Technology and communication

With the more research I did, I gained a new perspective on my topic. Focusing more on younger adults and teenagers is the way to go. There is a lot more research on them using technology rather than communicating face to face and verbally. I first wanted to add a variety of ages into my essay, but having looked more into it, I found that more teens and young adults to about the age of 24 have more data and statistics. Its seems to be that the age level for social media sites, and texting communication has lowered. And that girls send more text messages in general.  The age of children getting cellphones has also dropped a lot, I read an article that said kids in elementary school have cellphones. That's starting this whole technology communication very early on. A study showed that American teenagers, ages 12 through 17  send 50 or more text messages a day and that one third send more than 100 a day.  The age for having Facebook and other social networks is 13 years old, and even then they can be younger a lie about their age. Being so young having cellphones and Facebook accounts etc.. lessens the desire to want to have face to face conversations. It also makes someone's vocabulary and spelling awful in a lot of cases. They will use "u" instead of "you", "tho" instead of "though" as well as other things, I see them and it makes me mad. So far though with the more research I think I am going to focus mostly on young girls because the statistics seem to show that girls text more, and use social networking sites more.

 

How has technology effected the way we interact with one another?

How has technology effected the way we interact with one another?  My question is pretty broad, and it can go many ways. My topic is on technology and how we interact with one another in different ways than when there was little to no technology, or even non at all. I don't mean when people use to write letters and then something better came about. I want to talk about electronics and why we use that form of communication more now, rather than talking in person.  My topic is related to popular culture because technology as a whole is one of the most popular things in the world.  Technology o has changed everything. We use computers, cellphones, social networks, and email to talk to one another. It seems people feel like texting someone or writing them on facebook or in an email is easier then stopping by that persons home. The age that this is happening keeps getting lower. We also have the option to take online school with no in person teacher/student contact to communicate. I personally think its not a good idea, as well as being impersonal. There is also a choice to rent movies online, or go to redbox, having no contact with a human being.  I think some forms of technology are a good thing, most of the points I mentioned have good ideas in them. Like a cellphone, you can call someone if you need them, there good for emergencies, and other things.  I would however like to know more about the what age groups buy more into the more non face to face contact, Why they like it, Why the other age groups do not, What other forms of technology communication are there, And how much has it really affected us in the present day.

The new age of technology

Technology is definitely changing with time. Now things have changed so much so that advertisers have targeted individuals specifically. When you look anything up on the computer or click on ads, they then in return will show you ads geared towards you. As well as send you offers in the mail. Its a little uneasy to know that your being tracked, especially in the privacy in your own home.  And then knowing you can't do anything about makes me feel like certain rights I have are being violated. We should all have to right to chose whether or not we want to be tracked. This may result in a good thing for the marketers to have. They can get more sales when they specifically target you and give you discounts. I have looked at ads when I'm on my computer, not knowing that I'm being tracked. I would think wow I love those shoes, and there also on sale! But now knowing its because I'm being tracked doesn't make me happy. Another thing that marketers and advertisers do is stereotype. I see many ads, even today that convey women are basically only good to cook and clean and need a man to do things. Women are shown as helpless and fragile creatures, but even in the 80's there were independent strong women. I see ads too that show if you don't look like the girls from Victoria secret, your not beautiful because society says you have top be skinny but also be curvy to be sexy and beautiful. But then I've also seen ads that say real women are thick and curvy, and if your skinny your not beautiful.  These ads paint a picture that you have to look a certain way, like a run way model. Or there's been more people and ads saying you can be curvy and thick and its not a bad thing in society. But you still see models who are deathly skinny. Its like a revolving door. Society can't make up there mind. But its all not right in my opinion. Your allowed to have privacy, and you shouldn't be put down because of how you look.

BB dream fresh maybelline

When i had first seen the ads for this i thought it looked pretty promising. I wanted a foundation that wasn't too heavy but that would also cover up anything i need. After seeing that it is a light foundation and its blends in good and makes you look more natural i wanted to try it. This ad tells you about the 8 in 1 that it has in it. A few things are that there is SPF 30 in it, it smooths your skin tone, 0% oil or heavy ingredients, it hydrates your skin, and there are 5 different colors to choose from. All these things are what most look for in a foundation. I know i do. They try to sell you on all these aspects, and for me it worked. Millions of people buy make up and the fact that Maybelline is already a well know company helps them right away. Whether that's all someone might use, or they decide to try it because of how popular they are.  Make-up in general serves a big purpose in the world. Whether its needed or its wanted to look different or to make yourself look "better". Make-up is a huge moneymaking endeavor. Many people who wear make-up probably don't need it, but when you see how the model looks it makes you want to look like that. Even though for the most part we know that's not really how they look and its a lot of airbrushing.

The RIse Of Popular Culture and how it effects us now

In The Rise Of Popular Culture: A Historiographical Sketch they covered a few different things. One thing that caught my attention was something Susan Smulyan said. She said " Many of us were television kids, born into an age of rock and roll, and our out looks on popular culture were formed indelibly by the fact that we liked mass- mediated forms of entertainment." What she said has meaning now. Kids born now are born into a media booming age, its all about technology. Everyone has some form of technology in their lives, no matter what age you are. It plays a big role now, as it did then when a lot of this was new.
I also found what Nye had looked into and gained knowledge about in 1965 was interesting. He studied African American culture. After getting more knowledge of another culture he said that it was " the most important intellectual breakthrough by historians." He learned more about another culture. Popular culture is about whats "popular" with media, technology, people, and whats popular in other cultures. I've learned a lot within these past few weeks. I didn't know much about pop culture, i knew about the popular things around us and the basics, but i didn't know what it really stood for and how much it really effects us all.