People Must Exercise Self Control With Media to Get Full Benifits

Psychology Today defines addiction as “a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (gambling) that can be pleasurable but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work or relationships, or health.”  Based on this definition I believe it is fair to consider some people addicted to media. However, I think it should be noted that this addiction shouldn’t be viewed the same way as people are addicted to drugs or alcohol. That addiction results in a chemical dependency and a physical link with the behavior. The way some people are addicted to media is in much more of a mental way. Also, by no means am I saying many people are addicted to media. The group I am talking about are the select few that use it obsessively and let it run their lives. Some individuals, especially younger people now could definitely be considered compulsive users of media. Their excessive use can most definitely adversely affect their relationships and ability to interact with others around them. Some people are so locked into their media that they lose social skills and suffer in normal face to face interaction. While this thought process will, in my mind fit the definition of an addiction, I believe that the “addiction” to media is less so a physical or involuntary reaction to a stimulus (media) and more so a lack of exercise of self-control by those “addicted.” In other words, while it may technically fit the definition of an addiction, overuse of media is more of a choice in the hands of the user.

I will be the first to admit that I am a consumer of the new and ever evolving media including TV, the internet, and a cell phone. However, I am not as heavy of a media user as some others my age. I do have a Facebook but do not have any other social media like Instagram except for my newly established JOUR150 Twitter account.  I have a laptop that I use for work and entertainment but do not use it in class (except JOUR150) to keep myself more focused. In short, I am a fan of all the interesting new media but exercise self-control to make sure I accomplish the important objectives in my life such as school and job related activities. A few rules I would like to see is to not use your phone at restaurants/while eating. Maybe it’s because manners like this were instilled in me at a young age, but I find sitting at a table looking at your phone and not enjoying the company around you is rude. A basic rule I think would help if everyone followed is when interacting with another person or group of people leave your phone alone. In my eyes it gives the impression that you don’t care about your interaction with those people as much as the mystery person or social network on the phone.

                 

Devices used in the classroom can definitely help your education but it is important that you use them in the correct manner. For things such as taking notes quickly and clearly and having a lot of information at your fingertips, technology and media is great. It is just up to the user to make sure they use it in a way that benefits them instead of distracting them.

Walt Disney Company as an Oligopoly: They Own ABC, ESPN, A&E Among Others

Many people have heard of media giants like ESPN, ABC, and A&E but most may not realize that they are all owned by Walt Disney Company. Mass communication can be helped and harmed by oligopolies such as this. One way that the media can be helped is the interaction and benefit sharing between the different branches of the Company. Disney can use the various stations to meet the demands of the TV viewers. One example of how they do this is by airing various sporting events on ABC while using the production efficiencies and expertise of sports giant ESPN. This not only helps the station by saving them money through using resources wisely but it also helps the experience of the viewer as they get an experience with sports expertise when they may not expect it. Another pro to the oligopoly structure could be Disney's ability to reach niche groups of people that it may not have the resources to if they were a small media firm.

However, not all aspects of Disney being an oligopoly are good. One disadvantage is that if Disney wanted to share a bias or push an agenda they could make it seem very popular by sharing it throughout their outlets that people may not know are connected. There is also something to be said for mass media outlets being independent of each other. In this case, the outlets owned by Disney are obviously not independent. People would put more trust into the outlets if they were not all interrelated. The outlets may be able to operate in a way more beneficial to the public if they could pursue that as their goal rather than achieving the objectives of the parent company.   

Study Finds That People Who Use Social Media More Are Less Happy

I found an article about a study done at the University of Michigan regarding the link between social media use and feelings of happiness and loneliness. Without completely reciting how the study was done (this can be found in the article) the basic idea of the study was that the researchers would periodically survey the participants asking about their levels of happiness, loneliness and other feelings. They then tried to link the results of the survey to the person’s use of social media. They ended up finding that people with more social media use tended to be lonelier and less happy compared to those with less or no social media usage.

                This is a study of qualitative research. This is because the topic that the researchers are measuring (emotions) are measured through words and expressions, not numbers. This study is in the realm of the less mathematical side of things and involves more judgment on part of the participants and researchers since what’s being tested is in words, not hard data. This approach leads to some potential concerns with the study such as how accurate people can really portray their feelings and the uniformity of how they are portrayed between people.  There are also many other factors that can contribute to someone’s happiness that can’t be controlled for. Overall it seems as if the researchers did take some good steps and procedures to lend some credibility to the results but the basis of feelings being tested leads to these concerns.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2419419/All-lonely-Facebook-friends-Study-shows-social-media-makes-MORE-lonely-unhappy-LESS-sociable.html

The Link Between Violent Video Games and Real Life Violence

The link between violent video games and real life violence demonstrated by kids who play these games has been and continues to be a hotly debated topic in todays media. America has a fascination with gruesome acts of violence and therefore shows an interest in looking into what may cause them and how to prevent them in the future. Long before video games were even a medium for children to interact with the famous Bandura study mentioned in the book took place. The results of this study showed that kids exposed to violence and violent behavior were likely to imitate what they had seen. An interesting question that interactive media such as video games has raised is will this connection be stronger if the child is actively interacting with the violence as in video games rather than passively seeing it such as on television?

While there is no definitive yes or no answer to this question some evidence would suggest that the interaction with video games strengthens this link between seeing violence and acting violent. One of the basic principles of this argument is based on the nature of how the child is seeing the violence. While watching television that has violent themes, whether it be a news report on a murder or a violent act in a crime drama, the viewer does not have to be fully engaged in watching the act. Often while watching television people are distracted by other things such as the growing number of smartphones and other things going on around them. However, when playing video games kids tend to be “locked in” to the content since the way the game plays out is completely determined by the player. In short it can be argued that video games require more attention than television. Some people see this increased attention to the violent acts as a sign that the child will be even more likely to participate in violent acts of their own as compared to if they were passively watching television. I found an interesting article about the link between videogames and violence specifically in relation to the infamous Sandy Hook shooter. The article discusses the evidence that Lanza was obsessed with violent video games and other violence related things. They also discussed various ways that lawmakers were reacting to the news and what should be done.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/crackdown-urged-violent-games-lanza-report-article-1.1292402

Test

This is a test post. Resubmitted after deletion during class once notified I should not have deleted it