Technology: Aiding or Hurting Us?

  Common sense seems to not exist with the modern youth, but you can bet they know how to work any iPhone or new technology that came out. Text over phone calls, Google over wise advice... thats the modern way of thinking, but what are we really doing to our future leaders? When a child ask for life advice, will be just reply with "google it" or will we actually be capable to answer their question? My father was born in 1947, he may have not known how to work the TV or his cell phone, but he gave me something I could not get from any of that, life experience.  He taught me it was better to not fall victim to this technology craze... to have an actual conversation with someone instead of texting.  I cannot even explain how much knowledge i gathered from this man, my true role model. Since his passing I have started to noticed myself falling more and more victim to what he told me not to. The technology craze is starting to captivate my life.

   As I grow older I notice how valuable an actually encounter is. Im starting to realize how important the value of research is, and yes Google is the easiest way to get many different opinions, but are those views necessarily true? What if the internet goes down? how will be research?! People will run around like chicken with their heads cut off, just because we don't have this asset. Well people guess what, humans did it for thousands of years without the internet so if we lose it, yes it'll be back to the dark days but it will also open doors for things we took for granted.

   The up in coming high school freshman class of fall 2014 will be the senior class of 2018, now think about that... those kids were born in the year 2000, all they have ever known is technology. So if something did happen to the internet, what shall these kids do? Does this mean they will have to go outside? or actually open a book? Yes, exactly.... The internet has destroyed a lot of lives, but it has also aided us in many ways. We can now communicate across the world, within seconds. We also learn of different cultures, we probably had no previous knowledge of. The internet has also led in a few revolutions in the past couple of years.  Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, the revolutionist kept in contact.

 So as you can see technology has helped us in many ways, but also has hurt us in many ways. Everything is good unless you over indulge. If you text to much, thats bad, if you search the internet for multiple hours a day that is bad... if you eat too much thats bad.... If you do anything at all  too much it is bad for you.  Too much of anything makes you an addict.  So what we need to take from this is, technology is great as long as we use it the correct way and correct amount of time.

Industry Plants: The Media Machine

     Trends take off fast, and are great money makers, but how do these trends start? Some say artist just have talent and that's why their discovered, but has any asked themselves, did someone plant this guy just to make money? As we all know the music industry is fully functioning machine, but like anything it all comes back to money.
    Gangster rap exploded on the scene in the late 80's thanks to a group named NWA, heard of them? Nigga's With Attitude, is what the name stood for. An extremely controversial name for the time. Plus their impressive delivery, constant profanity, and black power type movement captivated the world. Before you knew it everyone was listening. Parents prohibited their children from listening, and even the government took interest. Shocking and offending the masses isn't uncommon in the pursuit of money, but what this did was open the music industry gangsta rap. The 90's was a great time for different music, grunge, pop, and most importantly Gangsta rap. NWA opened the door for this new type of music, which they did not participate in most of the crimes their lyrics claimed, but it showed artist that you do not have to speak in truth and that music is an art form.

    So now one can ask themselves, was NWA an industry plant? Did someone devise a plan to shock the world with this look into the "Gangsta Life"? This is possible, seeing that a few of the members were already musician's, but not of the gangster type. Yes, they were from Compton, Easy E was a drug dealer who funded the group's production cost in the beginning. So they  did see these hard struggles, but did not necessarily live out their lyrics of killings, and rape.

 Does this happen in modern times? Of course it does....a perfect example would be Tyler the Creator. A rapper out Los Angeles. He shocked the world with his offensive lyrics most talk about rebellion, but there is also lyrics of stalking, confusion, and not knowing his father. Gaining a strong internet following via tumblr, Tyler's shocking lyrics grabbed every rebellious teenager's attention...but it wasn't just his lyrics. His unique style of beats and having an all star group backing him. OFWGKTA... Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, was his group mainly of close friends, but friends with talent. Tyler is definitely not the most talented one, but he is what got them all famous.  Frank Ocean, an R&B singer/Rapper has had great success with his solo career. Earl Sweatshirt, is a rapper who gained a strong following at the rise of Odd Future, while the group campaigned to free Earl because his parents had sent him to a boarding school because of the music he was making with his friends.

 Who manages these kids? Well Tyler was took under the wing of Christian Clancy, a manager/producer in LA. It seems as Clancy told Tyler what to say, and how to get big. Tyler mentions this idea in multiple songs, for example in the song "Answer", which was a song to Tyler's dad he never knew. "I got Clancy, he gave me the chance to see a world I wasn't supposed to" and also in the song "Domo 23"...."Popping since Bastard,(manager) Clancy's my slave master, thanks to them crackers, my pockets are fatter"

 Tyler the Creator and his band of friends getting famous off of scaring "white America" as he puts it. As soon as his following grew parents started restricting their children from hearing his music, similar to KISS in the 80s. But like anything mom and dad tells us to do... we will do the opposite. Long tube socks, cut off jeans, and tie dye shirts soon clothed the youth.

   In my opinion he is marketing genius, because he got the attention of the masses by scaring the parents, and telling kids it is OK to be different. But was it all his idea? i'm sure Clancy had a lot to do with it. As soon as the fame hit, Tyler showed his true colors...he isn't a serial killer, he isn''t a homophobic, he isn't what his first music claimed he was. All Tyler the creator is, is a confused 21 year old kid...who just happened to know how to get in the spot light. Walking the line of Insane and Genius. Oh yeah, Tyler also made half a million dollars solely by selling socks. The outro on the Odd Future song "sandwitches" says "And we don't f***ing make horrorcore, you F***ing idiots, Listen deeper than the music before you put it in a box."

Social Networking: Good or Bad For War?

   Since the beginning of time, there has been war. As long as there is 2 People or 2 animals on this earth there will be war, sad to say but the truth isn't always happy. Currently war's are all over the world; I mean yeah, this is how it has always been, but now we can actually see it through the use of the internet. Technology is so advanced, many people have different devices to record on at all times.

   Social media has had a great influence in modern times, its even helped lead revolutions such as in Egypt's case. The revolution leaders kept in contact through social media, so now I'm sure you're thinking..."Wow! Social media is the greatest thing ever created!" but like any other thing there is great potential and bad potential. Yes, it helped fight against a corrupt government, but what is stopping it from "the bad guys", you could say. Nothing, absolutely nothing... the great thing about social media is the freedom you have on so many different platforms. You're opinion can be heard, and the thought is the worst that could happen is you get in a heated ALL CAPS BATTLE, with someone probably across the world. Sadly to say thats not fully true. Many murders, rapes, abductions, divorces, and suicides have happened due to social media.

So now back to the war subject.  As many know there is a war in the middle east, it is not new news, so if you haven't heard of the holy war, aparently you're a child or just live under a rock. Now similar to what Egypt did, Jihadists are posting on social media trying to recruit.  Yes, the bad guys have now taken control and thanks to the worlds love of gore... the following is growing strong. Extremist are rumoring to invade Syria through Turkey and even taunting on social media.

 Taunting is one thing, but to actually post pictures of their killings on Facebook is pushing it.  Below is a picture taken from a Jihadist's personal Facebook page.... behind the box I've placed lies 2 heads stacked on each other... but I personally do not want people to see that. 

     The war is growing in numbers, not only fighters but casualties. The stronger following the British Jihadists receive, the more empowerment they have. People all over the world are tuning in to see what the extremist have next or what they are claiming that have done. 

   With all this it makes you think, is technology and social media our demise? People die everyday from technology, also many people are joining a war due to social media. So as I said in the beginning war is gonna happen no matter what, but all social media seems to be doing is adding a whole new aspect to it. When is the war on social media gonna begin? Are our rights to talk and converse and connect across the world gonna be limited now? "Not in America, the land of the free"...or so we think. 

sources: http://www.vice.com/read/british-jihadis-beheading-prisoners-syria-isis-terrorism

Are We Destroying Our Own Right to Privacy?

Now it is not uncommon to see a prepubescent child being able to work a smartphone better than most adults. Kids grow with technology, thats why most of us can work a computer or something we were exposed to as a young-in, but struggle to work modern technology. For example, I bought a blender the other day.  When unraveling this extremely overpriced piece made from the hands of Chinese people, all that traveled through my head was, "All I gotta do is open plug it in annnnnd smoothies for days!!"
    Now I'm pursuing the treasure like I'm Indiana Jones, digging through endless amounts of styrofoam pellets....Finally! the blender! I had already spent the last 45 minutes of my life cutting and washing fruits and vegetables, and pretty much any thing that I thought would blend. I pull out what I believe to be is a blender.  Fancy gadgets, that really have no purpose to blend, Chrome Pinstripes with a touch screen. At this point I'm feeling like the God of Blending because of this magnificent piece I have just acquired. Now comes the easy part, turning it on and blending everything I see! But of course I will need to program the blender. After about 35 minutes and reading the instructions in 4 different languages I gave up. The blender has only become a side ordainment for my kitchen until the day my brother and nephew stopped by. "Oh this is cool!" I replied with "Don't touch that, its possessed by a ghost." his hand jerks back quickly. Now you're maybe thinking I am a jerk but  this kid will not stop touching everything. Boom! I turn my back and hear "Welcome to your new blender"... the thing that gets me most is still to this day i have no idea how to program it.

This story shows you that kids learn quick, especially in technology. Now with social media, and smartphones making it more accessable to connect, your privacy decreases. Every app a person says yes to location, looses a little bit of there freedom. Smartphones are still a new thing, So new we do not realize what they can actually do to us. The idea of being mobile use to be a thought, now it is a reality, a scary reality

Locations are now known, secrets are now told. New trends develop and we follow like sheep. Currently a big trending topic is the "Google Glass". Personally,  I believe the thought is cool, but the reality of seeing people wearing them....eshhh. Being able to record at any moment, directions from you're eyes,  is this trend of spending a ridiculous amount of money only happening because of the mobility? Yes, it would be nice to walk around with a computer on or in my head, but do I really wanna pay the cost? i'm the type of guy to buy a pair of sunglasses that last about a week. Those are $5 sunglasses, do you really think i am capable of owning, operating , and pulling off the look of the google glasses? I doubt it, but worth a shot.

This trend got a lady punched, now it is never funny when a women gets punched, but did she expect any less when she put those glasses on? I wouldn't going around flashing a couple thousands of dollars around just to show people.

Trending Now

Now, unfortunately its not hard to become a trending topic on the internet. The old expression of "15 minutes of fame" can now be reframed to a couple weeks of internet fame. From a video of a person getting hurt to an inspiring speech anything will trend on the internet.

Other than trending social media providing fame and fortune, it as also destroyed a few career's. Currently a trending topic is trying to kill Steven Colberts career. #CancelColbert has been trending on twitter for weeks. He is said to be racist and needs to be taken off of the air. If a topic becomes followed by a lot of people, actions will have to be taken. Not saying they will cancel his show but it is possible. There has been speculation of this as a ploy for him to take over David Letterman's Late night duties, but this is still just a rumor. 

Trending media is a great tool or a destructing tool. it can play either way, but in order for us to remain in the good we must be careful of what we do or say online, because you may be alone but someone is still watching you. 

Advertising Connecting Reality

  An advertisement has the power to influence or discourage a person from a product. In the modern world, a person cannot turn a corner without being bombarded with some form of advertisement. In recent year's the scare of global warming due to pollution. Tide jumped on  this bandwagon by using a clever campaign. 

 
   Tide is a laundry detergent that "provides lasting white like none other brand". They showed this by putting an advertisement right off of a busy street. It was a white sheet stained with tide in the form of laundry hanging on a clothes line.  

   The idea is that the pollution and dirt of this place would stain the sheet, but where the tide is, it will remain white. This idea was a great thought, but the fact that it worked is amazing.The stained sheet with the imprints of clothes hanging, caught a lot of attention. Along with grabbing attention, comes grabbing awards. This campaign won the Gold in the Outdoor competition in 2008. Not only did this look great for Tide but it also looked good for the Pro supporters to slow pollution. 

Gaming: A New Reason For Hating Kids

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The gaming world has changed drastically in the last 10 years.  The big name for gaming consoles everyone remembers is "Atari", but believe it or not this was not the first gaming console. The first console was developed in 1967. A bulky wood box with 2 controllers coming out, simply named "Brown Box".  The Brown Box was video gaming at its simplest, with only 6 games...namely ping pong, handball, tennis, volleyball, chase games and a light gun game. The Brown Box was able to connect to any TV set making it ideal for home entertainment.

This was a dream come true in 1967, now its just outdated technology.  As the years progress so does the technology industry.  A new year, a new gaming console. Our Modern technology is something we all take for granted.  50 years ago kids had to have imagination, and actually go outside. Now  some kids never see the sun due to the technology we have. People are starting to dedicate their lives to gaming.  The gaming industry has overcame the issue of only selling a game at one set price, now games will restrict you until you pay more to play. Pay to play? But you have already spent $60 to own this game.... the gaming industry does not care, it all evolves to one thing, and that is the dollar.  Games are starting to evolve to this because of the success of such Facebook games, for example "farmville".  People have actually started to pay real money to buy virtual treasure just to unlock more features of the game.

The Internet
 With the creation of the internet, comes global gaming. the internet connects people from all over the world to one place, to chat, and exchange media.  This has opened the door for the gaming industry. Now with this, the industry is evolving to streaming. Laser disc, 8 tracks, and VHS's have all came and gone. Now it is time for the DVD/Game to disappear. Now a person can have a unlimited number of games in one place. The trouble of actually getting up and changing the disc out is fading quickly. A person can literally hit quit game on their screen and choose a new game. I'm sure this was only a dream 20 years ago, but now it is real.

The Positive sides to Gaming
   Gaming is not only a baby sitter for a couple of hours it can also be a big stress release for you.  nothing can kill a bad day like coming home, and flipping on your favorite video game. Also with the internet connection, a person can chat and play with people of all different origins. This is amazing because you do not see that person, you may hear their voice but for the most part thats all.

The Negative Sides to Gaming
 With positives there is always negatives.  The negatives of gaming are strong. Gaming has lead to kids becoming lazy. Like I said earlier, kids use to have to actually go outside to have fun. Now you can just wake up and hit a button on your controller and turn on your TV and gaming system. Gaming also has killed the patients of the youth. We are so use to everything doing something cool,  or having this media put in our hands. Now having an extremely creative imagination, is in some ways looked down up on. The Weird kid, because he can make something out of nothing, but before gaming that was every kid. Another Negative is that playing against someone across the world. Yes, this is really cool, but it also frustrating. There is nothing that will make you mad than dying in a game, and the death is followed by an obvious child playing the same game as you. Usually this child will be cussing up a storm at you, just because he or she can. The gaming world has evolved to a bunch of trash talking kids.

A way to escape reality, but isn't that the reason a lot of things were created?  Gaming can be compared to drugs and alcohol, not in the sense that it destroys your body, but in the sense of addiction. Just like anything people can become addicted, and people do become addicted very easily.   Some people actually dedicate their lives to this virtual world.

http://youtu.be/6wStTogTGg4

Now, in modern times, it is common for a person to own some sort of gaming console or more than 1.
 Most action's can be blamed on your video game usage. So we ask ourselves... is video games ruining our lives or should video games be taken into view as alcohol.... it is not as bad when it is not misused or indulged.