Amusing Ourselves to Death

     We touched on this a little in class but I agree with Huxley in the way that what we love is killing us. It's possible to have too much of a good thing. People love social media and technology so now people are addicted to it. It seems that it is easier to contact people through twitter, Facebook, or texting rather than calling them on the phone or having an actual conversation face to face with someone. We are too busy or it’s just easy to leave them a message and they can respond when they get a chance to rather than just playing phone tag constantly. Sometimes social media is great with keeping in touch with family or friends that live far away, but sometimes it can just be an absolute pain. Most of the time it’s just easier to talk to someone rather than texting them; texting can often be misinterpreted and conflicts can arise from silly unintentional things.
     The author used a web comic for a distinct reason, to relay his argument in a different manner. He had the option to just write it out in paragraph format, but using pictures and in a comic strip form can be more appealing to a different audience. He can then get his argument across to a wider range of viewers. It's nice to have pictures to help relay his ideas more, it gives the reader a visual to help understand his point of view. 
     When I watch the video, "The Bystander Effect", it’s shocking seeing all those people just leave someone out on the street and I think how they could just leave them in pain, but if I was in their shoes, it’s hard to say whether I would stop or not. It's easy to just think that someone else will stop, being on such a busy street. But after seeing this video and noticing that no one does... it makes me reconsider things if I were to see someone hurt and helpless.

Honey Boo Boo

With the new reality show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” it really starts putting what Americans are watching these days into perspective. With this young child being raised the way she is and getting rewarded for her crazy behavior, it’s scary to think about the future for this little girl. This is a prime example of people doing whatever possible to get on TV and get paid to act as ridiculous as they do. I agree with Mitch Albom when he states that it is hard to believe that two million people enjoy watching this and continue to come back each and every week.  Like Tony Scott's suicide, so many people filmed it but no one tried to stop him from jumping off the bridge. With so many people watching this show they just do it for their own personal enjoyment or to find themselves some humor. Lately it seems that the crazier, more disturbing, ridiculous shows get the most attention and are the most popular. It sickens me to hear that there were so many people that would film such a devastating event such as Tony Scott’s suicide.

                I think we are so drawn to reality TV because we can live their kind of life without the consequences. We can somewhat feel like we are living with the characters, in the Jersey Shore house or being apart of The Bachelor,  and connect with the characters without having to deal with all the drama or chaos.

                I completely agree with Mitch Albom when he asks, is reality TV making us apathetic? We would much rather sit back and enjoy what other silly things a dysfunctional family gets into rather than helping sort them out. Same goes for stopping a man commit suicide, we wouldn’t want to get involved rather just get popular for posting it on YouTube.  

Identitiy Topic

For my identity topic I will be focusing of Facebook.

Reality TV

I have never been a huge advocate for reality TV. I would occasionally watch it if it happened to be on, or if someone in my family had it on, but I have never been one of those people who watch the new episode every week and plan my day around it so I was free and ready to watch the latest reality show. When the so called "reality" shows are not so realistic, then why is it called "reality" TV? That is a question that many people tend to ask. Is it that people want to be like the people on the shows? Or is it more just for enjoyment or a little humor here and there? While many people watch what Snookie did during her latest night out on Jersey Shore or what crazy things the Kardashians have gotten into on Keeping up with the Kardashians, many people tend to just watch it for a past time. While both of these shows, and many others, go into the category for "reality TV" there isn't anything realistic about partying every night or living in LA with money to blow on whatever you please. If people stopped and thought about the message some of these shows are telling some of the younger generation, it would be a bit concerning. Most of the reality show are scripted and strategically planned out so it works out the way the producer wants it to and will get high ratings. If there were shows that were actually realistic to someone’s everyday life they wouldn't be as popular or get near the ratings that some of these other shows have. Therefore, they configure it in a way that the audience will enjoy it and keep coming back for more. So, I can see the appeal that some of these reality shows bring, but I think most people understand that the “reality” shows are not realistic in the slightest; people just watch them for personal enjoyment.