New World Order

In the mid 1990's the internet was commercialized, with it came a new age of communication and technology.  Everything today can be done online from shopping to applying for a job and  as technology continues to evolve, social lives deteriorate.  Social media sites like Facebook connect people from around the world, making new friendships and reestablishing old ones but it also takes time away from real world relationships and friendships.  Some people will spend all day typing one another on a computer or cell phone without taking a step outside and this can lead to real life social skills being diminished.  Talking to someone online is a good first start to building a friendship or relationship but don't let it become your way of life.

G....A....M....E....S

Technology today is starting to turn books in to antiques stored on shelves for decoration in households and "Games" by Steven Johnson discusses just that.  Johnson believes that many benefits come from reading books, from the information conveyed by the book itself to the mental work done by the hippocampus to process and store that information which exercises the brain.  Video games have benefits as well like hand-eye coordination and helping to develop quick reaction speed but also video games tell a story of there own that can play out many different ways immersing the player in to the digital world.  Knowledge based games do exist but Johnson still believes that books are more rich for the mind and have the ability to shape a person for the better.  Video games aren't the only things pulling today's youth away from books, social media and television also take there toll on the absence of books in society but as the world becomes more digital so do books and this change may encourage children and young adults to read more.

Television: the Plug in Drug by Marie Winn

Has television really become a drug? In the article from 50 essays by Marie Winn she points out how television has changed the way families interact, mostly with children.  Winn suggests that television eliminates quality time families should have with each other to help shape children but instead allow the actors on t.v. to do so.  In the past, households were limited to just one television because of the cost but today households are equipped with more then a few and places like restaurants are stocked with a abundance of T.V's for everyone's viewing delight.  Television's have evolved and turned in to a drug we use almost everyday whether we want to or not, is it deadly?  No, but effects can lead to dullness and a absence of a social life.

Alternate thinking (THE LINK)

Lorrenes "Procrastination vs Social Media" brings up the argument of social media websites such as Facebook having on impact on students studying and learning at the university.  I can speak from experience that social media can cause problems while trying to accomplish homework online or study, checking social media sites every other minute to see whats going on which is why I decided to deactivate my social media accounts until the semester is over so I can no distractions. Overall Lorrenes blog has good information on how social media effects college students and it was a good reading.

Edudemic

There was a time where knowledge would come from reading books and studying material from class, but with technology today students rely on information from the web to get answers instead of actual study's from books and journals.  That means reduced focus on learning and retaining knowledge.  Colleges now offer classes online and is this really helping people to learn subjects as if they were in the classroom?  Social media is in full take over mode and we may not be far from all classes being run online from elementary to high school as well.

Never Safe Online

Everything today is becoming more and more digital, but as this makes things easier for society to do things like cash checks through cell phones, send confidential documents through email, and purchase items through websites, it also leaves people open to identity theft.  Hackers train themselves to be more knowledgeable in technology then the average person and the slightest crack in computer security can be a opening for any hacker.

WOW................................World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft links people from around the world and puts them in a vast land of quests and battles with each other.  Some people get so caught up in the lifestyle of WOW that they begin to lose sight of their own.  Pulling someone out is like trying to get a heroine addict to quit the habit a day after using, it can cause major withdrawal problems.    

jealousy in the social place

While social media can make us feel more connected to our loved ones, it also can cause some relationships to quake (Bindley, 2011).  A simple like of a picture or comment on a social media site of the opposite sex can cause jealousy to arise in your significant other.  Once jealousy has come it to play it can turn your partner in to a private investigator, snooping around every friend accepted, every comment posted and every liked picture.

Bindley, K. (2011, October 20). Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/facebook-relationship-problems-social-networking_n_955980.html

Future...................Relationships

Face to face conversations in a relationship have turned in to typing messages and sending photos. Emotions have been replaced by emoticons and body language with the tone of the text.  About 40 percent of people socialize more online than they do face to face (Chalkey, 2013).   Couples can be in the same room and still text each other from cell phones.  The future is looking grim for relationships, but maybe things will change.

Chalkey, M. (2013, July 5). My Web Times. Retrieved from http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=478330

The Juicy Gossip

Social media sites effect relationships in many negative ways because our society tends to be a bit nosey.  A few problems people tend to have is affiliated with gossip, forgetting that these social media sites are not credible.  Rumors can begin from a simple post and can spread like wildfire, these rumors are usually being about someones boyfriend or girlfriend (Reinitz, 2010).  Once it is all said and the relationship is over, usually even that is ended and all over social media

Reinitz, H. (2010, January 25). examiner. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/social-networking-and-why-it-can-negatively-impact-your-relationship

Online Intimacy

people today can become so seduced by the ease of connecting with someone online that they begin to think its more intense and more committed than it really is.  We can flirt, be clever, and charming beyond belief while chatting online but when it comes time to meet, that can all go out the window and the real thing can just be disappointing (Gray, 2013). 

Gray, J. (2013, October 18). Ask Mars Venus. Retrieved from http://www.askmarsvenus.com/Article.php?id=70

The Good.......The Bad.........The Ugly

Many people today are meeting over social media sites before meeting in person and there can be a wide range of problems that can come from that.  Some have formed strong relationships off of sites like Facebook and Myspace which have even developed in to love before laying eyes on each other.  Its hard to know who is on the other side of the computer, it can easily be somebody living in their moms basement lying about everything from looks to lifestyle.  Even with all the things that can go wrong, a third of marriages between 2005 and 2012 began online that were longer and happier than couples who didn't meet online, according to new research at the university of Chicago (harms, 2013)

harms, w. (2013, june 3). university of chicago. Retrieved from http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/06/03/meeting-online-leads-happier-more-enduring-marriages