Privacy and Facebook

When we go on sites like Facebook, our information is on display. This idea may dictate the things that we write, the groups that we join and the causes we support. It is easy to support a cause that a friend invites you to, but do we truly back these causes?

Monica Hesse's article in the Washington Post about "Click Through Activism" focuses on the ways that many social networkers join activist groups without the intention of further supporting the cause. Some of the reasons for joining could be guilt or simply fallowing friends. Few of the people joining truly support the cause. Sometimes people do not even know anything about the group that they are joining. An example of this is the "No to Demolition of Stork Fountain" group, which was fictitiously created for the purposes of a psychological study, yet reached over 27,000 members.

When it comes down to it the numbers that join these causes show a public outcry and support, but do little else. It is easy to join a cause on Facebook, however it takes more of an effort to fallow through and act on that issue. Because of this many of these causes loose support and fail fairly quickly. Instead of this "click-through activism," taking a more proactive approach is the best way to give support to a cause you believe in.

Media Mover

When I took the quiz to determine what kind of media user I am, I found out:

[I am] a Media Mover, so [I] have a wide range of online and mobile habits, and [I am] bound to find or create an information nugget, such as a digital photo, and pass it on. These social exchanges are central to [my] use of information and communication technology. Cyberspace, as a path to personal productivity or an outlet for creativity, is less important to [me].

I somewhat agree with this description. I definitely tend to use technology for social purposes. My phone is often used for texting and Facebook. However, this does not paint a completely correct picture of the way I use technology. Most of the time that I am on the Internet, I am doing work other things having to do with school.

If I were to pick a different description I believe that I may fit better as a Roving Node. Although I have had a number of cell phones in the past, I never was reliant on my phone until I got my iPhone. This piece of technology completely changed my perspective. It allowed me to be more mobile and reliant on just my phone. So now besides my phone, and laptop, I rarely use other devices.

Technology's Effect

Technology allows us to do so much more when it comes to involvement with the media. We have left the days of one-to-many communication behind. Now we have the ability to blog, comment and generally voice our opinions.

Websites like Colbert Nation are set up on the basis of viewer interaction. Fans can watch the show, comment on what they saw and even discuss with other viewers. This concept would have been considered beyond the capabilities of viewer in past decades. However, it is now common place. The line between producer and receiver has been blurred putting some of the control in the hands of the public.

Pleasentville

Have you every seen the movie Pleasentville. It is one of my favorites. A boy with a horrible home life is obsessed with a show similar to Leave It To Beaver. When a creepy man comes along and gives him an odd remote, him and his sister are put into the show. Since these two teens are far from the "perfect" sense of reality that the show maintains, they begin to introduce flaws. When this happens things begin to turn from black-and-white to color.

This is much more than a wonderful movie. It has strong themes that are often not seen the first time watching it through. The idea of Pleasentville illustrates a simulacra. Sort of like Main St, USA, this idea of a perfect 1950's community reminds us of a better time. However, it is a time that really did not exist. There never existed a time of perfection. Even if we may think Leave It To Beaver illustrated the typical family, this is all just media's exaggeration of life.

Feminism and the Influence of the Media

I recently went to a lecture given by Ariel Levy about contemporary feminism and the influence of the media on today's girls. One of the most interesting points that she made was that women today have a sort of "if you can't beat them join them" attitude. By attempting to join men, women themselves are wronging other women. An example of this is, two women were producers of "The Man Show." When asked why, they responded that by working on a show like this, they could never again be judged as prissy women. Yet, as these women were trying to prove themselves, them they were counteracting the work that many others try to do. In effect they where almost making it alright for the men of "The Man Show" to not respect females.

Another point that was made is that we must differentiate between the things that we are doing for pleasure and the things we are doing as a performance. In our culture sex sells, because of this girls feel pressure to conform to these standards. So, it is crucial that we know what we are doing for ourselves and what we are doing for the sake of the display.

However, the most important part of being active in feminism is finding what you believe in. You must work for the issues you fine important. It is when you work for a cause you care about that you truly make an impact.

Feministing

A panel from the blog Feministing came to speak on Monday. I had never read anything on their blog before, so their views were relatively new to me. It was interesting to hear what the different panelists had to say; considering each was so different from one another. Their differing backgrounds gave them the ability to view feminism and woman's rights from different angles, which allowed the audience to gain some incite.

One of the girls talked about the way that the conservative ideologies of the community where she grew up shaped her early views of feminists. It was not until college, when she was surrounded by varying ideal, that her opinions began to change. Since then she has worked with feminist organizations.

Another panelist, from BC, spoke about the way the girls of BC view themselves. As compared to the start of freshmen year, recent female graduates of Boston College have lowered self-images; however the male self-image does not change. This supports the fact that men and women are different in the views of society; this campus is just an example of the added pressures on women. I found this fact to be interesting.

Glocal Music

Last week I went to see a film focusing on local music scenes across the globe. It was interesting to see how although the types and styles of music changes, the trends in the way the art was handled seemed to remain constant. The same problems with big record labels and the idea of fighting homogenization was the same in almost every region.

One interesting thing I picked up on from the film is that it seems the places which are most secluded from outside influence produce some of the best artists. An example of this is Santa Fe, NM. However, cities like LA, in the crossroads of the music industry, seem to produce many artists none of them too special.

The two men who man the film traveled not only across the county but to Australia, South Africa, Mexico and France to do their research. It was interesting to see all of these different regions and cultures portrayed through one common medium: music.