Social Networks and Technology

            Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube have revolutionized our society and how we communicate and interact with people today. Not only those three sights but the internet in general has changed our world. People have mixed feelings on whether this change is good or bad because of all the opportunities the internet has. Parents worry about their children being properly protected, and teachers have concern of their students cheating by using the internet.

            The internet has given society many positive opportunities. Facebook and other social networking sites allow people to communicate with each other whenever we want to. We can communicate with people around the world, and it only takes minutes. My generation now values immediate responses. We get everything in life quickly now. Sending text messages, facebook messaging someone, or even email is faster than sending mail or making a phone call.

            Although there are so many positives to the new technology, a lot of problems have come from new technology. The people of my generation do not know how to wait for anything anymore. We are used to immediate response, and quick information. Our society has also changed because we no longer value close friendship or relationships. We communicate through technology and that takes away from a true relationship. On facebook you could have one thousand friends, but you only truly know maybe one hundred of them, and your closest friends are maybe only ten or fifteen of them. My generation no longer values the same things in life because we focus our attention on the technology and making fake personas for ourselves.  

http://hubpages.com/hub/Predicting-the-Internets-Affect-on-Civic-Society 

Do You Speak American?

           

             This week we watched a series called “Do you Speak American?” The series talked about how the English language in America changes as you travel across the map. In every area of our country there is a different kind of accent or dialect.

            One of the more interesting things brought up in this movie was in southern texas, many Hispanic people believed that Spanish was going to become a second language. They said that so many people were moving to America from Mexico, that Spanish will soon be a prominent language in the U.S. Many of those people already speak Spanglish, which is a mixture of English and Spanish when they are talking.

In a school in California they were trying to find out if having a special class teaching proper English would benefit children who spoke African American English (AAL). They found that the children in the class were progressing. Many people do not realize the AAL is an actual language. They think that the people are just using bad English.

            If you live in the United States, you're likely aware that there are a handful of regional accents across the country, many of which are immediately recognizable. I've found a map that details the boundaries of each of the major regional American dialects.

Where do you fit in?

Euthanasia: Right or Wrong?

             In class we had a debate on topic of Euthanasia. We looked both sides of the argument, and each group chose which side they would like to support. My group was the only group that was against euthanasia. We first attempted to use religion as our reason, but that was quickly shot down. We then used the argument that the people that are claimed to be in a “vegetative state” could still want to live. Many people argued that if they are in a vegetative state they do not know what is going on, and they cannot make the choice for themselves. I read and article that proves that people in vegetative states can still function and answer question.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2010/feb/10020403 

            This article brought up the research done at Cambridge College in England, and research done by other news facilities. They researched 54 patients with “disorders of consciousness” and assessed their “ability to generate willful” responses during two “established mental-imagery tasks.” Five of these patients were able to respond and prove that there brain was functioning. They also stated that most patients could measure some kind of “preserved awareness.” This proves that as we try to decide the fate of these people, some of them could still make the choice for themselves. They are aware of what is going on, and they do have brain activity.