Little Girls and Pageants

I must admit I am guilty of watching "Toddlers and Tiaras," but more out of astonishment than actual interest. I think it is harmful for young girls, 2 and up, to be competing in beauty pageants. (I started competing in pageants when I was 13, old enough to make the decison for myself and I've entered mostly scholarship pageants which are not based on beauty but academics, community service, talent, and accomplishments.) Little girls who are being forced to compete in pageants by their mothers or grandmothers can have a negative effect on them. I can't believe how many little girls I've seen with fake teeth, spray tans, makeup, and fake eyelashes. This is not setting a good example for these impressionable girls who grow up thinking that fake is the way to be successful. I just think this has become an issue with our society. Little girls should not be dressing up like dolls for money, there is just something unethical about the whole thing.

Video Games

Where do I begin?? I used to never care about video games or give them a second thought until my boyfriend starting playing constantly. He's into COD, NHL, FIFA, etc. I think I've watched him play one game and I just can't get into it. I don't know how he can sit there for hours and play without even realizing how much time is going by! I understand they're ok to play sometimes but I think I have more of a problem with obsessive video game use. I always feel like people could more doing something so much more productive with their time. I especially can't stand how young children are inside on beautiful days wrapped up in video games. I miss the days when I walked down the street and there were kids on every corner, you hardly see that anymore. Although technology is great and I understand we all abuse it once in awhile, it's important we don't rely on it.

Internet Safety

I've realized our society likes to state problems that are going on but rarely finds a solution to these problems. For example, I often hear how dangerous the internet is and how much access there is to inappropriate websites. However, what are we doing to educate young individuals about these online dangers? I think it is most important, not to state a problem, but to find a solution. We need to start educating today's society about safe internet-use. It is important for the next generation to learn how to use the internet in order to be successful in their future; however, there are dangerous websites that could be stumbled upon. I think we need to start taking these matters more serious. Even social networking, young teens are posting inappropriate pictures and status' that are getting in the way of obtaining jobs. One of the ways to make change in society is to educate people, we need to start being more proactive about such a serious issue.

Another Reunion?

So for my new followers, I like to use my blog as an outlet to vent about the media or issues I found within the wonderful world of technology. I turned the TV last night before bed and immediately saw three different shows on different channels entitled, "Mobwives Reunion," "Basketball Wives Reunion," and "Teen Mom Reunion." We are taking reality TV to a whole new level, why is that we have to have a reunion for every show out there now? I can't remember if it started with the Real World but then it's gone through Jersey Shore, Rock of Love, you name it. I think it's crazy how the media takes one idea for one show and ruins the originality of it by making it universal for all shows now. This is just one example of how REPETITIVE the media can actually be.

Semester Comes to a Close

Just like everything else, this class flew by way too quickly. When I signed up for this class and another I was really nervous about it being summer and not being able to stay ontop of the work; however, I am proud that I've stayed focused and been able to time manage everything I have going on. The one area I definitely need to work on is procrastination. By being forced to write on the blog and discussion 3, 4 different days allowed me to space my homework out a little better. Everything else, I pretty much save until the last possible day to do it. I know this has always been my biggest struggle and it's something I've been trying to work on in the past 15 years. This class not only taught me a lot about media and today's society but I also learned how to time manage better and procrastinate less. I would reccommend taking this class online to anyone, it's a great way to graduate early, get ahead, or make up a class. I will continue to think about my use with media and technology. I've made a conscious effort to only use it as necessary ever since I started this class and I find I'm enjoying quality time with my family and friends and focusing more on what's important in life. I've even been thinking about deleting my Facebook because I'm hardly using it now! I've enjoyed reading all of your blogs and posts on the discussion board. I wish everyone a happy and safe summer!! :)

Internships

I recently started a summer internship 2 days a week at Reebok World Headquarters in Canton. My brother's girlfriend works there and was able to give my resume to a few people. I still find it interesting how most success starts with who you know, sad but true. So when I spoke to my supervisor, she originally said the internship was unpaid but I would have to do it for college credit. Well unfortunately, since I'm taking summer classes, BSU wouldn't allow me to get credit for it, so they made an exception and I'm still able to intern there. I'm a communications media major and I'm working with their blog, events calendar, and a ton of excel, it's great for experience but it's killing my bank account. Not only is it two days off that I have to ask off work but it's an extra $40 a week in gas to get there. They say not having an internship when you graduate is one of the worst things you can do, but why do they make having one seem impossible? Most students cannot, financially afford to do an internship and not get paid or credit. Luckily this one was 2 days a week. My brother had to do an internship in order to graduate, he had to PAY the school to do an unpaid internship. It is almost mind boggling. I know we live in a competitive work market but starting out is extremely unfair.

The reason I say this has to do with media is because a LOT of other internships in other majors are paid. My sister (criminal justice major) and my other brother (mechanical engineering) both were offered paid internships in those fields. Why is it in the communications field it is extremely unlikely to get paid? Where would we be with a communications/PR/Human Resources department? Where would we be with the radio and news stations? It's not like our major is unimportant so why not show a little appreciation for what we are studying? This is just something that has frustrated me especially now that I'm doing an internship (free labor) and they can't even pay for gas. I guess we all have to bite the bullet at one time or another to get our foot in the door!

Cake..what?

I turned on TLC today because I love watching "Say Yes to the Dress," however, it seems everytime I turn on that channel, there is ALWAYS a cake show on. It first started with Cake Boss and now there are so many different versions of it. I feel the media always seems to do this. When one show becomes a hit, they copy it and make 10 slightly different versions of it. We've also done this with reality tv, bride shows, teen pregnancy, and large families, just to name a few. I think it is getting a bit ridiculous. How many different cakes can we see? How are these shows making us productive or teaching us anything? The amount of entertainment shows out there way surpass educational or constructive shows. No wonder why our generation wants to grow up so fast, because all they see on tv is pregnant teens and women searching for their bridal gowns.

The media has a way of overdoing everything. Humans are naturally never satisfied and just like the media, they are not satisfied with the success of one cake show, they have to have 5. How many sequels to movies are there nowadays? The Hangover wasn't good enough, they had to make a Hangover 2 and a Transformers 2. What makes a movie such a classic is that it is so different from the rest so when we start making sequels to every movie, they lose originality. I used to like the show, "Cake Boss," but now that there are other shows like it, I've lost interest.