NEW TECHNOLOGY!

Now, you can talk via Skype and surf the web at the same time.

This is a screen shot of my friend who is in college in Japan and we are watching the same video on our screens. 

We constantly talk using Skype because we can see each other and have more of a "connection" rather than "chatting".

WHY is it IMPORTANT!

Winn's topic is extremely important to this topic because it describes how technology is developing into our culture. It shows that even though television was to help bring the family together, but it broke the bonds of families.

PLUG-IN DRUG

Marie Winn expresses her ideas about how television is so deeply intwined into our culture.  Winn explains how television is hurting our social and mental life. "Television with take over your way of living and chain your children's habits, but this change can be a wonderful improvement," claimed another commentator. ( Marie Winn, 50 Essays, 2011). Winn states that people who first bought the television must be wealthy, because they were more expensive. Winn examines the  quality of life of the families that are watching television for many hours a day. The author describes that there is less social interaction between family members and that there is less time to have family activities. Winn describes that  having less time for family events and socializing can have harmful effects on the children. One of the examples Winn used was Bruno Bettelheim, who described the social difficulties the child would develop because of watching television for many hours. Bettelheim wrote about the "connection of the actor and the audience" and how they lose valuable traits used to socialize with "real" people. Winn states that television is not the only main force the is destroying families, but it does have a large impact in everyday life.

"Television the Plug-in Drug" by Marie Winn ( pp. 438-447  in 50 Essays) 

Where the picture is taken from.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/a_picture_is_wo_1.php

Games

Johnson, S. (2011). Games. In S. Cohen (Ed.) , 50 Essays (pp. 196-201). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.


In “Games” Steven Johnson highlights the importance of reading books but also the underappreciated benefits of video games.  His purpose is comparing reading and video games as entertainment and educational tools.  Video games improve not only hand-eye coordination and visual intelligence, they also encourage drive and the speed of information exercises the mind in new and powerful ways. Johnson argues that games improve one’s imagination and problem solving abilities. He imagines arguments that could be made against books (such as their linearity and isolating qualities) if video games had been invented first.  Johnson’s essay might help us better appreciate the creativity and intellectual benefits behind both traditional reading and modern video games.

Face Book?

The world has become more advances with technology and how “word” travels around. Some of the media now are coming from Face Book, Twitter, texts and MySpace. There are more people on phones than reading news papers. I have seen the movie Social Network, which is about the story of Face Book. I, myself am involved with Face Book, and that I enjoy the instant connection to hundreds of friends. There are many parades of Face Book, but I think the Niga Higa’s one of the funniest YouTube videos. I feel that people would not understand the context of the video if they do not know how “use” the website. I found it humorous because it examines how “idiotic” the terms of Face Book is. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHYG5u4lwus&feature=relmfu