Groups and communities have been around since the internet came around. Social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram  are used to support these groups. One of the common themes of the articles was Privacy and Public, with these sites it is very hard for anyone on these sites to have a private life. In the article by Boyd he explains  “Today’s teenagers are being socialized into a society complicated by shifts in the public and private.New social technologies have altered the underlying architecture of social interaction and information distribution”. He believes that this is the challenge, teens and young adults are growing up with in this change in society but in his words ” most adults are panicking. They do not understand the shifts that are taking place and, regardless, they don’t like what they’re seeing. ” These groups that have given their users a way to stay connected to each other and usually these groups are made up of people who share a common interest.  Groups like fan girls their common interest would be characters from a movie or a boy band, their platforms are usually Facebook,twitter, and Instagram. In the article “Abundance in Scarcity” they mentioned a story about who brought guitars to Hawaii and the Hawaiians had no idea how to use it. They developed their own ways of using it. Reddit is a good example of what this reading is trying to explain.  Its a good example because in the website Reddit there is a part where someone gives a story prompt with a lot of restrictions and guidelines  and the commentators have to be super creative while following the guidelines. The last article was very interesting for me because it brought up a great point that, he explains that if you were at a party and you are having a terrible time, you do not just walk out. Even if you already decided that the party just isn’t  for you any more. Other people at this party are feeling the same thing but no one leaves til that one person decides that this party isn’t for them and actually gets up that when everyone grabs their coats and actually leaves. We make our own decision but do not execute  them until we see more people doing it. Then we realize that it is socially acceptable.

All readings touch base on what I actually agree with and consider to be for the most part true. Social media has definitely taken over a big portion of my generations life, the younger generations, and even mine. I find myself with my phone in my hand probably for the most of my day. I don’t use Facebook any more but I would either check through my Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube. I can also agree that most of my communication with friends, family, or just mutual friends comes from social media. The times ill have actual in person interaction would be if I am  on campus, at work , or just have spare time to see my friends and family. Another thing that can be seen as a negative about social media is they way people perceive things. For example, many trends are seen through social media and those who have what others want can make those who do not have it feel insecure and feel like they need to be on the same wave as others.  However, people also do act one way on social media than they do in person which can be deceiving.

Social media is not all bad in my opinion. A great thing that can come out of Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube are the connections you can make and meeting new people. Many people have been discovered on these apps for posting the things they post. For example, people can make money off of being themselves, sharing what they want to share online, grabbing the right attention and making money off of doing what they actually love. Even though this is a positive way to use social media cites, you will find those who abuse those apps in which creates the reasoning  for the pessimistically thinking of social media.

All articles I believe speak well on how we are so attached to social media and what happens through social media. Social media is something of an addiction. I agree with the articles and how its changing teenagers and how they interact with others. Since everything is through the internet you don’t see as much in-person interaction. I totally agree because I have been finding myself using social media a lot more. It is something I would like to stop using. Social media has changed peoples perspective and how they see people. It has also changed the way they see themselves. They try to live the lifestyles that either celebrities or famous people on social media live.

Teenagers now communicate differently they decide to use social media to put themselves out there.  Now there is so many more features you can use to put yourself out there which it has also changed people’s privacy. Now not only your friends can see it but millions of people can see it with the way you can communicated now. You can share something about someone who lives in a different country because of what they posted. It is so easy to get things around and for it to go viral now. The articles suggest that social media can become a bad thing for people as well. I honestly agree because when it comes to social media and these online commmunities you have to fit into there social norms.

Now there are social norms that must be followed and if not then you wont be noticed or considered apart of the community. Social media has taken over peoples intake on different situations and how people are starting to feel. They see other opinions and start to follow them as well and add how they feel on the situation. With social media there is no privacy because everything is put out there for everyone to see.

This is a really good topic especially in this day and time of the popular social media. Social Media has sucked me in because I am normally a very private person. When I first joined Facebook back in 2009 I bee lined straight to the privacy settings to make sure I was private as I could be. But then I soon found out you really aren’t that private even though your profile states private. This is why I was always afraid of hackers. Even though your page is private doesn’t mean that someone can hack into your account. That is why it is scary for teenagers because they love to be public which makes it worse for hackers. I was once hacked before at a coffee shop in the suburbs through the shady connection of their Wi-Fi. I had to wipe my laptop clean after that incident.

So it really is something when teens navigate social media because the majority of them aren’t private nor do they care. Social Networks are not really private they are public. There is always a way to find this “private” person. You can find the private person through mutual friends online on social network site Facebook. Unless you are blocked you can still see ‘private’ people through comments and tags and through direct messaging. So, how private are you?

Teenagers rule social media and most of them are public online as they have no fear and want to be found. I have cringed year after year watching my son’s Facebook profile stay public. I have my son’s pass code still I changed it to private one time and he changed it right back to public. Go figure-but this is the truth. In the reading, Social Network Sites: Public Private or what the author spoke of a female teenager online, “She is also quite likely to keep her profile visible to anyone so that she can find others in her peer group (boyd 2006/Pg. 2) Teenagers need to be found. They need to be liked and they like to be accepted so social networks is a breeding ground for these types of groups. It’s like being in a gang meaning belonging to something great.      Therefore, if that desire is strong there is no need to be private because everyone wants to be found. The reading also stated, “Social network sites are yet another form of public space.” (Boyd 2007, Pg.2) This quote proves my point as to how people view social networking sites. It is just like hanging out at the park, movies or for kids and teenagers hanging out at the mall or the cool place where teenagers and tweens meetup after school. Everyone including adults are on their cellphones connected to some group on social media. For myself, Facebook is a social media site for family and I mean all my family on all sides and in all states. This is the only social media site that I can find everyone if need be.

One of the unfortunate thing is that since social networking is really public if teenagers or adults are looking for work they better make sure their online profiles are squeaky clean because a lot of employers can get access to their profiles and find out something negative that can kill their chances in getting a job even if the applicant think that they were doing online was innocent. With regard to hacking this is an invasion of privacy along with employers looking into prospective clients but unfortunately, we can’t do anything about it. Social Networks sites are not public and a lot of times unsafe.

These days we get media speedier than at any other time. My translation of what I got from the article is that the Medium is the thing that will characterize the message as it were. Back in the days, we were constrained to how we get news or whenever of media. It would fundamentally be through printed papers or TV. The web wasn’t as large as it is in the present age. The way media is these days with the web, it is approach to simple to get to news and a few outlets are speedier than others. We are tied in with getting data as quick as we can and many individuals get a kick out of the chance to discover things out before others do.If I’m understanding the article accurately, I think medium is critical to how we devour computerized media, in light of the fact that there’s concealed messages on there too. Particularly on social media.The medium is so essential to how we expend computerized media since it will decide how adequately your message will be conveyed and how quick it will be conveyed. With the innovations we have now like wireless connectivity and smartphones they help ensure that we can convey our message quick to the same number of individuals we need. As I would like to think one noteworthy difficulty this innovation has on us is our eye to eye relational abilities, and out spelling and vocabulary.

According to the article, the many different forms of messaging has converged into one. Including oral, visual, and written messages. In the forms of television, print media, and the radio. These new inavasions have sky rocketed the humanity with wireless communication. Which connects us together better than ever before. Examples of these are international trade creating a quicker way with communication between two countries. However, it is desensitizing humanity, more specifically the youth into having less social skills and having more social media skills. This creates a dilemma where face to face communication as well etiquette down the drain.

Nowadays we get media faster than ever. My interpretation of what I got from the article is that the Medium is what will define the message in a sense. Back in the days, we were limited to how we get news or any time of media. It would mainly be through printed papers or television. The internet wasn’t as big as it is in today’s age. Depending on the medium that the message is presented on will determine how fast we get the message. Sometimes depending on the medium, the message may not even make sense to be presented with them. Nowadays everything is branding and marketing. Making sure you know exactly what to feed to your audience based on your analytics and history. If you feed something to them that is completely off topic or that doesn’t make sense to to what your brand is, you can steer your audience away and lose viewership.

The way media is nowadays with the internet, it is way to easy to access news and some outlets are faster than others. We are all about getting information as fast as we can and a lot of people like to find things out before others do. It’s funny how our society is now with the internet but that’s just how things are.

From what I understood about the article the term “Medium is the Message” means that where the message comes from is just as important as the message. The properties of the message provides certain elements to the message that one shouldn’t ignore. Technology has the ability to mold and shape the way that we perceive the use of something or how we understand something to begin with. The medium is intrinsic within the message. Trump making a statement on twitter means something different than we he makes that same statement during and interview or what have you.

This article was kind of hard for me to understand. I Think I have an idea of where he was going with the whole “medium is the message phrase.” On the first page McLuhan says “ for the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs” Following this he used an example of the railways and electric light. Basically railways did more than just introduce transportation. It enlarged the scale of previous human functions. He also talks about electric light being more than just light. I think his main point is everything has a deeper message.

If I’m understanding the article correctly, I think medium is important to how we consume digital media, because there’s hidden messages on there as well. Especially on social media. Some negative and some positive. I guess it’s all about how you look at it.

1. What was your activity? Please be specific on what you asked the class to do and what you hoped it would accomplish.

Our activity was we took 4 envelopes and randomly put Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat in each one. We divided the groups into four and we asked them to write three things  they would like to add to this social media. Then write three things they would like to take away from this social media. We hoped to show how social media has an effect on the youth.  We heard interesting ideas and we hoped to accomplish creativity.

2. Did you think it was successful?

Yes

3. Did it achieve your implied goals?

Yes, it brought awareness to how social media has an impact on the youth.

4. What did you learn from the experience?

We learned that sometimes an upgrade or new feature can be less popular as opposed to its original functionality. Also, that the youth has more creativity when it comes to coming up with ideas.

5. How would you take this project further as a research tool and what results would you hope to achieve?

Do the same with our club members except this time we would ask them specifically to remove or add from their respective  social networking sites based on its effect on the youth.