Social Medias Negative Influences on Social Interaction Essay Example for Free

Social Medias Negative Influences on Social Interaction Essay The purpose of this paper is to observe complete strangers and familiar groups of people in a coffee shop setting, and a college setting, and document the use of social media and their interactions with other people. The goal of these observations is to see how much people socially interact with one another, and how much time people seclude themselves through the use of social media. The observer will also record the number of  interactions that are created through social media topics, meaning conversations that would not have occurred if social media was not present. It is the prediction of the author that people are less likely to socialize with face to face conversations, and are more likely to spend their time in a social environment using social media and interacting with others online with the use of their social media devices. The data collected will give the reader a better understanding of how society prefers to interact socially in present day, and what percentage of their time do they depend on the use of social media in a social environment. Does social media positively or negatively influence social interactions? How is social media used as an external attribution? Introduction. Technology has come so far over the last twenty years, and nobody really asked what society was losing, because of all that we gained. With all the interactions occurring in social media, including text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, email, YouTube, etc., do we really communicate in person anymore? Was it that long ago where our culture was dependent on pay phones and had to mail letters to contact other people? Because of the lack of convenience that people had during that time, it was very common to prefer to interact with people face to face. Now we live in a culture that people prefer to write text messages and/or emails, instead of calling someone to avoid talking with them directly. In a span of about ten years, our culture went from wanting cell phones to becoming dependent on cell phones, and having mostly to do with being able to view data (texts, emails, internet browsing), as opposed to calling people. It is because of all these facts that this author wishes to find out if social media is helping us interact socially, or if it actually prevents us from interacting. Another purpose of this research paper is to determine whether social media is used as an external attribution. External attribution is defined when an event is caused by an outside factor (Schneider, Gruman Coutts, 2005), or in this case, social media. In this study, we will find out if the event that occurs due to social media use is face to face interactions, the extended use of additional social media, or no interactions at all. It is believed that behavior results from personal and environmental, or social influences. In this study, we will find out if social media being present will cause  conversation to take place between groups of people that know each other, as well as complete strangers. What also will be recorded is whether the use of social media will result in social media interactions, as opposed to face to face interactions. An example of this would be if a person using social media on their tablet saw a YouTube video, and due to how funny they found the video, they then proceeded to text friends or post information on Facebook and/or Twitter about the video. This study will take place in two different locations, the first place being a Starbucks coffee shop in Coalinga, CA, while the second place will be West Hills Community College in Coalinga, CA. The setting’s benefits and weaknesses will be discussed later in this research assignment. The purpose of this location is to record the actions and uses of social media with complete strangers, as well as groups of people that know each other. By monitoring the interactions of people in a coffee shop, the author is able to see how much time that people rely on social media in a half hour setting. The coffee shop is used primarily as a place to study, interact in groups, read the newspaper, or to simply drink coffee. As opposed to a restaurant, where it is a more social atmosphere and it may be considered rude by patrons for people in their group to use their cell phones, tablets, and laptops. By observing the use of social media and social interactions at a college, we can see how similar or different the results are in a school setting. This case study will apply to the purposes of social psychology, as social psychology is defined as how people influence one another (Schneider, Gruman Coutts, 2005). The twist that will appear in the research to follow is how not only people influence other people, but how their use of social media influences other people and their interactions with other people. It is the author’ s hypothesis that the use of social media, although very useful at times, is devastating to normal face to face interaction. We are reminded of those people walking down the sidewalks with their heads buried into their cell phones, causing them to run into other people and obstacles on the sidewalk. The author also believes that this research will find that most, or all interactions that do exist, will occur through the use of social media instead of normal conversations. Setting. The two different locations where this study will be held will be at a Starbucks coffee shop and a community college, both of which are located in Coalinga, CA. These locations were both chosen because they offer the author the best chance for naturalistic observation, or nonparticipant observation. Nonparticipant observation is defined as an observation made by a researcher that allows them to remain separate from the event being monitored, so they do not have to worry about affecting the results of their observations (Schneider, Gruman Coutts, 2005). Since this study deals with monitoring other people’s use of social media and its influence on their social interactions, it is necessary to remain distant from the participants so they are unaware they are being observed, so that the data collected is more accurate. Different from participant observation, where the observer interacts with the participants being monitored, nonparticipant observation allows the observer the best chance to get realistic data. When people know they are being observed, they tend to act differently, and in the case of this study, they may hesitate from interacting socially and/or using social media as much as they normally would. The first observation will take place in the only coffee shop in the town of Coalinga, CA. This is relevant, as Coalinga is a small college town, so the chances of observing college students and adults interacting and/or using social media are high. The second observation will take place outside in the quad at the local community college in Coalinga, CA. The target audience for this observation period will be students who are getting out of class, or who are sitting around killing time until their next class begins. Both settings target a younger audience, which will heighten the chances of observing social media use, since social media is used more by young adults than older adults (Skues, Williams Wise, 2012). The goal of these two locations is to give the author the best chance to see the most use of social media, and how its use affects social interactions between the users and the people around them, all in a thirty minute time period. Location Advantages. The advantages of observations made in a coffee shop and a college setting are that it allows the author to target a younger audience, which should  generate observations of social media use and its affect on social interactions. When people go to coffee shops, they stay there to interact with other people, to study, or to hang out and spend time using social media. This is why most coffee shops have free Wi-Fi now, to encourage people to stay and drink more coffee while they interact socially or use social media. Another benefit of observing interactions and social media use in a coffee shop is that we find a large number of groups coming in together, as well as complete strangers placed next to each other. This study’s purpose is to monitor the social media use and social interactions of complete strangers, as well as people that know each other. In the group setting, we can see if everyone in the group uses social media, and whether they let their findings on social media to spark up conversation topics. With individuals, we can see how much they use social media and whether their use prevents them from trying to interact socially with complete strangers, or encourages them to start conversations with complete strangers. At the college setting, it gives the author similar surroundings to a coffee shop, in that it is a social environment, since most students hang out with their friends before and after class. A common occurrence at school is to see students doing homework, socializing with friends, or using social media before class since it usually is not allowed during class. Some students may even use social media to help with their homework assignments. While observing the college, the author will get the chance to see groups of people interacting, as well as students hanging out by themselves, which makes it similar to the coffee shop environment. Location Disadvantages. One disadvantage that may occur at the coffee shop is that the observer cannot control how many people come in during the thirty minute observation period, thus making it an uncontrolled environment. The hope is that, since the small town only has one coffee shop, it will be a popular place for people to go interact and use social media. If the author chooses to go on a slow day for business, the observations will be limited. This will obviously be affected by the time that the author chooses to go observe. To avoid any  issues, the observer will do this observation on a weekend morning, in hopes of avoiding work and school hours. Another disadvantage of a coffee shop is that it has a similar environment to a library, since so many people are present, people can avoid interactions to keep the place quiet for everyone to enjoy their experience. The fact that people are ordering drinks at the front counter and there is quite a bit of noise coming from the workers and coffee machines, the chances of it being quiet are small. One disadvantage of the college setting is the fact that the observation will be made outside, and weather can affect the number of students being present outside. The fact that Coalinga is a very warm area, the chances of it being cold in the mid-afternoon are small, so this should not be a huge issue. The other disadvantage of the college setting is, like the coffee shop, it is an uncontrolled environment, so the observer cannot control the number of students present at the time of observation. To prevent any issues here, the observer will choose a time around lunch, where most classes are on break from the hours of 12:00pm- 1:00pm. How social psychology considers social media in this environment. Since social psychology is defined as people’s behaviors influenced by others (Schneider, Gruman Coutts, 2005), this case study is specifically targeting how people interact around one another. The external factor in this study is that we are also monitoring the use of social media, and how it affects how people interact with each other. According to Gross (2009), in 2000, 34% of our population used cell phones, which increased to 84% in 2009. This is clear evidence that today’s generation is becoming dependant on cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other social media devices. Knowing this, and reading what Marche researched (2012), people are using social media more than ever. The problem lies in the fact that people using social media could be a result of people feeling lonely, and through the use of social media, they feel connected to something or someone. According to Marche, people are lonely as ever because â€Å"Facebook denies us a pleasure whose profundity we had underestimated: the chance to forget about ourselves for a while, the chance to disconnect. (2012)† What Marche means by this is in the past, people had the chance to disconnect from everything and  everyone, especially when things were not going so well. Now society never disconnects, because everything is a click away. The more people use social media, the less interaction they have with other people face to face, thus creating a state of loneliness. This study fits the purposes of social psychology because it will monitor how people’s actions and interactions are affected by the people that surround them, as well as the social media that is present around them. The observer will see how much conversation is started without the use of social media, and compare it to conversation started through topics of social media. Will people by themselves have the confidence to approach people they do not know to have a conversation? If so, will it be a result of the person being outgoing or the result of social media sparking a conversation? The observer will see groups and how they interact with one another, and how much of it depends on social media. Will the interactions between groups be different between those of strangers, in regards to social media use? These are all questions that the author will target throughout his research and observations. Research Methods. To conduct this research, the author first went to a Starbucks coffee shop on a Sunday morning at ten o’clock in the morning. The coffee shop is located in Coalinga, California. The reason this time was chosen was because it is a college town, so a weekday morning would most likely be slow, and most people have work off on weekends. The goal was to try and observe the most crowded time possible, in order to get the most accurate results throughout the observation. Though the research was done in a very small town, the Starbucks coffee shop still attracts a lot of business on weekends. Since this study was to be done with naturalistic observation methods, the author chose to get a seat in the far corner of the coffee shop, so that he could avoid people being aware of his presence and monitoring. By not letting the participants know that they were being monitored, the author felt that the data collected would be a more accurate portrayal of how they normally would interact socia lly, and how much those interactions were affected by the use of social media. Due to participant’s  change of behavior when they are aware of their actions being recorded, the naturalistic observation method can be an effective way to get the most accurate results when monitoring people’s actions (Rosas, 2006). The second setting for data collection was done at West Hills Community College, located in Coalinga, California. Although this is a smaller college, there are still plenty of classrooms that are all located outside, which allowed the author the chance to sit nearby a classroom door and monitor the students waiting to go into class, as well as the students just getting out of class. The author chose to use natural observations when monitoring these students throughout the case study at the college. The observations also focused on the teachers that walked around campus, and their interactions with other teachers and students. Similar to the observations made at the coffee shop, these were done at the school by the author staying out of the way of those who were being monitored. The author was able to find a table across from the classroom, where many students gathered together while they waited to go into class. These were the two settings in which the research for this study were do ne by the author. Ethical Challenges. Since naturalistic observations are defined as those made by a researcher who neither changes the environment in any way, nor creates their own desired environment (Capella, 2013), the only challenge presented to the author in this study was not being found to be monitoring by the people who he was observing. Since the coffee shop is a smaller venue, it was difficult to not stick out while observing the actions of people so close to the author. At the school, it was much easier to blend in as the author was outside and could put sunglasses on, so people could not see his eyes. As mentioned earlier, the study results could only be found accurate if the author did not intervene with the participants, since this is the only way to view the participants in their natural habitat (Capella, 2013). The only way this study was found to be ethical was if it was done without intervening with the participants. This also included not using personal information from the participants, so none of th e documented results could be connected to people who were unaware they were being monitored. Since  none of these issues were breached, the research done was ethical. Research Analysis. The author made naturalistic observations at two individual settings, each for a twenty minute period of time. The first observation was done at the Starbucks in Coalinga, California, on January 26, 2014. The second observation was done at West Hills Community College in Coalinga, California, on February 4, 2014. In the twenty minute observation period at the local Starbucks, the researcher witnessed three groups of people come into the coffee shop together and eight individuals, three of whom were already present before the researcher got to the coffee shop. In the twenty minute observation period at the college, the researcher saw one group of 6 students, one group of three teachers, and two individuals all outside a classroom door. Groups. The first group witnessed at the Starbucks was a group of three women, two in their early fifties, and one who appeared to be a college student. The women came in and interacted with each other while waiting in line, and then grabbed a table once their order was ready. The younger girl checked her phone three different times while in line with the two older ladies, and appeared to be texting back and forth. This usage brought up some communication with one of the older women, who appeared to be the mother of the younger girl. The â€Å"mother† asked who she was texting, and then asked how the friend who the younger girl was texting was doing. Once they sat down, the younger girl texted on her phone only a few times, as the time spent at the table between the ladies dealt with interacting about the young girl’s impression of the town of Coalinga. At no point during their ten minute sit down did any of the women interact with any other people that were in the coffee shop, as they stayed completely in group. The author noted that the younger girl appeared more interested in what texts she was getting on her phone than what the two older women were talking about, but she refrained from using it too much. In the second group, which came a few minutes after the first group, there  were four college students (2 girls and 2 guys). They all had their backpacks with them, and one guy had a tablet while the other had a laptop. It was evident that they had been to this coffee shop before, as they all started up a conversation with two of the young workers at the counter, who appeared to be classmates of theirs. Once they grabbed a table, they began discussing a class project that they had in their health class. The guy with the tablet used his social media device to research certain health topics that were presented to him by both girls in the group. The second guy with the laptop was responsible for writing down their research findings, as all four discussed the topics and what was found through their research. At no point through their discussions did they interact with anyone outside their group, as they seemed focus on completing their research only. They still remained there at the co ffee shop after the author left the coffee shop fifteen minutes later. The third group of people consisted of two females, one in her late twenties and the other being a college student, and one male in his mid-thirties. The older woman and male both worked at this Starbucks, and it was evident that they held a managerial position. The younger college student female was applying for a job at this particular Starbucks. The younger female had a resume with her, and had to fill out an application while sitting down in the group. The older male was asking the applicant questions about her completed application, while the older female was documenting some of the responses on her tablet. It appeared that the two managers were using the tablet to input important information about the applicant. There were some outside interactions, as some of the other employees were invited over to the table and introduced to the applicant. This meeting lasted about ten minutes, and then the applicant left the shop while the two managers went back into the office in the back. At the college, the first group that was seen was a group of six students (five guys and one girl). It was clear that this group was waiting for their next class to begin and was killing time before the class started. Although nobody from this group had a tablet or laptop, all six had cell phones and used them almost the entire time. The female was on a phone call, while the  guys were all checking out videos and music on YouTube. All the conversations between the guys were related to their findings on their phones, and once the girl got off her phone, she was invited over to see a funny video that the guys had found. At one point, two individuals passed by this group at separate times, but no interactions were made between the group and the individuals. The final group seen at the college was a group of three mid-forties females who are teachers at the college. One of the ladies had her laptop open, while the other two were talking about creating new student learning outcomes for their particular fields. At no point did the teachers even look over to the group of students that was two tables away from them, as they seemed focus on completing their research before their next class. Although only one of the females was using the laptop, all three were conversing about the student learning outcomes and making suggestions to what was documented on the laptop. Individuals. There were eight different individuals present at the coffee shop during the twenty minute observation period. Five of the eight individuals sat down at a table, while the other three got their coffees to go. The three individuals who got their coffee to go all only interacted with the workers at the counter, and none of them used a social media device or interacted with other people. One of the five that chose to stay at the coffee shop was a college female, and she sat at a table with headphones on while viewing her tablet. She appeared to be watching a movie, as she did not speak the entire time she sat down. Another of the five (mid-forties male) had a copy of the newspaper and proceeded to drink his coffee while reading the Sports section of the newspaper for ten minutes, before he left the shop. The third individual was another college student female who sat down at a table with her coffee and made a four minute phone call to a friend. Once the phone call was over, she grabbed her coffee and left the coffee shop. The fourth individual was a mid-thirties female who brought a book with her, as she sat in the quiet corner of the shop while reading her book and drinking her coffee. She did not interact with anyone while the observation took place.  The final individual was a mid-twenties male, who brought his laptop with him. Once he sat down, he put earphones in and appeared to face-time someone on his laptop, as he was speaking into the microphone on his computer. This conversation was about ten minutes, and prevented any outside interactions with this person with anyone else at the shop. One thing noted by the author was that the people around this last individual did notice that he was speaking rather loudly in a public place, and it was evident that some conversations came up about the man being rude. At no point did anyone approach the man, as they just whispered about it at their individual tables. In the college setting, there were only two individuals present during the twenty minute observation, and they walked by the classroom that was being monitored at separate times. Both individuals were male and both were walking to their next class while using their phones. The first was using his phone to make a phone call, but because he was in the area for only thirty seconds, the contents of the phone conversation were unclear. The second male was typing on his phone the entire time he was walking to his next class, so it appeared that he was texting. The student did not raise his head one time as he was walking, which caused him to walk very slowly and it appeared that he was using his peripheral vision to make sure he did not run into anything during his walk to his next class. Neither one of these individuals interacted socially to any of the groups present as they walked by. Research Analysis’ Relationship to Social Media Statisitics. The research collected through the two observations shows that younger and older participants all were likely to use some form of social media device. About 50% of all social media users in this study used their social media devices to communicate with others through texting and phone calls, while the other 50% used their social media devices to document information and view videos online. According to research done by Baker (2012) just with regards to social media use for videos, YouTube gets 4 billion page views per day all over the world. The average person spends fifteen minutes per day on YouTube streaming video, and every day, over 800,000 videos are uploaded onto YouTube. 35% of all YouTube viewers are between the ages of  18-34 (Baker, 2012). In another study done by Baker (2012), she writes how there are one million new Twitter accounts created every day, which is equivalent to eleven accounts created per second, and over 100 million active Twitter users globally today. Ac cording to research done by Gibson (2013), over 97% of all people own cell phones, and 56% of those cell phones owned are â€Å"smart-phones†, which have the potential to retrieve email and browse the internet. She also states that within the ages of 18-29, 80% of that age group own a smart-phone. With all this said, it is clear that today’s majority culture is dependent on cell phones. Throughout this study, the author saw a majority of participants using some form of social media device, which agrees with other research on social media usage. What was unclear throughout this study is how much social media usage affects our interactions with others socially. Even though some people use their social media devices to interact with others online, does social media limit our ability to communicate with others face to face. During this study, we saw that people that were involved in a group setting still interacted with one another, whether the conversations were dependent on social media or not. We also saw that individuals by themselves did not go out of their way to converse with complete strangers, unless it was to buy a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, this does not prove if social media is the cause of less face to face interactions, because these participants may have just kept to themselves on that particular day. Although it may appear that people today are less likely to interact socially, especially with people they do not know, it is impossible to prove that based on two observation periods. Research Summary. So what has this research study shown us? The one definite that was shown is that people were hesitant to approach people they did not know, unless it was to order something from the front counter at Starbucks. While this does not prove that people today are less likely to interact with complete strangers, it shows proof that people in a public setting are not going out of their way to interact with other people they do not know. What is interesting is that through social media usage (Twitter, Facebook, etc.),  people today are more likely to engage in conversations with complete strangers than they are in face to face settings (Diaz, Evans Gallagher, 2011). What is it about social media that allows people today to be more open to converse with people they do not know, rather than doing it in a public setting in person? Diaz, Evans Gallagher believe that because people do not have to face the person they are speaking with, thus not having to deal with embarrassment if what they s ay is found to be unpopular, people are more likely to be outgoing when it will not affect them negatively in a social manner (2011). Another fact that was proven in this study is that social media can provoke interactions with other people, even though those witnessed in this study were not how the author thought they would occur. In this study at the Starbucks, a man sat at a table and spoke to another person on his social media device in a public place. Because of how loud he was, other people that did not know the man began talking about how rude the man was to act like he was in his living room and not respect the other people surrounding him. The author was hoping to find people that would find something of interest on a social media device and show other people they did not know, sparking an interaction between two strangers. Though this did not happen, one person’s social media use did spark an interaction between another group of people which would not have occurred had the man not done what he had done. This proves to the reader that social media usage can promote interactions between people that w ould not have occurred had people not used social media. Study Implications. New Trends. Though this study does not prove anything, as it is a small sample size of the world’s social media usage and their interactions, it does agree with the author’s hypothesis that people today rely less on face to face interactions and more with interactions made through social media. According to Diaz, Evans Gallagher (2011), there are several advantages and disadvantages of using social media to interact. Young adults that are shy may gain confidence to interact more, first by using social media to  interact and develop confidence. Social media also encourages people to apply more thought into their interactions, as they have more time to think about what will be said. This differs from face to face interactions, as people are put on the spot and sometimes cannot have sufficient time to think about the best thing to say in a particular moment. Some of the disadvantages mentioned by Diaz, Evans Gallagher (2011) are that social media is so widespread, that any convers ation can be seen by millions of people, rather than a face to face conversation that is only seen by those present. Social media also leads people to multi-task, which leads to a lack of attention applied to one individual topic. Multi-tasking also leads to spending too much time on social media, and not enough time studying and developing the brain. New Responses to Influences of Social Media. Does our society even have negative responses to the influences of social media? It seems that everyone is so involved with how cool technology is, and what new social media devices are coming out, there is not a lot of talk about the negative influences of social media. Is social media a more negative or positive influence on our culture? This question cannot be answered with a study like this, as many studies have been done to observe people’s usage of media, and everyone handles their usage differently. Some people may be consumed with social media, and all that comes with it, to where they separate themselves from the non-interactive world. Some people may be able to contain their usage, while using their social media use to improve their face to face interactions with regular people. The author’s feelings on this topic is that due to the data collected in this case study, people did not go out of their way to interact with people they did not know. Whereas twenty years ago, people by themselves in a coffee shop may have been more likely to try and interact with strangers because they did not have social media to occupy their time. This is not to say that people twenty years ago did not go to coffee shops to read the paper or their book in private. The data collected in this study also shows proof that the percentages of people using social media and smart phones found in recent research studies are pretty accurate, as a high percentage of the people that were observed had some of sort of social media device. Recent research  also showed that phones today are more likely to be used for texting, emailing, and web browsing, rather than talking on the phone (Duggan, 2013). This research was proven to be accurate in this observational study as well, as one person at the school was using their phone to talk, while everyone else was using their phones to browse, text, or email. Further Areas of Research. So even though this topic has been researched many times by different researchers, are there any areas that may have not been covered to try and come up with a more definitive answer to if social media usage affects our social interactions? The problem presented with all research is that every person is different, and how they are affected by social media will be different in each individual situation. The author believes that all that can be accomplished by completing further research is to add more proof to a topic that has not been proved to be 100% accurate. Even with more research leading readers to believe that social media is affecting our culture negatively, the only way that we can prove that is if one day people stop talking to other people completely and interaction is done ONLY through the use of social media. Then we can say that social media is definitely the reason that people do not interact socially face to face. One other area that can be further researched is to fi nd out the relationship between social media use and feelings of depression. It would be interesting to see how depression is related to the loneliness that comes with secluding oneself with only interacting through social media. Conclusion. It was the goal of the author to see how the use of social media affected our social interactions in today’s society. Another focus of this study was to see how interactions that do take place are a result of social media usage. Given the data collected in these two case studies, the research findings do support prior research that social media usage is taking over as the primary means of communicating. Each individual person is different, in that some may rely more on social media to communicate than others based on their personalities, but the data found by the author does support this theory and shows the reader that people are growing less accustomed to  communicating face to face with others. While it is said that communicating through social media can expand our abilities to communicate in person (Diaz et al, 2011), it can also be said that social media is preventing our society from socially interacting in person. What this author has found is that there will always be two different sides to this argument, as some will feel that the benefits of social media use will always outnumber the negative effects, while others feel that no matter how advanced social media is, the fact that it may prevent people today from having face to face interactions is a serious issue. The reader has to believe that social media will only increase the more advanced devices become, which may lead some to think that social interaction will keep diminishing. The best thing that people can do as parents is to somehow regulate their children’s usage of social media, with regards to how much time is spent on their social media devices and what content is being viewed. By doing this, parents can still allow their children to interact socially and continue to develop their communication skills by not solely relying on social media to interact socially (Diaz et al, 2011). Whether social media usage is regulated or not, it is apparent that social media is here to stay. It is up to parents and teachers to try and incorporate other methods of interacting with their children so that they receive all the benefits that can come from interacting face to face. The conclusion of this study is, although research may support the fact that social media usage can affect social interactions, it will be very difficult to prove 100% because of different people’s reasons for choosing whether to interact socially face to face or through social online networks. References Baker, H. (2012). Video Statistics. The B2B Guide to Social Media. Retrieved on February 14, 2014 at: http://www.b2bsocialmediaguide.com/2012/06/07/video-statistics/ Baker, H. (2012). Twitter Statistics. The B2B Guide to Social Media. Retrieved on February 14, 2014 at: http://www.b2bsocialmediaguide.com/2011/04/04/twitter-statistics-7/ Capella University. (2013). Social Media Naturalistic Research Study. Retrieved on February 15, 2014 at: https://courseroomc.capella.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4655_1%26url%3D Diaz, Y., Evan, L. Gallagher, R. (2011). Anti-Social Networking: How do texting and social media affect our children? A panel discussion by CSC clinicians at the Nightingale-Bamford School. Retrieved on March 5, 2014 at: http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/antisocial_networking_how_do_texting_social_media_affect_our_children_panel_discussion_csc_ Duggan, M. (2013). Cell Phone Activities 2013. Retrieved on March 7, 2014 at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/19/cell-phone-activities-2013/ Gibson, M. (2013). 2013 Cell Phone Statistics. AccuConference. Retrieved on February 13, 2014 at: http://www.accuconference.com/blog/Cell-Phone-Statistics.aspx Gross, M.S. (2009). Conversations in the fast lane: Social media’s influence on communication theory. Public Relations Tactics, 16(11), 15. Marche, S. (2012). Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? Atlantic Monthly. August, 2012, Vol. 310 Issue 1, p16-22. Rosas, S.R. (2006). Nonparticipant to Participant: A Methodological Perspective on Evaluator Ethics. American Journal of Evaluation. pp 27, 97-103 Skues, J.L., Williams, B., Wise, L. (2012). The effects of personality traits, self-esteem, loneliness, and narcissism on Facebook use among university students. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2012, Pages 2414-2419, ISSN 0747-5632.

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Although most people don't realize it, one of the most weakening diseases of the world can often be found crawling around in the shrubs and tall grasses of a person’s backyard .It does not mean that only dirty yards have this disease but it is found in every Americans backyard. The disease is called Lyme disease. Now I will be elaborating on the disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every disease has a causative agent. This agent is a harmful bacterium that causes the disease. The causative agent for this disease is the bacteria Borrelia burgdoferi.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A disease is transmitted in one way or the other. Lyme disease is transmitted through a vector. The vector of the disease is an infected deer tick. The deer tick has to bite a person to spread the disease. When a deer tick bites a person (sucks blood), the Borrelia burgdoferi bacteria is transmitted into the persons body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This disease has many symptoms. These symptoms are similar or same to many other illnesses. That is the reason why many doctors get confused when they were researching this disease. There are three stages of symptoms for the disease. In the first stage, the Erythema Migrans, a bull’s eye rash might appear on the bitten area. In the second stage, the Disseminated Lyme Disease, you may experience a fever, sore throat, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, muscle ache, and general malaise. In the third stage, the Chronic Lyme Disease, you may experience aching joints.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All diseases focus on an organ or parts of the body. Lyme disease focuses on the joints. This will cause joint damage and go on to Lyme Arthritis. The disease also focuses on the nerves. This can cause mental problems and go on to Tics. It also focuses on the heart. This will slow down a person’s heartbeat.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A person can prevent the disease. And, there are many ways to do this. One is to put on insect repellent with Deet. Another is to wear long sleeves and long pants. Also, tuck your pants in socks. And, wear a hat. Finally, stay away from wooded areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every disease should have a treatment. Lyme disease has many treatments. Antibiotic drugs such as doxycline, amoxicillin, penicillin, and erythromycin are treatments for Lyme disease. There is a new vaccine for the disease. Its name is LYMErix TM.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diseases lie in a large geographical content. Lyme disease is mostly found in the United States of America and Europe.

A crucible of American Identity Essay

From the founding of the United States to its keeping, wars have been fought- some lost some won- but by re-examining history, some decisions about going to war or capitulation have been learned and questions asked. Could they have been avoided and other strategies sought? Analyzing the relationship between the United States and the North African Barbary States in the 1800s conveys the author’s main purpose in this article by showing how a young nation at that period in time was taken advantage of by the Barbary States and made to pay frequent ridiculous tributes to sultans, yet its citizens imprisoned, killed or enslaved. The eventual consequence was the pursuit of reciprocity: respect and honesty in trades. The author takes us on a journey from the beginning to the crest and the nadir through the experiences of some exemplary individuals of how the United States eventually got what it wanted. The story of William Bainbridge, famously described here as having pervasive bad lu ck, sets the tone of the fate which befell the Americans frequently but specifically on the George Washington. The anger that must have seethed from their thoughts from the humiliation they experienced when their course was redirected to Istanbul under severe threats could not be tempered as Bainbridge himself swore that he would never take tribute to Algiers â€Å"unless authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our canon†. This told well of the humiliation as he once more quipped† such mortifying degradations†¦.makes me ponder on the words, independent United States†. This meant that the lofty image the United States had of itself or the image it portrayed to some other nations as a powerful nation that could defeat the British Empire in battle was false. How do you explain defeating a giant yet yielding to an ant? Nevertheless, this was a catalyst for a nation to create and reaffirm its identity, to live up to the image it portrayed, bring the abuse by the Barbary States to a stop and restore some pride. Dealing with the Barbary States from the home turf proved mor e difficult as the then President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was known for his vacillations. He promised to attack the Barbary States and not yield to  their vain promises or their incessant demands for more tributes but went around and lessened the number of navy ships that could wage war on those states. Something I call a backwards progress. It later dawned on the President that inaction was not the best solution so he bypassed the congress and instructed the navy to act on the previous treaties they already had with the North African states. By bypassing the congress to authorize a military action on those states meant that the succeeding presidents of the United States could also do this during their tenure. It is what we popularly call Executive Action. Several individuals ran up the list of bravery and cowardice. A notable example of the cowards was Richard Morris whose pitiful attempt at charming the pasha by capitulating with a $5000 â€Å"inducement† had him scampering back to the safety of his ship for fear of being taken hostage when the pasha said his t ribute was laughable at best. A further smear on the power of the United States as this signaled that the Barbary States had an upper hand in trades and negotiations. Here come the noteworthy braves: i) Edward Preble, whose audacious approach to the emperor of Morocco resulted in the unconditional renewal of the 1786 treaty between the two nations. ii) Stephen Decatur, whose conquest with Edward Preble in the burning of the grounded Philadelphia rang across Europe as a valorous deed of the â€Å"age†, an act of immortal glory. Lastly was Eaton, whose determination to dethrone Yusuf and enthrone Hamid though outnumbered was brought to an abrupt end when an American naval ship the USS Constellation sailed up and informed him that the President had settled issues with Yusuf. His efforts were gallant because Yusuf thought the Americans were gaining grounds on all flanks and that compelled him to yield to negotiations. Had Eaton not been determined, the pasha may not have yielded as he had often laughed off the advances of the Americans in the past. In summary, whatever the stars and stripes may come to symbolize nowadays to an individual, the price of war is always greater than the price of reasonable negotiation but the price of identity may be the sum of both. The United states time and over has come to establish that identity across the world by declaring war or negotiating with nations whose actions have direct impact on its domestic affairs. Some OPEC countries can easily determine the price of barrels of crude oil on a whim but also readily come to negotiations with the United States if certain conditions are met. These  conditions could be likened to the tributes of the 1800s. But on another hand, those countries whose stubbornness to conform with pacts and whose foreign affairs affect the domestic affairs here could easily find themselves entrenched in a war with the United States. Most notable examples are Iraq, Syria and Libya; the war in Iraq was shrouded under the cloud of Weapons of Mass Destruction but it actually was for the control of Oil and Syria likewise because the ISIS has control over critical oil installations and refineries. The Libyan war was based on support. To support the rebels to dethrone Ghaddafi who sat on an abundance of oil wells and was trying to galvanize the Muslim and all African countries to ignore dealings with the United States, proposing one currency and a United States of Africa â €“an identity- had he succeeded, the authority of the United States would be threatened.

To Be, Or Not To Be Speeches - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 631 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/04/08 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Hamlet Essay William Shakespeare Essay Did you like this example? The To be, or not to be (3.1.64) speech, in Hamlet portrays Hamlets thoughts about suicide and avenging his fathers death. Although you receive this message while reading the play, the way a performer acts it out tells more about Hamlets character and (possibly) foreshadowing of the play. Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh, and Mel Gibson all perform this speech, but have very different styles of approaching it. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "To Be, Or Not To Be Speeches" essay for you Create order How each actor performs this speech creates different meanings to the words and Hamlets character. Kenneth Branaghs performance of this speech tops Mel Gibsons and Laurence Oliviers performance due to the area it is performed in, the emotion and phrasing, as well as the hidden messages it gives the audience. Kenneth Branagh creates a very complex scene with an incredible setting for the audience. Branagh sets the scene in a bright hall with one way mirrors surrounding him on all sides. Hamlet knows he is being spied on by Claudius and Polonius due to noise in the background. He approaches one mirror and looks deeply into it, staring at himself, truly expressing his emotions and pondering suicide and murdering Claudius. He says To die, to sleep- / To sleep, perchance to dream (3.1.72-3). He can either commit suicide, or avenge his father and be killed for treason, which would allow him to dream. He pulls his dagger and points it at the mirror. Doing this represents the contemplation of suicide, avenging his fathers death, but also foreshadows killing Polonius, who is hiding behind the mirror. Mel Gibsons speech is too focused on contemplation. The scene was filmed in a dark, gloomy tomb, which creates the idea that Gibson is asking the dead what he should do. Throughout the soliloquy, the camera changes from face shots to the tombs; Gibsons eyes also travel from the ceiling to the bodies as if he is asking them for guidance. Gibson says, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come (3.1.74) as he walks towards a lifeless body. Gibson cannot choose how to act and looks to the tomb for help. Where the scene is shot does not allow for Claudius and Polonius to spy on him. This not only misses a significant message in the play, but it also does not give the audience any foreshadowing. Laurence Oliviers performance in Hamlet has a strong emphasis on committing suicide. Olivier reflects upon his life as he gazes above the ocean and rocks from the castles guard post. He contemplates jumping and ending his life. Olivier then sits on a rock atop the post and ruminates on the thought of death and the afterlife. After hearing the words echo in his head saying, To sleep (3.1.72), he suddenly has no desire to commit suicide. The quick change in his thought process and expression is strange and too sudden. The location of the soliloquy also does not allow for Claudius and Polonius to spy on him, Ophelia is also not able to be there. This means that the play has to be changed to involve the Get thee (to) a nunnery (3.1.131) scene. A very important scene displaying Hamlets thoughts and love for Ophelia, but also an act for Claudius and Polonius. Kenneth Branagh simply puts on the best show for the audience, as well as creating a very dramatic and complex scene. The use of the one-way mirror and foreshadowing shown in Branaghs performance creates excitement, and a sense of mystery of what he will choose to do. Gibsons and Oliviers backdrop for their performance creates an uninteresting scene for the audience where no foreshadowing is displayed. The lack of foreshadowing and eavesdroppers in Gibsons and Oliviers performance creates no sense of mystery. Branaghs acting and setting creates for a better experience for the audience with a deeper meaning to the scene.