Avarice and happiness never saw each other. How then should they become acquainted?
This quote is a testament to our generation. Avarice is defined as extreme greed and dissatisfaction. Happiness has many definitions. Happiness could be driving a car, playing with your kids, getting a big bonus, having the money for bills, doing a favorite hobby, or just simply being happy with being alive. However, some people never achieve what they call happiness. Happiness has a very sneaky and corrupt rival who lives around ever corner of the mind. It comes to the surface when the new 20?? car comes out and your "less deserving" neighbor drives up with one. When your kids come in ashamed because the were bullied for their Goodwill clothes or your backfiring Old Faithful. Avarice. It always rears its ugly head when you've had your new "toy" for 6 moths-1 year. Suddenly, it's not quite as fast or shiny as you remember. And Bill's 72" TV dwarfs your 70".
This statement ties so much of our culture together. Happiness always gives way to avarice. Even if you're a happy person and mostly content with your life, There's always just one more small thing that could make it just a little better. Maybe an electric can opener instead of a hand turn. A little paint in your son's room. Perhaps the money to buy just one meal away from home. Avarice and happiness are acquainted due to human nature. Always wanting more. They're forever intertwined. The more consumers want and strive for, the more closely related the two become.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Social Interaction
Social interaction has changed a dramatic amount in recent years. We've gone from going out for coffee, working out with friends, movie nights, and dinners, to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Pinterest, e-mails, and texting. We spend more time interacting on our own terms and however we want, than learning to deal with people. Humans crave interaction, touch, acceptance and love. We gain this by replacing it with constant connection to technology and a multitude of friends on the other end. However, it's not what we really need. We need other people to talk to, facial expressions, a hug, and a gentle pat on the shoulder for reassurance.
According to a study done by World Technology Report recently released by Cisco Systems, Inc., "Forty percent of the college-age participants stated that the Internet is more important than dating or going out with friends. Technology was used when you couldn't see someone face-to-face. Now, face-to-face is being used when we can't get to someone through technology," Roca said.
The relationship between technology and the 18-to-30 age group may be even more severe than initially suspected. One out of every three students and young professionals said that they considered the Internet to be just as necessary to survival as food, water and shelter."
Moreover, too much attachment to technology can produce health concerns. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg recently studied more than 4,100 Swedish men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 for a year and found that a majority of them who constantly use a computer and mobile phones can develop stress, sleeping disorders and depression." Thomee said in the study. “It was easy to spend more time than planned at the computer (e.g., working, gaming, or chatting), and this tended to lead to time pressure, neglect of other activities and personal needs (such as social interaction, sleep, physical activity), as well as bad ergonomics, and mental overload.”
The study found a correlation between stress and always being available on the phone.
It doesn't stop there. Technology is beginning to affect our children. A website for parents called iKeepSafe has an article detailing some things observed by a school principal: Socially, they learn to instant message friends rather than develop face-to-face relationships, which can impact their way of relating to peers. As one principal explained: “The Internet is hurting their ability to work in groups. Our teachers struggle to get them to participate in any kind of team assignments; instead they would all rather stare at the computer. When I observe them talking to one another in the hallway, I see young girls who are socially aggressive or inappropriate, and I can’t help but think that the Internet is socializing them in ways that emotionally stunts them and makes it difficult for them to deal with others in the real world.”
Real social interaction is becoming a caveman type principle and is affecting physical and mental health, as well as our future generations. While technology can help you stay in touch with grandma, too much can harm you.
http://www.eaglenews.org/study-shows-internet-is-replacing-real-social-interaction-1.2645627
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/study-people-who-are-constantly-online-can-develop-mental-disorders/
http://www.ikeepsafe.org/be-a-pro/balance/too-much-time-online/
According to a study done by World Technology Report recently released by Cisco Systems, Inc., "Forty percent of the college-age participants stated that the Internet is more important than dating or going out with friends. Technology was used when you couldn't see someone face-to-face. Now, face-to-face is being used when we can't get to someone through technology," Roca said.
The relationship between technology and the 18-to-30 age group may be even more severe than initially suspected. One out of every three students and young professionals said that they considered the Internet to be just as necessary to survival as food, water and shelter."
Moreover, too much attachment to technology can produce health concerns. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg recently studied more than 4,100 Swedish men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 for a year and found that a majority of them who constantly use a computer and mobile phones can develop stress, sleeping disorders and depression." Thomee said in the study. “It was easy to spend more time than planned at the computer (e.g., working, gaming, or chatting), and this tended to lead to time pressure, neglect of other activities and personal needs (such as social interaction, sleep, physical activity), as well as bad ergonomics, and mental overload.”
The study found a correlation between stress and always being available on the phone.
It doesn't stop there. Technology is beginning to affect our children. A website for parents called iKeepSafe has an article detailing some things observed by a school principal: Socially, they learn to instant message friends rather than develop face-to-face relationships, which can impact their way of relating to peers. As one principal explained: “The Internet is hurting their ability to work in groups. Our teachers struggle to get them to participate in any kind of team assignments; instead they would all rather stare at the computer. When I observe them talking to one another in the hallway, I see young girls who are socially aggressive or inappropriate, and I can’t help but think that the Internet is socializing them in ways that emotionally stunts them and makes it difficult for them to deal with others in the real world.”
Real social interaction is becoming a caveman type principle and is affecting physical and mental health, as well as our future generations. While technology can help you stay in touch with grandma, too much can harm you.
http://www.eaglenews.org/study-shows-internet-is-replacing-real-social-interaction-1.2645627
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/study-people-who-are-constantly-online-can-develop-mental-disorders/
http://www.ikeepsafe.org/be-a-pro/balance/too-much-time-online/
CBS Thought
I believe all of these issues do matter. As an information user, you obviously are attached to the idea of knowing and learning ideas. This comes from the love of story-telling. When you're little, most kids love to hear their parents tell them stories. As we gain independence, we want to read those stories ourselves. So, it's only natural for us to continue to want to hear and read more stories. Gain more information and learn more things.
Clear and vivid language is important to keep t he reader interested; the story moving; and the information/point clear. It also bring information to live to make it easy to remember.
Respect for history is something I think is somewhat more lucrative. I agree with the thought that history is important and should be. However, it has been shown through several polls and shocking YouTube videos how far removed Americans are from knowing what happened in the past. Yet, there seems to be an ever increasing need to be "informed". According to NBC, "More than 2,500 randomly selected Americans took ISI's basic 33 question test on civic literacy and 71% of them received an average score of 49% or an "F." Josiah Bunting, III, Chairman of ISI's National Civic Literacy Board says, "There is an epidemic of economic, political, and historical ignorance in our country." It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned. How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" There is a YouTube video covering Americans who didn't know what the 4th of July was for. And yet another where Americans didn't know what Memorial Day was for. Yet another example would be I was in my hair salon the other day and listening to a stylist talk to a customer about history. She was going on about the war in Iraq and other wars from the past. And said to the customer that she had no idea what Pearl Harbor was. So as for this idea, I would say that history is important overall, but seems to not be crucial for information users.
In conclusion, all three aspects are important to information seekers. You need the love of a good story, clear language, and general understanding of history to really love and be a part of this information generation.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Study-Americans-Dont-Know-About-Much-About-History.html
Clear and vivid language is important to keep t he reader interested; the story moving; and the information/point clear. It also bring information to live to make it easy to remember.
Respect for history is something I think is somewhat more lucrative. I agree with the thought that history is important and should be. However, it has been shown through several polls and shocking YouTube videos how far removed Americans are from knowing what happened in the past. Yet, there seems to be an ever increasing need to be "informed". According to NBC, "More than 2,500 randomly selected Americans took ISI's basic 33 question test on civic literacy and 71% of them received an average score of 49% or an "F." Josiah Bunting, III, Chairman of ISI's National Civic Literacy Board says, "There is an epidemic of economic, political, and historical ignorance in our country." It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned. How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" There is a YouTube video covering Americans who didn't know what the 4th of July was for. And yet another where Americans didn't know what Memorial Day was for. Yet another example would be I was in my hair salon the other day and listening to a stylist talk to a customer about history. She was going on about the war in Iraq and other wars from the past. And said to the customer that she had no idea what Pearl Harbor was. So as for this idea, I would say that history is important overall, but seems to not be crucial for information users.
In conclusion, all three aspects are important to information seekers. You need the love of a good story, clear language, and general understanding of history to really love and be a part of this information generation.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Study-Americans-Dont-Know-About-Much-About-History.html
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Media Junkie
I spend an average of 4 hours a day with media and digital entertainment. I only scored an 11 on the internet junkie test. My husband and I watch two episodes of The Mentalist a night before bedtime. This serves as our "together" time as we have a 5 month old daughter, a dual income household, and I'm taking 15 hours of school. We use the internet primarily for education, the Army, keeping up with bills and bank accounts, and questions about our daughter on sites like babycenter.com. When I'm doing school work I listen to pandora radio for background noise. I also always have the radio playing while I'm driving. I also read the newspaper, or FOX news online to keep up with what's going on worldwide. I spend around 2 hours a day talking on my cell to my sister who is also a stay-at-home mom. Other than that we spend very very small amounts of time on social sites such as Facebook. We are occasionally on there to update pictures of the baby for his family who live in other states. The only other form of technology we use regularly is our GPS when we have to go into the heart of KC where we aren't as familiar with the streets.
I believe this is the best use of my time as I am focused on my family and the developmental milestones of my baby girl, rather than that of things that don't really matter anyway. I remain active and enjoy getting outdoors with my family and exploring the world rather than reading about it.
I believe this is the best use of my time as I am focused on my family and the developmental milestones of my baby girl, rather than that of things that don't really matter anyway. I remain active and enjoy getting outdoors with my family and exploring the world rather than reading about it.
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