I am not a big fan of video games, but I do like playing the old school Mario Party on Nintendo 64, and arcade games like PacMan and Galaga. However, video games are extremely popular in our society. In 2007, Harris interactive survey found that average 8-12 year olds play 13 hours a week and 13-18 year olds play an average of 14 of video games a week. Players do admit of being addicted to playing games. Every day, millions of playrs log into a genre of video games called multiplayer online role-playing games, where players can interact with each other and explore  3-D  graphics.

After playing for such a long time, it started to become an obligation, where it was more work than fun for the players. Multiplayer online role-player games are advertised as worlds to escape to after work, but honestly these games are more work and burn the players out since the players wants/ needs tos succeed in the certain game. For other technologies, they work for us but for video gaming the individual works for the game. With gamers complaining how much work it takes to game, a thin line is drawn what does fun really mean to the gamers?

This article by Danah Boyd, echoes what we read last week in class about social network sites, for example Facebook and Myspace, and why these sites are so popular. Boyd draws her attention to why younger teenagers are obsessing over Myspace with trying to understand the development and social forces that dictate why teenagers turn to social network sites. In the article, an 18 year old girl stated to her mom, “If you’re not on Myspace, you don’t exist.” Wow. That is a powerful statement, that can only be coined as true if individuals that believe it are dependent, weak, and self-conscious. Myspace became extremely popular around 2005, and spread like wild fire. Everyone that was cool, had to get a Myspace or Facebook. So they think.

The main individuals that flock to this site are urban youth, majority still in highschool, and do live with a parent, or guardian. Gender does play a role, where younger boys particpate more than younger girls, but older girls participate more than older boys. That is interesting because I do believe that since in college, girls add hundreds of pictures in just one weekend, so their “friends” know what they are doing and how they look on the weekends. These social network sites are more for competition of friends, of adding pictures of what individuals do on weekends, what they post on statuses, so their friends can praise them. It is a huge self-esteem booster, however it can make people upset or mad if some individuals were not invited to certain events and it is posted over everyone’s wall. When something is added on the internet, it is for everyone to see. So individuals can not get mad about putting too much information on there for the world to see.Individuals want the public to agree or disagree with them, since everyone is doing it in society people want some sort of structure and that is where social networks come into play.

Back in 2008, Facebook was the “it” social networking service of choice for students at the University of California where the authors of this article teach. Two years later Facebook is still the “it” social networking site across all universities. Facebook is a social network site that people can add information about themselves for anyone to see. Once an individual has a page, they can become friends with others and look at what the individual posts on each others walls, pictures, and other friends. It started with college students making Facebook pages then it trickled down to high school students.

Uses and gratifications theory attempts to explain how people use the media to gratify their wants and needs, and what motivates their behavior and consequences of their uses of media. Facebook also providea voyeurism and exhibitionism. Pretty much stating that individuals can pretty much post anything on Facebook with or without permission of others. There is practically no privacy unless the individual specifically makes their profile private from others. The study in this article tries to understand what motivates emerging adults to use Facebook and how it fulfills these motivations, an online study was taken. The results showed eight components of of uses and nine motivations. In all Facebook can be used to look at pictures, find new information about others, look up other students in classes, or just to keep in contact with past friends or family members.

Neil Postman author of The Judgement of Thamus states the story that Plato writes about in Phaedrus which is a story about Thamus, the king of a city in Upper Egypt. Postman opens his book with a legend of King Thamus and the god Theuth, who was the inventor of many things- including numbers, calculation, geometry, astronomy and writing. King Thamus  wanted to know all of the information of Theuth’s inventions but Theuth went through approval or disapproval of what Egyptians should be able to use or not.  Long story short, Theuth took certain aspects out of his inventions so that the Egyptians can learn for themselves since they thought they already knew everything.

Postman proclaims that technology redefines “freedom,” “truth,” “intelligence,” “fact,” “wisdom,” “memory,” and “history” all the words to live by. We do not pause to ask technology anything and in return it does not pause to tell us information.  Several aspects of technology can be looked at as a burden or a blessing. Some individuals take certain technologies for granted and when it is taken away that is when they find out how important it truly is to that individual. Technology makes every day tasks so incredibly easy and convenient. Every technology has negative and positive aspects but individuals need to make decisions if that certain technology device is better for the long run.

On a regular basis I use my television,DVD player, remote, laptop, cell phone, IPOD and IPOD radio. With using all of these technology based devices, they make my life so much more easier and convenient. Even the simple device of a remote, I do not have to stand up and walk to my television every time I want to change the channel. I can bring my laptop to any area on campus since I receive wireless internet and do absolutely anything on my laptop. Even though I use technology practically every minute of the day by being on my cell phone or laptop, I feel as if real communication is being taken down because of how popular technology is getting in our society.

Without technology, people would have to mail letters to one another to communicate if they do not see certain individuals on a daily basis. Not having a cell phone to communicate with others would be extremely difficult by not talking to someone constantly, but people used to do it so why is it such a necessity to always have a cell phone always glued to people’s hands? Even though all of these technology devices are helpful they are not always needed since people do not see face to face communication which is a vital way of communicating with one another.

In this article, the author points to several criticisms about rap music and the culture in the African American culture. Some criticisms include that the music is counterproductive, which is making the younger African American’s acting worse in school, which also leads into bad economic and social status. However, rap music is depicting that life style in a dramatic way of being hoodlums in and out of school, degrading women and “gang bangers.” But that is mostly all the music young African American’s listen to so they have no other popular art form, that they think understands them.

On example the author explains is an African American college student that transferred to a predominately white college, and he felt that the white professors did not know how to deal with him since he was not the typical student. He thought they pegged him as a bad student, who listened to rap music and was a thug, but in that case it was not at all. Rap music does have a huge influence on certain people, white or black, male or female dress on what the trend is from rap music and in rap videos. Men wear baggy clothes looking like they are hiding things, and the women degrade themselves wearing barely nothing, thinking what they are wearing is appropriate because they hear rappers talk so “highly about them.” Because being called a bitch, hoe, trick and baby mamma is really what I want to hear men call women because famous rappers use quotes like those in their lyrics- not. But just wearing certain clothes does not pin point what kind of music you like- I think it is the way you present yourself as a whole- body language and dress.

Rap music burst onto the scene in the 1970’s with classic hip hop beats, the R&B smooth feel, and the hard rhymes that can just wipe away every song that comes next to it. Rap’s roots are based out of New York, but has traveled all over the world spreading messages to all kinds of people. However, in the beginning era of rap, rap music was an outlet of resistance for black listeners. Many believe in the early 1990’s, that is when rap hit the Golden Era, where the music punched out political issues, hated on cops, and addressed several racial issues where in turn the music turned into myriad amounts of political movements. Rap became a huge target of criticism in the media, where black listeners of rap music were looked at as victimizers,  where angry white kids who listened to heavy metal where looked at as victims of the music.

Despite all of the controversy from rap music, it is constantly growing, and not just with black audiences, audiences of all kinds, young to old, white to black, and female to male. With the popular increase of rap music, even concert ticket sales have increased, Chuck D from Public Enemy stated that sixty percent of his audience was white. The study that was taken in this article, the findings were high, rap music is very popular in a small, mid-western city. And the statistical difference of race and who listens to rap music was not that much different. Mostly all of the respondents in the study did agree that, “Rap is a truthful reflection of society.” I definitely agree with that statement, since several artists in different areas of music are afraid to truly state how they feel, where as rap artists do not care what people think.

Nas stated from his last album title that “Hip Hop is Dead,” he also commented that, ” Hip Hop is dead because we as artists no longer have the power.” I agree with Nas, since the internet constantly leaks artists new albums, which is free, who is going to turn down free music, even if it illegal? Furthermore, it is not just about the artist and their music, they make constant collaborations, have street teams, crews, and there always has to be beef with other rappers. Music is not the sole reason half of these rappers become or stay famous, with plenty of endorsements, crossing into modeling or the acting business, rappers make loads of money by just putting their name on absolutely anything.

To touch back on the internet leaking music, from myspace, to youtube, it is so extremely easy to be found and be molded into the next, big star. With music leaking all the time, the anticipation of the album is killed. The quality of music is being downgraded, since the need of new, fresh music is always being bombarded into computers. If artists are not constantly putting out music, there is always a new artist that will guest spot songs, throw out 10 mixtapes, and on top of that an album or two a year. The music quality is slipping each day artists just come out with anything because they can. With quality of songs slipping away, artists think to just re-mix old songs, yes, recycling is good for the earth, but for music, no. I hate when I hear a classic song, and a rapper rips the song and tears it apart. The internet is helpful in several ways, but when it is taking down the quality of music, many people are not going to be happy, like me.

As we talked in class, only a few of the students remembered 8-tracks, everyone remembered the cassette player and CD player, and almost everyone illegally downloads MP3’s to their computers. The next big thing always comes out, so I am waiting anxiously to see what the next way of receiving music is. But in the article, Hayes makes several connections and differences with post-modernism, and contemporary pop culture/music. Every genre of music, gets replayed and ripped to make more modern for kids now, movies always get re-done, and fashion no matter how old the style is gets re-worn. Artifacts, are the future of pop-culture in our society because America loves to recycle ideas in the music and movie industies. Even though, the way we listen to music is different, vinyl to cassette to CD’s the  music never dies. It can be remastered, which sounds better and yes vinyl is the best, our society always wants the best of everything, including the latest music.

The Money Note:Can the Record Business be Saved? To be honest, I do not think the record business can be saved because in our society the next biggest, best thing comes out to diminish the last of its kind. Technology grows and grows each day, in the future, there might be something even more easier then downloading music offline. Yes, downloading music is illegal, but everyone does since its free, conveinent and down right simple. Music will never die in our society, but the record business has a lot of tweaking to do if they want to stay afloat.