the effects of social media.

In this unit, we’ve touched a little on the effects media can have. I feel as if we focused mainly on if music effected us, however I was curious as to how much of an impact social media has on young adults today. I found the perfect article on Mashable. (click here to read it yourself) This Mashable post is based on a series of studies done by OnlineEducation.net. According to this article, media has a strong effect on college students in the area of grades, finances, and emotions. There are pros and cons to each.

Grades.
First let’s discuss the pros. I know that Professor Falk will enjoy this fact. Studies show that in classes that use Twitter, the students’ grades when up half a gradepoint. Many students welcome online engagement and online resources. 75% of students say that they prefer to have online collaboration for their classes. Studies actually show that 1 in 3 students use social media for educational purposes. So far so good, right? Well now let’s look at the cons. Many students like to “multi-task” by being on Facebook and Twitter while studying and doing their homework. They may not see any problem with this; it is just there for a “break” right? Wrong. According to this article, students who multi-task by being on social networks while they study get 20% lower grades. Let’s face it, when you’re on Facebook, you aren’t really doing that much studying. Multi-tasking while studying is a bad idea. However, teachers should consider integrating social media with their classes.

Finances.
This is one section of this article that surprised me. Can social media such as Facebook really affect your finances? According to this study, yes. This article states that students who are on Facebook very frequently make less money because they do not work as much as students who are occassional Facebook users. Facebook addicts work on the average 5 hours a week, compared to others who work 16 hours a week. Social media may be a way to stay connected and learn about different activities, but you have to make sure you are putting in outside work. My suggestion: get a job.

Emotions.
Probably the largest effect social networking has is on a person’s emotions. The pro of social networking is it can make people feel 20% more connected, and it can make a person feel “popular”. It keeps them connected, and they can communicate with different people. However Facebook doesn’t always bring emotions of joy and feelings of popularity. This is where the cons come in. 48% of young adults on Facebook think they are sadder than their friends, causing 25% of college students to post statuses showing signs of severe depression. If you are not using social media to be connected with different groups and activities, and instead only using it as a way to pass the time and try to make yourself feel better, it is only going to lead your emotions onto a downhill rollercoaster. Use social media for updates and connections. Don’t become an addict, because then it’s unhealthy.

Social media definitely has it’s pros and cons. It can serve as an outlet to keep us connected and update us on news. However, it can be used the wrong way. You cannot let social media take over your life. It is not supposed to be an addiction, but instead a resource.

going international.

A few months ago, I was in my friend Russ’ room at Cobb’s Hall. Russ and I were playing guitar and singing, and an audience began to form in the room. One of the people in the audience was a guy named Chong. Chong heard us playing music from down the hall, so he came in to watch and listen. At the end of one of the songs, Chong looked at Russ and asked who I was. He then looked at me and said “You have real beauty voice”. He was so sweet. From then on, Chong would always come by Russ’ room whenever I was over. When we receieved the assignment to write a blog on an international student, I knew that Chong would be my best choice.

|Meet Chong|
Chong is from South Korea. He never left his country until it was time for him to go to college, which is what brings him here. Chong is now a freshman at Lindenwood. He is a business major and plans on staying at Lindenwood for all of his schooling. Since he has been in the United States for less than a year, he still struggles with his English. However, he is learning more everyday and strives to become better in his speech. Chong is shy when you first meet him, but he is really a sweet and funny guy to be around. When I asked him if I could interview him, he was more than happy to be a part.

|Television and Music|
Back home in South Korea, Chong admits that he did not watch much television. I found it interesting as he was listing some of the shows he would watch occassionally, because most of them are American television shows. Although he did not watch much television, Chong never missed his favorite drama, Lost. I had heard a lot about the show but have never watched it, so it was funny to see his over-excitement as he was explaining to me everything that happens in the show.
Chong may not have watched much television, but he was crazy about music. I noticed the same thing with music as I did with television, the music he listened to was artists from the United States! His favorite music artists are Black Eyed Peas, Muse, and Bruno Mars. He also even admitted to liking some of Britney Spears songs that they played. When he mentioned these groups, I thought maybe he misunderstood the question. So I asked him who he listened to back home. His look at me with a confused look on his face and said “Black Eyed Peas, Muse, Bruno Mars…”. I couldn’t believe that American media was so popular in his country. The only South Korean music artist that he mentioned liking was Yiruma, who is a classical composer.

|Expectations|
When I asked Chong what his expectations of Americans were before he came here, he put his head down and began to laugh. “I don’t want you to be upset”, he said. I told him to be honest and tell me everything. I found myself laughing so hard as he began to describe what he thought Americans were like. The main descriptions he used were “greedy, selfish, dumb, and fat”. He then tried to cover-up the stereotypes by going into how wrong he was. He was honest by saying that was the picture painted of Americans over where he lived, but then said that since moving here, he has learned differently. He has met many nice Americans, who are more than willing to help him out when he needs it. He then stated that he had met a lot of smart and slender Americans as well. Chong then went into talking about how he hates stereotypes. He thinks the view of Americans in his country is very wrong, however he also disagrees with the stereotype of his people. The main thing that bugs Chong is that he has met many Americans who think the people in his country are very poor. He said of course there are some people who are not well off, as there are in every country. But he said there are many families who are doing well. His family is one of them. So he takes offense when people assume that his country is poor.

I loved talking with Chong. It was interesting to learn how popular American media is over in other countries, and it was also entertaining to learn how Americans are stereotyped. Overall, I had a pretty good interview.

How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck?

I am one of those people who hates commercials. A lot of times they get on my nerves after seeing them over and over again so many times. However, occassionally there will be a commercial that I fall in love with and cannot wait to see. 99% of the time I like them because they are funny. One of the memorable commercials I found funny was the Geico Woodchuck commercial.

Geico has been putting out some pretty interesting commercials lately. Most of them make me laugh. For example you have probably seen the one with the pig who screamed “whee” all the way home. (if not you can click HERE to watch it) There is also the Geico commercial with the octupus that I find humorous. (click HERE to watch) This commercial with the woodchucks is by far my favorite one though.
I am not sure what it is, but this commercial makes me laugh every time I watch it. One may think I laugh too easily or I am just easily ammused, which is probably true. But nonetheless I love this commercial. My favorite part is when the farmer pulls up in his tractor. “Hey you dang woodchucks! Quit chuckin’ my wood!” They they just laugh and go back to throwing wood into the water. My roommate and I cannot help but laugh.
I saw this commercial mostly on channel 11, since that is mainly the only channel I watch. I don’t watch much television, however I do watch shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, and King of Queens at night. This commercial would come on. I would also see this commercial on similar channels if I had a chance to watch television during the daytime. I definitely think Geico did a good job with the ad placement because it showed during times when more adult-centered shows were on. The people watching shows like Everybody Loves Raymond are mainly people who drive cars or have homes and would need insurance.

 

There are a few different techniques that Geico uses in their commercials.
One of them is almost like a famous person testimonial with a twist. Geico used to use the gecko in all of their commercials. You would see that gecko on television or on a sign and you would know what company it was for. Now they have the “overly serious, hard boiled, question guy”. (Yes, that is really what they call him)

|from Google|

This minute this man’s face appears on the screen, viewers know it is a Geico commercial. He has become the new “mascot” almost. Geico has even created a segment where people can send questions to the overly serious, hard boiled, question guy and he will answer them in a YouTube video.

Another technique that Geico uses is one that is not in our list of possibilites from class. However I still think it could be considered a strategy. Many of the Geico commercials lately have included familiar riddles or rhymes. Some examples are “Do woodchucks chuck wood?”,  “Did the little piggy scream weewee all the way home?”, and “Does it take two to tango?”. I think this is clever becaues it can catch the viewers attention and can make the commercial memorable because it is common phrases that we are all quite familiar with.

I think Geico uses some puffery in their advertisements, with this woodchuck commercial being an example. The commercial starts out with the question “Can Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?”. Then it asks “Do woodchucks chuck wood?”. Then of course it goes into the woodchucks chucking the pieces of wood into the water. Geico is trying to say that since these woodchucks (which of course are obviously computer generated) are throwing wood, then this company can surely save you 15% or more. They do it again with the pig commercial. They show a little pig screaming “wee” out the window and say that since he screams “wee” all the way home, then they can definitely save you money. These are odd images and comparisons, I know. However, I still think they are hilarious.