Monday, February 27, 2012

New Post : )

The article "Facebook Is Using You" is about social companies and networks using your personal information to there advantage. The main points of Lori Andrews article is that your information is not private no matter where you put it.  The companies use the little things that you may write or search and determine what advertisement to send you. Facebook makes most of it's money from advertisements. Facebook made $3.2 billion dollars in advertisements. Google made 36.2 billion dollars in advertisements in 2011. The advertisements you get are not by coincidence but they actually have been chosen for you! Something's people write on is used against them in the court system. No matter what you put in the search box or on a social network once it's online it's not private anymore. A law called the do not track law. The law will make sure the information you decide to share on the internet is private if that is your wishes. I agree with the law. I think people's private business should remain private. I don't understand why companies and networks are allowed to harass people with advertisements that they don't wish to have. I am learning to be more mindful of what I put on social networks because I don't want to be taken advantage of or people to misunderstand what I write. I wouldn't what the wrong person to see what I wrote. I know that some of the stuff I may write will affect me. Even though people just get on social networks to have fun and to connect with friends. Nonetheless I still enjoy getting on twitter and some other networks : ) 

Friday, February 24, 2012

The article that I am writing about is titled NJ teen, with cancer, asking Taylor Swift to prom. A senior that attends Sterling High School has asked Taylor Swift to prom.The prom is on June 1st which happens to be Kevin McGuire's birthday. Kevin McGuire who is 18 years old is diagnosed with leukemia. He is now being treated at Children's hospital because he had a relapse. Kevin is losing hair and doesn't believe anybody will want to go to school with a bold boy. His big sister Tori asked him "I said what if I got Taylor Swift to go to the prom with you? He reacted in a suprised way. His sister added "His eyes lit up for the first time since he was diagnosed." So Kevin's sister set up a facebook paged  called "Taylor Swift take Kevin McGuire To Prom! And 17,000 people accepted the page, and by the time the story was on Action News it had 50,000. Team Kevin was also a trending topic on twitter on wednesday night. Kevin wants Taylor to go because he says she is "Someone who's confident, someone who will make me have a good time and not feel like a sick kid," Kevin said. Kevin would love for her to attend with him. I think she should go because he is sick and his sister is trying really hard to get Taylor as his date. I think as her fan it would be a really nice thing for her to do : )

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The article I read "I'm a criminal and so are you" is about criminals. A woman named Michelle Alexander believes she and everyone else in this world are criminals. She says that ad least once in someone's life they will break the law and that will make them a criminal. This makes people criminals but they don't look at themselves as criminals. The only difference between a criminal behind bars and people living is that the people living have not yet been caught. In the article it says" You're still a criminal, no better than many of those who've been branded felons for life." Michelle feels that people who have been to jail are treated unfairly. Sometimes they can't get a job, food stamps, and sometimes they can't vote in some states. They are just as equal to us. There is no difference between felons and citizens but yet they are still treated wrong once they are free. I do agree with this way of thinking to a certain extent. I think some people deserve to be in jail because they have committed more serious crimes than others. Some people's crimes are more severe than others and they deserve to be put behind bars. But I also feel that people really need to examine the things they do because they are breaking laws everyday. And they are just as wrong as people who are in prison for their crimes. I do think I am a criminal because I have committed one crime in my life. But do I think I need to be punished for that, no. On the other hand I am still a law abiding teenager.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The article Photoshopped or Not? A Tool to Tell is about celebrities who have there pictures photoshopped. These pictures are seen in magazines, buildboards, and the internet. The pictures of these celebrities are not accurate. The pictures are retouched and buffed. The retouching can be removing a pimple, adding or removing weight, a stray hair put in place, removing blemishes or wrinkles, and more. Feminist leaders in France, Britain, and Norway want digitally altered photos to be labeled. So that people will be able to know which photos have been altered. The American Medical Association adopted a policy that " discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropiate body image." A student in computer science is coming up with a tool that can basically show you on a scale of 1 to 5 how much the picture has been changed. Photoshopping pictures can cause many eating disorders and anxiety in women. Only beacause they have a mind set that the weight they see these celebrities have they need to have it also. And they will be willing to do anything to get this body type. I think the image celebrities have does influence some eating disorders and low self esteem. People who don't have that body will probably have less confident and struggle with self esteem. I agree with the scale. I think people need to see how much a photo has been altered because the picture is otherwise fake. It is a good idea because you won't have young women thinking they need have a certain weight. Especially when what they are trying to live up to isn't even real or true. 

Thursday, February 2, 2012

This article that was read for this blog post was about the horrible working conditions for people who make apple products. We all love apple products they are fun easy and convenient. But what apple doesn't talk about is the making of them. In the article it says "the workers assembling iPones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocated and documents published by companies themselves." This is what the article is mainly about. In many of the plants are explosions because the workers work with hazardous chemicals. The workers are paid low income and they have tight space. The apartments are very small and in one case a three bedroom apartment fit up to ad least 20 people. The living environments are very crowded. Inspectors come to check out the plants and report back to apple what they've found. Apple claims they try to make changes and corrections but that is untrue. The companies care more about making the money than making the improvements to the plants. In a recent explosion a man named Mr.Lai Xiadong died. Th workers were working with aluminum dust and an explosion happens. Aluminum dust seems to be many of the cases of explosions. Even though the only thing it takes to keep from explosions happen when using aluminum dust is air ventilation. He was in the hospital for two days and then he died. His family couldn't even recognize them. The plants are unfair and unsafe to workers and people and companies do not care! Change and corrections need to be made immediately...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The main idea of this article is a anthropologist who studies the ways teens interact with each other on the internet. She is a doctor who has her phd in what she studies. This article says that Dr.Boyd believes that teens getting on the internet is healthy. Dr.Boyd also says that "Chilren's ability to roam has basically been destroyed." School, teachers, an parents do not want students to get on the internet or social networks. And Dr.Boyd is trying to stress that it is good for teens. Teens only get on the internet to talk, flirt, and humor. Sometimes children may bully but parents don't take the time to see what goes on. Dr.Boyd claims that "We need to give our kids the freedom to explore and experience things online that might actually help them, she added. Dr.Boyd says that the internet was her saving grace. She also often reached out to adults online. Many of whom acted as de facto counselors and mentors. She thinks that teens talking to adults online is beneficial. Even though adult may think there are many perverts but the world is much safer today. I do agree with Dr.Boyd I think that the internet is fun place for teens. It gives them a chance to talk to people they don't know and people that they do. I do think that internet can sometimes be harmful because you are talking to strangers. But overall I don't see anything wrong with teens chating on facebook or tweeting each other.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The article teaching kids is about teens breaking up with each other on facebook. Some people think it;s a healthy way of moving on from your ex. Some people on the other hand find it stupid and immature. Roberto claimed who proclaimed with a bit too much gusto that " racing to update your relationship status after a break up is healthy behavior. " I do agree with Roberto. Even though when a bisexual 15- year old confessed in a morning session that she learned that her girlfriend of two years dumped her only when she changed her relationship status to single. I thought that was dumb and unfair for her to find out that way. Personally I will never break up with someone over a computer. That is very stupid to me. If I was to break up with someone it would ether be in person, over a phone call, or a text. Ad least the whole world doesn't have to see only the person I am breaking up with unless they share the information with someone else. In today's generation a lot of teens end their relationships over electronics. I really don't agree with that way or style of breaking up with someone. When I read this article I understood where some people were coming from because many of my friends have gone through this. And even then I didn't understand breaking up with someone over the computer. I do not support breaking up with someone over a social network!