook and myspace, but they had to because it was the only way to communicate with people of their own age and similar backgrounds of education and race. So these teenagers adapted to the changing technological dependent society just so they wouldn’t be left out. So if we were to assume that this is a one-size-fits-all and exactly, what kids were looking for would be a false statement. Because there are many teenagers, who didn’t even have a computer, but they had to adapt and buy a computer, just so they have a form of communication with their peers.
In my opinion, I do agree with the assertion that Vaidhyanathan makes because it is true and does relate directly to many teenagers. I myself remember when facebook was first introduced to me by my friends, when I was in my senior year in High School. Since I would no longer be seeing some of my closest friends because they would be going to away to different colleges, facebook was the only way to keep in touch with them. Fortunately for me I had the economic means to have a computer and other devices that I use today to keep in touch with old friends and communicating with professors and students in my classes.
From my point of view facebook was a great idea and worked out for me. But you have consider other teenagers, that don’t have computers and can’t use facebook to talk with their old friends on a regular basis and can’t use facebook to communicate with students in their classes over class material and the only form of communication they have is the phone, which is not entirely helpful, when it comes to long discussions on class material. So this one-size-fits-all system didn’t work out for some students and they ended up having to adapt and work extra just so they could afford to buy a computer and then ended up paying other companies like Comcast, just so they could have internet services on their computer.
Education is a very important part of our lives today and since there are new options other than going to directly to school today, the High School’s sand Colleges of today are facing a tough future if things continue as they are. Technology has created an outlet for many people who can’t go to school because they don’t have cars and gas prices are too high. Technology has allowed people to pursue their careers right from their homes, because there are online degrees now offered. In which the people don’t even have to leave their homes to get four year of education and a degree. I believe Vaidhyanathan would agree with me on the fact that if were able to get a four year education from home today, 50 years in the future we might not have Schools, because why buy a car and waste gas money to travel to a school, when you can get the same level of education from your couch. So, in conclusion I disagree with Vaidhyanathan on his claims about how kids are alright and there getting the right amount of technological means of communication and education. As I have argued in this following essay, I do believe that there is much inequality, when it comes to online education and communication between different classes of students and if things don’t change kids will become way too dependent on technology and we might not have School in the future, because kids will want to pursue their career’s right from their homes using online universities, which allow you to get four year degrees from home.
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