Big Brother Today

Big Brother definitely exists today. It's not as extreme as it is in 1984, but it's definitely there. It exists in the government being able to find out any information they want from us. It exists in their ability to tap our phones. We have definitely lost all rights to privacy. There are few places that we are in total privacy. A big thing that I think shows our invasion of privacy is Google Maps. We talked about that as a group in class on Thursday, and then I went on it today to look at it again. I can type in my address and see my house, my yard and my car. I can even see my dog. I think that right there shows that our privacy is basically gone. There are some roads near my house where they have a camera right on the side of the road that you can see. You can see cars, and even some people clear as day. I find this very odd. I don't see the necessity for this being on the internet, accessible to everyone.

Facebook is another example of how our privacy is given up. If you look at someone's Facebook at any given time, you can normally tell where they are, who they're with, and what they're doing. There are also pictures of them and all their friends. The saddest part of this is that we give this up voluntarily. I feel like if someone told me I had to give out that information, I would feel violated, but we do it on a daily basis without even thinking about it.

I think people are very willing to give up freedoms to feel safe. I am to a point. I'm okay with airport security, and video surveillance cameras at cash registers, but I think that's about where the line stops for me. Regarding a point brought up in class, I think I'd rather take my chances than have security cameras in bathrooms.

Unit, check out these meg ads.

The first advertisement that would show up on my Feed would probably be a Jordan ad. Michael Jordan is one of my all-time sports heroes, and I also love his clothing brand. I have everything from Jordan shirts, to shoes, to shorts. If I had more money, I would probably have at least 15 pairs of Jordan shoes. So I think a Jordan commercial would definitely make it onto my Feed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id14pmEm344.

As I believe I've talked about in my blog before, I love video games. My favorite type of game is baseball games. This year's game, MLB 11 The Show, comes out on March 8th. An ad for that would definitely be on my Feed because I'm pretty excited about buying the new game. I also find this year's ad to be hilarious, and anytime comedy is added to something, I am even more likely to enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKHp0qxSFxA.

Another ad that would make it onto my Feed would be for Dorito's Tortilla Chips. I like their advertisements because they are always funny, and I like Dorito's because they are always delicious. The ad I found to put on my blog is from last year's Super Bowl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rsEnwKrsvc.

As a student studying to be a teacher, I find education very important. I believe that all parents should help their students stay in school and get as good an education as possible. I also like rap music, specifically Lil Wayne. When I saw this public service announcement type advertisement, I found it very interesting, and I definitely think it would pop up on my Feed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05eXpHpY_jo.

Who Needs Technology??? This guy!

I wish I could say that, like Thoreau, I could give up all technology and still live a perfectly happy life. I probably could, except for the fact that my girlfriend is six and a half hours away in North Carolina for school. Technology, such as cell phones and computers, is the only form of communication we have when we are both at school. In the summer, I believe I could live without technology. I believe, if I had my girlfriend and other friends with me, I would have no trouble living in the woods in a cabin without technology. I do not, however, think I would be able to live alone. I would get way too bored all by myself without any way of communicating with anyone. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. My friends are what's important to me, so why should I have to live without talking to them?

I did want to touch on Feed a bit in this blog entry. I, surprisingly, really enjoyed the book. It took me awhile to get into it, but I ended up reading the last 160 pages in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. I found it to be a really interesting story, because I could see our world getting to be like that eventually, with all the technology. One thing I found really interesting was the lesions, and how once the "celebrities" started getting them, that they were cool. I think this was the author showing how ridiculous it is that we let celebrities tell us what to wear and what products to use. I can honestly say I have never bought a product just because a certain celebrity endorsed. Okay, now that I think about it, I did buy a baseball glove once because a certain player I liked used it. That was when I was nine though. I feel like now I have a much more idea of what I find important in my life. I think for myself, unlike the characters in Feed. I would never let the "feed" (internet, media, etc.) tell me how to live my life.

Talkin' 'Bout My Generation

I'd first like to start off by saying that I had never really thought of my generation before and how we look to other generations of people. When I really think about it, I could see people calling us "The Laziest Generation", "The Fattest Generation", or even "The Most Egotistical" generation. I hope we all can agree that, statistically, our generation fits all of these categories. We shop online, have food delivered, and even now have Netflix so we can watch whatever movie we want without leaving our couch. Nowadays we can buy a shirt, get chinese food, and watch "Saving Private Ryan", all without ever putting on pants. I think this proves that our generation is a pretty lazy one. Statistically, more people are overweight now than have ever been before. Finally, we have our cell phones hooked up to our laptops, which are always signed into our Facebooks, just in case John wants to poke you or send you a bumper sticker telling you how many bumper stickers he looked through to find the best one for you, because that just can't wait until you get home from work.

So while I do believe that our generation does have its downfalls, I do not think that "dumbest" belongs on that list. One reason that Mark Bauerlein, I'm going to call him Mark from here on out for sake of typing Bauerlein one more time, states that we are the dumbest generation is because, and I'm paraphrasing from the movie, "Digital culture doesn't open teenagers up to the rest of the world, it opens them up to other teenagers." I am going to have to disagree with this statement, to a point. Yes, it allows us to communicate with other people our age, but it also allows us to communicate with other people from across the county. It also includes more information than would ever be found in a book, including Mark's book. If I want to find a quote saying why people under 30 are dumb, I don't have to by Mark's book; I'll Google it. That doesn't make it "dumb". I believe it makes me "efficient". Also, digital culture, such as the internet, opens teenagers up to anything they want to know. The Smithsonian, many history websites, everything is at our fingertips. Now, Mark said that teenagers don't go to the more educational websites. I'd like to see some data on this point. I want to know how he knows for a fact that teenagers do not use those websites. I know that I have used some of these site to check on things that sparked my interest. How's that for dumb?

My next point comes from the group discussion that we had in class. On my drive home from class, I was thinking about the point that was brought up that our generation should know classical music. I was thinking about this, and what came to my mind is this: What makes classical music more important than any other type of music? Just because Mozart or Chopin directed a certain piece of music doesn't mean that it is more important or more noteworthy than any type of music. I know the music I like isn't the best either, but I also won't expect anyone 100 years from now to be able to recognize "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne. Music is not that important. Just because I don't know a song does not make me "dumb".