[katielehigh-blog]

My Final Thoughts

              Throughout my final semester at Lehigh, I have enjoyed branching out in this course from my structured Finance and business classes to write about my own personal interests. Much of my posts from this semester have focused on developing technologies and how this innovation is changing human interaction. I find this topic to be interesting, and have especially enjoyed the class discussions related to how we communicate and how this has evolved. I think this is prevalent to the course in general, especially with the shift in the majority of writing and reading now being done on the Internet. My favorite post on this topic was "The Cell Phone Has Become the Cigarette" that I think conveys the strong message that cell phones have progressed into a certain kind of addiction.

            My intentions for my general theme of the blog were to explore the role media has by influencing society. Although I did not write on this as much as I expected, many times because I found the technology topics to be more exciting, I was able to address these issues in the Duke lacrosse scandal, the Steubenville rape case in Ohio, as well as the media frenzy surrounding the Sandy Hook shootings. I believe that the media potentially has too much power depending on the issue and therefore has the capacity to sway how we think as individuals. In my post "Duke Lacrosse Scandal and the Lives It Shattered," I think I communicated this well by explaining how the media coverage affected the lives of those involved for years long after the trial. Perhaps I should have addressed more cases of positive influences of the media, and looking back this is something I could have done to improve my blog.

            For my final class project I am pursuing creating a blog that focuses on the post graduation life and the transition to the "real world." After my response post to ktorrisi, I found that I enjoyed writing about this topic and could do so easily. My post "Not the Last Summer" pleasantly disagrees with ktorrisi with hopes to instill positive thoughts about post graduation and I now think this writing could be therapeutic as I myself take on this daunting change. With a new blog detailing my own transition and experiences, I would like to help others with the process and find relief and comfort for myself as well.

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Damn it, my mom is on Facebook

            The world of Facebook is drastically changing as people of all ages are turning to this form of social media to connect with friends. While at first Facebook was primarily for college students, the range of users is expanding to different age groups and as a result more and more parents are joining the craze. My mom is no exception.

            While at first I thought little of having my mom as a friend on Facebook, I am continuously in awe of her activity and the amount of friends she communicates with. Any post that is on my wall she knows about, especially since she does not have as many friends as say a college student and my news stories are therefore more noticeable. I remember seeing this skit from Saturday Night Live that poked fun at moms on Facebook:

In the video, the "Damn it, my mom is on Facebook" filter jabs at what many people of my generation are intuitively doing to their Facebooks to construct a positive image and negate any evidence of partying. Personally, I do not mind if my mom sees what is on my Facebook since she is more relaxed and aware of what I am doing. I do not think I have to hide anything from my mom or anyone else for that matter, so I do not see a problem in allowing my mom to like pictures and see what I am up to.

      As annoyed as I sometimes get when my mom likes every photo or shares my pictures so that all of her friends can see, I know she just wants to become involved in the Facebook world to communicate with her old and current friends. I can't say if I will be using Facebook when I am a mother, and there will likely be some other form of social media that everyone will be using. But I can't be mad at my mom for wanting to be included in this developing form of communication on the Internet, and I personally do not feel that I need a "Damn it, my mom is on Facebook" filter as funny as the skit is.

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Not the last summer

            After reading ktorrisi's post "The last summer" about our final summers before entering the so-called real world, I wanted to share my own experience and suppress some universal fears about internships and summer jobs. I too believed that once I began my IT consulting internship the summer before senior year that my careless summer days were history and I would be miserable. Luckily, I was wrong.

            My past summer spent interning in New York City was one of the best and most memorable. I enjoyed working with professionals and getting exposure to the work I will be doing when I begin full time, while meeting up with friends for happy hour in the city and feeling more sophisticated. I had little responsibility as an intern as I focused on becoming acclimated into the routine and now look forward to my bigger role when I begin full time. As much as I enjoyed my summer days spent with friends at one of our pools, I can't say that I prefer it to the real world.

            In her post, ktorrisi describes the competitive job market and anxiety over filling summers with work to build a resume to achieve that desired job:

"I realize the job market is extremely tough and competitive, and the sooner you get started on building your résumé, the easier it will be to find a job in the future. However, how soon is too soon? Are teenagers these days being deprived of a proper childhood infused with irreplaceable summer memories?"

Too soon is never too soon, in my opinion, yet I do not believe this will make you deprived of a proper childhood. Previous to my internship, I spent my summers working at camps and doing standard summer jobs such as childcare and soccer instruction. Although my resume was not especially impressive with regard to my job, I got the position I wanted based on my dedication and expressed interest. Employers do recognize that we are still young as college students, and previous experience in a specific field is difficult to have. In my opinion it is more important to prove to employers that you are teachable and can learn whatever is needed while on the job.

            The pressure that comes with job search is extreme yet shared by college students everywhere. As much as summer is a time to relax and forget about a "regimented routine" as ktorrisi says, this is a time to build as an individual and to not conform to the routine a university provides. I can attest to working grueling hours during the summers, one summer even working two jobs that has taught me time management and more responsibility than my education at Lehigh could bestow. While I understand the fears of your "last summer," I can assure you that your future summers will be filled with similar memories from long weekends and Fourth of July barbeques. The warm months will still be enjoyed and this is for certain not the last summer.

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The Digital Era Etiquette

"When's the last time you sent a thank you note? When you sat down, actually hand wrote it and popped it in the mail? Chances are it's been a while." 

              While browsing my twitter feed, I saw an interesting post from a Lehigh University account about an article based on a professor interview entitled "Has the digital era killed our sense of etiquette?" I was immediately interested since much of what I have been writing applies to social media and changing behaviors with technology. In the article, Lehigh professor Jeremy Littau describes the emerging divide between generations that grew up without certain technologies compared to the newer generations who only know communicating with technology.

            While on a long drive this past weekend, my sister and I discussed this and how we believe that people just a few years younger have different interpretations of communicating with technology from us. My sister strongly believes that those about the age of sophomores in college are even more dependent on cell phones and have no problem with this usage in formal environments. However, older generations may interpret cell phone usage in front of them to be especially rude and I believe this is because they do not fully understand these technological capabilities and feel left out.

            Regardless of age and where you fall in these generations, I do believe there needs to be greater awareness of a technological and perhaps social media etiquette. Littau is quoted in the article as saying:

  "I think we make the mistake of thinking the Internet is this thing that we live in and it's actually a tool we use, it's a tool that we use to communicate."

  Littau is correct in his statement and I agree that many people are existing in the technological world as though it is the real world. I do not believe the answer is to expect others to behave with technology as we wish or to preach proper etiquette because this is subjective with respect to generations. However, I am hopeful that there is some emergence of technological etiquette because I for one agree with the older generations that priority to technology is simply rude. While I have not always been so conscious, I recognize the developing societal problem associated with excessive technology usage and am fearful for the effects on pure and natural human interaction.

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A Victim of Cyber Bullying

            I remember hearing the sad details of the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a victim of cyber bullying, on September 22, 2012. He lived in the town next to me at home and was attending Rutgers University at the time of his premature death. Most people know his unfortunate story and the events leading up to his suicide that undeniably influenced his desire to end his life.

            Tyler Clementi was a student at Rutgers who was living with Dharun Ravi in a shared dorm room. Supposedly, Ravi wanted to confirm that Clementi was gay and set up a webcam to record his roommate when Clementi asked for the room for a few hours time. Ravi then made the webcam available for others to view and advertised its existence through social media. Soon Clementi became aware of the recordings, and the following day requested for a single room. However, I think the damage had already been done and Clementi felt violated and humiliated. The next day he made the decision to take his own life.

            Similar to the Ohio rape case, this act of cyber bullying involved social media as a means for the crime to be spread. Many students saw the video in the dorm building or at least knew that a video existed from posts on Twitter.  At Ravi's court trial, Tyler's mother stated:

In this digital world, we need to teach our youngsters that their actions have consequences, that their words have real power to hurt or to help. They must be encouraged to choose to build people up and not tear them down. 

I think these words from Tyler's mother are practical for today regarding the digital world we live in and the need to take responsibility for one's actions - even online. Although the Internet seemingly masks users and allows anonymous activity, this case proves that you are accountable for your actions. In the CBSNews article on Clementi's case, it is stated that "the net is now the real world" and proves that users on the Internet must be aware that cyber bullying can have even worse effects than physical wounds.

             As I have been discussing in many previous posts, society is changing and much of communication is done on the Internet and through technology. This case confirms the need for laws and regulations against cyber bullying, and as devastating as it was exposed awareness of the issue to hopefully prevent a reoccurrence. The suicide of Tyler Clementi is another example of how the media took hold of a story and captured the attention of the nation. In this example, I believe the media coverage was due to the possibility of a hate crime, combined with the young age of the victim and the horrible end. I strongly believe that the future will only bring more instances of this kind of crime due to the changing norms of communication. From here, there must be greater awareness and programs in place to protect children from being bullied online when there is no supervision. 

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Social Media Influence in Steubenville Case

            The Steubenville, Ohio rape case has gained the attention of the nation. Perhaps it is due to the small town nature and the social media involved, but this case has filled the news channels and has come to an end with a guilty verdict. Although the victim has no recollection of the alleged rape, she became aware from social media and the photos and videos that leaked afterwards. This case relates to my post on the Duke lacrosse case, however in this case we now know the verdict was guilty as Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond were arrested this week for rape.

            This case focused on the victim's level of inebriation and whether or not there was consent. Regardless, the boys accused took advantage of the girl and used social media to share and brag about what they had done. While at the time they thought this made them cool, they now have to serve time for something that I do not believe they did with malicious intent. This case is especially interesting to me because it was fueled by social media and the evidence came from text messages, photos, and videos that were taken at the party. Since the victim remembered little, it was this evidence that allowed the case to exist and to punish the boys for their heinous crimes. In the USA Today article "Steubenville rape case driven by social media," the victim's mother speaks to the accused boys, "You were your own accuser, through the social media that you chose to publish your criminal conduct on."

  This case proved that social media could be used to commit a crime as well as a means for evidence. While I do not think the boys involved in this case should necessarily be registered sex offenders, they deserve to pay for what they did and social media has enabled their correct punishment. The USA Today article quotes Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz on how social media is changing law:

  "It's the wave of the future. It's going to change the way evidence is gathered in cases. It's already happening. Every technology creates changes in the way the way the law operates."

  I could not agree more with Dershowitz on how social media is finding a new presence in law. In this case I strongly believe social media facilitated a correct conviction, but I wonder how it can influence future cases and if it will always be this beneficial.

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Duke Lacrosse Scandal and the Lives It Shattered

            Most people remember the 2006 Duke lacrosse scandal and the plentiful media coverage. This case focused on the accuser, Crystal Mangum, who worked as a stripper and accused Duke lacrosse players of rape while she was hired at their off campus house. My intentions are not to discuss the many details of the case, but rather the indecency in the way the media portrayed those accused and the implications. Perhaps it was due to the reputation of Duke combined with the race issues involved, but this case immediately became national news. This video is just one example of how the Duke players charged, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, were wrongly attacked by the media.

            The most important part of this video is when the Duke student, Stephen Miller, says, "It is possible that two innocent people may have had their lives ruined" and Nancy Grace responds in a disgusted manner, condemning the idea that anyone could consider these boys innocent. In the end, however, we all know that these boys were in fact innocent yet their lives were changed forever.

            Aside from the Duke lacrosse season being cancelled, Collin Finnerty and Reade Selignmann were forced to withdraw from the university. Their names were thrown around in the media and they were portrayed as privileged rich boys who took advantage of a helpless woman. While the boys managed to transfer to other reputable schools, their accomplishments at Duke became worthless and they could not graduate from the school. Their names became tarnished and remain on the Internet relating to a crime that they did not commit. Another individual highly affected was the coach Mike Pressler. Although he was the successful Duke coach for 16 seasons, Pressler was fired by the university for something that was completely out of his hands and perhaps stemmed from media pressure. Pressler is now at Bryant University, coaching a much smaller lacrosse team but managing to make substantial improvements in the program. While notifying his team that he was "resigning" (but actually fired), Pressler stated,

"One day, we will get a chance to tell the world the truth. One day."

     Pressler did so in his book entitled It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case and the Lives It Shattered, proving that the media disregarded facts and truly shattered the lives of those involved.

            What many people do not know is that Crystal Magnum is currently in jail for murdering her boyfriend in April of 2011. The majority of the media failed to make this a major headline, perhaps because it made them look silly based on their original interpretation of the rape case. But I also think this woman proves our legal system and press in general to be flawed. The fact that she was able to make such a claim when she was under the influence of drugs and had a history of false rape claims alarms me in the way it hurt the individuals involved. 

       Hopefully an incident like this will not occur again, and the Duke lacrosse scandal will remind the media of the fundamental idea in our legal system - innocent until proven guilty.

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Alone together

       This video is perhaps the reason why I have focused much of my writing (How the Internet Can Change Lives, The Cell Phone Has Become the Cigarette, and Where Is Human Interaction Going) on the influence of technology on human interaction. I remember last year my sister explained a lecture she attended by this woman, Sherry Turkle, who is an MIT professor in Social Studies of Science and Technology. I was so intrigued by her viewpoints of the progression of technology and the scary realities of what technology has become and what it is doing to modern communication. These words were especially resounding:

"Often we're too busy communicating to think, create, and really connect with the people we are with in the ways that would really count. In continual contact we're alone together."

            In the lecture, Turkle mentions Henry David Thoreau and his visions of living a simple life and how humanity has completely diverted from this ideal. I studied Thoreau and transcendentalism in high school and was intrigued by this concept that we no longer live in an environment free from distraction. Although I believe technology has progressed life from Thoreau's interpretation in many ways that are positive, I resent the current obsession with technology as preferred means of communication. Turkle states in her lecture that these are today's realities:

While at a park parents now push a swing with one hand while texting with the other

Children admit that their parents read a story to them while scrolling through a phone to look at messages

At school pickup, when children are looking for parents and that specific eye contact with a mom or dad, they are instead met with parents looking down at phones

                        This generation of children is different - different in some ways that technology has made better, but different in many ways that has made these children less emotionally attached to the individuals they know. As much as we shape technology, it shapes us in return and without phones we become "anxious and impossible" - we feel incomplete because technology is our phantom limb. In her lecture, Turkle says that what she did not predict was for mobile connectivity to mean that we leave the physical world. Rather than multi-tasking in some situations it is really multi living because we are in two worlds, life in the screen and life as it should be. 


            Turkle states, "In continual contact, we are alone together." We rely so much on technology and are losing any sense of true intimacy with other humans and as a result we really have no true relationships. While I do respect and enjoy the advancements of technology, I agree that our society is entirely too infatuated and reliant on these capabilities. I am hopeful that there may be some changes for the future regarding technology use etiquette, and Turkle's idea as the first step to regaining our innate communication is to revert to simply starting conversations.

Further information on Sherry Turkle can be found on her MIT bio

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5 blogs relating to the relationship between media, technology, and society

1. The most interesting blog I found relating to my intended topic is "New Media and Society Blog" that depicts the current issues with media and how it has influenced my generation. The author is also a student who shares similar stories that I can relate to and agree with. In one post she states, "Many students today are in fact aware and are concerned with the role of new technologies in their lives." As much as I agree with her ideas I believe the blog ended once her class was completed. This idea however is definitely something that I want my blog to focus on, as well as how the media in general can influence us.

2. Another blogger that I am interested in that I came across is Michelle Greer's blog on "Social Media and Society". In her blog, Michelle posts about the relationship between social media and society. I enjoyed her post, "Caveats for Quantifying Online Influence" and how she responded to an article on how are lives are becoming more and more measured by our online presence. She also discusses IT piracy and collaborative consumption, which is increased trust between strangers that is enabled by the internet.  Overall the blog has many issues that I am interested in and is a good analysis by someone of similar age as well as viewpoints. 

3. Similar to Michelle, Jose has various posts about media in his blog but uses his own personal influences in the posts. He is a student at Full Sail University in Florida taking a Media and Society class. His posts detail various ways he is influenced by media and also makes generalizations as well. I truly believed his words and wanted to share part of a post:

'Media shapes the thought process of society. Without anyone knowing, you could be tricked into thinking other things besides the truth. Media might shape society but you choose what society shapes you.'

I fully agree with his ideas and my intention for my blog is to prove these words using different events that the media has portrayed, in both positive and negative ways.

4. The technology blog, "The Business of Technology" that I found on the NY Times website is another area that I have interest in. This blog is more focused on the business aspect of technology and how new technology is being integrated into businesses in new ways. My full time job is in the IT industry and the posts in this blog are especially interesting to me. The blog compiles various posts from different authors relating changes in technology to how they fit in the work place. For example, the blog has an article describing the evolution of the Tinder app as well as an article relating to Yahoo and the tendency for more workers to work from home.

5. A more comical blog I found entitled "When Parents Text" displays various text messages between parents and their children. This blog is extremely popular and even has an iPhone app! Most of these exchanges are very funny, and I can easily relate to texting my parents and how this practice has evolved in just a short period of time. One text example really caught my eye from a mother, "MOM: I'm doing a lot of pretend txt to appear busy" because I think this further illustrates some of our class discussions. Clearly, even our parents are now using phones and fake text messages to appear busy and likely detach themselves from reality to avoid an unwanted situation. The following are some examples that I wanted to share to show how communication is changing with our parents through texting:

DAD: Hey this is your father

DAD: Hey whats up?

DAD: Why aren’t you texting me bak?

ME: Dad, I’m in class!

DAD: oh sorry, I’m bored and none of my friends are on facebook

and another....

MOM: Sitting on the porch. 5/4/2011 3:03 pm TWITTER

ME: What?

MOM: I’m tweeting.

ME: No, actually you’re not. Just because you put twitter at the end of a text message doesn’t mean you are tweeting.

MOM: My daughter sucks. 5/4/2011 3:06pm TWITTER

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How the Internet can change lives

            Most of my thoughts regarding current technology are negative. I think about how technology has hindered our ability to communicate face to face and how helpless people become without cell phones as their fifth limb. However, I recently saw a post on my news feed that made me stop to think and consider the positive aspects of technology. My friend from high school has apparently been discussing the same topic in class and felt the need to share the comments of her classmate through a Facebook status:

  "We are talking about how technology takes away the art of communication in class and this poor girl, who has a social disorder, hesitantly raised her hand and explained how the internet has completely changed her life and how she wouldn't have any friends if it weren't for the internet because in real life, including her parents, people are so mean and constantly bully her."

              I read these words and was literally stunned. I could not believe that this girl felt so alone and that even her parents failed to give her the attention she deserves. The Internet has become her refuge to find communication and without it she would have to live surrounded by the cruelty around her. Although these friends are only virtual, this girl clearly considers them to be her only friends and values the friendship and means to escape her troubles. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to share this with the class, but by doing so she made her classmates realize the positives of communication with technology and reinforced the fundamentals of being kind to those around you.

            As much as I resent technology when someone I am with ignores me for a cell phone, I must appreciate technology for the capacity to save someone. This poor girl explained that technology and the Internet has changed her life, and if it helps her there must be similar people out there as well. While I do still believe that in many circumstances technology impairs human interaction, the words of this innocent girl proved to me that communication with technology has benefits that I had not considered.

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The cell phone has become the cigarette

       After reading mollyyjeann and beccalehigh's blog conversation about technology and how it is changing human interaction, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to respond. My previous posts “Where is human interaction going” and “Who really watched the Super Bowl” have explored this topic and I am always amazed at how various individuals interact with their technology and depend on it.

     The truth is that cell phones have become a new kind of addiction. A relatively harmless addiction in my mind, at least health-wise, but an addiction nonetheless. Our infatuation with cellphones and virtual interaction is facilitating the “Lehigh lookaway” as mollyyjeann describes and making us anxious without our phones. Cell phones are the new habit that people can constantly use to detach themselves from reality. Previously, if waiting for a bus or standing outside people would light up and smoke to pass the time. The fidgety people who always need to hold something are no longer addicted to cigarettes but rather their cell phones.  In Josh Freed’s article “Cellphones replace smokes as the habit of choice, originally published in The Montreal Gazette in January of 2012, he describes the similarities between smoking and cell phones and how these addictions have evolved over time.

“The cellphone has become the cigarette. Everywhere you look, people hold phones instead of cigarettes up to their mouths - exhaling words instead of smoke.”

      Cell phones cannot be the only reason smoking has declined, especially with the recent exposure of the health risks smoking provides. But I consider cell phones to be a noteworthy answer to why fewer young people are choosing to develop a smoking habit, and as pleased as I am that smoking is on the decline I just wish more people were speaking face to face.

            The cell phone addiction is beginning to revolutionize the way we communicate in ways that are equally beneficial and devastating to human interaction. While I enjoy the ease of communicating with family and friends at any time, I have become aware of cell phone dependence and am beginning to resent when I am disregarded for technology. As much as I make an effort to use my phone sparingly, I cannot preach or have expectations for how others should behave with technology. Although there are no health risks associated with cell phone addiction, I worry that the real dangers will be even more detrimental than smoking by corrupting the most fundamental component of humanity - how we communicate face to face. 

Photo Credit

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Where is human interaction going?

My latest Sunday afternoon was spent completing an assignment with a friend at the library. We were making great progress and understanding the material, until I asked a question to which I received no response or even an acknowledgment that I had said anything. It was as though I did not exist and I waited a few moments while she stared at her phone. I then asked my friend if she had heard anything that I had just said - to which she replied, "No," and said nothing further.

            The truth is that today we expect more from technology and less from each other. Without phones we become anxious - we feel incomplete because technology is now a part of us. As the reliance on cell phones progresses, the next question will become what proper cell phone etiquette is. I was not heard at the library because my friend was so engaged in her phone and gave priority to whomever she was texting.  So perhaps I should have known not to ask anything while she was looking at her phone and maybe this is what human interaction is evolving towards, but I would like to think this is not true.

            Later that day I luckily came across this article detailing a beautiful handwritten letter a doctor had sent home to a husband who had just lost his wife, commemorating him on his love and devotion.

Seeing the handwritten words made me overjoyed that the doctor took the time to put his feelings on paper and make sure that they were communicated to the grieving husband. This letter represents pure human interaction and humanity at its best. As I continued reading, this comment on the article made me stop to think:

  'Every once in a while, the humanity in a single person redeems the rest of us.'

            I could not help but compare my thoughts on human interaction from just this one day and the extreme differences between the scenarios. Although the future of human interaction is undeniably technology based, this quote and the handwritten letter reminded me of what cell phones can never change and restored my wavering faith in the way we communicate.

Original post: The future of human interaction

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Repulsed by the "Sandy Hook Hoax"

       When I first heard the conspiracy theories surrounding the terrible shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, I was repulsed by the thought. My roommate first showed me a video that went viral explaining the speculation, and the idea quickly permeated the social media. This graph depicts just how quickly the rate of the conspiracy theory increased in a few days.

      I soon found a blog that focuses solely on the Sandy Hook hoax theory. The unnamed author titled the blog "Sandy Hook Conspiracy" and included a disclaimer: "I in no way claim this shooting never took place, or that people did not lose their lives. All this site is a collection of evidence that points to deception."

         The blog has various posts detailing reasons the government fabricated the story for stricter gun control. These reasons include that Adam Lanza's official date of death is listed as the day before the shootings on December 14, as well as the conflicting reports on the guns found and lack of evidence within the school. Although the author states intriguing points, I would argue that this shooting and the media coverage if anything fuel the desire for the next attack and is something the government would not want (as mentioned in my previous post "It's because of the way the media reports it")

            The blog is indeed interesting and presents many curious thoughts, but my overall question is why? If the author does not personally believe the shooting did not take place, as stated in the disclaimer, then why create a website to facilitate the spreading of this sensitive theory? Why the need to create an entire blog dedicated to speculating that innocent children did not lose their lives? My thoughts are that the author's objective is to provoke public curiosity for the ultimate pursuit of selfish attention.

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The viral video illustrating reasons for the Sandy Hook Conspiracy. 

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Who really watched the Super Bowl?

           A memorable photo to my discretion appeared on my Facebook newsfeed with the caption: girls watching the game. But as I looked closer into the picture I found the caption to be a lie. All but one of the group of girls sat in front of the television with eyes fixated on the mobile devices in front of them. So were they really watching the game?

            As I myself watched the Super Bowl, I periodically refreshed my Twitter to see the potentially witty and hilarious comments from my followees. My friends and I were more excited for Beyonce than the football, and discussed whether or not Destiny’s Child would make their rumored appearance. So when Beyonce finally came on stage and gave a phenomenal performance incorporating her famous trio Michelle and Kelly, I was shocked that my friend went to Twitter to make an instant tweet rather than watch live. It was as though she wanted to be the first to enlighten the Twitter world of the occurring events, to then interact with users by "retweeting" and reading posts aloud. 

            It seems to me that today simply watching television is not enough. So perhaps the days of pure immersion in the Super Bowl and other shows are over, and the days of virtually watching with those in our social media inventory are just beginning. Technology provides us with the immediate connections, news, and information that we crave and allows us to watch television in a new way. The following chart illustrates that 86% of television viewers use their phones simultaneously and the distribution of what they are doing.

Photo source

           I am no exception to these statistics and find it rare that I watch a show without my laptop or cell phone beside me. So maybe television is no longer enough for me, and I use other forms of technology to avoid commercials and prevent any ounce of boredom. Social media kept me engaged during this Super Bowl and perhaps this multitasking is a new enhancement to how we watch things.

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It's because of the way the media reports it

            Following the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut this past December, everyone knows the news and social media exploded. From the varying death counts to the false reports, the media reported anything to meet the current societal demand of immediate news. I remember seeing a beautiful quote from Morgan Freeman on my own news feed, detailing this specific media response and stating that the reason these shootings occur is "because of the way the media reports it."

            I could not have agreed more with Morgan Freeman. I could imagine him writing these words hoping to affect change, and as I read I heard his calm voice and grasped each and every word. The following words truly grabbed my attention and made me reflect on how the media focuses on the shooters in these terrible situations. 

  'So congratulations, sensationalist media, you’ve just lit the fire for someone to  top this.'

               I was so pleased to be reading this and hoped that people would understand that in a way the media glorifies the perpetrator, and perhaps this fuels the desire for the next shooter to strike. But Morgan Freeman never said these words. I later learned that the actor claimed to know nothing of his quote that was leaked at such a fragile time in our country. Soon this image and similar posts could be found on the internet, replacing his supposed words of wisdom.

                                           The words I read through Morgan Freeman's voice were actually written by Mark from Vancouver. Although I agree with the quote regardless, it goes to prove that just because something is stated on social media or in the news does not mean the individual actually said it. I do agree with Mark that the way the media responds to a crisis allows the bad guy to be forever known; but I also think there is a problem with media in how this lie quickly permeated our news feeds and deceived us. This occurrence further proves that not everything online is true, yet I think this Mark individual had the best intentions in getting his point across. Morgan Freeman's voice embodies a god like power and reason, and whoever reposted Mark's words was able to force people to listen. So really, is that so bad? 

[katielehigh-blog]

Don't Sweat The Minor Things

           I have always enjoyed discovering writing that provokes thought and forces me to reflect on myself. While reading beccalehigh's blog post 10 Things I Love About You, I found myself thinking about what makes me happy. The following words truly struck home and make me want to focus on these little things:

'It is far too seldom that we take the time to stop and think about the wonders of each tiny scrap of life around us and fully appreciate their existence.'

            Whether it is receiving that meaningful text from my dad who is not technically savvy or being the recipient of an unexpected favor, these little things bring a smile to my face and for a moment nothing bothers me. As important as it is to indulge in the little things, I also believe that for the same reasons it is important to abstain from becoming upset at minor things. To illustrate my belief, I thought of a time when I was on the train with my dad and became stunned by the behavior of a fellow commuter. First, I must make readers aware of what I like to call the customary "train etiquette" on NJ transit. Although three seats are in a row only the outside seats are occupied and no one dares to sit in the middle. Even when a train is crowded people will stand rather than take an open seat between two strangers. Bizarre.

            One evening, a naive woman entered the train and asked if she could sit in the middle seat as the occupant angrily obliged. The woman began to make a phone call and the man proceeded to lose his temper. He began screaming at the woman how rude it is to make a phone call, but we had not even left the station so it could not have been long. He yelled saying he was nice to have given her the middle seat, yet there was an open seat and I do not think this is a big deal. Our train car was stunned. No one had any response and simply sat in awe of this man's actions.

            Do I think this businessman was purely a cruel individual who would have always reacted like this? I personally do not. I believe he had a horrible day, perhaps week, and allowed his own problems to influence how he responded to the situation. He allowed a little thing to set him off. I am hopeful that this incident made him reflect on his actions, however, and perhaps he will "take the time to stop and think about the wonders of life" rather than become unreasonably upset at a minor annoyance.