Magazines

Sex sells. In the 21st century sex is used as an appeal to audiences and infultrates many of our media sources. Feminism has been a growing force since the 1900's when the suffragists were working to gain the right to vote, but are the values of feminism still needed today? Some would argue that feminism is needed more than ever. In magazines and other media sources women are portrayed as what many consider to be "the ideal" image which is almost impossible to achieve. People criticize the media industry for featuring women that are too thin, too airbrushed, etc. Our soiciety has become fed up with the image of "perfection" but how would the audinece respond if magazines only feautured "average" women? Women today speak out against the image of beauty that is protrayed in our society today, however, I believe that subconsciously it is what women are choosing to read about. Magazines with beautiful women on the cover continue to sell regardless of their idealistic images. I think that women read the magazines with health, fitness, beauty, and sex tips because they are aiming to improve their lives. Also, magazines feauture stories to help women strive to better themselves and instill confidence. There are articles that cover women who have battled diseases, been rape victims, used self-defense to save their lives. I think that people focus too much on what they consider the negative aspects of magazines that force an ideal image of women on the audience, and they don't necessarily think about the positive aspects of magazines within the articles. Certain magazines cater to certain interests, however I do believe that there are media outlets that are trying to help women improve their lives. This cover of Women's Health magazine provided by www.site.pangaya.com balances both sides of the spectrum.
The woman featured on the cover, Kate French, is a beaurtiful, fit woman. She is dressed in bikini bottoms and is most likely airbrushed but she doesn't look abnormally skinny. Also the slogan of Women's Health is "You & Improved" which shows how this magazine is trying to help women strive to improve their lifestyle. The featured stories on the cover talk about "Slimming Styles for Your Shape," addressing the afact that not every women looks the same, nor should she. I think that the issue of feminism does have an importance in the media. I also feel that people should not just focus on the negative aspects of how women are portrayed in the media but should regard the strides that the media industry is making as well.

Text Messages

Over the years communications have changed drastically. With each new invention the way we interact with each other is altered. Communications have travelled by oral speech, print, radio and television broadcasts, Internet blogs, and now with cell phones we have mobile communication wherever we go. But even the way use the cell phone to communicate has changed in the past decade. Originally parents used to worry about their teenagers going over their minutes each month as they would talk endlessly with their friends on the phone. But now there is another feature that has not only parents worried about the monthly bill, but society as a whole concerned: texting. Text messaging is a convenient and practical way to send messages on cell phones in a "text." Like any medium of communication, texting has it's pros and cons. Texting can be useful to send short messages of information. For instance if I need a phone number or address it is easier to have someone send me a text so I don't have to write it down. Also texting is convenient when I need to communicate with someone but I'm not in a setting where I can have a conversation. However, I do think that in the past couple of years the use of texting has gone out of control. People don't use texting only when it is necessary, they have made it a way of life.
There are many features of texting that have negatively impacted the way people interact and behave in society. The use of "text talk" such as LOL, OMG, TTYL, and many more have infiltrated both oral and written speech. Like the article from USA Today stated people will say "LOL" in a conversation instead of actually laughing out loud which is what the acronym implies. This youtube video shows an entire conversation that a child has with her mother in complete text-terminology.



This abbreviated form of communication makes conversation seem superficial and insincere. Also, it is speculated that the generation who have grown up with text messaging may be less equipped with the professional skills necessary in college and future careers. People need to know how to network and converse through speech and not through text. When a boss asks an employee for an idea in the workplace, he or she can't say "BRB" and think about it before they respond. I think that texting has been a weakness in our communicating skills, and those who rely to heavily upon it, may have more difficulty in professions later in life.

Video Games

The violence in video games has become a controversial topic in the last decade. People are concerned that the level of violence in video games have negative effects on the children and teenagers who play them, and ultimately results in aggressive behavior. Although there is a general concern and possible correlation between the extreme violence in video games and the negative influence on children, there is no concrete evidence to prove the effects. Violent video games may be unhealthy for children to play while they are in the stages of maturing, however, is it any different than the other extreme violence displayed in movies or on television? Our media today is enveloped in an age of technology and special effects that advanced video games from the old fashioned Mario Kart to the real life animations of Halo. Video games are part of the entertainment industry, and even though they contain violence they have a rating for ages just as movies do. I don't think that violent video games should be banned, however I believe that violent video games should be used responsibly.
I believe that there are many video games that should not be used by children of a young age because of the amount of violence used in them. As kids are growing up they don't need to pretend that they are shooting prostitutes or throwing knives at police officers. Video games for children should be limited to more innocent games such as car racing, Mario Kart, educational games, etc. However, it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their child is playing appropriate games. The children who the public fears will act out in the same aggression in real life as they see on the video game is probably also the child that lacks discipline at home. A parent needs to teach their children right from wrong; what actions are meant for the video game and what actions are acceptable in everyday life. I think that parental supervision is a necessary factor with children's use of video games.
Also I beleive that the companies producing these video games owe a leve of responsibility to the public. One positive step in this direction would be the use of ratings on video games. This alerts the public to know whether it is "E" for everyone, or "M" for mature. Advertising for violent video games should also try to aim their commercials at the right audience. For instance this trailer for Halo 3 that was eventually rated "M" for mature is clearly advertising toward little children:


Commercials such as this make younger children want to play a video game that may be too violent for them. Video games have become an important part of entertainment in the 21st century, and I am not completely opposed to the violence in them. As long as the video game companies and parents take responsibility in making sure that children are playing games that are age appropriate, I am less concerned about the violence used in the games.

Instant Message/emotes

We encounter countless amounts of signs everyday. Many some sings that we have grown so accustomed to we may not even realize how important they are to our daily life, for instance that a red hexagon means stop or that the color green means go. Other signs or symbols may vary in their meaning and others may have meanings that are more difficult to interpret. The following video helped explain to me the different forms of signs and symbols and how they are used in everyday life:





Semiotics, the science of signs and sign systems, is important to analyze the way we communicate and how the forms of communication impact the way the message is perceived. The use of signs and symbols allows us also to communicate between people of different languages or cultures. For instance Pierce's "icon" or "index" signs can communicate meaning through language barriers. Icon signs, something objective or preexistent with respect to interpretation, like the "cross" will most likely be interpreted around the world as to represent Christianity, Jesus, etc. Also, index signs, signs that carry the meaning within them, like the example that smoke means fire, is something that can read despite differences in language or culture. Therefore, some signs carry a universal meaning. However, other signs such as "symbols" according to Pierce of the "signifier" according to Saussure, can be more intricate in their meaning. Symbols are signs that have physical relation between the sign and the meaning. Symbols include texts and ideologies. The example shows in the youtube clip that the color red can be used to represent a variety of things: love, anger, danger, etc. The interpretation of symbols may vary based on culture or current mood of the interpreter. Symbols are also complex in that they relate to words. The letters C-A-R refer to a car in the English language, just as C-O-C-H-E refer to a car in Spanish. In this context symbols may be less helpful in translating meaning across different culture or language barriers.

Instant messaging is a perfect example of how semiotics works in a modern context. When instant messaging smilies are used to express emotions. I believe that this type of sign would be considered an "icon" because universally this smiley =) would be used to indicate someone is happy, whereas this smiley =( would indicate that someone is sad. However the instant messaging slang makes, or a string of letters that represent a certain meaning, makes understanding IM conversations much more difficult. The letters "OK" might obviously represent the word "okay" but it might not be as obvious that the letters "JK" stand for "just kidding." Other IM slangs such as "LOL" can have more than one meaning like "laugh out loud" or "lots of love." Instant messaging complicates the use of symbols so that even people of the same language or culture have a difficult time interpreting messages, and turns it into slang, something that varies by generation. Signs and symbols are an important part of communicating but it is important to remember who the receiver will be before using them to send messages.

E-mail

E-mail post