#she just needs viewers to have more media literacy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ceciliatllis · 2 years

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if you misinterpreted the show and fabien frankel’s CLEAR decision to portray criston as conflicted between being devoted to his code of honor/oath vs. giving into his feelings/infatuation for rhaenyra and somehow read that scene as him not reciprocating, you need to improve your media literacy skills asap because you are wildly off. not to mention the entire choreography of the scene emphasizes that she does have power and authority but that they have a relationship where he COULD say no (hence the slow removal of the armor, constant facial cues from rhaenyra where she was basically asking him if all of this was okay, and most importantly the decision to have her give him his white cloak as the camera focuses on HIM ultimately setting it aside and kissing her). anyone saying rhaenyra would have had him killed or removed from his position if he refused her are grasping at so many straws; that is NOT her character and he was not acting out of fear from that. he knows her better than that after years of being by her side. she has so far not been portrayed as a tyrant devoid of rational thinking who lashes out in extreme, cruel ways when she doesn’t get what she wants.

I actually love that this wasn’t filmed as a high-paced, impulsive, spur of the moment scene where two people are caught up in greedy lust and don’t realize the impact of their choices. unlike alicent and viserys, there are romantic feelings or at the very least attraction between rhaenyra and criston. I agree the show could have elaborated on it more but they did hint at a bond and showed that there was potential for something like this to happen in the future. alicent is lifeless, barely moving, and not an active participant in her scene with viserys; she cannot refuse him because she is his wife and queen and must obey. there is no playfulness or lightness in their relationship; it’s not even a “love scene” as there’s no love or passion present there. it’s someone exerting their “conjugal rights” over someone else and satiating their own sexual needs with no regard for the other person. rhaenyra and criston do not have this dynamic in any way so I don’t get the comparison between the two scenes from “some” people (aka men who are annoyed that their favorite show included a sex scene that didn’t treat the woman like she was a tool for male pleasure for once and are trying to find any fault in this despite not caring when actual abusive dynamics are shown on tv - very transparent what’s happening here).

rhaenyra and criston are shown kissing, laughing, enjoying one another’s presence, and clasping hands as they embrace (an obvious and direct contrast to the shot of alicent’s hand in her uncomfortable scene with viserys that was meant to show she is alone and isolated in a passionless experience). the scene is filmed as a very romantic, affectionate tryst that has an underlying tension to it as this is not some meaningless decision for either of them. he’s not begrudgingly sleeping with her to “fulfill” a duty; there is genuine mutual desire there as most viewers noticed. if you hate sex scenes having a female gaze or simply didn’t see the chemistry (although difficult to believe as even critics have praised it as being a refreshing departure from the other sex scenes in this franchise), just say that and be honest instead of twisting it into something distasteful. but don’t act as if there weren’t two VERY willing participants in this scene because that’s not accurate.

#house of the dragon #ser criston cole #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra x criston #can’t believe this even has to be said tbh #I told myself I wouldn’t look at these takes anymore because I lose brain cells rapidly #GoT fans hate when women aren’t treated like objects when it comes to sex #they tried to find fault with the arya/gendry scene too by saying she was a child when she was a grown woman #just say you hate female-focused love scenes and be honest #and then there’s the modern activists missing every single cue and sign that shows criston wants to be with her #re: thoughts #re: shows #re: house of the dragon #years later and I’m still writing thinkpieces because of this fandom’s dumbassery I guess lol #some things never change ✨

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archivalofsins · 6 months

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Wanna see the funniest thread of texts to wake up to ever-

It's either go back to college and get the psych degree or do what you're doing but not like that. The average viewer would go,

"Does she know what you're doing?"

The answer to that is yes, kinda, I think she does. I told her that I already talk about Milgram online and plan to make videos about it. So, I have to assume she knows.

Oh then no problem-

She does not want it to be about Milgram and is basically asking me to do intermediate counseling similar to an advice column in a daily newspaper. Something that came about yesterday. Because we were having a conversation about media due to discussing Milgram. A work she has deemed inappropriate for kids and society.

After she explained why she believed that which I explained,

"The complaints you have aren't about the media but media literacy as a whole. A piece of media can only go as far as the person viewing it allows it to."

This led to a conversation about the younger generation, which again tied back to media literacy. Then I woke up to these after do not disturb cut off at seven in the morning. Just to think,

"Boy, do I have a surprise for you-"

Wait, hold on to stop admitting you were at the devil's sacrament to our mother each time you talk to her. She looked up the series last night and is baptist we are going to get it, bro. Literally shut up about Milgram for ten seconds, I'm begging- Yeah, well, beg harder- because this task keeps getting failed.

I fully plan to bring it up when I go to clean at my grandma's house Friday. Vacuuming my grandma's room,

"Grandma, do you think there's anything that can justify or excuse someone killing another person?"

Our sweet old grandma (80s), whose first love is religion, and did volunteer work at our family church up into her seventies probably would say,

"No, though I'd suppose it'd depend on the circumstances."

She would also probably laugh at the question. The family response to Milgram has consistently been well- I have to know why they did it first to judge it. Like elaborate. Or in my mom's case oh that's so dark the things your generation gets into I swear. I like to ask my family's opinion on this stuff because I just genuinely want to know, and it makes for good discussion.

Since my family members are all very opinionated people. Except for my older brother, he's very chill and just usually lets the characters get away with it because whatever it is simply is not his business. Talking to people with various different circumstances on what they think about milgram is very interesting. Because half the time I can just go ah I see why you see it that way. Like my mom was like,

"Well, how can you prove her murder wasn't the abortion?" In regards to Yuno because her first song doesn't show anyone else there. Then I said there are other people implied to be involved, though. She again said implied but not shown. This is without watching it, but listening to me discuss her case. Her whole thing is since we don't really see Yuno with any other people outside of the implication she is with others it could rightfully make it difficult for people to believe she's in here for killing anyone at all and it's not like abortion counts as murder so no crime has occurred here.

Then I brought up how it'd be nice if that's true but guilt by association is a thing. We know at least several people within Milgram have killed directly and one bluntly asks why someone would bring a bunch of acquitted murderers together. For any of them to be acquitted evidence of a crime or at least probable cause something that ultimately implies the death of a living person has transpired for one would be needed to take them to court at all.

Now this character could be lying but the character that the stand in for the audience is subordinate to says if this was just about the law then we wouldn't need to be here. Making it more like that Kazui is telling the truth about the acquitted part. Since if they were all legally acquitted of any wrong doing already then if we were just going by modern law we would not need to be here. Abortion is also still legal in Japan so they couldn't criminally charge Yuno for using one of her legal rights. That'd be odd.

At which point she went, yeah, given that information, it does become more questionable if abortion is her crime or not and I wouldn't really think it was myself but still this all so dark. It's like it's teaching people how to get away with murder. Circling into what we discussed at the beginning of this post.

Though it was a really fun conversation. Also, no- I haven't told my mom about Mikoto. I would like to tentatively know peace.

#gunsli rambles

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wernher-von-brawny · 1 year

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One man's quest to understand why a “country band” with 10 million TikTok followers has almost zero presence in “country music”.

It reminds me of when Barbara Walters asked Kim Kardashian what she did for a living, while then-Bruce Jenner looked on and nodded.

The olds were still thinking in terms of selling products and services to customers, while Kim made her living by turning media attention into an audience.

But for her, the audience were not her customers, at least not primarily. They were her product, which she then sold to advertisers.

Towards the end of this video, the essayist wonders aloud why TikTok content is so nonsensical and pointless and cringe. The question reminded me about that Barbara Walters interview, but also about when, a couple or more years back, that question was asked about meme culture.

Did we ever come up with a good answer? I think the philosophers may have come up with something, but I don’t know that the general audience cared.

But my intuition is that “TikTok culture” -- setting aside the popular conspiracy theory that for audiences outside of China, TT deliberately promotes content that warps the brains and values of the young so as to undermine the future competitiveness of other nations, which is frankly such an old strategy in the culture wars between nations that it seems performatively naive to doubt it -- is just the next iteration of a cyclical trend in media I call post-literacy.

Post-Literacy

I first grokked onto this idea when I was pondering how Jimmy Fallon could be so successful as host of The Tonight Show.

When he first got the gig, everybody who knew good TV from bad was just embarrassed for the lad. Particularly those old media folks -- Paul Simon (clearly doing Lorne Michaels a favor) comes to mind -- who would radiate anything from pity and incredulity to discomfort, disdain, and contempt from their seat on the couch.

But somehow, Fallon delivered the ratings. He kept his job. He became a hit. Or "a hit".

How? Why?

I decided it was because he clicked with the actual point and purpose of The Tonight Show: It's not meant to be watched, but rather to be "left on".

Johnny Carson learned this when a movie called Middle Age Crazy came out in 1980.

The film opened on a couple in bed having marital relations, while The Tonight Show was playing in the background. Carson described how seeing that made him realize that many of his viewers simply used his show as “a nightlight for sex”.

You didn't need to speak English to enjoy Carson's Tonight Show. His monologue was never more pleasing to the audience than when the jokes died. His comedy skits were so broad that they functioned more as signifiers of comedy, rather than, y'know, actual jokes.

Carson's Tonight Show was a bright light we all gathered around to feel a sense of community. So even if a joke might not actually be funny, it's supposed to be funny, so go along with it. You don't even really have to pay attention to what's going on, just don't sour grapes the party.

I think this is part of the reason that Letterman and Conan weren't really Tonight Show permanent host material: for their comedy to work, you had to pay attention to setups and punchlines. Also, Letterman could be a bit smug and abrasive and Conan a bit effete and elitist.

But a guy like Leno? He waggled his head, did the funny voice, and whether you were paying attention or not, you got the message: the affable host of the party just said a funny, so laugh along.

And Fallon also fills this same Johnny Bravo jacket.

He's SO enthusiastic and happy to be there, and he laughs SO HARD at his own jokes that you don't have to pay attention to the show. He's cute and friendly and almost violently inoffensive, and he'll double over in convulsions to let you know that you’re having a good time.

You don't need to listen close, or follow along, or even understand the language to enjoy the proceedings.

And you'll never feel like you're too dumb to "get" a joke, because the point isn't the joke, but the communal experience of laughing together.

Which, to my mind at least, is a key ingredient of TikTok, and of the massive international popularity of content that is -- outside of China, at least -- unfailingly silly, stupid, or pointless.

The pointlessness is kinda the point.

Call it post-literacy, post-meaning, or post-content. (ba-dum ching!)

You don’t need to think about it or understand it or seek reason or rational sense in it.

It's post- “the gatekeepers of acceptable media”. It's post-reality TV, where anybody, anywhere can be famous if they are outrageous enough.

You’re just meant to enjoy it for seven seconds and move on to the next one. It’s a world party, and we’re just here for a good time. Chug, chug, chug!

If we accept that “the Medium is the Message”, then I'll leave it to you to ponder on what message a medium consisting of millions and millions of seven-second videos -- many or most showcasing “wacky hijinks” -- is sending.

It is here, it is now, and it is the intermediate step between itself and the more extreme next thing which will elevate, accelerate, or exacerbate whatever effect TikTok is having/will have on us.

Like Rat Pack-era Sammy Davis Jr., baby!

But in the here and now, being Wacky™ and attractive and colorful and laughing, laughing, laughing is a business plan. And if it please the court, I present as evidence the subjects -- or are they objects? -- of the above video: the redheaded triplets known as Taylor Red.

They may have named themselves Taylor to capture some of you-know-who's reflected radiance, but these girls are not a band. Not any longer.

Like the Kardashians, they bypassed the intermediate step of achievement/accomplishment and went straight to celebrity -- although they kinda/sorta bypassed the "celebrity" part too, didn't they? -- and became a brand.

They are in the business of turning eyeballs into audience, and then selling that audience to advertisers.

World-Wide

The dude in the video wonders why Indonesia is their biggest audience.

Well, setting aside that there's probably some link farm-esque purchasing of likes and subscribes, one can easily imaging that three redhead triplets wearing tight costumes and jumping on balloons ticks a lot of boxes.

Language barrier, gone. Context, irrelevant. And as everyone from Florenz Ziegfeld to Hugh Hefner knew, figure out a way to commodify cute American girls laughing and having fun, and you're practically printing money -- world-wide.

A researched piece like this video getting 1-2 million views is something like a $1-2k YouTube payout. The dude suggests that the girls are likely pulling in $250k/mo just from TikTok.

From what I’ve heard about how TikTok pays creators, I find this number kinda sus, but hey, it’s not like I actually know enough to refute it.

I suppose it's just a matter of time before Jimmy Fallon invites them to appear of the Tonight Show.

Maybe they'll discuss Post-Literacy, perhaps citing Marshall McLuhan or, IDK, Bertrand Russell.

Or maybe they'll all just jump on balloons, because frankly, that's just better content.

Or should I say, "content".

#post-literacy #tiktok

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mannishboywrites · 7 months

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What the hell is going on?

The internet has been pissing me off lately. It seems like it's impossible to log into my Twitter account (fuck off, Elon, I'm not calling it X) to say "ratio+L+get gud" to a journalist without being shown some blue-check misogynist with a marble bust avatar telling me that I must save my sons from the degenerating forces of public school, Netflix, and indoor plumbing. I can't open Instagram without seeing a LinkedIn evangelist telling me that the only way to success is to start your day with a five mile run at 3am and block off two hours before lunch for something called "deep work" in between liquid meals that will run you $50/day. I just wanted to watch videos of some guy showing me how to play "Supernaut" by Black Sabbath on the bass. Instead of three hour video essays about one specific armor piece in Dark Souls 2, YouTube wants me to watch two guys with questionable hairlines sit in a studio and debate how high a woman's body count can be before she has been gone from NPC to refuse in their eyes.

It may sound like I'm complaining about The Almighty Algorithm, but I really hate the idea of being that boring. As someone who has a working understanding of Marxian social theory, I promise that I will be more annoying than dull. As such, what has really been fueling my consternation has been the feeling that nobody really knows why they're doing what they're doing, nobody knows where they are going, and everything feels like an artifice. Other people are not people in the way you are, they're obstacles, foils, marks, rungs on a ladder, predators, or prey. Seeing them as anything other than an object with a use value at least and ideally an exchange value is a sign of weakness best avoided.

If you've spent even a second on the internet, you've certainly seen the various hacks that people smarter, sexier, richer, and more skilled than you have to offer, all for the low price of a Patreon subscription. It's not a get rich quick scheme, it's an optimization method. It's not how to make friends and influence people, it's how to become an Influencer with a powerful Brand. You're not having a crisis of identity, you're just a Beta in need of some guidance on how to develop the Sigma grindset. You have so much to learn, and a bald man with HGH gut can probably teach you.

Until I forget or lose interest because I started another character in Elden Ring, I'll be exploring the various ailments of what Marx would call alienation and how they manifest on social media in the form of content (another concept I'll probably talk about because I hate it so much) designed to be consumed, regurgitated, and consumed again in a cycle that not only radicalizes the viewer, but the creator themselves. In post-industrial capitalist society within the Imperial core, people have lost the concept of class as a scientific term. We don't share spaces with people we don't already think we'll get along with, we don't bond over things that aren't commodities, and we don't have relationships that aren't transactions. When you've been steeped in that brew from birth (usually sometime in the Reagan administration or after), it's not hard to see why Andrew Tate isn't rejected as a psychopathic cancer to a civilized society or why Jordan Peterson's vapid, half-baked Jungianism can't be laughed off as the mumblings of a charlatan. The fact is, people are desperately looking for something that just isn't there, and when they aren't armed with a truly social set of ethics or basic media literacy, anybody with any confidence or semblance of authority will do as a surrogate role model.

I can't say this blog is going to be well-planned or even well-sourced all the time. Hell, I'm not even sure how long I'll keep up with it. Hopefully, I'll get some of you thinking about how dangerous it can be to distance yourself from your fellow people. At the very least, we'll get to gawk at some real freaks. That's what the internet should be for, I think.

#marxism #alienation #masculinity #hustle #grindset #influencers #social media #i dont know what else to tag

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jennifersminds · 2 years

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Hey! Hope you are having a great day.

So since I like you opinions and analyzes so much, I wanted to ask, Why do you think people hate Elena?

I know they have some reasons, like her sleeping with Damon and breaking up with Stefan etc... (Which I find terribly hypocritical because no other character is better at that point) but it's like they think Elena was ALWAYS a bad friend or a girlfriend, they ignore the times she sacrificed herself and asked forgiveness from Stefan. Honestly, I've left apps like Reddit or Instagram because of that, I can't stand all this hatred towards a fictional character who has so many fans as well.

Okay I'm gonna start off with - tysm !!! for this ask and I'm so sorry for the tremendous can of mental worms it's going to pop off bc i have thoughts-

There are actually alot of factors in play when it comes to the frankly insane amount of hate Elena receives, and in my opinion they vary between vaguely valid and batshit insane. Now this could very easily turn into an insane rant so I’m gonna try to speak objectively in an attempt to actually explain myself lmao.

The cards are already sorta stacked against Elena as a main character because audiences seem to have this individualistic desire to tear a piece of medias protagonist apart (especially if they’re female). I honestly can’t think of a fandom I’ve been in nor witnessed one where this doesn’t happen to some degree. Media literacy is a dying skill and alot of audience member struggle to grasp that the ‘fun, witty, sexy, bitchy etc’ side character is often a side character for a reason. Main characters are viewed as ‘attention hoggers’ for merely taking up the most screen time as if thats not what they were always intended to do. No matter how snarky or chill a character is people will always get tired of them for wining or crying or taking up too much room. Regardless of a piece of medias contents, audiences have a very short fuse with this sorta thing. So Elena not only being a main character, but a main character who’s literally the centre of multiple spells/prophecies and who is constantly undergoing horrific trauma because of this and therefore crying, makes her an unfortunate target for contrarian viewers who are already desperate to hate the shows lead just to feel different.

The biggest factor is, to likely no-ones surprise, misogyny. Both internalised and not, the shows 12-17 year old target audience combined with the actual blatant sexism displayed in the show itself are a recipe for disaster that implodes with every new wave of tweens that stumble across the show. Now I mentioned how alot of audiences hate main characters out of a need to feel different, amplify that by a hundred thanks to the fun and unavoidable ‘not like other girls’ phase that most of this age demographic is going through and you’ve got yourself an Elena-anti. (I’m not demonising this phase, the treatment of young girls in society makes this an almost impossible thing to avoid, however it is a big reason alot of girls hate Elena). The nature of the show adds to this aswell, as the Salvatore love triangle encourages audiences to pick a side, Stefan or Damon, and once you start choosing between brothers you feel the need to choose between every character. So you’ve got girls who like Caroline feeling a need to hate both Elena and Bonnie because the show makes it feel impossible to like more than one character at once.

Now, building more on internalised misogyny- the biggest and most insane way people hate on Elena imo is the ‘crybaby’ accusations. This to me comes from a mixture of point one and two, a lack of patients for main characters and their ‘whining’ and ‘not like other girls’ syndrome. Now we can argue until we’re blue in the face about who lost more or who deserves to cry but in my opinion it doesn’t matter. Elena was grieving at every point in the show (something that I don’t think was properly discussed tbh), being actively groomed and abused (I’ll talk more on that later), and dealing with multiple threats on her life at the age of seventeen. She deserved to cry. In fact she deserved to do alot more.

So I’ve mostly been talking about audience and audience perception so far so let’s get into the actual show and its storyline. Now I mentioned how tvd encourages their audience to choose, this in itself isn't wrong or unusual, however with Elena it leads to the entire audience heavily sympathising with one of the Salvatore brothers. The young girls watching the show are told that they need to feel bad/happy for whichever one they like the most because otherwise why are they watching? Now I know it sounds like I’m just describing to you the basic steps of watching/reading anything however this is a problem here because -

The Salvatore’s are not victims. They are not just love interests. The Elena/Salvatore love triangle isn’t a normal love triangle where all the parties are equally complicated and therefore deserve to be held equally accountable. Both Damon and Stefan hold a highly significant level of power above Elena. Not just because they’r older but because she is a child. And not just because she’s a child but because they both no more about her and the world she’s being tormented by than she does. This would be one thing if they made an effort to share this information with her along the way but they don’t, and not only do they use this to manipulate her along the way they hold her accountable for what she does while being manipulated by one of them.

Not even the way teenagers would hold each-other accountable in a normal high school love triangle, they hold her to the standards of an adult and because they do- so does the audience. And because the young girls watching this show have no reason to hold their fav hunky sassy sexy vampire boy accountable for how they treat Elena. They then hold Elena accountable for not just the things she does ‘wrong’ but the things the Salvatores fo wrong too.

All of Damon and Stefans misdeeds fall upon Elena, the people they kill/assault (caroline), the battles they start. She is blamed for all of it because, going back to point one, she’s the protagonist, and she’s at the centre of it all. And while it is true that in the lore of the show everything happens because of Elena and her doppelgänger status, she literally never has any control or autonomy throughout the entire run. She doesn’t bring vampires into Mystic falls. The vampires (salvatores) force their way into it just to fuck her. But because the show would have to sacrifice its perfect love story to discuss this, it doesn’t. So it’s primarily young audience (point two) ignores it/doesn’t think of it, and also blames Elena the way the Salvatore’s do.

Okay I’m gonna wrap this up even though there’s probably alot more I should say but i will give my vague opinions on a few plot points.

Stefan had no right to be mad at Elena in season 4, at-least not the way he was. I mentioned before that Elena was held to the standards of an adult by both brothers well I honestly think Stefan is the worst for it. His whole self afflicting, tortured “I never thought you’d hurt me this way” thing was bullshit because.... why??? why did you think that? She’s a child. A literal child that your psycho rapist of a brother has been trying to fuck for two years now.

The use of Rebekah by both Stefan and Damon is very gross to me aswell. And I think relevant here too because both of these moments are prime “OMG look how self centred Elena is” things. Both Stefan and Damon use sex with other people as a way to punish Elena for stepping out of line. The choice of Rebekah is deliberate by both of them and to say otherwise is ridiculous in my opinion. Damon sleeps with Rebekah not 48 hours after she tried to kill Elena and Stefan after Rebekah literal did kill her. The attitude of the “You’ve never seen me when I’m not in love with you.” shit is enraging.

Anyway, I’m gonna end this here. I’d be happy to elaborate/get into more specific moments and reasons whenever but thank you again for this ask. Sorry it’s a bit late but I wanted to get as much out as coherently as possible lmao.

#asks <3 #elena gilbert #pro elena gilbert #elena gilbert defence #anti stefan salvatore #anti damon salvatore #anti delena #anti stelena #tvd #the vampire diaries #fandom #truthisalieandifellforit

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innerrampage · 3 years

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MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

Good day everyone! Hello and welcome to my blog!

The topic for today is how to be a media literate and responsible netizen across all social media platforms. But first let us know what media and information literacy are. Media and Information Literacy involves the knowledge, attitudes, and set of abilities required to recognize when and what information is required, where and how to access it, how to critically assess and organize it once obtained, and how to use it ethically. However, many people abuse social media at times, and some violate social media norms by posting things that are inappropriate for the general public to see. For example, some individuals already do these things, and perhaps you have as well. Therefore, in order to avoid this, let us know about the qualities of responsible media and information users.

Characteristics of a Responsible User of Media and Information

Anyone has the freedom to be a user and to offer their own media and information knowledge. However, not everyone is appropriate in the production of media and information, because we should at the very least have the following qualities of responsible media and information users to protect us from abusing social media and following the proper guidelines.

These qualities should be present in a responsible user and competent producer of media and information:

Must be curious - People providing information on any platform should be naturally curious.

Should have general knowledge - Providing a wide understanding of a variety of topics enables somebody to feel more confident on whatever he or she is disclosing to the public. They have faith in the information's accuracy, that prepares individuals for any future arguments.

The ability to write - The capacity to write has a stronger influence on knowledge communication. Any errors in your writing may cause your potential viewer simply feel bored and just go onto the next one. You'll need to be good enough to hold your reader's attention if you want to get your message through, as that is where comprehension skills help a lot.

Must observe professionalism - Professionalism is defined by a number of characteristics, including rationality and integrity. As a professional, you must fulfill your obligations, in this case as a reliable source of knowledge. Being objective is the only way to do this, which is more said than done given our tendency towards picking sides.

Should be objectives - They make their decision based on evidence instead of desires, and usually seek for those who are neutral.

Should have ethics - In the sense of being true, impartial, and genuine, it characterizes a person or behavior as ethically correct. Anyone who accepts responsibility by obtaining information from a wide variety of resources.

Should avoid plagiarism - Copyright infringement is illegal considering someone has put in the effort and should be credited for it. It is considered stealing to take someone else's ideas and efforts without citing the source.

#MIL #Media and information #characterist #responsibleuser #social media

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kob131 · 3 years

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrPxDH_A1f8

‘Is Ren the best character now?’

He had one scene. A scene people could see coming a mile away. A scene that he pulled in Volume 7 and you called him shit for it. A scene that wasn’t really all that special since RWBY has done this shit before but subtler.

The only difference is you feel as though Ren is sucking your dick.

‘Oh finally, a character with common sense because he said they’re in over their heads!’

... So Yang, Weiss, Blake and Qrow are also the best characters right?

Since the three mentioned this in the Apathy part of Volume 6 and Qrow did the same in the episode before stealing an airship from Cordovon.

We’ve already had this moment in RWBY. It’s just REN wasn’t there and hasn’t had to deal with this. You COULD talk about how the experiences between Ren nd Yang change their perspectives and how it makes sense for them to take these positions due to said experiences...but I looked through your video footage- You do not show anything about Ren’s past or the Apathy, the big contributing factors between the two’s conflict

‘They clearly don’t know what they are doing and they should be in school!’

Again, already been through this with the Apathy, where the team pointed out that they were in over their heads and wanted to quit. Already showed that doing nothing will not solve the problem. And of the adults that know of Salem and are mentally prepared to deal with her- The one guy with an actual good track record (Ozpin) is currently not available.

What we have left is a dead guy (Lionheart), a non-player (Vacuo Headmaster), a little blind lady unknown to most people (Maria), a crippled man unknown to most people (Pietro), a man with several depressive issues alongside being unwilling to work with people if they cross his line (Qrow) and a man who needs approximately seventeen different psychiatrists with tranq darts to deal with his mental problems whose not even willing to listen at this point, about repeat Ozpin’s mistakes (Ironwood). There’s really no one who they CAN hand over stuff to because the adults in power either A. Do not have the knowledge and mental preparation to deal with Salem or B. have numerous issues that prevent them from taking over completely.

‘They’re behaving like this is normal and it makes no sense!’

... Because these kids have been doing this shit for awhile and they’re the ones informed on what to do along with having the resources to do it?

Seriously, try imagining any other adult in the series in Team RWBY’s place right now aside from Ozpin (who wasn’t willing to do anything). ... Suddenly doesn’t look good huh?

‘Well Yang’s plan was to face Cinder, Raven and Vernal with one arm! Dur, bad plan!’

And the other option at the time was...what exactly? Do nothing and have the Relic taken for certain? Send someone else...who were farther away and would get caught more easily...and fail equally in your eyes?

Rather telling Vexed never gives an alternative when bringing this shit up. Almost like he KNOWS there’s not a definitive good action but by being vague and avoiding the problem, he can pretend there is.

‘Ruby won because she had cheat codes!’

Actually she had the tools all along, she just slipped up in the moment. The so-called ‘cheat code’ just gave her a second shot. Which, by how you phrased and showed the scene, wouldn’t actually give Ruby the win against the Leviathan.

‘I’m not sure is Yang is stupid or in denial-’

Maybe take off the blonde wig and look in the mirror Vexed, your ‘rebuttals’ don’t actually work. They’re just based on audience bias (knowing your viewers WON’T challenge or even engage with your points) and misinterpretation (like that ‘cheat code’ bullshit).

Yang’s position is pretty fucking understandable. ‘Stupidity’ or ‘Willful Ignorance’ are the only explanations (Well, that and ‘being a biased hack’ but I’m assuming SOME credit should be given.)

‘If they did nothing, portal lady could have the relic!’

You mean the coward of a woman terrified of Salem who can only teleport to certain people...who all have PUBLIC CONNECTIONS and can be KILLED.

Yeah, real great option there. Funny thing about Vexed and people like him- For all their supposed skepticism, their counterpoints collapse at the first challenge.

‘Ruby is a bad leader because she didn’t give the Relic to Ironwood!’

Which would mean Salem would have reason to assault Atlas even more so now, even ignoring how Neo could just steal from Ironwood too thanks to her Semblance.

‘So the writers are acknowledging-’

Nope.

Even ignoring how this is clearly a ‘both sides have a point but AREN’T correct’/’Friends have differing views and are clashing’ moment (and thus Vexed is IGNORING the purpose of the scene)-

You have COMPLETELY ignored what the writers have said through their work MULTIPLE times. You do not suddenly get to use this when you can strawman it. Stick by your fucking principles.

‘Ren’s doing that thing in my Episode 1 review so I approve!’

And I’m sure that has NOTHING to do with your bias right?

‘Ironwood’s not perfect but at least he has a plan-’

No he doesn’t.

I’ve said it before: he only SOUNDS like he has a plan because he sounds like what our society views as pragmatic. But his ACTUAL plan is...what exactly? ‘Float up?’ How is that any more of a plan than Team RWBY’s ‘Fight’’? People can make a similar argument with Team RWBY, saying that at least they’re being proactive and trying to stop the problem unlike Ironwood.

They have as much a plan as each other.

‘This dig at Jaune is weaksauce since his cheating hasn’t been relevant-’

Ignoring JAUNE hasn’t been relevant for at least two Volumes without his Semblance-

You went on and on and on about how they’re in over their heads, they’re not prepared and they should be in school. And yet you can’t connect THAT to Jaune being in over his head, not being prepared and needing to be in school since DAY 1? Especially since Ren is currently losing his cool and lashing out?

‘Either Jaune has proven himself or-’

Or Ren is being emotional, getting heated and lashing out which we can tell from his tone of voice, body language and the music in the background along with having this be one of the most cliche scenes of all time?

‘-he hasn’t.’

... You know, why should I expect media literacy from you at this point?

‘Yang should feel helpless right now-’

A. Already been through that, we’d just be repeating the Apathy.

B. Not the purpose of the scene.

And C. She’s not the focus.

‘Where’s the Apathy Grimm when you need them?’

... So you motherfucking KNEW about the similarities with the Apathy Grimm and are either so stupid to not see how god damn RETARDED it would be to just repeat that same moment with a character that already went through this problem ONCE with NO changes?

Or you’re so desperate to satsify your ego you act as though someone gouged out half your brain?

‘Here me out for a second-’

I’ll hear you out as much as you hear out the show.

... Fuck you.

Basically Vexed proceeds to list EVERY SINGLE COUNTERPOINT I HAVE GIVEN...then proceeds to act as though this is all somehow a debunking of this point that Ren supposedly had. ... Ignoring the context of how Ren has been acting in the show recently. Ignoring the NUMEROUS signals the show gave you to indicate Ren is NOT being rational. Ignoring the music that couldn’t be screaming ‘emotional moment!’ louder unless Casey actually started SCREAMING. Ignoring the very scene and setup is one of the most commonly used in fiction.

Everything he says here kills his previous half of a video since it shows Ren isn’t right...and the first half kills the second because he’s demonstrated doesn’t actually understand the scene.

God, is this video stupid!

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maahlon · 3 years

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an essay exploring why Susan Sontag may be weary of images by now, from an anthropological perspective.

/ visual anthropology —

The use of photography and film within anthropology has accelerated fairly proportionately with the increase of the image in popular culture over the past hundred years. The image can be anything we decide, and has become an important aspect of modern existence. Anthropologically speaking, Mead has argued that, both implicitly and explicitly, the discipline has had to accept the responsibility of making and preserving records of human beings on this earth (1995:3). This use of the image has served anthropology well, however in an age where immediate reproduction, sharing, and communication of images is the norm, it is necessary to question their capacity and potential for exhausting effect as mere images dominate the world, and seem to stimulate everything (Mitchell 2005). Within this, it is valuable to consider the intents and power of the image makers alongside the images themselves. The following essay is a brief exploration into this debate, considering the power of images within anthropology and the wider world, their relationship to text and other forms of visual practices, and how the intents of the image producers fit within the influence of images themselves. This will be situated around and within the research of writer, filmmaker, and political activist Susan Sontag, and considering whether or not she is weary of this potential power of images. It is clear that the image is an instrument of power (Morgan 1997) but it is through deep consideration as to where this power comes from and what it affects that it is possible to determine why Sontag may be weary of them.

The image has always been a point of contention within the anthropological discipline. Film and photography’s power in anthropology is rooted in structures of oppression, with its history steeped in naturalization of negative racial stereotypes and its constant need for ethical reevaluation. However, by initially and stubbornly relying on note taking and ethnographer’s memories, anthropology became a science of words, with those who relied on words being unwilling to change (Mead 1995). There is still a certain degree of pushback, but with the increase in participation and research under the guise of visual anthropology, the image has gained a degree of respect within the discipline. Despite its many intellectual turns and transformations, anthropology has become and continues to be a highly visual practice, which has resulted in, intentionally and incidentally, a rich photographic and image-based legacy (Edwards 2009). Further to this turn in anthropology, visual research pushes the boundaries of disciplines, allowing for a freer movement of information. Though not strictly anthropologically, Sontag has researched images and human interactions with them almost exhaustively for over forty years, framing images almost as if they are animalistic in their influence and portrayal of human life, yet with a constant reminder of our power and intent of production. Sontag notes early in her book On Photography that to photograph means to place oneself in relation to the surrounding world in a way that feels like knowledge, and therefore, like power (1977:2). Images produced in real time can act as immediate records, holding people accountable, while also providing a platform for performative action. This is extremely powerful in regard to what goes into the creation and production of an image, and what comes of its existence. Photographs are experience captured, appropriations of the thing being photographed (Sontag 1977) though unrooted and ungrounded in time or reality due to the fact that they give people and imaginary possession of a past that is unreal (Sontag 1977). This is, in a sense, taking a carbon-copy of the world from a certain perspective. Sontag points out that the awareness of an event that gathers when photographs are taken is purely constructed (2003:17) as opposed to objective portrayals of reality. Even within image making under the guise of artistry there is a common understanding that artistic intent is rooted in creating a reflection on reality, whether it is a rejection of it or not. Anthropologically speaking, the rare combinations of artistic ability and scientific fidelity that have provided exceptional ethnographic films can be cherished, but it is not necessary to demand that film and images in the field have the earmarks of a work of art (Mead 1975). This is due to the fact that anthropology, which is seen as a social science, is often corralled into purely written academia, where image making itself, let alone image making with artistic value, is looked down upon. However, recently, with the industrialization of general use photography, it now, like every mass art form, is not practiced by most people as an art; instead, as a social rite and a tool of power (Sontag 1977). As Sontag points out, photography and image making has gone from an elite activity to something that is practiced widely, and can be used as a tool for the implementation of influence by many. It is important to consider who is doing the making and why they are making within discussions of fatigue regarding the production and consumption of visual texts.

Images are tiring. It is no wonder Sontag may be weary of their power — however ambivalent, images still demand attention, require engagement, and encourage action, even if the result is action against their desires. The energy required to produce and decipher images is boundless. The conscious effort it requires to avoid absorbing images, especially with the advent of public commercial advertising and increasing popularity and reach of social media, gives them power in the sense that there is a sustained effort expelled in avoidance. Even if this represents a stand against images, the negative connotations and constant awareness of their pervasive and nonconsensual influence on the mind inherently acknowledges the power they hold over us. Images also have power through their applied personhood — they exhibit physical and virtual bodies, and behave with a voice and a face that confronts the viewer (Mitchell 1996). With this constant confrontation comes a potential for exhaustion, especially when considering that the point of a photograph or other visual text is to provoke, whether that be an action, thought, or even just a memory. The photograph, Sontag argues, provides a quick way of seizing something and a compact, transferable way of memorizing and distributing it: “Nonstop imagery (television, streaming video, movies) is our surround, but when it comes to remembering, the photograph has the deeper bite,” (2003:19). Referencing images as our nonstop surroundings gives weight to the argument that Sontag is tired of the power of images as they are extremely pervasive and intervene in everyday life. Mitchell argues that images may actually be a lot weaker than is usually considered (1996:74), such as the point where images can become banal due to their pervasiveness in everyday life. Desensitization seeps in and response limited, though this does not discourage an image’s power, especially considering every engagement is particular and objective to the perspective it comes from. Photographs can, and do, faithfully record gruesome cruelties and crimes, which one can feel obliged to observe, but Sontag argues that one should be obliged to think about what it means to view them and how much it is possible to fully comprehend what they show (2003:75). Visual texts may create a physical separation between viewers and what is being portrayed, however it is in actuality a process that brings the viewer close, their understandings of faraway happenings supplemented by a magnifying glass that gives the picture unnecessary, indecent information (Sontag 2003). This is a return to her ideas about photographs and image making being reflections or copies of reality as opposed to reality itself, expanding on this idea by including notions about photographs exposing a harsher sense of reality then is necessary. The camera is an instrumental extension of our senses that ruthlessly records with little abstraction (Collier, Collier 1986) however it is human direction that the camera follows. This can be applied to any reproduction of reality as photographs furnish evidence — the camera record justifies and incriminates (Sontag 1977) whatever the photographer or image maker decides. At this juncture, the question is begging to be posed — is the image powerful, or are the image makers loud through their images?

As Sontag famously began many of her publications with the statement “to collect photographs is to collect the world,” (1977:1) and over forty years later, at a time where images inflict their influences and desires in every conceivable form at every conceivable turn, it is important to consider where this power truly comes from. As text has dominated the anthropological discipline for most if not all of its existence, it is necessary to consider if written elements are what critiques, especially writers, should be weary of. Text is thorough, complex, and considerably influential, and thus assumably extremely powerful. Textual accounts, however, do not collect the world as Sontag argues photographs do. Sontag argues that a written account may struggle more, depending on its complexity, reference, vocabulary, and distribution, to reach a wider audience than a photograph, which has only one language and although must be ‘read,’ is destined potentially for all (2003:17). Although arguably images need a certain level of education to be purposefully read, writing skills and proficient literacy are an extreme privilege that make non-visual texts inaccessible. Ethnographic textual accounts cannot have the same representational agency as images through their inability to be easily accessible, and are thus often less powerful for a wider audience. The process that goes into education, research, and production of a piece of writing, especially an ethnographic text, arguably requires subjectivity and a specific perspective and experience of the world for it to be successful, even if the aim is to be objective. Photographs, additionally, are as much an interpretation of the world as other handmade visual pieces, such as paintings and drawings, are (Sontag 1977), and arguably as dependent on and influenced by the author’s perspective as written pieces. But while perhaps photographic images are not statements so much as pieces of the world, miniature realities so to speak (Sontag 1977), it is important to note that though photographs are representations of a certain physical reality, the decision of what to photograph, when, from what angle, and how to distribute the resulting image is as much an interpretation as any other form of making. This is an important aspect of image making to include in any discussion of power and production — intent.

As has been previously discussed, Sontag argues that textual accounts seem like a less deceptive way of distributing fractions of the world as it encourages mental imagery as opposed to visual depictions, which she notes provides most of the knowledge of how the past looked, and how far the present reaches (1977:2). This provides evidence to the idea that the author is less weary of textual accounts for their apparent transparency, whereas she is more aware of the possibility of negative intent with photography. Thus, it is arguable, though perhaps controversially, that Sontag is not weary of images themselves, but indeed the power of images being produced by those with certain privileged intents, such as journalists, for example, who have created an immense market for the steadily increasing flow of information about the agonies of war (Sontag 2003). Such as with war photography, the author questions awareness of suffering that is registered by cameras which flares up, is shared by many people, and fades from view (2003:17) and by considering the end result of incessant depiction of violence in the name of image making. Sontag has pointed out that images have the power to create and reinforce reality, especially when something like the suffering of war is photographed is shared to those who are elsewhere, following it as ‘news’ (2003:19). It is important to note that the author does not claim it is the images themselves that generate the power, but the actual act of the creation of the images. Thus the power to be weary of is not the images but the maker, the operator, the distributer of the reality captured. This is further emphasized considering that the act of looking, seeing, and absorbing imagery, however consciously, can contribute to the physical formation of the social structures of a viewer’s world (Morgan 1997). Sontag is indeed, and rightfully, weary of the power of images for their ability to convey the desires of the image makers, which can go on to alter the audience’s perceptions and constructions of their world. It is important to recognize the power of an image while understand that the power is socially, culturally, perhaps even politically, given to it (Wolff 2012). An image does not exist autonomously with power: it is imbued with power ascribed to it from its maker and from its viewers. Sontag, who reminds us that to simply photograph something is to confer and reaffirm its importance (1977:22), would understandably be weary of the mere possibilities of power this could bring, especially with an image in competition with text. Mitchell has argued that images want equal rights with text, seen as complex individuals occupying multiple identities, though not to be leveled with or turned into language (1996:82). The root of image production is inherently complex and multi-faceted, so it is easily conceivable that the subsequent visual texts produced would be, too. But the power to make someone feel, not feel, act, not act, to make something happen or not, the power that is exerted over viewers is not the fault of the images themselves, but of the image makers. Images are merely the catalyst or conductor. Our relationship with images, such as with other objects, is often emotional, and often retain the idea that images and objects are powerful in and of themselves — but it is important to note that this is not the same thing as believing the power exists within the image (Wolff 2012). The power that is perceived to be based in the image is not. This is why Sontag is rightly weary of the power of images — it is really the power of the producer embodied. As Sontag points out, “The photographer chooses oddity, chases it, frames it, develops it, titles it” (1977:27) and there is no point at which the image is autonomous from its maker.

At its forefront, this essay has been a critique of the power of images as a whole, touching upon differing debates inside and outside of the anthropological discipline. It has delved into detail, however, as to why they are so powerful, especially in comparison to reality and to textual accounts, and why writer Susan Sontag may be especially weary of them. By being critical of the power of images it is possible to understand the true nature of their uses within various disciplines and across a variety of fields. Film and photography have not endured a simple or easy path within the anthropological discipline in particular, but visual research, which has both academic and applied uses (Pink 2003) is increasingly valued in anthropology and beyond. Sontag has researched and written an extensive amounts on images, which was briefly chronicled at the beginning of this essay, along with photography and image making’s place within artistic and anthropological disciplines. Working with Sontag’s extensive body of work on images and on war, determining the origin and power of images was key to understanding where their influence and nefarious ideals could come from. While the author may be understandably weary of the power of images due to their pervasiveness and influence, it is important to note that the production and intent of such images are where the power originates and is affirmed.

The camera’s machinery allows us to see and record without fatigue as the memory of film replaces the notebook and ensures absolute and utterly powerful quotation of reality (Collier, Collier 1986), but it is only ever a portion or section of reality that has been decidedly copied by an individual maker. It is through the action of deciding what to make an image of, where, when, and most importantly, why, that the image itself gains its power. That is why this essay concludes with the decision that it is not merely the power of images that Sontag is weary of, but the power of image makers and all that they imbue into their imagery.

Collier, J., Collier, M. (1986) Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press

Edwards, E. (2009) Morton, C. (ed) Photography, Anthropology and History: Expanding the Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd

Mead, M. (1995) Hockings, P. (ed.) ‘Visual Anthropology in a Discipline of Words’, Principles of Visual Anthropology De Gruyter. pp. 3–10

Mitchell, W. J. T. “What Do Pictures ‘Really’ Want?” October, vol. 77, pp. 71–82

Mitchell, W.J.T. (2005) What Do Pictures Really Want? Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Morgan, D. (1997) Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images, California: University of California Press

Pink, S. (2003) ‘Interdisciplinary agendas in visual research: re-situating visual anthropology’, Visual Studies, 18:2, pp. 179-192

Sontag, S. (1977) On Photography, New York: Picador

Sontag, S. (2003) Regarding the Pain of Others, New York: Penguin Books

Wolff, J. (2012) ‘After Cultural Theory: The Power of Images, the Lure of Immediacy’ Journal of Visual Culture, 11:1, pp. 3–19

#essay #susan sontag #anthropology #visual anthropology #mahlon whitney

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thealogie · 5 years

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u said the other night that u would explain the "you go too fast for me" line, i'm not the anon that asked about it but if u would be willing to do so still, i would love to hear ur thoughts. i have a straight friend who laughed at it bc they interpreted it as the surface level "crowley drives really fast" and thought it was intended as a joke and i don't know how to explain to them the depth of that line and i was hoping ur reading ur thoughts might help me articulate mine. thank u

oh yeah absolutely. I should have known that my adhd would get in the way of me remembering to explain it without that ask there to remind me!

Ok I feel like you’re asking me to explain it to people who literally do not have any media literacy so let me take it truly step by step.

Step 1: writers, actors and directors use subtext in film. Literally all stories have SOME KIND of subtext because stories suck without subtext. subtext can be things that are implied about a character’s feelings (eg we kind of know han and leia have feelings for each other before they tell us so), it can be symbols you use to encode your story with political/ideological messages (famous example: the eyes in the great gatsby...the light in the great gatsby...gatsby in the great gatsby), and you use it to create tension and raise the stakes in a scene by making the scene be about two things at once, a surface level thing that moves the story forward and s secondary thing that moves character forward...I wish I could think of any other famous example off the top of my head but the one they use in so many writing classes is basic instinct...the detective interrogates sharon stone “what’s your new book about?” She says “about a detective who falls for the wrong woman.she kills him.” She’s implying he’s gonna fall for her etc. This is super obvious but there can obviously be subtler examples

Ok so premise 2: it’s more likely that a scene or piece of dialogue or plot point serves a purpose beyond its literal meaning when reading it literally (and only literally) would render it completely superfluous to plot or character. This is especially true of gay coding in film. is there any point to Plato having a picture of Alan Ladd in his locker or swinging around a rubber hose like that in Rebel without a Cause if NOT to tell us he’s gay? 10/10 film teachers (all across the Kinsey scale) say nope all of that is there to Drop Hints He’s Gay. Ok at this point if your friends go “obviously that’s just a prop not a plot point that has another purpose as well”...he’s a great example. in BBC Merlin when Arthur is dying he gives his seal to someone to take back to Guinevere, naming her as his successor and then he goes off with Merlin who is trying to cure him and then he dies in Merlin’s arms...on the dvd commentary, as he hands off the seal, the writer of the show said “oh there goes the last vestige of his heterosexuality—i mean marriage!”...like yeah he was half kidding but writers absolutely know this stuff and they know use of subtextual cuss creates a subconscious impression in the viewer’s mind, leading them to the right emotional place (in the Merlin example, even if you don’t read the handing off of the seal as a symbol of him saying “goodbye to his heterosexuality,” it gives you the mental impression that he is easily parting with Gwen and going with Merlin).

Finally in the context of that actual scene: 80% of the conversations aziraphale and crowley have in that montage are completely unnecessary to plot. it’s all about character. By the time we get to the car specifically, we already know aziraphale is anxious about rules but willing to break them, we know these two like each other and we know crowley likes to be nice to aziraphale. So what possible new thing could they communicate? well, lots. even without a gay reading...we get that aziraphale cares enough about crowley to specifically break a rule for him, that he’d rather do this than see crowley in danger, and we also get that crowley wants to hang out and is disappointed that aziraphale won’t come with him. Up to the point where crowley offers to give aziraphale a lift as a thank you, you can be like “ok even if I read this at a surface level, I’m getting new character information, this all makes sense and is communicating new information to me” but it’s utterly pointless to have crowley offer a SECOND TIME and insist “I’ll give you a lift anywhere you want to go” and it really serves no purpose for aziraphale to say “you go too fast for me” in THAT voice if NOT to tell us a subtextual GAY story. What does it add to the story for crowley to offer again and for aziraphale to say I can’t come with you because you go too fast if NOT to also communicate to us something about their relationship? even if you don’t read it romantically it’s just so clear that it communicates crowley being needy and aziraphale being unwilling to get on crowley’s level about breaking the rules/being friends. But it’s clearly romantic (like deliberately meant to build up subtextual “oh it’s forbidden” romantic tension). Look at the performances and directing choices! They matter! he doesn’t say this line in a funny way...this could have been played as a joke. Like aziraphale was using heaven as an excuse the first time he said no to the ride but actually he’s been trying hard to hide that he’s scared of cars going too fast!! I know it doesn’t sound like a good punchline but I could 100% direct that scene to be incredibly funny with no dialogue change. You just need to change the tone and pacing to set up “you go too fast for me crowley” as a comedic reveal...but he says it softly....he says it super seriously and sadly......why.....WHY......

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teachersofeducationhu-blog · 4 years

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**Social media- **what is and what it does

I have since a very long time been monitoring the use of social media.

To be honest growing up i was quite hesitant to be on social media as i thought it would drown my brain.

But today we're here with you to discuss the good and the bad of social media that are used in todays adolescents.

First of we need to know what social media is:

Social media refers to websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time.

Social media is also seen as a platform for many groups and ethnicities.

For many it is seen as as a show case of talents, entertainment,personalities, characteristics, and especially their voices.

Next we need to know the platforms they used:

the youths that we've primarily come across upon use the social media outlets:

Instagram

Snapchat

Twitter

Facebook

Tik Tok

Youtube

Tumblr

To begin with comprehending our youth we need to understand what they use their outlets for.

You can see many of todays youths on social media. Some using it as their personal platform others using it to conceive trends, observing nearly worshipping their idols, forms of communication, its also a look into the daily lives of each other.

For instance: celebrity crush and idols

they are the people kids look up to and use as their role models or envision themselves in that role one day whether be reality or a dream.

It gives them something to reach out to, sort of like a goal

As for media entertainment

we all know the use of memes and the use of it for our personal comic relief.

We all spend countless hours looking at memes and youtube videos but what if we could use this entertainment to stimulate and help evolve the adolescent brain development.

In the form of generating their own memes or social vids that are informative.

Gaming and YouTube has vastly taken over the social platform stage.

They are also some of the more novice lucrative ways of making money on a social platform.

Take for instance that recently there was a video game tournament for fortnite where a young teen won over a million dollars by becoming its first tournament winner.

And what better way to broadcast that same tournament but on YouTube.

Where millions of viewers logged in and the broadcaster got paid by the sum of viewers he/ she had.

Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight.

The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i.e., make the unconscious conscious. It is only having a cathartic (i.e., healing) experience can the person be helped and "cured."

Click here for a video on the theory of psycho analysis

psycho analysis is crucial to understand because if we do then we know our brain develops even in our sleep. And if teens constantly are on social media or social networks and video games it can affect their sleep and the wake up restless, or even worse more dedicated to the social outlets as not to feel left out.

One way we can help beat this is 3 hours before bed time all phones away and give the brain a stimulating activity so that it can function up to speed and breathe and eat knowledge as it is meant to .

Implement family night with boardgames or trivia or a fun activity outsides that can help build your social recognizance.

Giving your body and brain diversity keeps it sharp and uplifting and gives you those extra tools for life.

For instance some of the social idols for todays teens can be what we call social influencers.

A social influencer is someone who uses their social media status to push products on their young audience to buy said product on their social media page for what said influencer is paid for by the brand.

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SOFSjlU0fM

on a site called mom junction I found 11 positive and negative influences of teen on social media

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/positive-and-negative-influences-of-media-on-teenagers_00107975/

I will just use 2 of each:

Help Develop Social Skills:

Many teens are socially awkward. Media gives them the chance to groom their social skills. It also gives them the chance to expand their social circle and develop new friendships. Other benefits include social confidence, heightened literacy in the media, and more social support. Social media diversifies your teen’s social skills, which in turn helps him navigate successfully through modern society

Inspire Them:

When your teen watches an action flick, don’t just despair about the violence. With a little guidance, they can use the movie as inspiration! Maybe your teen will decide to take up martial arts training, all thanks to a Bruce Lee movie! Teenagers look up to celebrities, and when a celebrity tells them to stay off drugs, they just might listen.

Negative theories

Risky Sexual Behavior:

Teenagers are just discovering their sexuality. It is very normal for them to be interested in everything sexual. But the amount of sex in media today can make a teenager confused. Sex without responsibility – that seems to be the message being beamed at teenagers. This can lead to irresponsible sexual behavior and unwanted pregnancies.

[ Read:Teenage Social Media Addiction]

Making Everything Commercial:

Happiness comes at a price. At least that’s the message teenagers get through media. Their life would be perfect if only you’d buy them that hot new game, that happening dress. Advertisers target teenagers to ramp up their revenues. But teenagers fall prey to the idea of commercialization of happiness.

According to Erickson’s Developmental theory, an individual faces a developmental crisis at each stage ( a conflict between a positive alternative and a potentially unhealthy alternative). “…The emphasis on ones own identity at a point in time when the way forward was no longer determined by ones parents or by society…resulting in a crisis of identity”. (westenberg 2008:2)

Now that we have that tackled, let us discuss some of the good of social media:

Ive mentioned previously above that social media is a platform:

for instance the parkland shooting in the united states where a group of students took to social media to voice their opinions after surviving yet another tragic massacre and became activist in their own rights to fight against NRA and force a national debate.

https://www.vox.com/2018/2/26/17054408/parkland-shooting-activist-teens-gun-control

if we were to apply Urie Bronfebenner's theory of Ecological Theory of Human Development.

Urie Bronfenbrenner (April 29, 1917 – September 25, 2005) was a Russian-born American psychologist who is most known for his ecological systems theory.[1] His work with the United States government helped in the formation of the Head start program in 1965.[2] Bronfenbrenner's ability research was key in changing the perspective of developmental psychology by calling attention to the large number of environmental and societal influences on child development.

Or young high school or college students or athletes using their popularity on social media to spread the knowledge of social injustice

As you can see young adults have used social media to help lead them along the way to do great things these are the most beautiful forms of social media.

Then of course there is the ugly.

Social media is also an open platform, for some it can allow you to be subsequent to

for instance research has shown that spending to much time on social media can lead lead to depression .

As noted by such research sites such as ivesciences

https://www.livescience.com/51294-cyberbullying-social-media-teen-depression.html

Don't get me with twisted everything in this life there are the good and the bad.

Take for instance social media have given us the means to reach millions if not billions of people across the globe to relay our message but it can also allow you to portray just a an image of yourself but factual and superficial.

CYBERBULLYING

Do you know the dangers of cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying has taken on one of the worst form of emotional en mental damage to it's victims.

There have been an extreme amount of cyber bullying that has led to the victims committing suicide.

I don't know about you but no child should have o go through so much that they rather take their own lives because of such cowardly behavior from another that hides behind a sometimes fake profile.

Here is an article from lie science backing thees findings:

https://www.livescience.com/51294-cyberbullying-social-media-teen-depression.html

For instance in adolescents cat fishing has been major issue.

For those who don't know catfish(ing ) is pretending to be someone your not on he internet/ social media .

The most cat-fishers claim to show interest in you and try to either make you fall in love with them or to manipulate you for their own personal cause.

https://socialnewsdaily.com/11296/catfishing-infographic/

Cat-fishing is often employed for romance scams,on dating websites. Cat-fishing may be used for financial gain, to compromise a victim in some way, or simply as a form of trolling or wish fulfillment.Sadly the study found that cat-fishers will use traumatic experiences such as cancer, accidents and death to avoid meeting their victims in real life.

As we look into the psychological make up of cat-fishing its almost always done by one person making of a fake social media platform. It is because it is so easy to mask our through selves behind the windows of social media. Another bad reference is that it is now easier for bullies and psychopaths to reach our youth online through social media.

Other platforms with social media use

Lets take a look into the platform that our adolescents role into.

For instance youtube, youtube was seen for many years as just a media outlet where we could watch short documentaries and comedy stints and especially watch music videos.

Nowadays youtube has a huge role into social media and social development of todays youth.

Yes i know the argument would come as wow really (sarcastically) and others would say thats always been the way it has been ( true) but never like before.

Just a few insight as to what goes on you tube you can see stuff like live video gaming where you can talk to and relate your skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft54bgeMBlg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-vvpFft2c

https://video.fosterwebmarketing.com/fosterwebmarketing.com/httpdocs/evm/1080_fosterwebmarketing_017_gina_youtube_h264_640x360.mp4

Also where the can communicate with anime pages, show their life with life vlogs and star in their own reality clips, put on their own personal showcases with live interaction.

The've built up a platform where they can showcase their many talents.

For instance Justin Bieber himself was discovered on youtube and signed a record deal as a teenager.

But social media can also lead to the a substantial difference to the development of the adolescent brain, if you click on the lick here under you can see a couple of test run on teenagers who are on social media and how their brains develop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QWoP6jJG3k

**Where do i belong **

We have seen an outstanding amount of young people all searching to find their peers and to adhere to whatever social group.

Take for instance such support groups that help them deal with their sexuality, ideology and identity

LBGTQ

Feminism

race

beliefs & religion

sex & sexual experimenting

social experimenting

every teen wants to find his or her social group or spot in society; and social media in its various forms helps to steer them to that source.

We should always pay attention to our students and kids for they are discovering their paths be it good or bad they will find person or social peers who share their interest.

Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development.

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

The Sensorimotor Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations

Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and listening

Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence)

They are separate beings from the people and objects around them

They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them

During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at the earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses.T

The Preoperational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects.

Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others.

While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about things in very concrete terms.

The foundations of language development may have been laid during the previous stage, but it is the emergence of language that is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage of development

The Concrete Operational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events

They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example

Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete

Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle

While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in development, they become much more adept at using logic.2 The egocentrism of the previous stage begins to disappear as kids become better at thinking about how other people might view a situation.

The Formal Operational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems

Abstract thought emerges

Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning

Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information

The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.3 At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them.

In theory we as teachers should not fear the use of social media but instead learn to harness its powers.

To use it as our umbrella to educate by implementing it into our lessons we can control it for the mos.

For instance the making of a social media portfolio where they can use social media better in there english class and basically amy skill set you want to embody on todays adolescents.

For some of us with teenage students we can find it off putting but by my observations there are some differential factors in the use of social media and their personal development from said social society.

Some of the factors are :

Culture/ region of upbringing

Race

Morals and values

Religion

and of course age

With all of these factors we should always monitor our children/ students and have them take time for a detox.

We should also try not to hover over them but enlighten them and instead of nag give them a sense of responsibility where then their brain can develop in multiple ways. Think of it as exercise for the brain.

**Live Long and Prosper & Remember to Elevate and Educate **

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makeblockcodingrobot-blog · 5 years

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20 Best YouTube Channels for Your Kids

According to Family Zone, in 2016, kids 8 years of age and under spent 65% of their online time on YouTube, and kids 9 – 12 years old spent 38% of their time on YouTube, watching videos. Every single day, there are 576k hours’ worth of videos uploaded to YouTube. With the rise of YouTube, we are all increasingly able to consume media content whenever and wherever we want.

YouTube, as an open platform, allows the audience to watch videos based on their own preferences and interests, and, in the meantime, YouTube also gives content creators the freedom to be creative and make videos that specifically cater to their audience’s needs.

Among the sea of YouTube videos, not all of them are appropriate for kids to watch. However, considering the amount of time our kids spend on YouTube daily, we definitely want to take advantage of the platform and teach our children STEAM using video content. Fortunately, there are plenty of such resources online. Here, we will introduce 20 online educational video channels that are created explicitly for kids’ STEAM education.

1. Openlab

If your kid is a coding robot enthusiast or has shown great interest in educational robots, Openlab is the place to go. Created and supported by Makeblock, Openlab is filled with demos for innovative coding-robot projects. If you own any Makeblock products, such as mBot and Codey Rocky, this is the channel you want!

2. Super Awesome Maker Show

The Super Awesome Maker Show features tutorial videos created by a young girl, Sylvia. She is passionate about making different things, from gadgets to toys. The things she makes in her videos are all very straightforward and easy to do.

3. The Backyard Scientist

The Backyard Scientist, who has 4.2 million subscribers on YouTube, conducts experiments in his backyard in Florida. Please note that his videos are very entertaining to watch, but not every one of them is worth trying at home. Parents are encouraged to provide guidance and supervision.

4. Crash Course

Crash Course is one of the most viewed STEM YouTube channels. Started in 2006, it now has 9.2 million subscribers. It offers courses in physics, philosophy, astronomy, biology, and more.

5. Crash Course Kids

Producers at Crash Course also create content for another channel, Crash Course Kids. Content wise, it focuses on promoting STEM education, too. That said, compared to the Crash Course, this channel is more friendly towards younger kids when it comes to the visual illustration and the way they explain science, such as engineering, earth science, physical science, and so on.

6. SmarterEveryDay

The host of this show, Destin Sandlin, explores a lot of fascinating science subjects using an elementary and fun vlogging style. It’s the kind of science show that your family can sit down and watch together.

7. Vsauce

This channel was created by Michael Stevens in 2010. With over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, this channel attracts audiences of all ages by exploring the mysteries of the world. As the fan base and needs grow bigger and more specific gradually, Vsauce now has three channels with three different hosts, but they all have one shared goal – science is cool and let me tell you about it.

8. The Coding Train

The host, Daniel Shiffman, teaches young students to code using YouTube videos with funny animations. His videos cover topics from the basics of programming languages like JavaScirpt (with p5.js) and Java (with Processing) to generative algorithms like data visualization.

9. Vi Hart

Vi Hart positions herself as a “mathemusician and virtual reality philosopher.” Sounds pretty complicated, right? But her videos are very witty and entertaining to watch and a great resource to help kids develop their interest in STEM.

10. ExpeRimental

The Royal Institution of Great Britain opened this channel on YouTube and dedicated it to promoting STEM education and activities. The ExpeRimental is a series of short films that will make it fun, easy, and cheap to do science at home with your kids.

11. HooplaKidzLab

Though branded as a lab for kids, HooplaKidzLab’s content is for audiences of all ages who are curious about science and would like to get their hands dirty with fun science experiments. The majority of the experiments are created as tutorial videos. You can easily follow them step by step and do science at home.

12. MinutePhysics

“Simply put: cool physics and other sweet science” is how Henry Reich introduces his YouTube channel, MinutePhysics. Henry’s videos usually last 2-3 minutes and explain some of the most sophisticated science topics to his audience.

13. patrickJMT

The host Patrick Jones created this channel to tutor kid’s math virtually. His extensive collection of tutorial videos is all for free. And don’t question his qualifications just because he is on online tutor. Hold your conclusion till you watched his videos.

14. NASA eClips

It’s never too early to fall in love with NASA! On this channel, you will find plenty of short, relevant educational video segments, designed for a wide variety of STEM learners. There is no doubt that if you want to learn, you learn from the best!

15. Amoeba Sisters

Behind the pink and purple amoebas are two sisters, Brianna and Sarina, who use animated videos to demystify science. Be sure to check them out if you are looking for some easy-to-understand animated educational videos for your kids to watch.

16. STEM coding

According to the channel, it is the YouTube home for the STEMcoding project (http://u.osu.edu/stemcoding), which is an effort to infuse coding into high school physics, chemistry, and math. It does require a certain amount of coding knowledge to understand the video content.

17. Code.org

This channel is dedicated to promoting computer programming by providing free coding educational videos. It doesn’t matter if you have any coding background or experience, you will always find a course here that’s suitable for you to start with!

18. Make:

Into STEAM? Into making things? Looking for a cool project to work on with your kids and their friends? Then you shouldn’t miss this channel! The mission of this channel is to bring the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life.

19. Flocabulary

Wouldn’t it be cool if STEAM related concepts can be taught through hip hop music and animation? If this sounds awesome to you, you should check out Flocabulary. According to the channel, teachers at 20,000 schools use Flocabulary’s standards-based videos, instructional activities, and student creativity tools to supplement instruction and develop core literacy skills.

20. Make Anything

Another great channel for makers, but this time it’s all about 3D printing! Devin Montes, the host of this channel is a 3D printing enthusiast. Each video that he uploaded to the channel documented his experience working on 3D design project. While sharing his very first-hand experience, he also is trying to provide educational content and “inspire viewers to exercise with their creativity.”

Just like the internet itself, YouTube and other online video platforms can be of significant help for kids and adults in their study of STEAM-related subjects. The quality of the educational videos depends on how the creators to contribute their time, experience, and knowledge to creating informative content and uploading it on these platforms.

In addition, as parents, it’s crucial to provide proper moderation and responsible supervision in order to make the most of these resources. The list above only serves as a small example of all the great STEAM educational videos out there. Feel free to explore, choose your favorite channel and platform and the learning experience started now!

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hozeletters-blog · 5 years

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Secrets of Media

Media is not as straightforward as people have simplified it to be. Just like a generic-sized country or a wide city or an over populated town, media is a wide space overloaded with ideas, a platform with its own fair share of nooks and crannies. It is good that it provides a wide stage for the people’s voice, but having a wide surface can create space for more mistakes. The more you dive into the water of media’s deep ocean, the clearer its holes become. Soon, you will realize that not everything written down is true and not everything you read is factual. Even news can be a bluff and words can easily be filtered.

There has been numerous cases when things on the media were proven incorrect. The erroneous updates or “Fake news” as the people call it often get many people fooled and have them believing such outrageous pieces of information. One of these cases was the feud between the world’s most popular YouTuber Felix Kjelberg who goes by the name PewDiePie and a news outlet called the Wall Street Journal. Back in year 2017, there has been numerous instances when the writers of WSJ (Wall Street Journal) have misinterpreted the jokes of the famous YouTube Star, calling him a supporter of Hitler and part of the Nazi. This was because of a certain joke Kjelberg made in a video posted on his channel. Kjelberg claimed the statements of WJS to be not only false, but plain wrong. Along the end of 2018, pro-hacker fans of PewDiePie hacked WSJ to post a fake public apology to PewDiePie pretending to be the owner of the page. They temporarily closing the website, they are now conducting a full investigation. Cases like this are proof of just how easily things on the media can be tampered with, and even a measly fan can hack a giant corporation’s company.

Our generation have been so accustomed to technology that it is already part of day-to-day lives. We have always connected to other people through it, most particularly social media. Social media have been a significant component of our lives in our modern society. We are able to not only share information but most importantly, also gain it. It has structured our lifestyles throughout time. Teenagers are one of the main users of social media, spending 8 hours on average online daily.

While there have been well-known cases on the negative consequences of using social media, there are numerous benefits that it can give when used properly. It is a medium to promote positivity and produce ideas for change. The numerous benefits of social media make it one of the most irreplaceable tools of the society.

1. Opportunity

YouTube is one of the social media platforms that people use to state their stands and express their opinions on a given topic. This results to the attraction of millions of viewers making the video a hit becoming trending. This also lets other people to take interest in it and they may also sponsor such people or channels.

2. A Voice

People have been using social media as a platform to open-up and speak for the people who cannot. Facebook and Twitter are great examples of these social media site that have been often used as a voice for the “voiceless”. An example is that people are speaking out for the disabled people and stating that even if a person is disabled, he/she can still live a full life and do what he/she can. The groups or individuals are mostly started and comprised by the youth who see the significance of equality making use of social media as a place to send a message to everyone.

3. Innovation and Creativity

Because social media sites depend on the sharing of content by active accounts, people have thought of numerous ways to spice up their posts. They thought outside the box to come up with unique and new ideas for their content. Not only is their posts unique, but there are always news applications and sites that are developed introducing new techniques in expressing oneself.

4. Skill Development

Interaction have become more free and easy online. The different social media sites have opened up social environments online for people to interact. Endless exposure to social media and being online have resulted to numerous benefits like engaging to their potential employers. Being online have benefitted young people in acquiring skills that helps them in evaluating and interpreting different situations. This preparation helps people to be prepared to face different kinds of situation mentally. YouTube contains numerous educational videos that aids in sharpening and improving one’s skills.

5. Confidence and Independence

Being online through social media is considered to be an adventured for some people. It is comparable to exploration where there is a need for numerous skills sets. People are able to mold themselves to become more independent in order to survive the social media race. They are also able to become more confident in hopes of having a positive online presence and be heard. Eventually, these becomes part of their life.

Media has also numerous Positive Impacts. These are the following to name a few.

1. Social Media Is a Way to Enhance our Connectivity

It’s an effortless manner to connect with other people but we have an amazingly wide variety of such sites to choose from. No matter how far they are or what region they could be in, how different our beliefs are, social networks are beneficial in reviving and retaining relationships with other people.

2. Social Media Has a Lot of Benefits for Students and Teachers

It’s been a habit for people to use social media to search important details that couldn’t be seen in encyclopedias and other books. But with the use of these social media, it has given numerous opportunities for us to expand our knowledge. For example. We use to convey our projects easily especially for research.

3. Social Media Can Benefit Mental Health

Our emotions and health affect our mood being a part of the social media users community have been effective and helpful allowing us to relieve our social isolation and other depressing problems. It also allows people to share their thoughts without revealing their identity. It also develops our self-esteem making us more confident. It is a platform that helps people express themselves with less, if not without any, fear.

4. Help Develop Social Skills

Some people are anti-socials. Media offers them the chance to develop their own social skills. It also gives them the chance to expand their social circle and make new friends. They need to build their selves to develop their social confidence, heighten literacy in the media, and other social support to improve their social skills as a person in real life. It can also help them to communicate with others, most especially if you’re a teacher or a businessman, you need to develop these skills in order to be successful in life.

Media have been an essential part of not only our lives, but also of the society. In today’s generation, media has been an important part of the lives of the people. However, it is two-sided which means that it has its positive side and the negative side. We are certain that nothing is perfect, not even social media. Though imperfect with its disadvantages, social media, when properly used, has its good side.

Advantages of Media

1. Media helps in educating the people. Through the television, radio programs and the internet, people get to know and learn on the things such as health matters, recent news and much more.

2. People get the recent news in just a short period of time. People get news daily through the use of media and this keeps them updated on what is happening on their environment.

3. Media lets the people showcase their talents such as singing, dancing and acting and post it online.

4. Children can easily learn from media because it increases their knowledge. They can learn from quiz programs, animal programs and etc.

5. Radio is very convenient for the people who loves to get updated to news and such, with their mobile devices they can easily listen to it.

6. Media is also a great way in terms of advertising and promoting. This can make the sales of such products to increase rapidly.

7. Media serves as a good source of entertainment. People get entertained through music and television programs.

8. Media leads to the diffusion of different cultures. By showcasing these cultures, the people will be able to learn and appreciate the different cultures that we have.

9. Television allows electronic duplication of information. This reduces the production cost making mass education possible.

10. Media helps people all over the world to understand and embrace each other’s differences.

Disadvantages of Media

1. It leads to individualism. By spending too much time on the internet and watching television, the people will often forget their lives outside of their mobile phones.

2. Some of the contents of media are not suitable for the children. Limiting children’s access to these can be hard.

3. Newspaper is geographically selective.

4. Increase in advertisements in television and radio is making them less attractive.

5. Internet as a form of media opens up possibilities of identity theft, phishing, fraud, hacking and etc.

6. People get too addicted to media which decreases their productivity.

7. By staying too long in front of their screens, this may lead to eyesight problems. Also, using earphones might lead to hearing defects.

8. It idealizes alcohol and drugs. Some of the programs make this kind of things appear to be cool.

9. It can lead to personal injury. Some people likes to copy what they have watched online even though they are not professional in this field.

10. It can ruin a reputation of a person. Hacking is one of the tool in spreading rumors about a person.

No matter how credible the internet presents itself to be, we find that more unreliable sources could be found in it. The easiest way for people to speak up is through their social media accounts; it is also the easiest way to fake figures. Most of the legal issues of media could be found through this branch of media. Phishing, Plagiarism, Hacking, etc. One could say that it is the most dangerous form of media, since almost everyone has access to it. But if you were leaned at the wonders of the internet, you would know that true danger is found inside something that less people have access towards.

There are three known layers of World Wide Web: the surface, the deep and the dark web. Some of which you might be familiar to.

The “surface” is what you usually see when you open up your Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox or any web browsers. The surface has been part of the web since the first ever engine developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. It is absolutely anything you could access whenever you go to Google, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

The deep web also called the invisible web or hidden web. Just as the name is trying to suggest, it is below the surface, but not completely at the bottom. It is still part of the web, but unlike the surface web, this contains things that a normal web browser could not access or see. It is where one’s personal information is located. From the content of personal email accounts, banking information, medical records to legal documents. It is considered a safe place to the right people. Nevertheless, if all those information goes to the wrong hands, people’s lives could easily be mangled and reconstructed. It is accessible to the public, but protected by complicated encryptions that only professional Hackers could get through. The encryptions serve as security measures to keep it from being searched by anyone outside the system.

Diving deeper into the sea of the internet and swimming past the deep web, you would hit something called the dark web. People often mix the dark web and the deep web, but the dark web is a completely different story from the deep web. The deep web beside the dark web would look like a safe haven. The dark web is not really buried too deep that not a lot of people know about it. It also did not help that news about it have appeared in daily papers and stories about it have been reported on TV. The dark web got its name because not many people have access to it. The dark web is a place of criminal activity. It hosts contents from harmless book clubs to dangerous and disturbing items and services and stolen information. It is the dark market of the internet. You could buy just about anything in there, even the things you could not even think one would sell, let alone buy. The encryption for this layer of the web is much more complicated than the others. This layer and its users are anonymous and cannot be tracked easily.

Media is one of the best avenues to connect with others, let us not ruin the experience. With all the negative consequences that a person may face when he/she use media without thought or considerations, there are numerous tips on how we can responsibly use social media. Social media is mostly free, let us not make it scary due to our irresponsibility.

1. Be mindful of your emotions

As of the moment, teenagers are not being aware of what are they posting in social media, you should think first before you post anything. Don’t let a though-of-the-moment be the cause of something you do not like to happen in the future

2. Don’t Be Glued to Your Smartphone

As great as the virtual connections are, there’s a whole world out there that can’t be seen through your smartphone.

3. Learn to Let it Go

You don’t need to respond to every tweet, or comment- sometimes it’s good to get a bit of time to your own thoughts.

4. Don’t Post Personal Info

There are people online who’d like to take advantage of your trust- don’t give them the opportunity! Don’t post your all information.

5. Enjoy Social Media

Use your intuition when dealing with people online, and have fun sharing your experiences with the people you care about.

6. Never ever threaten anyone

People often take threats seriously even if it is only a joke, most especially the authorities. When you have a problem with a person, go to someone you trust and confide with them. Let others help you instead of making things worse by threatening someone.

7. Be you

You are a very unique and amazing person. Copying and impersonating someone else will only hide you beauty within. Be yourself and make friends. It is better to be not liked being yourself than loved as a fake.

8. Do not ruin your image

Refrain from sharing and posting funny yet indecent or vulgar posts and contents. Even if you would gain a lot of likes now, remember that in the future, someone will come across that and might judge you even f you regret posting it. Humor is fleeting and never permanent but the internet will surely be there for a very long period of time. Do your best to avoid such drama.

References:

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/positive-and-negative-influences-of-media-on-teenagers_00107975/#gref

https://curatti.com/social-media-positive-effects/

https://sdvirtualschools.com/how-to-use-social-media-responsibly/

https://www.importantindia.com/22940/media-advantages-disadvantages/

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alensintoqueermedia · 3 years

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Responsibility

Overall production companies and creators must think about how the content they are creating affects the people that are watching it. In the article “Flaming the Fans: Shame and the Aesthetics of Queer Fandom in Todd Haynes’s Velvet Goldmine” it says that:

“But if this affect cannot easily be gotten rid of, then perhaps the fan identified in Starlust as Sheila poses a more productive question: not how to do without shame, but rather how to do things with it. “I’d . . . like [Bowie] to see himself from a fan’s point of view and understand just how intense a fan’s devotions can be,” she says. “It may be embarrassing, but it’s very real.” Sheila’s wish that Bowie “see himself from a fan’s point of view”—her desire that the object of her fandom simultaneously occupy that position and the spectatorial position of the fan, a site of “ intense” affect—mirrors her own “embarrassing” vision of herself from Bowie’s point of view.”

Oftentimes, we forget that what we put out into the world has real consequences. When fans like a show they might choose to accept and even embrace harmful plot points or cliches. With the lack of media literacy across the globe, sometimes viewers do not understand how to decipher between wrong and right. If creators took it upon themselves to film shows and movies that would have a positive influence on our world, there wouldn't be that pressure to wrongly embrace something that is hurting people. Overall, we need to ask the LGBTQIA+ community what they would like to see on screen instead of having heteronormative executives making that decision for them.

Bennett, Chad. “Flaming the Fans: Shame and the Aesthetics of Queer Fandom in Todd Haynes’s Velvet Goldmine.” Cinema Journal, vol. 49, no. 2, 2010, pp. 17-39. Project Muse.

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armeniaitn · 4 years

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Scholars, Journalists Focus on Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes During NAASR Panel

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/society/scholars-journalists-focus-on-armenia-azerbaijan-clashes-during-naasr-panel-40738-29-07-2020/

Scholars, Journalists Focus on Armenia-Azerbaijan Clashes During NAASR Panel

[embedded content]Much has already been said and written about the increasing tensions along Armenia’s international border with Azerbaijan since deadly assaults on the region of Tavush began just over two weeks ago. In an attempt to lend to the discourse surrounding the regional implications of the deadly flare-up, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues hosted an online forum to examine the motivating factors behind the escalation of aggression, the significance of democratization in Armenia, domestic and global media coverage of the events and the geopolitical roles played by Turkey and Russia.

Last Thursday’s discussion was moderated by Anna Ohanyan, Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College. Panelists included former Weekly editor Antranig Kasbarian (Director of Development at Tufenkian Foundation), Arsen Kharatyan (Founder and Editor-in-Chief at AliQ Media) and Maria Titizian (Editor-in-Chief of EVN Report).

The panelists agreed that the recent attacks represent both a continuation and departure from past practice on behalf of Azerbaijan, noting the novelty of the incursion into internationally recognized territory of Armenia.

“More than ever, in all countries, wars are being fought simultaneously for domestic consumption and for international gain,” stated Kasbarian, referring to the Aliyev administration’s interests in diverting attention from domestic strife and the increasing promotion of anti-Armenian racism and hate speech.

In the immediate aftermath of the assault that was instigated by Azeri forces, mass pro-war demonstrations broke out in Baku, which Kharatyan believes were orchestrated by the state to turn the attention of the public to the conflict, a strategy that backfired when people took advantage of the temporary easing of pandemic restrictions on free assembly and free speech to assert their discontent with the Aliyev regime and demand domestic changes.

“That reflected the general environment in Azerbaijan, and that is not prioritizing Karabakh as much as it is prioritizing their own freedoms, prioritizing their problems with democracy, the kleptocratic regime that Aliyev has there and the fatigue of not bringing about a change,” argued Kharatyan.

The panelists agreed about the significance of democratization for Armenia’s national security, yet disagreed about its exact function.

Kharatyan stated that while Armenia does not have a lot of oil and gas to export, it could effectively export its Velvet Revolution. “This is not just a territorial or ethnic war. This is a war against democracy. This is a war against human rights,” he said. “This is a war against our aspiration to build a strong democratic country, which some countries in the neighborhood do not like, because if we are successful, that means the same thing can happen in their own case.”

Yet Kasbarian warned about the quixotism of going too far with this line of thinking. “It sounds nice rhetorically, but it worries me in practice,” he contended. “I don’t know how our large neighbor to the north would take to an Armenia with ambitions of exporting its democratic revolution elsewhere,” said Kasbarian, referring to Russian influence.

Nonetheless, the panelists recognized the multitudinous benefits of promoting democracy in all domestic realms, including supporting the media, human rights groups, local non-governmental organizations and civil society groups at large.

“Deepening Armenia’s democracy, consolidating it, has an enormous strategic value for the country, particularly in regards to addressing the conflict,” Ohanyan stressed.

Titizian, who has been leading EVN Report’s relentless coverage of the ongoing developments to the minute, attested to the necessity of investing in the media in Armenia by elevating the quality of journalism, particularly in terms of conflict-sensitive reporting. “Not always believing what the Defense Ministry says…does not make you a traitor. It makes you an honest journalist,” she upheld. “When you try to do that, you are framed as a traitor to the nation. When you say, ‘escalation of clashes,’ well, no, you need to be hung out in Republic Square, because you have to say ‘attacked by the enemy.’

Titizian partially attributed the international media’s incomplete and uninformed coverage of the recent flare-up to the failure of Armenian news outlets to develop good relations with global media outlets and “present their side of the story.”

All of the panelists agreed that the false equivalence established between Armenia and Azerbaijan by the international media is unacceptable and detrimental to conflict resolution.

“This false parity is a disservice to the peace process,” said Titizian. “Because when you’re not calling out the aggressor, when you’re not calling out the person who instigates the escalation, then you’re just compounding the problem even further.”

The panelists also deliberated the respective responses by Turkey and Russia to the escalation of aggression by Azerbaijan, contrasting Turkey’s immediate declaration of support of Azerbaijan and incendiary rhetoric with Russia’s explicit neutrality and backdoor diplomacy.

Ohanyan explained that Russia behaved characteristically as an imperial power in selecting not to take sides in a conflict among its peripheral states. “I think the signature move really shows how far-sighted Russia as an imperial power is, relative to Turkey, which has narrowed its foreign policy to nationalism and to working purely with the Azerbaijani side,” she upheld.

“For Turkey to come out and talk about how they’re willing to support, whether militarily or otherwise, is just showing how disingenuous it is to talk about Turkey’s possible involvement as a mediator in this process,” Kharatyan assented. “I see Turkey as a patron of Azerbaijan that can be viewed as an equal party.”

“I sense that Turkey is still in a long process of realigning itself, and it’s testing out all directions to see where it can maximally leverage its influence,” Kasbarian argued, speaking to the future of the conflict. “I think not only our preparedness, that is the Armenia side’s preparedness, but also Russia’s preparedness to defend its southern flank, will ultimately be the deciding factor in how far Turkey can go.”

All of the panelists agreed that the recent violence indicates the supreme importance of calling for ceasefire monitoring at the border and the line of contact.

The panelists ended the discussion by encouraging viewers to develop a sense of media literacy and rely on dependable sources of information on the conflict, suggesting Civilnet, EVN Report, the Armenian Weekly and Hetq as resources to continue to stay engaged.

Lillian Avedian

Lillian Avedian is a journalist based in Los Angeles, California. She has written for the Daily Californian, Hetq and the Armenian Weekly, covering topics ranging from the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Armenia to the Armenian feminist movement on Instagram. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Armenian Studies, and applies her human rights expertise to uncover silenced narratives. When she is not on the hunt for a story, Lillian enjoys writing poetry and attending quarantine “Zoom-ba” classes.

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