#socioloy

[anderson-a25]

Consumerism at its Finest

Making this list showed me a firsthand example of what consumerism actually is. Companies advertise items to a crowd that they’ll attract the most. Expensive items such as cars, phones, air pods, watches, are all wants that are mostly bought by teens and young adults provoked by the media and the society around them.

I noticed that the majority of my list were wants. Electronics, clothes, shoes, beauty supplies are excess items that are not a necessity. It’ll be times where I just go on random shopping sprees buying things I know I may not need or use later down the road but, since I want it in that moment, I get it. 75% of my items came from big known companies like Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc. and now that I think about it, I could have saved so much money by purchasing needs more than wants.

This is also a result of privilege. Growing up, my needs were given to me for the most part so I had money to buy whatever I wanted and not needed. Not everyone is given the opportunity to take advantage of the advertisements seen on television or in stores or online because their income goes straight to the necessities.

This assignment has definitely opened my eyes more and made me realize how I could be more responsible with how I spend my money.

[anderson-a25]

Thursday’s classwork. 9/9/2021

Concept Map

Amari Anderson

Aisha Osei-Zulu

Brianna Richardson

[anderson-a25]

Chapter 1 Fieldwork

Amari Anderson

A typical wooden pencil. A writing tool used for recording, communicating, writing journals, and more. Everyone uses pencils at some point in their life, but how much do we actually know about them? 

History:

As popular as pencils may be now, it was not always like that. Pencils  were invented in 1795 by a man named Nicholas-Jacques Conte. Before this, people were using chalk, stone, ink, and even carving messages into wood for them to be baked later. During the graphite deposit in England in 1564, it was discovered that graphite was and still is a great tool for writing. In 1662, German manufacturers began inserting the graphite into hollow sticks of wood and began the first mass production of wooden pencils.

Manufacturing:

The pencil I am holding was manufactured from the pen+GEAR company that was first established in India. Pen+GEAR products are distributed through companies such as Target and Walmart, that can be found pretty much anywhere. The development of wooden pencils have extremely improved over time. During the 17th century, the graphite and clay that is found within the pencil, was grounded down into a cylindrical mold in order to be inserted in the wood. Now, there are huge factories that have machines that mass produce pencils by cutting down the cedar wood, inserting the lead, and stamping on the design, logo, or company trademark. The metal ferrule that is used to hold the eraser in place is made of aluminum, while the eraser itself is made of rubber. 

Impact:

The production of wooden pencils had a negative impact on the environment since they required wood from trees. People began to fight for tree conservation and, as a result, mechanical pencils began trending. Mechanical pencils are a lot more popular and appealing to the human eye due to the different amount of colors and designs being made. This development was a win for both the community and businesses. The people are able to use pencils without harming the environment and company owners such as Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, and Target CEO, Brian Cornell, continue to make 19-22 million dollar salaries.

http://www.historyofpencils.com/

https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/06/24/history-of-the-pencil/

[anderson-a25]

Key Dynamics of Globalization

Time-Space Compression

Example: Communication

This is an example of time space compression because as more technology is made and developed, the more people are able to communicate at a faster pace. Before, communication was handled through letters/mail which could take weeks or months. Today, anyone can communicate by cell phone within seconds.

[lolmythesis]

mass shootings are bad and scary and the New York Times agrees with me

Sociology, Columbia University

[elephrame-blog-blog]

The 'feminist movement' is having an identity crisis.

from Elephrame

[as-told-by-zukobabe]

I thought this paper for sociology was going to be the hardest shit ever

I was wrong. I am almost done. :I

[jkheffernan]

Calling all Activist's - Take to the Streams!

The internet's impact on Political activism is an interesting one. In some ways a false one, in other ways an exclusive one. The internet has led the way for two new branches of activism, a) The Slacktivist b) The Hacktivist The slacktivist is someone who does something in support of an issue or cause that requires minimal personal effort. The term was coined by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark in 1995. How to identify a Slacktivist? Have you ever: Donated through text message? Changed your facebook or google+ in support of a cause? signed an online petition? Shared a video for a cause? Bought a product because the company will donate to charity on your behalf?? If yes... hello fellow slacktivist!! While the Slacktivist can be seen as laziness; in human form their contribution is not entirely futile. How many signatures can one person get on a petition in one day? How many can a Slacktivist... much much more. But Slacktivists are not all that bad... Slacktivists use online media to propagate information quickly and efficiently. For example in India 500 000 indians signed a petition on Avaaz.org to clean up corruption there. The Red Cross raised $20 million in 5 days after the Haiti earthquake through text message donations. At its peak the service hit 10,000 tweets per second. The outcome of this new form of activism is overwhelmingly positive! What happens when the outcome of activism is not so black and white? I speak of the dreaded hacktivist! A topic that I have mixed feelings on. When forming an activist group there is always an underlying value that supports the stance of the group. Hactivism has be almost solely pioneered by the infamous "Anonymous" group. A group of talented hackers that use their talent as a threat should they not be listened to, taken seriously or if their demands are not met. To begin I have an issue with this. Some see them as the voice for the people, a group of hackers who wish to break down corporate entities for democracy. Others see them as the restorers of freedom and defenders of choice. However they are not any of these things. They are bullies and who they jeopardize are not the "big guns" but the "little guys". For example Sony was hacked by Anonymous in retaliation for the arrest of a young computer science student who boasted and successfully hacked the PS3 in 5 days[ it was assumed unhackable]. However when 70milion in damages and credit card fraud were the outcome of Anonymous' stance, one questions who lost out more? Sony or you?