"We should not forget that interactive media are based on a computer, which is not a human being. We can write emails to friends, buy online without entering a store, chat with unknown people, maybe fall in love with unknown people all without moving from our chair. We can even forget about the outer world, the real one. All this, though, is very different from a real chat with a friend, a day of shopping, and a first date. This is, as far as I am concerned, the biggest risk about the spread of interactive media: losing contact with the world around us. We must not forget that a computer will never be able to replace personal relationships. After all, we all need to interact with real people and places. The emotion that derives from facing such masterpieces as La Gioconda could never be replaced by the most detailed virtual tour of the Louvre. In the same way, a real hug or smile will always transmit emotions that are impossible to feel through an apathetic computer screen. (Sophia)"

Whether we like the Internet or not its here to stay. In the article coming of age with the media the authors explores how the Internet is woven into our daily lives using documentation from 72 college students to support the findings. From the information presented in this article I have come to understand that the Internet is a form of communication where knowledge is readily available and social interactions are easily made. Our society is dependent on the Internet and is only becoming more and more dependent as time moves on. There is no way around the Internet craze it has become interwoven into the everyday lives of the people of our society.

The study describes four key aspects of our lives in which the internet and other related media have come to change the way we live and perceive our world. The four domains the article focuses on are; self, family, real communities (I would like to change the domain name to outside communities because as the article describes to many people their is no difference between their real world and their virtual world because they are so tightly entwined), and virtual communities.

SELF: the Internet has changed the way we see ourselves and the ways in which we services and "pamper" ourselves in the current day. The article talks briefly about how the Internet has become a place to shop and lavish oneself, often without noticing the ramifications of the spending. There is no need to interact with people anymore, and this can be seen as both a positive and a negative thing, depending on the individual. For people who often have trouble with social anxiety the Internet is a great way to get needed materials without the awkward feelings and panic attacks, but others see it as a way to socially isolate oneself from the rest of the society.

Social awkwardness was also mentioned in the article when discussing how people express themselves and who they are through the Internet media. Often people who are shy or socially awkward face to face have a lot easier time communicating online. By typing the person has time to formulate a thought and get it down on "paper" the way they want before sending it, that person can also review what the person has said previously and refer back to it when needed. People often become outgoing when speaking online and can feel comfortable expressing who they are. With so many users online people are now finding it easier to connect with people they find similar to themselves. Although the Internet has enabled these people to feel more comfortable with them, there are negative aspects to online communication. People often find it easier to lie about their height, age, and sex online along with other things and it is harder to distinguish between truth and a lie from behind a computer monitor.

FAMILY: the Internet can have both positive and negative effects on the family structure. I will start with the positive, which is the access to a convenient and cheap form of communication called email or instant messenger (and in our case Skype). This easy form of communication can keep a whole family updated on the status of each member of the family, from any distance. This was mentioned as very important in the interviews with college students done in the article. The negative effect on the family is the "freeness" of the Internet. The Internet allows you to virtually have everything at your fingertips, and often times everything is too much. The article referenced children’s easy access to free porn as a negative affect on the family. The article did not mention, however, the effect that Internet and other interactive media have on face-to-face interactions among family members. This is more of a concern now with new cell phone technologies making it possible to be in communication with people at all times. I would have liked to see more information about the effects of other interactive media on the family, particularly the way that teenagers communicate with other people in their household.

OUTSIDE COMMUNITY: the Internet affects the way we see the world around us. The way we interact with the world and other people on it has dramatically changed since the Internet was mainstreamed in 1993. The expression "what a small world" seems to have a whole different meaning since the invention of the Internet. People from all around the world have easy access to information about anywhere in the world; news, weather, fashion, and travel information is easily accessed with a tap of a finger. Schools are changing the way they perceive technology and the way they utilize it in the schools. Children are no longer expected to memorize needless facts but instead are expected to use the Internet. Research strategies have now also changed and the Internet is now a valid resource tool. Libraries have also begun to use the Internet instead of card catalogs for easier convenience.

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY: the virtual community has come about since the invention of the Internet. This includes chat rooms, Instant Messaging, and social networking sites (like facebook, MySpace, and twitter). These enable people to create their own worlds and identities online. Today most peoples virtual lives are so entwined with their outside life that they cant decipher between them (definitely now with text messaging and surfing the internet available right on our phones).

things i dont understand: the coding method mentioned in the first few pages was very confusing and sent me spinning in virtual circles.

Girls Negotiating Adolescence

"Adolescents become as an entire social group that cannot effectively know themselves, whose legitimate grievances may therefore be silenced, and who need protection from their own instability. This position in turn legitimates attempts to govern and/or contain this stage of life that is perceived to be ungovernable."

The reading by Rebecca Raby took me a while to untangle and process, but I think I have a grasp on what she is trying to say. She introduces the five discourses that inter-tangle creating a web that traps teenagers, and segregating them from the rest of society. The reading introduces five discourses "the storm", becoming, at risk, social problem, and pleasurable consumption that surround the concept of adolescence. While introducing these five discourses she also introduces her study of Toronto-area teenager girls (from 13-19 years in age) and their grandmothers. She uses the study to explore the idea of these five discourses and how they mold societies idea of adolescence.

"The storm"- this was Raby's first discourse and the one I found most confusing to rap my head around (lets call this my do not understand section). From what I could understand the "storm" describes when teenagers begin to explore their bodies and their personalities. Adolescence is seen as a time to figure out who you are and who you want to be. This is the time that children are often seen as "easily influenced" by outside sources including peers, adults, and the media. Adolescence is also the time where a person starts to explore their sexuality.

Becoming- this describes how adolescence are in a stage where they are readying themselves for the real world and to become adults. Apparently teenagers have yet to become anything and are only in this stage to ready themselves to become something else. Raby points out that although teenagers are only in the process of becoming they can become "at risk" or a "social problem."

At Risk- teenagers are presented many models from society that dictate what the average teenager should or shouldn’t do, wear, feel, and say. These media artifacts often present images of teenagers who are easily influenced, sexually and physically frustrated, and in need of a quick fix or high. These models not only present a model for teenagers to imitate but also present a false image of teenagers to the general public as an age group that needs saving or monitoring.

Social problem- society views teenagers as a social problem that needs to be solved or eliminated. This is displayed in the way teenagers are treated in schools with cops, video surveillance, and metal detectors present in many high schools, town curfews, and dress codes. The dress codes are often used as a way to squash inappropriate behavior, but dress is one of the few outlets teenagers are given to express them and begin to form their own personal identity. We expect them to "become" but society squashes any attempt at it, which often causes discontent and rebellion, which in turn can lead to social problems (seems they're doing some of this to themselves).

Pleasurable consumption- recently the media has shifted its target from adults to teenagers. Raby describes how the teenagers are often viewed as having power over the family finances and a disposable income. The idea of consumption has become one of the only outlets given to teenagers to form their identity and also one of the only places the teenager has power.

I believe the big points from this article are that these discourses established by society are not only hypocritical, but are also a prophecy. Teenagers are expected to act out and then are punished for something that is expected of them. How can a teenager be in the process of becoming, yet already be placed in a category or label? These labels thrusted upon the adolescence of our society become self full-filling prophecies. It is also apparent that we must give teenagers a way to express themselves that is not directly correlated with the financial situation of their family. Society has put to much importance on consumption as a vehicle for self-expression. Teenagers whose families cannot afford this lifestyle are often thrusted into the "social problem" category trying to afford to live up to societies expectations. Another big point is the fact that when looked at individually the discourses are not as strong in their assertions and often contradict each other. Raby makes the point how can adolescences be "becoming" and have already become a social problem? How can a teenager assert their individuality while being smothered by rules and regulations made to snuff out anything that may be considered "at risk" behavior? These discourses tangle together to make it impossible for teenagers not to be alienated, segregated, and stereotyped by the rest of society.

media literacy

Wikipedia defines media literacy as, "the process of analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms. It uses an inquiry-based instructional model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, hear, and read. Media literacy education provides tools to help people critically analyze messages to detect propaganda,censorship, and bias in news and public affairs programming (and the reasons for such), and to understand how structural features—such as media ownership, or its funding model -- affect the information presented."

When I first looked at this definition I was overwhelmed but as I began to take it piece by piece i realized that what its saying is exactly what we are doing in class. We are watching, hearing, and reading media and asking questions, instead of being blissfully unaware of the "secret" messages imbedded in each piece. Last week we read Linda Christensen's piece "unlearning the myths that bind us" in this article she described how media created for children is imbedded with racial stereotypes, false gender roles, unrealistic body images...not to mention the things they left out; different races, disabilities, and life styles. What we began to learn from Christensen and what she presented to her students was media literacy. She asked her students (and her readers) to review their favorite childhood cartoons, movies, and books, but this time look at them as "social blueprints," a way for society to dictate how we think and what we feel. This is what media literacy is and what that big jumble of words from wikipedia was trying to describe; the idea of looking at media, not as entertainment, but as a way for society to control and dictate how we look at the world.

Attatched is a video taken from the Center of Media Literacy describing what media literacy is and how it affects our society (apparently the blog will not allow me to type after the youtube video so it is at the bottom of this post). They also speak about the five key questions and concepts to deconstruction of media. I found the key questions and concepts they presented really make you think about the media image (like a commercial for instance) and how it's message is being used to manipulate its audience in different ways. These questions can be used by adults, but also are presented in a language that is student friendly as well, so teachers can present these questions in the classroom at an early age and have children begin to open their eyes to media and the images it is projecting apon our society.

My question to present in class and what i am kinda stumped on at the moment is, if the media is in the hands of a few wealthy people and news is bias are we in the book 1984? Is our society already dictating and changing our history? Are we really fighting a war or is all this news just propaganda created by the government and spoon fed to us by wealthy business men and corrupt politicians? How do we know anything is fact? Our thoughts are suppose to be all our own, but are they? Or are we all just meant to walk blindly through life brainwashed by the secret meanings behind all media still believing our minds are free? Are we to late?