Reacting to Class Presentations

In my Media Law and Literacy class we had presentations where each person's goal was to educate the class on a certain topic. Categories of these topics were awareness, mediasphere, theories, and policies. One of the topics that wasn't the one I chose but still stood out to me was Five Eyes. This topic was under the awareness category. "The Five Eyes brings the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand into the world’s most complete and comprehensive intelligence alliance." source

These are all English speaking countries, which is one of the reasons they banded together. In the presentation my classmate mentioned that the Five Eyes alliance keeps an eye on activities . The purpose is to maintain safety within the countries by monitoring activities to prevent cyber attacks and other issues. Even so, the fact that the government is watching all the activity of it's citizens so closely may be scary to some, but in a way it is necessary.

All the topics in the presentations were quite interesting. I also thought the one about Spiral of Silence theory was intriguing. The topic I chose was Echo Chambers which you can find on this blog in a previous post.

Odd or Oddly Satisfying? My Take on ASMR Videos.

Need an aid to help you fall asleep? Or maybe you just want to reduce stress. In my opinion some ASMR videos will help with that. So what is an ASMR video? According Dictionary.com, ASMR stands for Autonomous sensory meridian response and it is a calming, pleasurable feeling often accompanied by a tingling sensation. Many people feel this way while watching an ASMR video.  ASMR videos have grown very popular in 2018 and '19. They can be seen on social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

As far as the "tingling sensation" that people claim to experience is concerned, I don't believe I have had that experience, although ASMR does help me to relax and I watch a lot of it daily. Here is a quote on some statistics regarding the tingling sensation, "Published in the journal PLOS One, the research looked at feelings in over 1,000 people — 813 of whom self-identified as having ASMR -- after they viewed triggering content. Those with ASMR reported significantly more calmness and excitement, as well as lower levels of stress and sadness than participants who say they don't experience ASMR." Source

There are a wide variety of ASMR videos. Some in my opinion are in fact satisfying while others I find to be quite strange and annoying. There are videos that include but aren't limited to: people eating into a microphone, tapping on objects, cutting/shaving soap, playing with slime, and crumbling powdery substances like cornstarch or baking soda. ASMR can be created by almost anything! I've even seen videos of objects being crushed by a truck's tire.  

Personally I find it enjoyable to watch gym chalk, and powdery substances molded into shapes, be crumbled in the palm of someone's hand and fall onto a paper or plastic surface. This is hands down my favorite type of ASMR videos. The powdery and crunchy sounds are pleasing to the ear. I would even consider making this myself. However, I myself cannot stand listening to people smack on food. I find those ASMR videos to be unsettling. Even so, to each his or her own. I've met some people who think the whole idea of ASMR is strange itself. 

Below is an ASMR video by one of my favorite ASMR accounts Kate.Comet.Crunch. How does it make you feel?

Reflecting on Media Law and Literacy Class.

I enjoyed this class because I like to speak my mind on various subjects. It also has helped me to learn about what is happening in the news. I try to watch the news and read articles when I can, but this class helped me take an even deeper look at current events. I also learned a lot about things that I have never even though of before. There were many controversial topics that were discussed in class which I found to be very interesting. As someone who spends a lot of time looking at conspiracy theories on YouTube, it was fun for me to find out a little more about the government and what happens behind the scenes.

I haven't had much history with blogging. Back in middle school my mom introduced me to a website called 750 words. It is similar to a journal and I was encouraged to write 750 words everyday about anything I wanted to.  Back then I would write about my experiences in middle school about my friends and people who were more like bullies to me. I would also come up with characters and write stories. It was a lot of fun. I also had a Tumblr back in my freshman and sophomore year in high school.

On my blog I would write about whatever interest me. Sometimes I found it to be challenging to find something interesting to write about. One of my best blog post is the one where I reported on diversity at High Point University, the school that I attend. I also wrote about Echo Chambers in the media. A somewhat odd post I made was one on ASMR videos.

A Celebration of Diversity at HPU

High Point University held an International Festival on Apr. 14, 2019. This is one of many successful efforts to emphasize diversity on campus.

Global Education

Global Education at High Point University upholds the mission of the University, that is to deliver educational experiences that enlighten, challenge, and prepare students to lead lives of significance in complex global communities.

There are many opportunities provided by the Global Education Department for students to study abroad, and immerse themselves in the culture of a different country. Studying abroad can give students a new global perspective that they haven't thought of before.

The Global Education Department also provides many other programs such as on campus activities like the International Festival. There are also clubs and organizations such as the Global Student Association, Global Education Mentors, and Phi Beta Delta.
The Phi Beta Delta website can be found here: Phi Beta Delta

For more information about High Point University's Global Education and events being held visit this link: Global Education

The Importance of Diversity on Campus

It is very important to emphasize diversity on any college campus.

Shining a light on diversity helps students from different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations feel included.

 It is almost certain that no student wants to feel isolated on a college campus because they are different and has a hard time relating to the majority. 

Sadly feelings of isolation are very common on college campuses. In fact, In a 2017 survey of nearly 48,000 college students, 64% said they had felt “very lonely” in the previous 12 months, while only 19% reported they never felt lonely. For more information on these statistics visit: Campus Loneliness

Focusing on diversity also helps to educate those on cultures outside their own.

High Point Universities Global Education helps tremendously to combat exclusiveness and promote inclusiveness of all students.

International Festival at HPU

High Point University's Global Education Department held an International Festival on Apr. 14, 2018. This was a festival that provided a fun way for attendants to learn about the culture of different countries. 

During my time at the festival I was amazed that there was a variety of different foods from around the world at each table. I saw pizza at the Italy table, chicken feet and tea at the China table, and so much more! 

There was also lots of information and even entertaining performances by a mariachi band, a Saudi Arabian Dance group and a few others.

This was an effective effort by the Global Education Department to provide a culturally-immersive event. It drew a large crowd and was overall a success. 

Here is a video of the International Festival including an interview by Jeff Palis, the Director of Global Education:

The Effect of Echo Chambers on Society

Imagine an environment where only similar ideas are accepted. Any idea that is out of the ordinary within this environment is ignored, even ones that could potentially make a positive change. That is exactly what you're getting with an Echo Chamber. An Echo Chamber is something I haven't heard of before until I researched it. According to the Cambridge Dictionary an Echo Chamber is, "a situation in which people only hear opinions of one type, or opinions that are similar to their own". The term is a metaphor that implies a "chamber" full of similar ideas and beliefs that just seem to "echo".

In some ways an Echo Chamber can be a good thing. A group focusing on one idea or one belief could potentially develop that idea or belief into something greater. For example, there could be a group of people sharing the same ideas who come together as an effort to improve poverty. There similar ideas and beliefs may be beneficial to them in this situation. However if no new ideas are presented how will a situation progress?

Overall I don't believe that Echo Chambers are very good for society.  In fact, I believe that Echo Chambers can cause a stagnation of society. If it weren't for people neglecting new ideas in a situation maybe we'd have flying cars by now, or just a slightly more advanced society. Not saying our modern day society is not advanced, I see new technology on news articles and social media almost everyday. What I am trying to get at is that our society could be progressing more if it weren't for these Echo Chambers. Society could also progress more not just with technology, but also when it comes to accepting people who are of various races, backgrounds, religions, and sexual identities.

For more information on Echo Chambers check out these links:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/02/28/are-you-in-a-social-media-echo-chamber-how-to-take-an-objective-look/#492078d061f9

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/wyvc380NWO3MJNBiVAcpjJ/Opinion--Echo-chambers-algorithms-and-startups.html

http://shapingthefuture.economist.com/bubble-trouble-internet-echo-chambers-disrupt-society/

Online Presence on Social Media

Social Media sites such as Facebook and Instagram have become an enormous part of the lives of most people in America. Nearly everyone you see in public will glance down at there phones to scroll through social media at least once. It is a source of entertainment, a way to connect with family and friends, and is even used for business purposes. All of these social media sites however, tend to require a person to put out quite a bit of information about themselves for others to see.

I am quite active in the social media world. I have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Linkedin accounts. For each of these social media websites I put a certain amount of information into the system. At first glance on any of my social media profiles even if they're private, you can find my name, my picture, and perhaps some of my interest. I don't see much of an issue with putting myself out there, mainly because I never share too much. Some people feel the opposite and don't really trust these sites with their information. It makes sense for them to feel this way and here's why:

It turns out social media websites gather information from cookies. They use this information to find advertisements that pertain to that information. There have also been incidents where people's personal information was leaked. An example of such an incident occurred recently with Facebook leaking hundreds of millions of peoples information. You can find more information on that incident on this article: Link. Are you for or against social media?

The Most Important Value of Free Expression

Today in class we discussed the eight values of free expression. These values are: Discovery of Truth, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Governmental Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent.  

The most important value of free expression in my opinion is its promotion of innovation. Without innovation how can a society progress? To put the answer simply, it wont. When free speech is protected a community is likely to be more energized and creative. When a community is more innovative, then as a result, you see more new ideas and new inventions. Imaging how boring the world would be without free speech. I believe that society would be at a stand-still without it. Luckily in America there is freedom of speech which of course leads to innovation.

So what would be an example of freedom of speech leading to innovation? Well lets say there was a rule that didn't allow wheelchairs in a certain area. So someone speaks out on this issue saying that it is unfair to the disabled. Then a group of people come together to protest this rule until changes are made. Now the issue is resolved and the needs of disabled people are met. Without the ability to speak out change would not be able to take place in a community.