Virtual Identity

Virtual identity can be an outlet for many people to express their other side that many people may not know. Some people change their virtual names and sometimes create an picture that their friends and family may not recognize. I honestly don't think this is a problem, but when people include false information, this gives others false impressions. This is what really affects the people that meet online and actually meet in person and they have this picture in their mind of how you described yourself or they could have seen your fake picture. I actually have a friend that meet a guy online and they established a long relationship before meeting, and when they finally did meet up it was a horrible experience for both people because they hid their true identity, it was just something they did online and not in person.  They both expected each other to look different, he was married and much taller than what he explained. The only thing that was familiar were their voices. In many cases, virtual identities can be great depending on what you want to achieve from having this connection with others. I also believe that many people who hide their true identities online are very insecure about themselves. I do use social networking, but I never portray myself to be another person. Virtual identities can be good and bad in many ways, but I think for each person it does differ. As long as these people know it what makes them happy, it can become addictive and eventually feel like the virtual world is the real world.

Better Looking, Better Opportunity

As I was at work the other night I overheard two of my female co-workers talking. Their discussion was about pretty girls or handsome men having a better opportunity at life that an ugly person. These two girls are seniors in high school and they said that when your pretty or handsome that somethings are handed to you just because your attractive, more people trust in you, and that is the reason why all celebrities are famous. I found this to be very funny because that may be the case sometime, but not in all cases. These two young ladies idolize the people they see on television just because they think their gorgeous. So in these kids minds they think all you need are looks in today's world and you can get anywhere you want. I did ask them about education and they both responded "once you get a high school diploma you don't need anything else". I do agree that many celebrities that are shown on television has nothing more than a high school diploma, but is that all these kids want in today's society? To be pretty/handsome and rich. From their perception looks are all you need to be successful and I think that this is crazy! Furthering their education is not an option for them because they both have this idea that everything will come to them because their pretty. I do understand that if someone considers you to be ugly many people are turned away or treated badly, but looks can't always do the trick or a high school diploma won't get you too far today. I just wanted to know are these the only two kids that have this stuck in their heads, or are their other kids out here in today's society that see these celebrities on television and say "I'm beautiful too that will definitely be me one day?"

Stereotyping

As we were discussing different stereotypes in class, I was very offended when many of my classmates responded to the fact that the color of your skin makes you look Mexican. Judging someone just by the color of their skin is very rude especially if that person may not be of the assumed race. My Grandmother is very light skinned and we have traveled to many places where others began to speak Spanish because they thought she was Spanish just by her skin tone. It amazes me how society can be so stereotypical from the color of your skin. I work in a public place and some of my co-workers think that all Mexicans can not speak English, which is another stereotype. There are many who can't, but it's not fair to the ones who can because they are sometimes ignored due to the language barrier. It also makes me sad that many people judge others not knowing anything about them just based off their skin color. I have very dark skinned friends and people laugh and make fun of them and say things like your from Africa, in which is it not the case. Society is based on many stereotypes that are mostly not true, but until people learn others backgrounds, cultures, and believes this will continue to go on. I've heard many whites say that all black people look alike and vice versa, but if that's their opinion I think it should be kept to themselves because many get offended and its very disrespectful to speak on something you are not living.

Sexual Content on Prime-Time Programming

After reading the article by Amir Hestroni, I came to the conclusion that there is too much sex shown on television. When I watch television I might not pay too much attention because I know actually what sex is and the difference between safe and unsafe sex. I have younger siblings and there has been plenty of times when their flipping through the channels and stop because they see something sexual and want to watch it. A lot of younger kids and teenagers pick up on what they see regularly and television is the most common vision.

16 and pregnant on MTV is a perfect example of how teens are introduced to sex at a very young age. I personally dislike that show very much. It sends off the message that it is okay to be 16 and have sex and have a child at a very young age. There are many teen girls who watch that show and because of that they might think it's a good idea to have sex and make little cute babies, but in reality it's never as easy as it looks on television. What are your thoughts of 16 and pregnant? Do you believe this gives young teens the idea of having children at a young age?