NATIVE ADVERTISING

Native Ads, to me,  are a formation of visual designs that blend in with the website in which they are integrated in. They tend to co-exist with the theme and content of the site , thus not appearing to be a forceful ad , but rather a relevant suggestion for a product or brand. They are designed to build trust and engage potential customers. It is an ad that can solely be bought and displayed on one platform ;  facebook, twitter and tumblr being a few of them. As ads of the sort are known to be widely unsuccessful, the amount of them has drastically increased over time.  The official statement of approval is hardly visible and neither are the logos or names of the brands. Reuter's Felix Salmon states that native content tends to aspire more to going viral and generally being shared more than sponsored content. Popular websites that collaborate with brands that are in demand dont solely do it for content to be  be viewed by its audience ; the goal here is to get those ads as viral as possible. 

A native advertisement I found : http://www.glamour.com/fashion/2012/08/10-wardrobe-essentials-every-woman-should-own/1

This website is commonly used amongst women , ranging from their teens all the way to their mid fifties. It provides its audiences with a variety of tips and tricks on how to get the newest makeup look for the season or , as in this one, finding 10 wardrobe essentials that, apparently, are a necessity for every modern fashion forward woman. As one reads the relatively short description located beside each picture, a pattern of appealing to potential customers with humor and relation to celebrities , which in turn creates social pressure , emerges. A few puns here and there, some big names thrown into the mix and positive encouragements for the clothing items are the key strategies used in this ad. "

"Whether you wear them as pants with an oversize sweater, under billowy dresses for extra coverage, or kicking around running errands, likey Katie Holmes, black leggings are a must-have." 

One thing that stood out to me is that in every clothing items description, not only would they refer to a well known celebrity, but their names were links to more articles on what they wear and what makeup they apply. This is a portrayal of native advertising as they arent merely pointing out general clothes here, they are advertising celebrities products by subtly placing a link in their name and making sure that in the moment they're dressed in those clothes on the pictures , they're performing everyday activities that regular women can relate and connect with . Conclusively the product appeals to the target audience by steering them towards celebrity products and thus gaining more views on other articles ; increasing the demand for more items.

Also right after that, clicking through the gallery one is presented with a variety of those clothes from different brands and prices, appearing completely convenient and appropriate for the site. Theyre illustrated like a quick and efficient access to the product that they just convinced you of. In reality there really are no "10 wardrobe essentials every woman needs". There are no "must-haves" either. That is a statement structured out of the blue with its main goal being to grab the audiences attention and give them a sense of obligation towards those products. Throughout this gallery there is a constant advertising of different brands , but placed cunningly. As a reader of Glamour.com , upon coming across the clothes with different brands and prices presented, I wouldnt immediately conclude them to be native adverts of the sort. The native ads aren't pushy ; quite the contrary, they merely happen to be connected to this article and are helpful insights on getting to know the prices and their related products. However, they still have links that will lead the viewer to a new website with a different brand. Those images stick in the minds of the audience and although many might not bother to purchase them directly online, they're surely to be remembered next time you take a stroll around the mall !

GENERATION LIKE ANALYSIS

For this task I was required to reflect on a documentary we viewed in class , called "Generation Like"as well as answering one of various given questions to us.

Reflection

The video discussed the different significant effects that the attention and potential fame can have on social medias users. It went into detail on how the most regular people could get famous and be whisked away into the life of fame, simply by getting viral on one social network. Also the strategy of turning your consumers into producers which I found relevant as the tactics they used were explained on how producers of certain brands or products are more than happy to make their fans advertise for the product with miniscule awards that aren't tangible ; though they convince their consumers of the worth of those prizes. How getting "likes" on social networks influences the way the youth views and more importantly values itself was portrayed by addressing teenagers themselves where interesting discussions were held based on their opinions. How producers and celebrities use their fan base and consumers sympathy as a way to advertise products as well as collaborating amongst each other to pass on the fame was demonstrated. The video provided an insightful exhibition of all mentioned aspects.

2- Empowerment- a word you hear a lot when kids talk about social media. Does social media really empower people?

Depending on how those children interpret the meaning of "Empowerment" in relation to social media, the answer varies. Assuming that , as told in the video , the majority of them views public appreciation through the social media as empowerment ; I would have to disagree. Their idea of being empowered is distorted and narrowed down by the unrealistic perceptions that society has imposed on them. Getting a lot of likes for a selfie these days is what the youth regards as an achievement that empowers them, makes them superior to anyone whose likes are below that, or even the amount of positive comments. It inspires them to alter the way they prefer people to be conscious of them. Only sharing positive events of their lives or editing their status on the reality of their feelings on those activities is one way teenagers create a new flawless social profile. Those actions may seem of little consequence, however the impact it has on them gradually backfires as they become dependant on this specific kind of attention. They will go to any lengths in order to catch the viewers attention. Statuses become shorter and lighter ; so do their clothes. Negative attention can affect them haphazardly , as that is the only opinion available to them. This is a very critical point to consider as at this point of their lives teenagers are at the peak of their insecurities and at an all time low of self confidence, as options to chose from in terms of receiving positive feedback on their actions acks in depth and variety.  Constantly exposing themselves to social networks, wether the feedback is positive or negative ; the mere action of it makes them vunerable and often raises or lowers expectations of themselves , away from balance. Often the initial message is changed to whatever is socially acceptable , which inflicts some kind of pressure on kids that feel obligated to abide by those invisible rules.

On another note, getting famous through the fame on social networks and acheiving not only a lot of committed fans but also earning money certainly can be seen as a form of empowerment. Having a lot of people emit similar positive opinions and being affected by your character wether it is genuine or not, is empowerment. It is a skill that ony a few are capable of and many take a lot of hard work to have that.  

POP CULTURE video analysis

For this task we were required to find a music video that proclaims a specific idea, a few of them being  feminism or racism ; however it portrays the exact opposite in the video, with irrelevant content that does not match the idea that the singer/s initially intended to convey. The video has to be analyzed and criticized in terms of what the lyrics are stating and what or how the singer/s chose to portray themselves in the video.

I chose Michael Jackson's "Black or White" as my pop culture video analysis, although its not the newest song, it certainly is still a part of popculture and very familiar to the audience that grew up with Michaels rise to fame. Prior to reading my analysis, I suggest anyone not being familiar with the video to watch it carefully and pay attention to how Michael chose to portray himself and others around him as that will be the key aspect of my critical analysis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AitTPI5U0

What caught my attention with this video is that firstly , the it goes precisely with the lyrics. however there is a constant irony inherent with michael jackson dancing along different cultures, seemingly adopting their traditional dances, thus trying to convey the message of appreciation of different races and cultures. However the majority was heavily stereotyped with the national clothes and the way they acted, such as the black people dancing , all being half naked with paint and roaming around the lion infested Africa with agressively painted faces, or the russians dancing in their costumes in the snow. Eventhough he says that it doesnt matter if youre black or white, there are still the very pushy stereotypes all over the video , that dont cover the majority of them and their interactions. Another thing that stood out to me was his history with race itself in relation to the video. It is very well known that Michael despised being part of the black race and as soon as he rose to fame, bleaching his skin beyond recognition and surgical constructions on his face to make him appear as white as possible pretty much spoke for themselves. He didnt want to be associated with blacks, in fact he sought out strictly white blonde women in order to have white children which he achieved in the end. So putting out a song like that , seems pretty ironic. Taking a look at a slice of his lyrics that took up a lot of the song "I Said If You're Thinkin' of being my baby it don't matter if you're black or white." The reality of it is very different. He clearly states that to him it doesnt matter what you look like, being his "baby", his girlfriend or wife will not be related to her color. "Im not going to spend my life being a color." also appeared very ironic to me as that is what the majority of his life revolved around. Color. 

His entire song talks about racism, how he thinks it is an issue that shouldnt be one and that hes not afraid to accept any race regardless of color and step up for them. Perhaps this is not the most articulated way to carry out this task if one is not familiar with his issues around races, however it clearly stood out to me, especially how he chose to wear white on the top to always differentiate himself as much as possible and sort of keep on the "white image." 

written task #2 HL

·   The aims of this written task are:     

          1)  to consider in greater detail the material studied in the four parts of the language A: language and literature course

·      2)   to reflect and question in greater depth the values, beliefs and attitudes that are implied in the texts studied

·      3)   to encourage students to view texts in a number of ways

·      4)   to enable students to give an individual response to the way in which texts can be understood in the light of the prescribed questions.                                                                                                                          

    Question chosen: How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? 

       Ad chosen : 

   Men: When men view this advert, they immediately feel addressed, as the focus of the picture is a man. The catch phrase of this advert "Milk for real men" will further imply the target audience, and therefore have a mans full attention, wether they agree with the rather sexist view of this ad or not. Depending on the man, some would feel appreciative towards this ad as they identify with the figure and its lifestyle , thus deciding on the necessity of this product. Other men whose lifestyle and physique is entirely different, and are comfortable with it,  would feel offended to have their gender being stereotyped into the given descriptions of the ad, throwing out narrow assumptions and making them feel inferior as well as intimiated. However some men who are generally neutral could be inspired to follow into the footsteps of the advertised man, solely for their own good by using the product.

   Women:  A woman might not be thrown off by the image of the man hanging off the cliff, as many advertisements contain one gender but include both for the product. Rather the title of this ad would seal out any hopes for women being meant for the product. Upon viewing what the ad discusses, none of those activities mentioned (work out, mountain climbing) are something women are incapbale or prohibited of carrying out, so really a woman has the right to feel excluded from the audience of the ad.  What the product promised is in no way harmful to women, so again the excluding of women and stereotyping them to be incapable of harder physical activites was unnecessary. Women who follow a fit lifestyle or overcome great challenges would feel offended and insulted by this ad.  

FOA reflection

My FOA was about gender stereotyping in the media. I was able to address the different forms of communication in the media. I also showed how the media uses language and images to inform, persuade, or entertain.  According to my performance, I definitely  could've performed better in terms of delivering the information more relaxed and more independantly.  In terms of the criteria, C and D ( organization and language) are my weak points as I felt that I would often lose trail of the script and spend too much time to find the words, which was frustrating as my practice had proceeded much better, so conclusively my language has to be improved for audience purposes. I chose the text on the advertisements as I felt that they most strongly supported my argument of stereotypes within both genders.  I have learned that my presentation didn’t focus on language sufficiently , however it did recognize some relevant aspects. I require more practice in front of an audience to become at ease , as im trying to persuade my audience of my content and need to act accordingly. For future oral assesments  (FOAs, IOCs) I will alter the way I construct my presentation by improving the desired contents quality, becoming confident with my script and more organized with the content.
transcript: 

Part 1) The focus of this presentation will be on how men and womens roles are being stereotyped through sexist ads in the media. The main question here is, what does advertising reveal to us about society ; which will be elaborated on throughout this presentation. one sexist ad as well as comparing two, of different genders will be analyzed. 

Part 2) Gender stereotypes are over-generalizations about the characteristics of an entire group based on gender.They can have a great impact on the youth of society, compressing them into narrowed down ranges of possibilities to express themselves. This includes clothing, language, general behaviour and jobs / hobbies. The media uses advertising as an effective form of communication to mold society at their liking ; convincing the target audience to purchase the products for their well being, while keeping their own profit in the equation. Also sexism will be explored, how its behavior, conditions, or attitudes foster stereotypes of social roles based on gender.

Part 3) the first ad here does not contain any language apart from the brand, however it clearly conveys the message of male domination. The point of this ad is to get the viewers attention with half dressed and attractive men and a woman. The amount of men outnumber the woman that is lying on the floor being pressed down by a mans arms; a state of physical oppression.  Her facial expression appears to be devoted and completely at ease and her body is leaning upwards , towards the oppressor, which portrays an urge to signify her sexual attraction. The mens gazes are all longing and focused on her ; faces blank. Their bodies are slicked up with oil to accentuate their athletic physiques , which reflect on their physical dominance over the woman, whose body is built petite with soft curves, enforcing wrong body images for women. This sort of advertising emanates the wrong idea of how men and women are supposed to view each other, as well as claiming that their clothes lead to those situations. Men here are being stereotyped into emotionless perverse beings with no class apart from their expensive clothes and the woman is being stereotyped as the weakling that enjoys being degraded and mentally as well as physically underestimated. This gives off  the message that men arent capable of controlling themselves and women arent allowed to defend themselves. 

4) the following pictures are two ads with opposite genders being displayed. 

This advertisement depicts the image of an adventurous and dangerous scene, with a strongly built man hanging off the edge of a mountain, his hand being the only support. Normally such a situation is considered risky and unrational, however the milk that hes drinking seems to turn it into a glorious and manly moment. "milk for real men" is the eye catching title of this ad. It immediately throws out a standard to live up to for men, considering the mans perfect build and appearance, so in conclusion , any man that doesnt identify with the advertised figure, is not worthy of a real man. The product also promises "to build lean muscles with high protein and zero fat" . According to the ad, real men only care about gaining muscle and drinking things that make them stronger and "more of a man" . The ad is technified with the over exposure of obvious facts and effectiveness of the product. The man seems to be located somewhere in the wildness, devoid of any responsibilities. The choice of location , with the lack of clothing as well as the facial hair and tanned skin portrays him as a primitive reckless being, whose aim solely focuses on getting stronger. Additionally the ads location signifies freedom and domination for the male species, putting them on a high pedestrial. At the bottom left of the picture a description of the effectiveness is printed, claiming how "wether youre halfway through a workout or climbing a mountain, "maxi milk" will give you that extra push you need to rebuild those muscles and prevent you from getting fat." Again the benefits of the product are mentioned , as well as the name "maxi milk" whose meaning appears to derive from "maximum" hinting that the milk works to its full potential. Now, in contrast for the second ad, the first difference noticable is the location chosen. The kitchen. It is the most widely known place for a woman to be, no matter if she has a family or just a male companion, according to the media, the kitchen is the womans most favourite and suitable place to be. In this ad, a washing up liquid is being advertised to be eco friendly and totally effective in all aspects.The choices of color are mostly soft and light, with some feminine tones in there as well as trying to make the kitchen look homely. Similar to the males ad, the womans entire body is shown, which distracts the viewer of the purpose of the ad and turns down the estimation of intelligence and value of the person. The ad promises to make you feel good, knowing that the product youre using contributes to the environment as well as your families and homes health, and still does a perfect cleaning job. Chosing a woman for this ad symbolizes their obsession with perfecting everything in their reach, and thats just what the ad promised. Eventhough one can easily survive with a regular washing up liquid, throwing in vague weasel word promises of keeping the family and environment healthy, has the desired effect on the buyers that are anxious about their surroundings well being. Consequently the product will not change anything as dramatically as it promised. Also women are made to look like small insignificant things could turn their life around completely, which in turn makes their life seem meaningless and monotone, their roles already given out as cleaners and fussers, forever stuck at home . women are being presented as dominated fragile beings with low levels of intelligence and fairly high levels of naivety. Also the last part of the text adds some humour, suggesting the dishwashing to get you "rocking with the cleaning", clearly trying to appeal to women by making this chore appear pleasant.

In conclusion, what those typical advertisements reveal to us about society is that, men and women dont have equal roles and rights. Their range of possibilities is narrowed down by what seems more logical, dating back to the middle ages where mens physical dominance and rights of education were sufficient to be passed onto generations, drilling into our minds that the way we are being portrayed as both genders is acceptable. Now the media holds the upperhand, in terms of molding and shaping our society as they have a strong influence on their audience, thus holding great power of the future of our society. The way women are being stereotyped as insignificant eyecandy that has no real purpose apart from being mens muse and cleaners at home, and the way men are being told that they have to be financially as well as physically successful in order to get a reputation, women and great cars as well as being the ones that are entitled to exploring and making great impacts on our earth is exaclty what our society is based on. We've been trained to think this way, and are being restricted to think "out of the box" , creating new rules and understandings of how much power both genders actually have. Stereotyping ourselves is a pattern that is easy to comprehend, possible to remember and very clear in its messages, therefore we automatically chose stereotyping over openmindedness.

Advertisement and Culture

I was given an ad that encourages parents to take action about their kids or the youth in general and their smoking habits. 

The advertisement is clearly giving parents that are struggling with understanding the teenagers tendency to smoke cigarettes,  advice. 

Although the picture of the ad gives off an image of calmness and understanding, of patience and consideration , the urgency hovers beneath the letters that talk about how communicating with your kids will make them talk, perhaps even open up.

Seeing an ad like that tells me that there definitely have to be some issues in our society that are critical enough for someone to make the effort of creating an ad for that, a help line and address to contact for help and advice . Smoking is a serious health issue if neglected and used to the point were addiction is inherent.

The problem is that many parents prefer to blame "society" and the "media" , whereas their kids and the parents are society themselves and all the other parents blaming them are being blamed as well. The media is just a reflection of society, a mere copy that enhances its flaws. 

When culture comes into this, its not as much religion but more the general laws of society that inflict smoking and turn it into a trend, rather than giving it the respect and avoidance it should have. 

It is used as a way to bond with certain cliques or communities, a way to find a "secure" place of belongingness and a few quick smokes behind a building to impress some friends can quickly turn into a life long habit that has permanent health and mental consequences.

However, instead of blaming anything and anyone but themselves, parents should take a step back and reflect on their parenting as well as the type of image they're conveying to their children or the youth in general. At the end of the day, its the adults who teenagers look up to and thus act on what they see. 

Often when suffering from mental illnesses or recent traumatic events, instead of opening up to someone trustworthy or using a healthy way to cope, many teenagers grab the cigarette because its the easiest way to relax and perhaps forget , for a few moments. So if your child feels the need to turn to a potential drug, rather than you , then maybe it is the parent who is to blame. The advertisement tries to convey that, subtly by suggesting that the parent or adult may spend some quality time with the affected teenager to really discuss what triggers their smoking habits and form a stronger bond. The picture of the adult with the little child in a boat, fishing amongst a calm sea is depicting the very idea of putting in some effort to try and understand the youth and their issues better.  Try your best to help them quit and find a better way to deal with whatever issues theyre dealing with. 

Teenagers are empowered , as the blame of them being corrupted is somewhat lifted off them and shifted to the adults. 

FOOTBALL PLAYERS VS DOCTORS (In critical areas > Ebola)

For this assignment we were asked to write a persuasive speech or editorial using pathos, logos, ethos and social progression techniques to support our claim.
I chose to write a speech on the payment as well as recognition that football players receive versus doctors , and how that should be criticised.

Football players VS  Doctors in critical situations (Ebola)
Looking at the qualities and concepts of both proffessions , one might question the relation between them . But really, however much they differ in purpose , that is the key concept of the argument.
Lets look at the facts : The requirements of getting into a football team are fairly simple tasks ; sugar coated expressions that lack in meaning and purpose. Such as the requirements listed below.
exceptional footballing talent
a competitive nature
self-discipline
commitment to improving your performance
excellent teamworking skills
a high level of fitness and stamina
the ability to cope with the stress of top matches
persistence and determination.  
Beautifully articulated, yet completely useless in terms of social benefit. That list right there is literally all you need to get yourself a position in a football team, apart from some medical forms and age requirements. Quite the simple job, and not a very long career either. Your level of education doesnt even matter all that much, as long as you have general knowldge on english and maths.
Now lets get to the juicy bit of this career. M O N E Y. F A M E. C O N N E C T I O N S.
Yeah they can all backfire, but from all the successful football players out there that hardly seems to be the case. When you open your newspaper, there's always going to be an entire section dedicated to.      
football, for all the fans to keep up with the players latest games , who won and who lost last night. And it doesnt just happen on those sections. Football is spreading and seeping into social networks, social media and even the front covers of magazines that arent even related to football.
Those players receive tons and tons of money, regardless wether their team even won or not, simply by running after a ball and dedicating a few years of their life to staying fit and healthy. When they're too old to play, they'll be financially stable and secured for at least a decade and still have the time to finish their education or switch their career to something else and enjoy their on lasting fame and public appreciation. Looking at it from that side, why should there be any negativity about it right? Its a great job that can be competitive and dissappointing at times but overall probably more enjoyable
than being a plumber.
Well, heres the twist. Currently the disease Ebola has been spreading even faster and more furiously than ever before. And at the end of the day, what is the main source of help needed for stopping Ebola? Money and educated, reliable, committed doctors who have persistance and determination as well as being in excellent health.  Notice anything? Both jobs have similar requirements, however the latter one actually has life or death on the table, while football teams will just lose and gain a new player. The people that volunteer to travel abroad to the affected countries located in west Africa such as Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leonne are risking their everything, ranging from family to their own life. They are mostly ambitious people with more or less knowldge on the treatment of Ebola as well as highly eduated people with a clear goal and intentions. They're faced with absolutely no payment whatsoever and traumatic experiences that they "technically" have no responsibilty over. Morally, we all should be doing as much as we can to help out the victims of Ebola, but no, that football game last night was more dramatic and important. Need some real drama? Try to live in the shoes of the
dedicated expats for at least an hour. They have to see people dying around them everywhere, like
flies being wiped out by insect spray, one by one. And it isnt pretty to watch, thats for one. The effects of Ebola are incredibly high fever, your internal organs being attacked and internal bleeding as well as experiencing an unquenching need for something liquid in your body. Touching an infected person is enough to transmit the disease and become a victim. Thats what those doctors and helpers are risking, as well as this immense feeling of guilt when more people dont make it than you wouldve hoped for initially. When you try your absolute best and go that extra mile at four am in the morning, just to be woken up roughly at six and find out he/she never made it . The medical camps can only hold so many people and are badly equipped, with patients living their last moments on some cheap garden chairs with scratchy blankets and the smell of death and blood surrounding you, suffocating everyones hopes. Imagine having to witness hundreds and hundreds of desperate crying
and screaming people that ALL need immediate medical as well as psychological attention , their hands grabbing after you , YOU being their only hope of survival and escape. And then having to
chose.Thats right, not everyone will be able to enter that camp and only the ones narrowed down with the
best chances of survival can. And not even that little section will fully make it into the camp or out of it alive. Imagine the cries, the tears and desperation in their voices as theyre being sent home, practically being sent to their own deaths. How it must feel to be the one to assign them to such a fate. And the worst of it all is that this issue can be solved. Theres a solution and its buried deep into the roots of poverty and lack of support from more fortunate countries. Ofcourse, many countries are worthy of praise with the amount of money that they sacrifice each year to those in need. All those charities and organizations are not in vain.
But what exactly is the point of trying to cure a deadly disease when there are so many others and
they all derive from the same countries for the same reasons. Why not try to eliminate those reasons in the first place? Teach the poor and uneducated on basic hygene, how to be secure in all physical aspects. Help them build cleaner cities and communities, enforce education and proper nutrition for as much people as possible. Those issues should be adressed primarily , before trying to tackle one out of many diseases that is taking its toll at the moment. Instead of giving football players a massive wage, support from all sides and lots of useful connections and fame, why not give that to the REAL heroes of today? Why not distribute it to the VICTIMS of today? Do they really need all that money and fame? Unless they are planning to donate it and do something useful with it, not really. Ofcourse one can not judge others and their decisions but these are serious errors that are being committed by the distributors and managers of money and its power. Take a minute to think of the possibilities that could actually be turned into real life success, if all of that excess money was donated to those in need, slowly but surely balancing out the worlds incredibly unjust distribution of rights.
People love a good game with loads of shouting and patriotism , team spirit and a good party about a pointless game of ball and shoot. This does sound offensive but no matter how much you turn this one, it is and will forever remain an utterly useless way to manipulate society into buying, watching and being distracted by other things. The market realizes that when people start to worry about critical issues that dont directly affect them, the demand significantly decreases and thus they bring in a handful of entertainment that is made to look incredibly vital for everyone to be aware of and pay attention to ; constantly. Everyone always knows something up to date about foot ball, but what about those workers that all died from Ebola in the past few months. What about their hard work and the lives they've saved?  Where is their well deserved income and public appreciation? Think about how you are contributing to the world with your actions, and try to appreciate the ones that actually deserve it. There is a solution to this issue , but one must act together and finally wake up , to see the corruption of how serious issues are being handled.
Thankyou for spending some of your time on this hopefully effective speech, coming from the  HELPPEOPLEINNEED.COM corporation.

FINAL PIECE

Done by Amina Thaher

English Language and Literature

Mr. Michael

Due : Monday 27th of October 2014

 

For this assignment I decided to write two opinion columns that discuss the same concept with contradicting opinions. Chosing an opinion column to discuss the effect of texting through social networks on communication enables me to provide a more profound fullfillment of the task. The first response will be written from the perspective of a regular citizen who has experienced a time where using technology to communicate wasn’t a possibility. The second column, however, will be written from the perspective of a young university student who is only familiar with the technological world of communication. Depending on the argument , the target audience would be people who practice what the writer is against or who simply want to further their knowledge on how texting through social networks affects language and communication. The purpose of both responses would be to reflect on the points that both arguments are trying to make, to bring attention to the positive and negative impacts of using social networks to communicate or replace language. Both opinion columns make connections with the initial question throughout the entire text. The key here is to demonstrate a statement that is not solely based on facts, but rather prior experiences, statistics anmd personal opinion.

THE TIMES

10/8/2014

Behold of the new era of "Communication"

As a person who is familiar with both the world of no texting and this version of it, it is my right to complain about this issue It is truly baffling how people these days think that their way of communication could ever compensate, if not  replace the true meaning of it. And I don’t mean the definition, im referring to the actual interpretation that communication has accumulated over the years. For a very long time technology wasn’t a very commonly accepted part of that and shouldn’t be, for obvious reasons. The people of today are becoming easily distracted, their attention span being shorter than a goldfish's. They're isolating themselves and therefore eliminating opportunities that can not be replaced by chatting to someone for hours.

Ever thought about where social anxiety might've popped from up all of a sudden? The cyber bullying? Sudden suicides, seeds that plant depression? People of all ages are affected through those factors and they're all ways of communication right? It is fairly easy for someone to develop a great ego and a dose of fake confidence when all you have to do is type in some letters, click send and stay anonymous if suitable. In contrast there are honestly not a lot of people who would dare and speak the truth, which in turn can be abused through social networking where new sneaky skills are acquired such as hacking and possibly destroying someones reputation. Taking a look at those hybrid versions of our beautifully articulated language/s is cringe worthy. "LOL" for laughing out loud. "BTW" for by the way. "lol ur stoopid" for Laughing out loud, you're stupid.

Most of the time it's just used to pass the boredom and not to express true feelings. Often there are misconceptions on what people actually mean or how they feel in reality and it all just numbs the conversations, stripping the partners off their identity and programming people to react less and become more self absorbed as well as rude and impatient. All that because of texting. A much more fitting alternative would be to give the electronical device the cold shoulder and actually T A L K to someone face to face, using your mouth and voice to give off thoughts, not your finger tips. We were given voices for a reason. Enjoy each others presence and develop healthy communication skills , regaining your identity as a human being with feelings and ideas that arent copypasted or marked with fake "lol's" and "rofl's" when your butt is neatly planted on your chair and your mouth a straight pinched line. Try it out and then think about wether texting and social networks really only have positive aspects to them. Just an idea to make this world a better place to live in. Thankyou for taking the time to read this!

Ralph F. Smith, aged 57 , New Jersey,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10/8/2014

Why Talk when you can Text?

So lately ive been reading a lot about how apparently texcting and using social networks is dumbing down the youth of today.                                    

Now despite those claims having negative impacts on their users, at the end of the day everyone with a respectable job or an education will have used it at least once, for their personal comfort.

As a current university student in New York City, I feel responsible about voicing my opinion on this matter. A lot of people find communicating through texting or social networks much more effective and beneficial. Otherwise we wouldn’t have so many people using that way of communication, in particular. I find that as a majority it is the people who are not familiar to the world of technology , that disagree with it and try to make up pathetic excuses to support their laughable argument. The majority claims that the academic efforts concerning subjects that require a lot of writing and critical thinking which includes basic grammatical knowledge is detoriating. Or that our youth doesn’t master the basic concepts of real life communication and that their linguistic abilities are receding rapidly due to constant shortening of entire stories and quick texting, not giving us sufficient time to process our thoughts and type them out. Wrong. That’s another load of cow droppings coming at you right there. We weren't born with little iphones texting away and we spent all of kindergarden and primary school withouttexting and social networks. As you can see I haven't reached the golden "21" , yet here I am typing away using perfectly constructed sentences with a wide and effective range of vocabulary. And I am not an exeption. We are very well capable of seperating our social network texting language from when we talk to someone with authority or have to write an essay on Stalin. One thing that particularly irritates me is how you look down on us so easily, as if you would've been any better if texting and social networks wouldve been introduced back in your days!                                                          

Isn't talking identical to texting? Yeah, let that one sink in. When you talk to someone you're not going to sit there contemplating things like : "Oh what is the absolute best word I could use for this expression right now and when does the comma settle in?"   Nope. You are simply transporting the thoughts you formulate into a direct message which is your voice , that will quickly spit out your thoughts. Honestly texting someone or using social networks does force you to respect some grammatical and spelling rules to some extent, to prevent misunderstandings. So really, not everyone shortens their terms dramatically. No one will walk or drive to the other end of the city just to ask what the newest gossip is or what your friends are doing tonight. So it would help us all if you could just face the fact that texting and social network communications have very minor negative effects on us that don’t last long. Concerning your claims of us being unable to communicate, we mostly still go toschool, university or work and are very capable of talking with others. Texting doesn’t damage our people or give them depression, the problems will always come from the peopleone way or another. I hope this has made any reader that didn’t agree with my opinion at least respect it. The facts are there, there's no serious permanent damage with texting that can't be done by talking. Thank you for your time.

Jace Newthorn , Aged 19 , NYC.

OPINION COLUMNS #1 AND #2 DRAFTS

Rationale

For this assignment I decided to write two opinion columns that discuss the same concept with contradicting opinions. Chosing an opinion column to discuss the effect of technology on communication enables me to provide a more profound fullfillment of the task. The first response will be written from the perspective of someone who has experienced a time where using technology to communicate wasn’t a possibility/ the norm. The second column, however, will be written from the perspective of someone clearly younger who is familiar with the technological world of communication. Depending on the argument , the target audience would be people who practice what the writer is against or who simply want to further their knowledge on how technology affects language and communication. The purpose of both responses would be to reflect on the points that both arguments are trying to make, to bring attention to the positive and negative impacts of using technology to communicate or replace language. Both opinion columns make connections with the initial question of wether technology being used to communicate is beneficial or not, throughout the entire text. The key here is to demonstrate a statement that is not solely based on opinion, but rather on bullet proof facts and correct observations which is a much more convincing strategy to persuade the audience.

Opinion column #1( negative)

A New Meaning To  "Communication"

It is truly baffling how people these days think that their way of communication could ever compensate, if not  replace the true meaning of it. And I don’t mean the definition, im referring to the actual interpretation that communication has accumulated over the years. For a very long time technology wasn’t a very commonly accepted part of that and shouldn’t be, for obvious reasons. The people of today are becoming easily distracted, their attention span being shorter than a goldfish's. They're isolating themselves and therefore eliminating opportunities that can not be replaced by chatting to someone for hours. Don’t believe me? Alright lets look at the facts. A study by Salaway et al , 2008 has discovered that 85% of undergraduates use social networking sites. That’s quite a lot and proof that technological ways of communication are the latest breakthrough and just increasing in fame, like a  disease if you ask me. Take a look at this graph and you might want to reconsider your opinion about wether the youth as well as the middle aged, and even some of the old are actually using technology for their own good.

It speaks for itself doesn’t it? Now the majority might protest, claiming that the more people use technology to communicate the better, but it is quite the contrary actually. Ever thought about where social anxiety might've popped from up all of a sudden? The cyber bullying? Sudden suicides, seeds that plant depression? People of all ages are affected through those factors and they're all ways of communication right? It is fairly easy for someone to develop a great ego and a dose of fake confidence when all you have to do is type in some letters, click send and stay anonymous if suitable. In contrast there are honestly not a lot of people who would dare and speak the truth, which in turn can be abused through social networking where new sneaky skills are acquired such as hacking and possibly destroying someones reputation. Taking a look at those hybrid versions of our beautifully articulated language/s is cringe worthy. "LOL" for laughing out loud. Most of the time it's just used to pass the boredom and not to express true feelings. Often there are misconceptions on what people actually mean or how they feel in reality and it all just numbs the conversations, stripping the partners off their identity and programming people to react less and become more self absorbed as well as rude and impatient. All that because of using technology to communicate. Texting, E-mailing, social networks and the sort all have a bad effect on their users if uitilized on a regular basis. A much more fitting alternative would be to give the electronical device the cold shoulder and actually T A L K to someone face to face, using your mouth and voice to give off thoughts, not your finger tips. Enjoy each others presence and develop healthy communication skills , regaining your identity as a human being with feelings and ideas that arent copypasted or marked with fake "lol's" and "rofl's" when your butt is neatly planted on your chair. Try it out and then think about wether using technology to communicate really only has positive aspects to it. Just an idea to make this world a better place to live in.

Opinion column #2 (positive)

Better Faster Stronger: Technological Communication

Despite the claims of Technology being used to communicate having negative impacts on the users, at the end of the day everybody will have used it at least once to help them , and if that doesn’t already prove who wins, then here's some more. Imagine a world were you would have to literally walk or drive to someone to quickly ask them something important, a world where the only information you get would either be in the library or from some ancient proffessor. Very time consuming if you think about it. A quick scan through google, a conversation here and there to different people at the same time and all beeing done in a few minutes. Isn't that just completely incredible? You will get judged, bullied or have bad experiences either way so why not get them over with quicker and more painless? There's always skype and others for some face to face convos if you really miss someones presence. So really, communicating through technology strengthens our relationships, enables us to make a lot of beneficial connections and opens us up to diversity and cultures. Its easier to reveal your true self without risking too much judgement and public humiliation. There is more privacy and freedom. People have learned to make faster decisions and find solutions to all their problems, with such a variety of opinions available. A 2009 World Bank report found that for every 10% increase in high speed internet connections, there is a 1.3 percent increase in economic growth. So it’s a win - win situation. People tend to augment and not replace their relationships with people, they simply find quicker ways to access them. All kinds of knowledge are always open to anyone using the internet which is incredibly fortunate. We basically created a new lanuage by shortening words, giving others a new meaning that only the "texters" understand ;  we create shortcuts and new possibilities everyday and form more solid bonds. Don’t be too restrictive on technological ways of communication, after all real life convos arent the best either. A new era of communication has arrived and won't leave anytime soon, so you might as well get used to it and try to at least accept it as a positive influence on people. Sooner or later you'll end up using or needing it anyway.

David Crystal And John McWorther Comparison and Contrast

Theories on how technology impacts language. 

This task required us to read an article by david Crystal and re-watch the Ted talk by John McWorther, summarize their theory of how technology affects language and conclusively identify their differences and similarities.

Texting

David's theory on how technology impacts the english language is mainly based on text messaging. The article commences by elaborating on how texting has become a "modern phenomenon", immediately eliminating a laregly negative view on the aspects on texting. It is mentioned how text messaging was never meant to be used in the way we do nowadays, but in fact was provided for commercial information or voice mail messages. Fastforwarding to now, in the UK a staggering 4 billion text messages are being sent per month. 

Two poems are mentioned in this article, in which David has provided comments and analyzation as well as opinion. One poem will be mentioned.

poem #1 "Txt Commndmnts"

1 U shall luv ur mobil fone with all ur hart 

2 U & ur fone shall neva b apart

3 U shall nt lust aftr ur neibrs fone nor thiev

4 U shall b prepard @ all tims 2 tXt & 2 recv

5 U shall use LOL & othr acronyms in convrsatns

6 U shall be zappy with ur ast*r*sks & ex!amtns

7 U shall abbrevi8 & rite words lik theyr said

8 U shall nt speak to sum1 face2face if u cn msg em insted

9 U shall nt shout with capitls XEPT IN DIRE EMERGNCY +

10 U shall nt consult a ninglish dictnry

David announces that due to the lingual options on the mobile phone being so constricted, "text speaking" as he calls it, has given rise to one of the most idiosyncretic varities in the history of language. A key term in this article would be " rebus abbreviation"which simply means a puzzle you have to unravel, by using pictures and abbreviations in order to identify a word. David uses that to explain those words used in the poem such as " 2 tXt & 2 recv" or "abbrevi8" and "b4". 

He also mentions that such forms of communication are not focused on merely texting ; they appear within many other electronical uses of communication such as e-mails, chatgroups and blogs. This reflects on the influence and power the language of text messaging has inflicted on the people.

Despite many  proclaiming the use of rebus abbreviation originating from todays youth, David insists that the very idea of rebus is a tradition that has been passed over generations, dating all the way back to the Victorians having used them to play games. As well as childrens annuals containing puzzles with them. So really, Text speaking is just a slightly different version of those things. 

David then inspects something that seems to be even more spectacular than using images to represent words. The mere ability to shorten words into commonly known abbreviations because of a restricition to a 160 characters, such as "LOL" (laughing out loud) or " BTDT" (Been there, done that) fascinates him. The fact that people adapted to their financial as well as technological limits so swiftly does show a lot. 

He points out how people appear to have realised that skipping a vowel is more beneficial than skipping consonants as well as leaving out puncutation and replacing it in words. Often one can identify an accent by looking at which consonants are being skipped or familiar contexts that relate directly to an accent or a dialect. He also brings attention to the reason of shortening entire sentences to a single word, such as a quicker connection to time and energy as well as a smaller phone bill. However after discovering over 500 rebus abbreviations he announced that only a small number of those would actually be commonly used, defeating the stereotype of the new generation dumbing down language. Though at times a regular abbreviation can have a different meaning to other individuals which could cause fatal consequences in reference to who you're texting.

To David, text speaking is one of the most interesting things to have evolved around time. He says that it is a new genre, an entirely new way for most of us to communicate, which many take for normal everyday things but can have a whole other meaning to linguists, like David. 

He states that text speak will definitely not affect our language completely, nevertheless the youth would occasionally use it to sound "cool", and it'd be found in school essays sometimes. The latter could be eradicated by the basic concepts of grammar which schools teach anyway. He sets forth the use of text speaking being a mere substitute for more compressed writing and time frames that people mostly master to divide from their general speech adressed at their regular audiences. 

Txtng is killing language. JK!!!

 John has a much more commical way of approaching the issue of texting, nevertheless serious undertones are kept consistent to prove his point. He also focuses more on speech and thoughts and how those connect to the idea of texting.

The key concept of his connection of the new generation and texting is that "Speech is much more loser, much more telegraphic much less reflective." As in the way we speak doesn't necessarily reflect the way we'd write an assignment , we dont feel the need to follow any grammatical rules consistently and we dont really reflect on our speech either. And were does our speech come from? Our thoughts.  We dont formulate our thoughts considering all the grammatical rules, punctutation and spelling or the best word to use for something , in fact we use our basic knowldege for understandable sentences and then immediately transport them into our texting appliances, without wasting time to elaborate and analyze, which could make us lose our train of thought. 

John points out that in the past, speech is what came first and was one of the only ways people would communicate, without writing for a long period of time. He states that if humanity had existed for 24 hours, then writing would've come in at around 11:07 pm, as an artifice ; just a cunning way to replace speech but in no way to fully represent it. He gives writing some credit by reminding his audience that it is a much more effective way to reflect on things we have to say, ponder on them and have them there permanently. 

There's beautiful articulated speech but apparently no one really talks like that , mostly because we dont think that way and it is highly unusual as well as its lack of individuality. 

He names the way we talk "casual speech". He describes it as a much loser, unmonitored way to speak. He then moves on to phones and how the sense of something in your pocket exchanging messages with someone is almost like actually talking to that person and having to keep up with what they're saying, vice versa. Just like real speech , you dont take time to look for a more educated way to say something or think about capital letters, you simply say whats in your head. The same goes for texting, one formulates a thought and immediately turns it into a few words that are abbreviated in order to reply quickly and effectively. People who text usually get straight to the point. He calls texting "fingered speech". It now enables us to write the way we talk and think. 

Commonly used abbreviations such as "LOL" are used out of context now, being given a new purpose. They're now being used in a very distincitve way , as a marker of empathy and of acommodation. That doesnt mean there's something wrong in our texting techniques, and using "slash" to change a topic you dont feel like discussing instead of going through the whole subtle process of slithering out of something as nicely as possible. 

The way John defines texting to be these days is an entirely new way of writing that the youth has developed over a short time period. And in addition to that, they mostly fully master the regular writing skills which means they have the ability to use two ways to communicate. As known, being bilingual has its benefits, but being bidialectal is just as effective.  Conclusively texting and regular communication is proof of our youth being able to balance out two uses which expands their horizon of understanding in terms of languages and personalities.

Similarities:

 Both John and David are very supportive of the use of texting of our youth and community and are similarly convinced that the users are able to juggle the two fairly different ways of communication perfectly and responsibly. They both came up with convincing theories and facts to back up their opinions that conclusively were the same. Both of them stressed that our youth isnt dumbed down or unable to exceed in any other academic subjects or general conversations, in fact they both agree that their skill of speech is enhanced by having two ways to express themselves.

Differences:

David focuses much more on certain grammatical rules such as the placement and deduction of vowels, consonants and punctuation and how that reflects on the texter, not really engaging in their thought processes or the difference in speech. His point of the article is more directed on exactly what texting consists of, how, when and where its used, and not what kind of effect that has as a whole or the actual reason of it, as can be seen on his analyzation on the poems given.

Where as John's speech seems much more simple , he has a wider perspective and discovers connections amongst thoughts, speech and texting that date back into the 1600ds and up to this point. He really tries to get the point across of how texting isnt wrong in any way, how it is simply a different new way of communicating that relates directly to your thoughts. How we now have the opportunity to text our exact thoughts in a short space of time. Other worldly concerns of the young people of today losing their elegance and articulation of speech is swept away with some forward answers and facts to back up his argument, which is much more fierce and focused. Also the fact that he chose to be filmed and have an audience further supports his belief in his argument and his want to spread it as these days people are more likely to watch a video than read a long bland article.

"Rihanna, Lady Gaga and what's really behind the burqa swag" 

Amina D. Thaher

7th October 2014 

As a muslim teenager living in a islamic dominated country,  my opinion on this particular article might be viewed as biased or narrowminded. But dont be too quick to judge, because you wouldnt want anyone doing that to you either , if you were to reveal your opinion on a personal matter.

Basically this article discusses how the "Burqa" is being altered into a trend by the mentioned celebrities that are, as mentioned, clearly not familiar with the Burqa, its concept and spiritual connection to Islam. 

Right at the first paragraph you already crossed a bunch of moralic limits which reflects your pathetic attempt at entertaining the reader, while stripping an essential factor in a tradition off its value.

Here, take a look at it. 

"Ladies! Wondering what to wear tonight that will turn heads and get all the boys excited? May I suggest a sexed-up burqa or perhaps a naughty niqab? While harem pants are v last season, veils are terribly in vogue. Not only do they add an exotic edge, but black is extremely mu-slimming." 

Did you honestly have to say that? To me that looks like an attempt at degrading a religion of modesty and self respect into the norms of society. You probably think youre doing muslim women a favour by "including" us into your ideas of a perfect society. Well guess what, chosing to dress differently , i think its clear we dont necessarily want to be part of that.

Rihanna as a person is very well known to be "open" , and i mean very open.

So the fact that she actually wore something in one of her pictures on instagram is a huge accomplishment, disregarding any personal views. But posing seductively in front of a sacred place? People like her, who chose to present themself as they are shouldnt even be allowed into a mosque or near one. What a shame. A mosque is meant for mental and physical purification , for being humble and submitting yourself to god, or any spiritual feelings you feel the need to share in that mosque. Its a place of private beliefs and a supposedly closed community. Its our right to express our religion freely and have limits, so her posing in front of it, with the hijab, just to get some attention at being "exotic" is just laughable.

The same goes for madonna who has the impression of the niqab (which conceals everything exept the eyes) to be sexually alluring. No , its actually there for modesty and to remind onesself to stay humble and realize our equality in society. Not to make men wonder whats under it. Its definitely a cultural thing, not religious . These days the hijab, niqab and burka are being used as ways to entertain, seem interesting and "enlighten" others who dont know as much about our very valued religion. The hijab itself is the one part required and fully connected to religion, in order to identify onesself as a muslim and to keep reminding yourself about it. The burqa and niqab are both involved with cultural traditions that are not required but still have history and value to others. Either way it is offensive for women who try their best to represent their religion and then have some random celebrities who dont know the half of it, put it on and convey a completely different message to the community. They have more power through their fame, and you writing a supportive article about it onyl makes it worse. 

Please try to respect other beliefs and traditions that mean a lot to the affected people and try to convey a message of peace and respect, rather than completely taking it out of its concept. 
However offensive this may sound, it is the plain truth and can not be negotiated in any way. Not only are you making up a new meaning for  the burqa, you are degrading it as yet just another fashion  piece for the entertainment of others.