Yahooooooooooo!

I enjoy Yahoo! news because it allows me to stay up to date with current events at my convienance. The site is well organized and appealing to the eye. When I am not reading or viewing realistic stories, I head for the not-so-important, funny, crazy, or outrageous stories. Yesterday on Yahoo, there was a video clip showing a pro soccer star who was about to score -got too excited--slipped--and slapped the ball into a net for a handball. This is not important news, but if it wasnt for yahoo, I would have never seen it! Yahoo, and other sites like it, truely help connect the world.

Anti Social

I think that using too much media technology makes us (as a generation, population) less sociable in face-to-face situations. I used to use AIM so much that I went from a one-finger typist to being so efficient I could be a stenographer. But, as my typing and short-hand skills increased I feel that my social skills plummeted. When AIM became popular I was at the age where social skills and people should be sharpened finely tuned. However, I feel that for my generation, media entities like AIM, e-mail, facebook, and text messaging leave our face-to-face people skills out of practice. If you got nervous on the phone why would you call someone when you could text them? If you get shy or nervous talking to teachers why would you go to their office when you could e-mail them. As much as this technology makes our life easier, it makes other parts of [at least my] life harder.

Pornographic Content Airs on Local Station

This chapter is very timely for me because just this past week, the local station in Medford, where I live, was in some hot water for airing a provocative sex-advice show at 8pm. Town officials were disgusted with the pornographic images and conversations that were being aired at a time where children could have been watching.

This channel is usually airing shows that the whole family can enjoy (but probably wouldn't). Sometimes there is a local artist on giving painting lessons for kids and other times theres the old guy who likes to read the newspaper to the TV and thinks hes Wolf Blitzer. Because this station usually attracts children or the elderly, it's sexual content was not welcomed.

The solution to this problem was to force the creator of the show to air the show after 10 o’clock. In a case like this, it is obvious that some regulations need to be instituted for the sake and reputation of an entire city.

Dr. Oz

On the Dr. Oz show today, he discussed the harmful effects that can occur for people who use too much technology. Oz gave a great explanation on why tasks such as typing and texting can have harmful effects on the body. He even said that our hand muscles weaken in some places because we fail to use them (ie the muscles used for handwriting are different than those used for thumb-texting). Other side effects of using too much technology include lower back pain, headaches, and carpal tunnel.

If you feel that technology runs your life, check out the Dr.'s advice on how to cut back in order to prevent or lessen the effects of too much technology!
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/technology-diet

Star Studded TV

I realize that celebrity's have always been the forefront of entertainment news and I get it- they are the rich, beautiful, skillful people that everyone wishes they could be. I was desperately trying to find something to watch on TV last night and it seems all I could find were shows like Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, etc. Why do we care so much about what coffee shop Kate Gosselin went to or Brittney's new body?

Needless to say I ended up watching good ol' Jeopardy.

Celebrity Jeopardy, of course.

Going Paperless

With the 'going green' trend picking up speed everyday there always seems to be some new way to lessen your impact on our planet. The new media technologies that we have become so used to today (computers, the internet, iphones) have at least had a hand in giving us the opportunity to use less paper. I used to get pages upon pages of bank statements in the mail and when I realized I rarely look at them (I look at the online version) I "went paperless." This function allows us to get the same information we would have anyways and saves us from household clutter and wasting paper. Other ways media tech. has helped us go paperless are evident in the use of online magazines, newspapers, e-mail, and countless others. I especially enjoy not having to print 25 page papers when they can be submitted electronically. Even if you don't necessarily care about wasting paper (which you should) going paperless helps keep you organized. Give it a shot.

Three Cups of Tea

My mother just finished reading the NY Times bestselling book 'Three Cups of Tea.' From what she has told me about the book, it is hard to not get inspired by it. The book reveals the poor conditions in Pakistan and Afghanistan for school aged children, especially girls. The main character of the book (which is a true story) is still working to build proper schools for boys and girls in these countries to offer an alternative to terrorist training camps.

While I haven't read it yet, I was intrigued when my mother shared with me the fact that the back of the book had a page about what to do if the book inspired you. It suggested that readers either go to the books website to purchase copies (so proceeds can support female education in these countries), blog about it to spread the word, and rate the book on amazon.com. I think its amazing how something as far away from modern media technology as a book has transcended the norm and has grown to incorporate the growing social media and internet-dependent society we exist in.