HW for Wed: Read pp. 8-10 and 15-18 in Packet #2.
For next Monday: Post revised midterm to blog. Find and read a new article on your research question using Google Scholar or one of the Library Databases linked on the Course OpenLab.
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English 1101 Fall 2018 Section 354
The Split Self: Personal Identity On- and Off-line
MIDTERM
In the article, “Social Media’s Impact on Relationships and Self-Esteem,” the author Clarissa Silva gives her input and explains the misfortunes of social media and how they create a negative impact on our self esteem and relationships. Not only is Silva an author, but she’s also a Behavioral Scientist, someone who studies how the actions of people affect their development, future behaviors, and their relationship with others. On page 1, she states, “As a Behavioral Scientist, I wonder what causes this paradox? The narratives we share and portray on social media are all positive and celebratory. It’s a hybridized digital version of “Keeping Up with the Joneses.”‘ The author is basically saying that as humans lurking on social media, we only see one side of someone’s life, most of the time it’s the good side only. We see people living their dream lives on social media and that can diminish one’s self-esteem and make them compare each other’s lives.
One key point the author surrounds is self-esteem, confidence in one’s own worth or confidence. On page two Silva states that she conducted a survey on people, ages 28-73 and found that 60% reported social media has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way and 80% reported that it’s easier to deceive others through their social media posts. I wasn’t surprised with these statistics because I’m also very familiar with the outcomes of social media on personal relationships. Relationships are another key concept of this article because it talks about how digital aspects online can negatively effect real life relationships. In addition on page two, Silva talks about “The Paradox Effect,” giving off an idea of a variety of choices while making it harder to find more feasible options. She states, “The paradox effect in dating is creating the illusion of having more social engagement, social capital, and popularity, but masking one’s true persona.” I believe this relates to the next key concept, relationships because it shows that nowadays it’s so easy to become a “catfish” or a fictional online persona and this creates an emotional barrier for people. It’s unfortunately easier to manipulate someone online if their profile impresses you and people develop trust issues after being catfished and embarrassed online. This can lead people to hold trust issues in the next relationship they pursue. Even at the touch of a button we can destroy numerous relationships whether personal or romantic relationships. Social media is another key concept because it has a number of negative impacts, but considering how digitally advanced we are becoming, it’s safe to say there will always be catfishes out there waiting to make a negative impact on someone’s life. Another quote I found essential to this article is on page three where she states, “If we only broadcast the “look at me,” are we able to deal with the side of rejection, detachment, and non-commitment? Here we are thinking the world is a positive and reinforcing place, that we are interesting, we’re so popular, the we get ghosted, breadcrumbed, and benched.” This quote from the article is significant because it explains the key concept “social media” and how it affects lives in different types of ways, usually always negatively. Social media and text messaging are just never ending cycles. We enjoy using social media and positing things to make ourselves look good, and usually going to high lengths just to make our appearance and lifestyle appear more contrastive than how it actually is. If social media users continue to only show one fake side of their life, how would they be able to deal with rejection or dating in the real world? It goes to show that social media does have a negative effect on either people’s relationships or how they view relationships in the real world. Not behind a screen.
The thing that I found most interesting in this article was that it was from a Behavior Scientist’s perspective and her concept of “Vanity Validation,” when one portrays themselves as a different type of person on social media and hide the real you, for some creating a double consciousness. It was interesting because it had me thinking about how a lot of my friends portray themselves on social media, by seeking more validation through electronic likes, not life. In the article I found myself puzzled when one of the statistics from the author’s survey showed that only 50% reported social media having a negative effect on their relationships. I thought the number would be higher but then I realized the survey only ranged from ages 28-73. Adults are more mature when it comes to relationships and social media usage. However if the survey ranged from ages 13-30 I can almost guarantee the number of people who’ve has negative effects on their relationships due to social media, would be much higher. Probably up to 80%. Teenagers and millennials are people that use social media the most, but this article fails to mention anything about the younger generation and how it affects their self-esteem and relationships. I feel as if the author should’ve taken a second survey with the same questions, but on teenagers and millennials. Then she should’ve compared both of the surveys to differentiate between the age groups. However after reading this article, I am completely sided with Silva on her claim about the negative aspects of social media.
MIDTERM REVIEW
The main idea of the article “social media’s impact on relationships and self-esteem ” by Clarissa Silva, is that social media has had a negative effect on people’s relationships and self-esteem. On page 2 of the article, Silva states “… sometimes it appears everyone you know are in great relationships, taking 5 star vacations and living your dream life. However, what is shared only broadcasts the positive aspects of our lives.” this shows us that even though it might seem like everyone is living their best life on social media, they are not showing the bad things that could be happening in theirs lives. On page 3, Silva tells us how her studies have shown that 60% of millennials have reported that they feel like they are missing out when looking at the things people post online because people don’t usually portrait the negative side of their lives on social media. Moreover, also on page 3, Silva makes another important point, she states that when you compare yourself to someone else’s profile, you bring yourself down because you’re envying the things the person is showcasing on social media, even though it might not be how it seems and that person online could be even more miserable than you are.
The article “Social media’s impact on relationships and self-esteem” by Clarissa Silva, is both interesting and helpful. Silva goes over the life people on social media live and how it’s misleading because they only portrait the positive side, the author, Silva, goes on to show statistics of how these posts affect people self-esteem in a negative way which is very helpful for my essay. Self-esteem is the confidence in one’s worth. I found myself confused by the author’s definition of paradox, when people “get ghosted, breadcrumbed, benched”, if I research what the author is trying to say when she makes this comparison I could understand better.
This article was one of the most helpful sources towards the research to my essay. The article didn’t fail to address my research topics. I would like for the author to include some quotes from the people she interviewed about how social media has impacted their relationships and self-esteem.
In the article Friend Networking Sites and their Relationship to Adolescents Well- Being and Social Self-esteem written by Patti M. Valkenburg, published by Cyber Psychology and Behavior in 2006. The author’s main idea in this article was to create an experiment in which they wanted to see if any networking sites had “an indirect effect on their social self-esteem and well-being”. As defined by the Dictionary self-esteem is which “enables confidence in one self-based on their abilities and traits.” As said by Valkenburg there was a survey conducted in order to see how Internet Communication through Networking Sites resulted in social consequences.
Some impacts stated regarding networking sites and internet communication include: firstly, it resulted in “imaginative audience behavior.” (Page 3) which mean that adolescents rely on peer evaluation and opinions that they become dependent on other opinions and views of them; they cannot value any other opinion. Secondly, “negative interactions” (page 4) or tone which include negative comments publicly posted, allowing for others to see the negativity. Which will only harm the person’s self-esteem and well- being. It allows for others to publicly state there negative opinions. If the feedback they receive online only is negative they adapt to that negativity, making their self-esteem and well-being lower. Lastly, the amount of relationships created online, would also be a factor because if they create long and strong relationships online with other people, this will only increase their confidence in being able to create such strong and long relationship in the real world too. Overall these were the three main impacts related to social media in two forms such as internet communication and networking sites.
In the article Valkenburg states valid ideas which show the impact of the Internet such as “After all, peer acceptance an interpersonal feedback on self, both important features of networking sites, are vital predictors of social self-esteem and well- being.” (Page 2) This quotation is significant because it grasps the point that to create such sites, to increase self- esteem and low well-being. Which is the true impact of these sites, they may have been create for good communication; however, it’s being used for bad; to make someone feel worthless and unwanted. Which connects to the overall concept Valkenburg is conveying, as he states “self-esteem is the cause and well-being the effect.” (Page 3) This conveys the concept that if someone suffers from low self-esteem it will be a direct result on their well-being. Our confidence and pride in ourselves is what keeps us well maintained; but, if that too is being tapered by these sites then the results is our well-being a big target of destruction. Hence, if we have a low self-esteem it will result our overall low state of well-being. We would end up feeling damaged.
In conclusion, in the article what I found the most interesting was when Valkenburg states “None of these studies have considered models in which the influence of Internet use on self-esteem and well-being is considered simultaneously.” (page 3) This quotation was interesting because Valkenburg states a true point that no one would explain how Internet use is impacting our self-esteem and well-being of the same rate. Because if they did then “a more comprehensive set of hypotheses can be evaluated.” It would only bring up more points to show the correlation of these two issues and internet use. In a society where the Internet is given such immense value they cannot bare to happen. Some things I want to be better awarded of in order to understand the article would be the results, of the survey because then I could fully express the effect of the Internet on adolescents. A part of my research topic was failed to be mentioned was relationships; but self-esteem was clearly explained. If the article also explains the impact on different types of relationships it would be much more helpful. To see the impact on various relationships like family. Friends and personal relationships. What I think could be improved in the article include using actual adolescent and to have them explain the impact of Internet communication and Networking sites. This would only broaden the information and ideas in the article. Overall, the article to see the impacts in various forms either positive or negative.
MIDTERM
A.
In the article, “How video games affect the brain” by Hannah Nichols it talks about how people spend lots of hours per week playing video games. They want to know if playing those games are positive or negative impacts on the brain. Some parents say, that playing video games gives a “positive influence” on their children’s lives. Also, grown adults ( 35 and up ) tend to play video games for at least three hours a week. On the other hand, violent games are not always the ones to pick, “first-person shooter and action genres often stand accused of stirring aggression and causing violence and addiction”(3). The author claims that games that involve aggression in it causes the gamers to become more violent and addicted to their video games. “Scientists have been unable to find a casual link between playing video games and acts of violence in the real world”(3). This quotation shows that there is no real evidence that proves ‘first-person shooter’ games cause people to be violent in real life.
Video games have been proven to change the way our brains work. “Results of the studies indicate that playing video games not only changes how our brains perform but also their structure”(5). This shows that playing video games can improve our brains to become more attentive. In order to play video games you have to stay focused, and it has to have your undivided attention.”Evidence also demonstrates that playing video games increases the size and competence of parts of the brain”(5). This also shows that video games can be a positive results within the brain because it makes it more developed and larger. Furthermore there are many positive aspects input playing video games.
B.
The most interesting part of this article was on page two. “There is evidence to suggest that video games may be a viable treatment for depression and improve memory and mood”(11). That was the most interesting to me because , knowing that games may help with depression is good because instead of people taking pills or going to therapy or just being sad in general, playing video games might help a lot of people avoid depression. On the third page of the article, I found it confusing when they mentioned how violent video games can cause people to actually become violent, then in the second paragraph of that page, it proved that the claim was wrong because there was no evidence, I just did not understand why they mentioned that I need to learn more about how video games affects teens because I wonder if it will have the same affect on a brain thats younger compared to when people are already adults. I think the article can be improved if they spoke more about how it affects the younger generation compared to the older generation. This article mentions everything I need for my research paper, in my opinion.
Dr. John V. Pavlik published a piece called “Cognitive computing and Journalism: Implications of Algorithms, Artifical Intelligence, and Data for the News Media and Society.” The paper describes the rise of cognitive computing methods, like artificial intelligence, as a benefit to journalists and the future of journalism alike. He foresees four significant changes; the way we gather news, content production, the organizational structure of a news broadcasting network, and the concept of what a journalist is (page 2). He first talks about “Big Data” and how it allowed for news is gathered. In latent terms, big data is the massive amount of interconnected information like government records, public records, even social media data. Big data and artificial intelligence allowed journalists to comb through the enormous datasets, and provide newer ways to present stories. Such as interactive maps and comprehensible data-visualizations (page 2). Later in the paper, he talks about the effect cognitive computing had on how a news organization is structured. More and more media companies are hiring data scientists instead of journalists for data-analysis; consequentially, replacing journalists for computer programs (page 3). Meaning that the organization as a whole is composed of data-analysts instead of reporters. On page five, Pavlik talks about how the Associated Press used Wordsmith; an algorithm used to write and report stories. By using this algorithm, A.P boosted productivity on its financial news reports by tenfold without hiring a single human worker (page 5). Thus, changing how content is produced. Pavlik furthers his claim when describing the impact A.Is had on the idea of what a journalist is. He discusses the use of a robot developed by Chris Csikszentmihalyi, an MIT professor, as an on-scene reporter of wars and conflicts. Equipt with facial recognition tools, this robot can prevent the deaths of thousands of reporters by taking their place on the battlefield (page 8).
Throughout the paper, Pavlik points out the use of algorithms and A.Is, “Algorithms, Big Data, and artificial intelligence are poised to further transform journalism and journalists.” (page 11); but he fails to mention the difference between them. Algorithms are a set of instructions for a computer to follow that always returns a solution regardless if it’s correct or not. On the other hand, an AI is more of a concept in which a computer program can perform tasks that generally require human-level intelligence. An algorithm involves every bit of information precisely defined or else it would break. However, an AI can infer missing information using data that it learned over time. This is why artificial intelligence is sometimes called “machine learning.”
Overall, there are a few ideas that the article mistakes. Such as using the words “programmers” and “hackers” interchangeably, and stating that companies sometimes posts finalized versions of their backend programs on Github. But, I do see the appeal of this article. The key ideas are well explained and don’t require prior knowledge to understand the main idea of the text. The examples used are relevant and widely researched. Lastly, Pavlik provides an interesting point of view that isn’t widely discussed- the connection between journalism and artificial intelligence. However, he could have talked about how algorithms, like “The Google Algorithm” are being used to give priority to specific articles over others. It could have been an interesting talking point.
Midterm
In “Social Media’s Impact on relationships” by Shelley Galasso Bonanno she discusses that with the rise of social media there is concern when it comes to having real-life social relationships. One key point Shelley Galasso makes is on page 1 on the second paragraph, she makes the point that the internet gives us the luxury of making it easy to keep in touch with others. Another key point she makes is on page 1 paragraph 3, Galasso makes the point that there is a concern where in some cases people are dropping their real social relationships/interactions just so they won’t lose their relationships online. A third key point she makes is on page 2 paragraph 1, she makes the point that having online friends might be great, but they are nothing compared to real life friends and relationships. This key point is trying to tell people that you can not just have online friends, you can not have the same intimate relationship with them as you would with someone in real life face to face. Overall the key concept of this article is “social media”. Social media like Facebook, instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc provides us instant audience and attention and allows us to keep in touch but it also comes with its negative and positive impacts.
In the article on page 2 paragraph 3, Shelley Galasso claims that “online friendships, while certainly valuable in many ways, lack the ability to provide us with opportunities for deep and lasting emotional closeness.” This claim is very important because it is closing off the article with letting everyone know that the best friendships include emotional closeness. Online friendships do not provide you with the same benefits a real life friendship would. It is ok to have online friendships as long as they don’t minimize the time you have with real life relationships/friendships.
I found it interesting how the article had about 3 questions in it. One of them is “How influential are our online “friends” able to be if we do not maintain a real-life relationship with them?” I find it helpful when articles like this have questions in them because they make me stop and think about questions that I have never thought about before. Having questions to think about while I read make me more interested in reading.
To better understand this article, I might have to do some research on studies and personal experiences on people with online relationships vs. people with real life relationships. This article fails to mention the topic of social media’s impact on self esteem which is part of my research topic. The one thing that can be improved in this article is that Shelley Galasso could have mentioned some more information on the studies and personal experiences she talked about.
Online gaming addiction is now considered a disorder. Online gaming leads to the role of social anxiety and depression. Gaming amongst the population is very popular, and Deborah Vanzoelen and Marie L. Caltabiano in “The role of social anxiety, the inhibition system and inhibition system and depression in online gaming addiction in adults” says, on page 332, “motivations relating in escapism, competitiveness and wanting to master the mechanics of the game can predispose the player to addictive behavior”. Deborah and Marie believe that the excessive use of online gaming is usually because of how gaming makes the user feel. Escapism, competitiveness and mastering the mechanics of the game all contribute to excessive use of gaming. Online gaming can make a person feel good despite negative social and emotional outcome.
According to Deborah and Marie on page 233, they claim that most college students who game experience more social anxiety and has less fulfilling relationships offline. This directly shows how the effects from online gaming contribute to the online gaming disorder. Why would the user feel the need to game? People usually have a tendency to make a habit of what they feel i comfortable with. Gaming is one of them. It is shown by college students that they use the internet for mood regulations.It was proven that students were less hostile after going online. On page 234, the authors state, “where a depressed individual uses online games or the internet to scape from higher real life symptoms and becomes reliant on these 0n these activities to feel better through the reinforcement contingencies”. This idea of reliance is a key point in how users feel addicted to online gaming. Reliance makes the user feel comfortable but not knowingly, turns into an addiction.
I found that all the factors that makes a user to keep playing the game relatable for me. Escapism is not one of the factors for me but others like, competitiveness and wanting to master the mechanics is a few factors. These factors don’t seem like much to kids but they are the exact reasons why people continue to play. I need to learn more from this article about how depression plays a role in excessive gaming. How the way people feel while depressed can lead them to the online world. What in the online world would relieve their thoughts and what makes them go back to it for comfort. This article fails to include any information on people of the younger age group. Their thoughts of excessive gaming could have a different meaning than adults with developed minds gaming.
Our world is gradually changing at a fast pace. Changing so much so that humans don’t have to interact with other humans if they don’t want to. Human artificial intelligence relationships are on the rise and more are becoming comfortable with the idea of talking to machines. The author of “Artificial Intelligence: Human and AI Relationships ” Kevyn Eva Norton wants people to know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is normal and people should not be weirded out by the idea of it.
In the beginning of this article on page 2 the author claims that we are already interacting with AI. If you have an iphone then you are all ready familiar with Siri. And if you have an android then it’s more likely that you have said “Ok Google”. People may be familiar with other AI’s such as Alexa or Cortana. We are not strangers to AI. “On page 3 Norton claims that AI is an extension of ourselves… like a car is an extension of our legs. AI is an extension of our brains.” We use AI to keep up to date with things we dont necessarily remember all the time like appointments as well as special or important events. On the bottom of page 3 Norton states that “We are in a relationship (referring to AI) Such as my personal relationships with AI including Siri and event reminders.. This quote is significant because she is trying to explain that no, AI wont try and take over the world and are completely safe. We have been using AI for a long time and shouldn’t be scared of better advancements to come.
The next frontier is a key concept that Norton uses to explain humans stepping into a new age such as the development of the hammer, then the wheel, then the telephone. AI is just a part of human evolution.
This whole article was pretty helpful because I learned a lot about AI and what it was as well as how it came about. For example I didn’t know that Siri was an AI and I use her everyday. Even the button we press to cross the street that tells us to wait is a form of AI. Once people know what it is I feel like people will want to communicate with AI on a higher level. However, I did find myself confused of AI being an extension of ourselves but, the analogy Norton uses explained it phenomenally. This article dosen’t fail to mention anything in my discussion topic. This article answered all my questions that I could had about AI and what it does. The only thing that could improve this article are visual aids to help us better understand what kind of AI the article is talking about in that section.