Blog Post #1

Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?              

    I really enjoyed reading this article. It was very interesting to see the numerous facts laid out about Facebook and its effects on its users.  I know that I am slightly guilty about keeping track of those who are not close friends, but simply acquaintances.  No, I am not addicted to it, or live my life through this social networking site, but instead find myself scrolling through the posts to pass some dead time. During the article there were many quotes that really stood out to me, but the quote below seemed to stick in my mind:

    "A recent study out of Australia... titled “Who Uses Facebook?,” found a complex and sometimes  confounding relationship between loneliness and social networking. Facebook users had slightly lower levels of “social loneliness”—the sense of not feeling bonded with friends—but “significantly higher levels of family loneliness”—the sense of not feeling bonded with family."

   I can easily relate to this quote. My younger brother was raised during the time in which technology was the main source of communication. He thinks that it is unheard of to call someone on the phone or actually go to meet them in person. He would choose to simply text them or Face Time them long enough to talk. These advances in technology have taken away from our time with him as a family.  He is too caught up with checking Facebook or Twitter or laying in bed texting his friends.  All of the time he could be spending with us, and making connections is lost to the addiction to technology and the need to communicate with outsiders.

Economic Citizenship and the Rhetoric of Gourmet Coffee
     As an American, I never really noticed how with every action we make, we turn around and do something to cancel it out.  That is why I chose the quote below:

    "We live in a country that sells both escalators and stair masters. We drink gourmet coffee and take sleeping pills. We eat McDonalds and drink Slim Fast. This is a curious, if not sad, state of affairs."

    This article written by Paula Mathieu points out the actions consumers should take when buying products and how those same actions and questions should be used in every day life, Not just when you are purchasing something.  Producers try to find a way to advertise their product as one which the consumers cannot live without and the numerous ways they try to manipulate the consumer.