Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media

Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media Abstract Social networking has changed the way people interact with each other forever. Social networking first existed as an invention created in 1975 known as email, which is still used today (Email). However social networking has advanced in to using a profile to give information about a user and his or her interests, and has integrated the use of email. Now social networking involves sharing stories, photos, and involves the use of apps as well as messaging to communicate with others. This type of social networking did not become popular until the year 2003 when MySpace and Friendster were launched. Shortly after Facebook was launched but was not open to the general public until 2006, which has become the number one social networking site today. These networks have many positive effects such as remaining in contact with friends, meeting new people, providing educational benefits, as well as the convenience of mobilly accessing it. Also there are some negative effects which include identit y theft, cyber bullying, decreased social interaction in real life, and social isolation. Increase in mobile social networking could possible cause future health problems. The first type of social networking created was Email, which was invented in 1975 (Email). Since then social networking has advanced into a profile with numerous features that can be used and has integrated the use of email. Now social networking is changing the way the world interacts with people, and has provided many useful tools for the world to use. Still these social networks are continuing to advance to provide better features for users, and these popular sites will continue to grow in size. Even though social networks can have negative effects such as wasting time, it also affects people positively by allowing people to communicate and remain in contact with friends in a much easier way. In the article Are social networking sites good for our society? (2009) social networking (or social media) is defined as an online community that allow people to develop profiles of their backgrounds and interests, communicate with friends and strangers, and share thoughts, photos, Internet links, music, and more (p.1). Once a social network is joined users are prompted to identify others in the system with which they have a relationship known generally as friends. Social networking sites vary greatly with the features they have to offer, and is what makes each site different from the other. Six Degrees was the first major social network, similar to social networking today, to be launched and was launched in 1997 (Bhutkar, 2009). Social networking as it is today did not become popular until 2003 when Friendster MySpace and LinkedIn were launched. Then in 2004 Facebook was launched but was only open to college students with a valid university email. Facebook remained a college only n etwork for two years before it opened to the general public in 2006. Since then Facebook has become the number one social networking site (Bhutkar, 2009). Positive Effects of Social Media Social networking sites allow people to communicate and remain in contact with friends as well as meet new people. These sites allow people to find others with similar interests that they can create a relationship with and get to know one another. Groups can be joined or formed to meet people with similar interests, and views. Social networking allows for creative expression by using tools such as blogging and messaging to post ideas and stories (Are social networking sites good for our society, 2009). Users also share poems, interest in music, TV shows, hobbies, photos, and many other things (Jasson). Event invitations can be made and sent to friends rather than having to mail invitations and friends can also rsvp for an event on the site. Not only is it used to talk to friends, but it is also used to discuss educational topics. Social networking is said to increase a persons quality of life, and can reduce health risks. Many people report that they have not had any negative experiences with social networking, and schools are starting to look at it as an educational tool (Thelwell, 2006). The use of social networking helps improve technological skills of students, and exposes them to many diverse views about things. It also has helped with communication skills, and allows the learning of cultures from users all over the world. Also students use social networking to discuss homework topics with peers online, and to get help on assignments (Reid, 2009). Sixty percent of students on social networks have said that they talk about education, and 50 percent specifically talk about school work assignments. These students seem to have an extraordinary set of traditional and 21st century skills including communication, creativi ty, collaboration, and leadership skills and technology proficiency. Parents are expecting schools to take advantage of using online social networking to educate children, but to do so in a safe way. Some public schools have created a secure social network for its student to be able to communicate with other students, and to do so in a more safe way (National School Board Association, 2007). Social Networking does not just benefit individuals, but it also benefits businesses as well. These sites allow businesses to advertise and market services to a large audience, and a profile is free to set up (Gillin). Numerous businesses have created profiles that provide detailed information about the business to advertise in a low cost way (Roberts, 2008). Businesses will gain more attention on social networks because the business profile is available to for all users of the social network to see. Also businesses like to use social networks to learn what potential employees are like, and make decisions based on the information provided on the persons profile (Ellison, Steinfield, Lampe, 2007). Social networking has already completely changed the way people interact in the world, but also it is advancing more to make it easier to access. Now social networking is becoming mobile and can be accessed through the use of a cell phone. It is thought to be a great idea and would increase the use of social networking since a lot of people carry cell phones with them at all times. People can use mobile phones to update their status, post comments, upload photos, send messages, and update profile from just about anywhere (Kharif, 2006). This allows people to be able to get things done as well as take some time to log onto social networks. Making social networks accessible through cell phones is also expected to increase the number of users by a significant amount (Gillin). So far mobile social networking is being used more than social networking from pc computers. The top sites that are being visited using mobile phones are Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo. Being able to access social net works from the cell phone unlocks the full potential of social network, and makes it more convenient for people to use. Since it is more convenient to use the number of users has increased and the mobile social networking has increased significantly (Hamblen, 2008). Negative Effects of Social Media Social networking does have negative effects as well, but are nothing compared to the advantages of using it. These sites reduce the amount of face to face socializing and replace it with online interaction which is believed to result in low quality relationships with other people (Mikami, Szwedo, Allen, Evans, Hare, 2010). Teens over share information to the public that can hurt them in the future when trying to get a job, and deleting the information is not good enough. Cyber bullying occurs as well, which is bullying people online in a public way, but occurs at a small percentage. People that frequently use online social networking are also prone to social isolation which can lead to depression and decreased social skills (Mikami, Szwedo, Allen, Evans, Hare, 2010). A false sense of security leaves social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses. Identity theft can occur when a cybercriminal uses the network to gather personal information posted about people (University of the Pacific). It also has been said that social networking sites endanger children by allowing pedophiles to seek out children (Are social networking sites good for our society?). Also since they are becoming mobile it might encourage people to use cell phone to access these sites while driving just like text messaging was a popular thing to do while driving. Social networking becoming mobile use will increase cell phone use and the problem with that is that cell phones have been found to emit electromagnetic radiation that is absorbed by the brain and body. This absorption disrupts the brain sites for memory and learning and can cause confusion and forgetfulness (Thomas, 2004). It is also been reported that cell phones can cause cancer from the electromagnetic exposure to other parts of the body, but little emphasis has been placed on it. The cause of cancer in the brain has been the main health concern with cell phones, which social networking by mobile phone is not exposing the brain to the waves. Also, cell phones give small amounts of radiation off and would require a lot of use and over a long period of time for it to start to cause cancer. Research is needed to provide evidence to determine that actual health risk of cell phones. Social networking has its advantages and its disadvantages like everything else does. The sites are continuously advancing, and changing to fix the negative problems. One example would be accessing social networking sites using cell phones so that people can access the site on the go rather than sit at home on a computer. Most users have stated that they have had only positive experiences with social networking, and very few people experience cyber bullying. There are still problems that need to be fixed, but it seems that the positive effects outweigh the negative effects. Social networking is a very valuable tool that can be used to meet new people, and allow people to remain in contact with friends. Even though it can waste time, social networking positively affects the world by allowing people to communicate, and remain in contact with friends in an easy and convenient way. References Are social networking sites good for our society? (2009). Social Networking ProCon.org. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from http://socialnetworking.procon.org Bhutkar, G. (2009, January 29). Users on Social Networking Sites. Journal of HC Vistas, 5(February 2009). Retrieved from http://www.hceye.org/?UsabilityInsights/p=103 Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook friends: social capital and college students use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4). Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/?vol12/?issue4/?ellison.html Email: The First -and Largest- Social Network Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Social Media, Web Marketing. (n.d.). Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang: Web Marketing, Social Media. Retrieved April 11, 2010, from http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/07/09/email-the-first-social-network/ Gillin, P. (2008). Business anywhere, anytime. Computerworld Communications Brief, 1-5. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/?PingElizabeth/?the-promise-of-mobile-unified-communications Hamblen, M. (2008, September 11). Get Ready for mobile social networks. Computerworld. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com/?s/?article/?9114487/?Get_ready_for_mobile_social_networks_?taxonomyId=165 Jansson, Y. (n.d.). Online social networking positive aspects. In article dashboard. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from articledashboard database. (477721) Kharif, O. (2006, May 31). Social Networking Goes Mobile. BusinessWeek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/?technology/?content/?may2006/?tc20060530_170086.htm Mikami, A. Y., Szwedo, D. E., Allen, J. P., Evans, M. A., Hare, A. L. (2010). Adolescent Peer Relationships and Behavior Problems Predict young adults communication on social networking websites. Developmental Psychology, 46(1), 46-56. National School Boards Association. (2007). Creating Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and educational networking [Data file]. Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/?sourcefiles/?CreateandConnect.pdf Reid, K. (2009, November). The rise of social networking sites. Education Journal, 119, 22. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/?login.aspx?direct=truedb=aphAN=47781789loginpage=Login.aspsite=ehost-live Thelwall, M. (2008, January 25). Myspace, Facebook, Bebo: Social Networking Students. ALT Newsletter, January 2008(11). Retrieved from http://newsweaver.co.uk/?alt/?e_article000993849.cfm?x=b11,0,w Thomas, W. (2004). Cell phone health effects: busy signals think twice before you place that call.Alive. Retrieved from http://willthomas.net/ Investigations/Articles/cellphones.htm University of the Pacific Online Social Networking Dangers and Benefits. (n.d.). University of the Pacific Stockton, San Francisco, Sacramento. Retrieved April 11, 2010, from http://web.pacific.edu/x4989.xml?ss=print

Rhetorical Analysis of “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” Essay

Being proud of one’s culture and language is often times lost when immigrating to a new country. Although criticized and attacked for her culture, Gloria Anzaldua describes in â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue† that she refuses to let others force her to reject her culture for the sake of belonging and informs Americans and Latinos attempting to suppress Chicano culture specifically that she will persevere through the hardship to keep her identity alive and thriving. Anzaldua calls her readers to understand that the Chicano language and heritage should be recognized and that they be identified as a distinct people; that they are more than nothing. Anzaldua begins with engaging the reader by providing a personal experience of when she was sent to the corner of the classroom for â€Å"talking back† to her teacher when her intention was just to tell the teacher how to pronounce her name (374). In her second section â€Å"Overcoming the Tradition of Silence† (37 4), Anzaldua adds internal incite on the culture of the Chicano and the barriers of her language, supporting her credibility and supporting ethos with another personal account. She displays these different scenarios from her point of view, showing her audience what it feels like to live through these situations as a Chicano. Switching back and forth from English to Spanish, Anzaldua cleverly uses this form of diction to establish ethos with the reader. She puts the reader somewhat in her shoes when growing up in America, not knowing every English word she was read or heard. It makes the reader feel rather awkward or embarrassed for not knowing what the Spanish words mean. Another form of ethos is present when she states, â€Å"If you really want to hurt me, talk badly about my language† (378). Anzaldua uses ethos again to demonstrate that what people value highly, their language, is what she values sincerely, claiming â€Å"I am my language† (378). Anzaldua establishes logos by enlightening us as to why Chicano Spanish is different from Standard Spanish, explaining that the significant differences in the Spanish Chicanos speak developed after 250 years of Spanish/Anglo  colonization (376). She again uses logic in determining that even though by the end of this century Spanish speakers will embody the largest minority group in the U.S, English will be the mother tongue of Chicanos and Latinos due to the fierce influence of the degradation of the use of Spanish (378). Works Cited Anzaldua, Gloria. â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue† From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2nd ed. Ed. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2012. 322-36. Print. Documentation Statement: I received no help on this assignment.

The Story of an Hour & a Sorrowful Woman

â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman† & â€Å"The Story of an Hour† The sadness and unhappiness displayed by both of the married women in â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman† and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† shows that marriage does not always bring the typical ending of most fairy tales. Thus being living happily ever after. It is evident that both of these women feel trapped in their marriages as many people feel today. Growing up with eight sisters I have also seen this feeling of entrapment in the world as well. In both of these stories the women display such a lack of love towards their spouses and in fact in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† it seems as though Mrs. Mallard never really loved her spouse and is the happiest for the hour that she thinks her husband is dead. The woman in â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman† is never satisfied with her marriage and life and feels trapped as well. The bizarre thing is that both of these women end up dead and do not find a way to get help or to get out of the marriages. The authors of these two stories Kate Chopin and Gail Goodwin both tie the unhappiness of these women to the way in which society impacts ones marriage. First of all, through the settings of their stories, both of the authors suggested that social expectations be the real causes of their protagonists’ deaths. In â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman,† the nameless protagonist has what seems to be such a desirable life. She has a â€Å"durable, receptive, gentle† husband and a â€Å"tender golden three† son (189) â€Å"He was attuned to her; he understood such things† (189). This statement leads one to believe that her husband always understood her. It also seems that he is willing to sacrifice his time for her and their family. Mrs. Mallard in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is in a similar environment. Knowing that she has heart trouble, â€Å"great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death† (18). By setting up such nice environments where the two protagonists live, the authors keep readers away from the thought that their protagonists’ deaths are the result of bad treatment. It is the force of social expectations placed upon the women that locked them in the jail of marriage and that eventually lead them to death. It becomes evident while reading both of these stories that both of the female protagonists in the two stories live very unsatisfactory lives. Mrs. Mallard in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† seems to feel trapped in her own marriage. â€Å"She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even certain strength† (19) tells us that her marriage has taken everything away from the young woman emotionally. â€Å"It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long† (19), shows that she never felt freedom in her life and felt very unhappy in this marriage because life seemed to be so long because of it. Therefore, â€Å"She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same† (18) when she was told about her husband’s death. She just accepted it and went to her room because she realized that her husband’s death gave her freedom and now â€Å"spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days [that] would be her own. † (19) In the other story â€Å"A Sorrowful Womanâ€Å", the once again nameless protagonist, is imprisoned in her own mind. This is different from â€Å"The story of an hour. † In â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman† the sight of her family makes her so disgusted and uneasy. She feels that to love and take care of her family is a burden. â€Å"She stood naked except for her bra, which hung by one strap down the side of her body; she had not the impetus to shrug it off† (189) indicates how tired and unmotivated she feels about her life. Both of these women in these two stories struggle to live happily and are constantly living in agony. Many readers, including myself, might wonder why they don’t free themselves by offering divorce to the husbands. Chopin and Godwin use a lot of irony to allow readers to know that it isn’t simple for their protagonists to break the social expectations that keep them in the boundary of marriage. Divorce is never an option for them. Divorce might have never been defined in their society, and it was most definitely not as common then as it is now. These poor women have no way to escape from their intense unhappiness. Not only did these women not have a way to get out of their crisis, but they were also prohibited from being themselves and from doing what they want. In â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman,† the main character is exhausted from being â€Å"a wife and mother one too many times† (189). When her son says, â€Å"She’s tired of doing all our things again† (193), this tells us what her life was like. She was constantly feeling the stress of trying to be a housewife against her will, although she did have the ability to write and wasn’t given much of a chance to write. Only once in her life does she have a chance to write â€Å"mad and fanciful stories nobody could ever make up again, and a table full of love sonnets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (192-193); that is before her death. This woman is in a tough predicament. While the person herself tells her to do whatever she wants to, the person that is affected by social expectations inside her tells her to do other things. She completely loses controls of herself. Even though she was unable to do things she wants, she still had to pretend as if she was the luckiest woman (189). In â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† on the other hand, Mrs. Mallard’s overwhelming joy when she received the news of her husband’s death indicated for how long and how much she wanted to be â€Å"Free, free, free! (19). Only alone in her room could Mrs. Mallard express her happiness. In front of people, she has to repress her feelings and pretend to be sad. The conflict inside and outside the woman tells us so much about what the society expected her to do. It also seems that Godwin was trying to show the conflict between Mrs. Mallards marriage and society by intensely describing her world inside and outside of her room. Chopin and Godwin have successfully directed readers to the only reasonable resolution of their stories, the deaths of their main characters. Death is the only way our two protagonists are able to escape from their agony and from the pressure of social expectations placed upon them. These two women’s societies don’t allow them to die comfortably even when they have chosen death as their fate. In â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman,† even though our nameless protagonist despises being a mother and wife she still does what society would expect of her, as a housewife, right before her death. She made â€Å"five loaves of warm bread, a roast stuffed turkey, a glazed ham, three pies of different fillings, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (192). In â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Mrs. Mallard was said to have died of â€Å"joy that kills† (20) even though it seems as though she died because she was finally able to see freedom in her day’s ahead and could not fathom to live under her husband’s will again. Even until her death, her society still pushed her in the position of a pretender, of a person she never wants to be. Without a way out of these unhappy situations, both of the protagonists chose death for freedom. It is only through death that they are both able to escape from their unhappy lives. These stories provoke so much thought. Should society be more understanding of people? Maybe if our society could be more excepting and understanding there would be less tragedy like there has been in Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Godwin’s â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman. † Works Cited Chopin, Kate. â€Å"The Story of an Hour. † Thinking and Writing About Literature. Michael Mayer. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 18-20. Goodwin, Gail. â€Å"A Sorrowful Woman. † Thinking and Writing About Literature. Michael Mayer. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 189-193.

Do all museums have to look alike