Individuality or Social Isolation? The Age of Ipod

Individuality or Isolation?

The advantages and disadvantages of Apple's Ipod has been an ongoing
debate between teachers/students, employers/employees.

What's the "Ipod" motive?

“With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go,” says Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. The ipod represents the American principle of independence.

What's the problem?
"SOCIAL" ISOLATION

Teachers, specifically those in Australia and other foreign countries, feel that ipods limit the social interaction between students and faculty.

"It's important for kids to be talking to one another at school, socializing and being part of a community. That's why they come to school, to be connected." -Kerrie Murphy, Principal of International Grammar School in Australia

On the other hand, students argue back saying that ipods allow them to stay focused and calm. Nick Stubbs, a former student at the private school in Sidney says, "It's an individuality we have. The type of music we listen to says who we are."

As for Ipods in the workplace, tuning out to thousands of songs while glued to the computer screen is becoming more and more common these days. "As more employees march through the day to the beats of their own drummers, personal music players are changing the ways in which workers interact and collaborate while posing challenges for bosses who consider the devices unprofessional and disruptive, employers and workplace experts say." -Chicago Tribune

As for the positives:

David Ormesher, founder and chief executive of a communication's firm in Chicago says this:

"Rather than isolating co-workers, music offers common ground. They share playlists on the office network and everyone winds up playing each other's music — jazz, classical, hip-hop, world music. You learn a lot about each other just by checking out playlists."

As you can see, there is a varying range of opinion with regard to the Ipod and whether or not it promotes individuality or social isolation.

To each their own.

Adverts: A Code of Ethics

With regard to a code of ethics in advertising, those involved must be specifically aware of the effects most adverts have on children and teenagers in a psychological sense.

"Research shows that children under the age of eight are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased." (American Psychological Association)

An example of this has to do with the issue of childhood obesity. Children are easy targets for commercial persuasion and most of these commercials have to do with sugary cereals, unhealthy snack foods, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkDpTMGgAoo

Teenagers are also effected due to the fact that their prefrontal cortex (controls impulses and decision making) is not fully developed until the age of 25 and are easily manipulated through advertising. This can be dangerous especially when teens are exposed to video games such as Grand Theft Auto. There was a case in 2oo5 where an Alabama teenager reinacted a scene in the video game and shot two cops.

I understand that companies are interested in profit and that young people are targets because of their vulnerability, but it would be most ethical if companies would consider future problems such as obesity and teenage crime. If young people are the target audience, there has got to be some regulation.

The Brady Bunch

The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC in 1969. It began poorly, much like Star Trek, but eventually became one of America's most popular 1970's sitcoms.

The show represented family values like its predecesors "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." America was dealing with political and social stress during that time period and the creators of "The Brady Bunch" made a point to steer clear from that reality.

Check out The Museum of Broadcast Communications for more insight on this popular sitcom.

Haunted? What do you think?

Is the Amityville house really haunted? MTV takes a deeper look into the film by comparing the movie with real life facts.

Check it out for yourself..."The Amityville Horror."

Movie preview

Evolution of YouTube: Age of Personal Media

New forms of video entertainment are on the rise. 35,000 videos are uploaded to YouTube daily and with the advancements in technology, cellphone users are able to send video directly from their phones to YouTube.

"It will be interesting to see what content will be like when everyone who has a cellphone with them can take video of anything," says Chen. (Co-founder of YouTube)

The recent creation of "Spin-offs and video responses" have allowed videos to be posted like comments--very similar to blog responses. This thread of video footage has allowed personal videos to become more like television series.

Exciting times in today's media!

Check out this article on USA Today.

South Park: Technological Advancements

South Park is known for its mocking nature when it comes to the portrayal of politicians, celebrities, and fads. In order to keep its audience laughing, the production team is known to work 120 hour work weeks and around the clock for nearly 24 hours in order to produce shows in a timely manner.

"Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show's creators and chief authors, need the ability to spoof yesterday's presidential news conference or parody Britney Spears' latest hairdo," writes Dustin Driver, media spokesperson for Apple, Inc.

South Park began its production with the use of construction paper which eventually led to the use of Adobe Photoshop and Maya. As technology advanced, special effects were becoming more and more common through the use of Motion. All these advancements led the team to switch from PCs to Macs. They noticed that alot more was accomplished in a smaller amount of time on a Mac because Maya was more compatible with that workstation. PCs constantly delayed production due to Maya crashing on the Windows workstation which would cause the entire computer to crash.



As you can see, technological advancements have played a vital role in making sure that these animated shows can be created in an efficient and timely manner.


For further reading, please refer to the link below:
"South Park Studios: No Walk in the Park."

The Office

The Office is a documentary-style comedy based off of the original BBC series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. This newly innovated series was created for American television by Greg Daniels and premiered on NBC in March of 2005.

This "docu-reality" portrays the lives of those working at Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The typical 9-5 work day is a huge force of society that has influenced this show. The main characters include the tour-guide and boss Michael Scott, Pam the receptionist, Jim and Dwight the sales associates, and other characters who represent HR, Corporate, the shipping crew, etc. The daily humor and drama found in the typical American office is perfectly laid out through this hit series.

One particular innovation brought about by this series is its documentary-like style. This type of filming is called cinema verite and is done with one camera. Throughout the show, you will notice a single camera following characters around throughout the show. The camera is also a bit shaky which makes you feel as if you are the one doing the filming. The show does a good job in engaging its audience through this unique process.

Another innovation I would like to highlight is the mobile media campaign that NBC did for The Office. This innovation portrays the advances in technology and its important role in current television. The mobile media campaign has allowed fans to further engage in this t.v. series outside their homes through text messages and mobile webpages where they can write blogs, subscribe to newsletters, connect with other fans, shop, play games, read cast bios, and download current episodes. This innovation has allowed The Office to flourish throughout the years because it has enabled each of us to carry this show to work, the coffee shop, school, and the doctor's office through the simple use of our cellular phones. Social networking has become an important tool in the marketing and advertising of popular television series such as The Office.

For more information on The Office, please refer to the links below:

www.nbc.com/The_Office/

The Mobile Media Campaign

C.H.E.K. Institute

The C.H.E.K. Institute website is dedicated primarily to health care professionals and fitness gurus who are interested in a more holistic approach to physical and mental wellness. "This is accomplished through DVD correspondence courses, seminars, advanced training programs, books and audio programs, complimented by assessment tools and functional exercise equipment" (Paul Chek).

The demographics and psychographics of this target
audience would be health practitioners who own a business, financially stable, and value a higher education in health and wellness. The targeted age range is anywhere between 25 and 65 years of age.

My purpose for visiting this website on a frequent basis is to enhance my knowledge as a holistic health professional. I am in constant search of finding new ways to improve my skills, advance my training, and better my practice.

The publication allows health professionals, like myself, to browse through hundreds of articles and topics relating to physical health and mental wellness in some form or another. There are video presentations, books, seminars, and certification courses that touch upon topics such as core exercise, nutrition, sport specific training, rehabilitation, etc. There are also forums which allow you to connect with other health professionals across the world who have common goals and interests.

This publication supports itself by selling books, audio, gym equipment, certification programs, and monthly subscriptions for those who are interested in unlimited media and video presentations by Paul Chek, the founder of the C.H.E.K. Institute.

One story idea a writer might propose for this publication could be, "The many benefits of core exercise for those experiencing low back pain or disk herniation."

This would be good story because most health professionals are searching for articles exactly like the one mentioned above. This headline would draw in anyone who is searching for ways of correcting low back pain and improving overall health of the spine. The C.H.E.K. Institute website is geared toward a functional approach to training, and core exercise is a key component in functional training and rehabilitation.

The Media: Goals and Values During War

I would like to discuss the values of Al Jazeera, the U.S. Media, and the U.S. Military during the Iraq war and what their goals were as mediators to the public. I was privileged to watch a documentary called The Control Room that gave me an excellent perspective of the media during war.

What I found interesting was how aggressive Al Jazeera was in capturing the reality of war from both sides and broadcasting it to the Middle East through photos, television, and newspaper articles. This photo is a perfect example of what was typically published on a daily basis.



As seen here, the reality of war was not only read about, but also seen. They valued reality and they had a mission to educate their people with whatever stimuli they could get.

In regards to the U.S. media, I found they were very reserved when it came to relaying information to the public. They were more concerned with how the information would be perceived and digested rather than getting every bit of footage out into the open. You can also tell there was a large amount of competition between the different U.S. news agencies by how staged and glamorous the presentations were. This allowed me to believe that money was also a definite underlying value as well as safety. Al Jazeera captured the war from every angle possible--their live presentations were out in the war zone--nothing was staged and their was no glamour.



As for the U.S. Military, they kept their information well intact. They would say what the media/public needed to hear, but just enough to keep everyone under control. They were very strategic in the type of information they would give out because they knew they were being watched by the enemy. By controlling the flow of information, they were able to protect their troops.

As you can see, all forms of media have their goals and are driven by very different values. If I were to present information to a broad range of individuals, I would personally take the side of the U.S. Media and the Military. There are boundaries when it comes to how much information should be exposed to the naked eye. The reality of war can be very gruesome and most human beings are not in position to digest this type of information without a context. I believe it is the journalist's responsibility to thoroughly analyze and edit the information before presenting it.

For more information on The Control Room, please refer to the link below:
www.noujaimfilms.com/controlroom/site/01.html

A Newspaper With a Twist

Newspapers are having a tough time these days--especially with all the free news that can be found online.

Joshua Karp is working on the first published paper that consists entirely of blogs.

There website http://www.theprintedblog.com/ will allow customers to pick and choose through numerous blogs depending on what is of interest to them.

Read, "Publisher Rethinks the Daily: It's Free and Printed and Has Blogs All Over," by Claire Cain Miller from the New York Times.

"Portraits of War: Unseen Pictures, Untold Stories"

I was asked as to whether or not the Durango Herald should run this photo?



Here is my stance on the issue--

What is it that keeps us from wanting to know and experience the truth about war?

“A review of six prominent U.S. newspapers and the nation’s two most popular newsmagazines during a recent six-month period found almost no pictures from the war zone of Americans killed in action." (James Rainey, LA Times) And get this, 559 soldiers were killed during that time frame!

You would think that we as Americans would want to know what is going on with our fellow countrymen who are shedding blood and tears for something they call freedom. We are no more free than those locked in a cage--we are trapped in our own ignorance.

Chris Hondros, a veteran war photographer mentioned, “There can be horrible images, but war is horrible and we need to understand that. I think if we are going to start a war, we ought to be willing to show the consequences of that war.”

We need to understand what war is all about and the only way we can truly relate is through visualization. We can be told everyday what is going on in Iraq, but until we actually see what is going on, we will never understand.

“When the Star-Ledger and several other papers ran the Babbitt photo in November, their editors were lashed by some readers--who called them cruel, insensitive, even unpatriotic." (James Rainey, LA Times)

This is one of the reasons why the media has kept us so sheltered from the truth--human ignorance! As the old saying goes, "ignorance is bliss!"

Now, I understand that others have their opinions regarding this issue. "Dierdre Sargent, whose husband was deployed to Iraq, believes the photo is tacky, unprofessional, and completely unnecessary to publish." But again, ignorance is bliss! Her husband was just deployed--of course she would say this! She does not want to be reminded of the horrors of war.

"One camp has argued against publishing graphic images of U.S. casualities, saying the pictures hurt morale, aid the enemy, and intrude on the most intimate moments of human suffering." (James Rainey, LA Times)

This is a clear and valid point, but from whos perspective exactly? Why keep these intimate moments private? Why not allow America to be apart of these intimate moments?

We are the United States of America.

Every American and townsperson of Durango, Co. should be welcoming of any photo that shows up in our newspapers or magazines.

War photos define the reality of war, and it is time to move beyond ignorance--We are the unified people and we will fight this war together, whether it be physically or visually.

Technology and Children: Good or Bad?

Most would define technology as a means of gaining knowledge or accomplishing some sort of task (http://www.merriam-webster.com/) whether it be surfing the internet, listening to audio books, watching an online documentary, or making calls from a wireless blue-tooth device.

Technology provides many benefits as noted above, but when it comes to children, it has been more of a hazard than a benefit.

I would like to elaborate on the issue of video games and how they have been proven to cause violence and aggressive behavior.

An exerpt from the book, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology by Mark P. Zanna writes,

"Both experimental and correlational studies, on average, yield significant positive relations between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behavior with average effect sizes in the r + = 0.20 range" (Anderson and Bushman, 2001)

A study by Thomas A. Kooijmans at the Rochester Institute of Technology also finds that,

"During adolescence there is a general increase in the aggression (Lindemann, Harakka, & Keltikangas-Jaervinen, 1997). "This aggression combined with the exposure to violent media will reinforce and increase aggressive cognitions, affects and arousal. This interaction has a negative affect on the internal state, leading to increased aggression (Spear, 2000)."

As you can see, there is strong evidence that backs this distinct relationship.

The Columbine incident of 1999 is also a great example. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1295920.stm)

For more information, please follow this link:

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2OHSgcuEU2YC&oi=fnd&pg=PA199&dq=%22Anderson%22+%22Effects+of+Violent+Video+Games+on+Aggressive+Behavior,+...%22+&ots=DOvnUDIO6O&sig=K3xtzTCP3yCReSWmU_Bx3FSYfLU#PPA205,M1