Are people better informed in the information society?

In this reading the question that will be discussed is " Are people better informed in the information society?"  On the Yes side fr this argument, the articled created a survey for the youth in today's society, and found that the kids that used internet more had better scores on tests and better grades than the others that did not.  After this survey the article expressed how the internet is the future for students and that it needs to be provided to the kids to help them succeed in the classroom.  However the no side states that the internet among the kids has not been beneficial, but it has hurt there minds and made them not social with the public in the outside world.  It also argues that the kids do not use the internet properly, that they are using it to look up other things like videos, television shows, and everything else that is not school related.  He also believes that by these kids using the internet so much for school it has made them not as smart, because they do not read as much, or actually do the math problems they use a calculator, and they are not learning as much and it is making our future for this country not as knowledgeable.

In my opinion I believe that the internet is very useful for student and it helps everyone around the world know what is going on in the world or there country or even there community.   It also helps people better communicate, it helps our society out a lot.  Both arguments have valid points but i would side with the yes argument due to better evidence.  On the students issue i believe that the internet is very helpful and can only help the students with school not hurt them.  However with that being said i would make them actually do school work before letting them browse on the internet.  Also the students would have to use the resources that they are provided with, because there are plenty of students in today's world that have all the resources and have access to everything to make them a better student and they do no take advantage of it.  When other student do not have that provided for them and they still succeed in the classroom.  I think all students should have the same resources and access to technology they need for school.  

Does media depict realistic images of Arabs?

In this reading the question that is answered is, "Does media depict realistic images of Arabs?"  Gal Beckerman supports the yes side on this topic.  He believes that today in media for the United States, we portray Arabs but what they actually blog from the Middle east.  He talks about how now days in this day and age the middle east has upgraded and has more access to the social networks.  By them having this, people all over the world can go and find there blogs or whatever they are on and read what they have to say n certain issues effecting them.  This lets them have a voice now in there country and they feel that they are finally being heard.  However Jack Shaheen, is supporting the no side in this argument and he has other issues with this question.  He thinks that in today's society after 9/11 and the terrorists attacks the United States has created a stereotype image about the Arabs, saying that they are all terrorists.  Now after all the movies, shows, advertisements, etc on the Muslims being terrorists, people in the Unites States have come to not trust them.  He believes the media portrayed a bad image for all of the middle eastern people and has brain washed the public to think that they are all Muslims and bad people.  When in reality this is not true they are not all Muslims they are  citizens in the Unites States just like everyone else.  

I think in my opinion that i would side with the no argument, because it is very true that the media created this image after the terrorists events.  It is what gave us a reason to go to war with them.  I think that it will be hard for the citizens of the Unites States to ever think of the Arabs as good people again because they have been so convinced other wise by the media.   There is a lot more evidence defending the no side and not a lot for the yes side.  However with that being said i agree with what Gal Beckerman said about the Arabs feeling that they finally have a voice and can look up anything they need to on the internet.  In today's world the internet is taking over and more and more people are being heard from things they have expressed about their feelings on the internet.  

City weighs medical pot ban

In the reading for this week the topic is on, Should medical marijuana businesses be banned permanently in Redwood City?"  This article is stating that the city wants to ban the Medical marijuana businesses because they believe that it is not good for there community.  However no other city in the bay area is doing so, and this may cause riots in the city and crime rate might increase.  To pass this law for the city the planning commission is meeting with the city-staff to discuss the outcome.  However before a final decision is made the public will get a say on the situation.  By doing this ban the city will lose income because they make a of profit off of these stores and it is not actually hurting anyone, it is for medical patients that need it for certain reasons.

In my opinion i believe that Redwood City should not ban the medical marijuana stores because it has shown that it has done no harm to the city, it is proven that alcohol has caused a lot more issues that marijuana, so what are they going to do next ban alcohol?  Also in this day and age the country is not doing so well with money and with the ability to find jobs.  Not only will this give more people jobs for the stores but it will bring in money for the city, it can help them rebuild buildings, re do roads, etc.  Also the people that have the medical marijuana cards can get their medicine for there problem and it will not cause more crime rates and riots by the people against it.  

Does media cause individuals to develop negative body images?

The reading in this section that we covered was the issue of "Does media cause individuals to develop negative body images?"  Writers, Shari Dworkin and Faye Wach's searched and found articles in magazines that go after men and women, trying to make them but certain products that will help them get and maintain a healthy body.  They analyze these articles and find that the writers of these advertisements are telling the public that without these different products you will not be complete and have the perfect healthy body that this model has on the front of the advertisement.  These two writers Shari and Faye both agree and argue the yes side with this evidence on how the media causes individuals to develop negative body images.  However there also is a no side this is question.  The no side believes that the media is not to blame for women's eating disorders but that the girls are to blame.  That there lives culturally and socially has caused them to hate there body and do unhealthy things to get skinnier.  They also believe that the eating disorders is in their heads, as a behavior issue.  These girls view themselves as fat but in reality everyone around them sees that they are actually not fat at all and are in fact really skinny.  All in all, in today's world being "fat" scares a lot of people and how our country is proven to be the fattest, more and more people are going above and beyond to become more in shape in healthy ways, and some in not so healthy ways.

I believe that the people in our country should get in better shape, it has been proven that it is possible a lot of people have transformed there bodies.  However with that being said i understand that some individuals have certain health problems that do not allow them to lose that weight and that is okay.  But people can do whatever they want if they set their minds to it, it is a motivation issue for most people its either you want to get into better shape or you do not.  I think that the media as well as celebrities own this country and people want to follow and mock whatever they do and say.  So these celebrities and media advertisements help people with what they need to do to become in better shape.  Most magazines that i have read have a man celebrity on it that is in great shape, however he does not just sit on the cover looking down on the public because he is in great shape and the people reading it are not.  He is helping the people because in that same magazine that celebrity is going over what he eats and how he works out and what he works out to stay fit.

With all of this being said, i believe that media and celebrities team up together to "help" the public get healthier in a good way, and not to make fun of them and make them have negative body images about themselves.       

Does fake news mislead the public?

The Reading for this week asked the question "Does fake news mislead the public?"  In the reading there are two sides to the question, a yes and no side. The Yes argument was that people are mislead of the real news because they are to caught up in watching comedy shows such as, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.  This information on the Yes side is very true but the No side has a point of its own.  The No side also did some research and found that a nation wide survey shows that people that are watching these shows are more involved with recognition of the show and not recall of it.  All in all both of these sides had very valid points and true information on this question, and it really can go both ways with who is right and who is wrong.

After reading this chapter and taking notes in class about Hype, Substance, and Humor, we were to go home and watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to find clues about how these shows can mislead the public.  In the assignment we had to make a chart with hype, substance, and humor and tally mark in each box every time we saw it in the shows.  We had to make sure and watch these shows on the same day to make them equally matched.  The humor part consists of jokes and laughter in the crowd.  The substance part  was the more serious aspect of the show like the campaign issues and the candidate qualifications.  Lastly, the hype side was about the hoopla and horse race.  After this experiment we had to make a chart showing what both of these shows represented.  Then we had to write a paper on it.

I found that these shows are based off comedy and entertainment for society and not for actual news.  These two shows are about the humor not so much on the true information.  Every fact and event that is discussed is quickly followed by a joke, and i think that is to help the public believe that they have a say in our society.  Any person can watch these shows and get different things out of them, everyone is different and believes what they want to believe.   I think that most people do not like watching the news because it is so depressing and that by having these comedy shows they get entertained and still think they are getting the actual news.

Marijuana Survey