Digital Use

My reaction to the article was I think it applies to my life and media use completely. For instance i'm a heavy texter.. I send about 10,000 to 13,000 text a month. This often affects my ability to work in school because I do not do as well as I should because I am constantly being distracted by my phone or the internet, that sometimes I am not able to finish my homework. It's very hard for me to focus in school because I text at least like 5-15 people at a time. I often sometimes finish my homework at home.. I usually finish it in school because I am not able to focus at home. I multi task when doing my homework, for example I listen to music, text like 5 people, use the internet, watch T.V. and do my homework at the same time. I am always distracted with the media and a very bad procrastinator so I usually finish my homework around 4 a.m. or 2 a.m. and only get 2 hours of sleep each night. I think this article is completely accurate of how teens who are constantly distracted by the media do not always do well in school because they are unable to focus. While using media it is hard to stop and focus on doing work. I think that's why most teens that are heavy media users are unable to finish their homework ontime.

Click Here for the Story, Click Here for the Video.

"Wired For Distraction" Response

I thought the article and video from the New York Times was very accurate in the way teenagers use media and how it effects their grades. Some of the kids are using media to work on other things besides school work like editing videos like Vishal Singh. Some use media to play videogames and slack off, but they cannot help it as they are addicted to it, like some other people are to their phones. This video relates to my life because I can get distracted at times and not focus on school work when I have my iPod, Laptop, or phone next to me.

My media usage is basically my phone, laptop, and TV. I do not play as much videogames as I once did because I just lost interest in playing videogames, but I will play it from time to time. I don't text as much as other kids because I don't have unlimited texting but I still use my phone a decent amount of the time. When I'm at home just relaxing, I'll be on my couch watching TV and surfing the internet at the same time, so that takes up a lot of my media usage.

When I am doing homework, it is very hard for me to concentrate strictly on my homework because after using a lot of my time using media, it's hard to stop. Whether it's listening to music while doing homework or watching YouTube videos or even going on Facebook when I have an assignment, it's pretty hard for me to strictly concentrate on homework, although I am getting better at it. My life and I'm sure other people's lives are based on instant gratification and things like the internet, games, and music help us achieve it, and just doing homework is pretty boring. My homework habbits compare very much to Vishal Singh because instead of doing his work, he's on YouTube or making videos.

This article was very accurate and helps people understand what a teenager is thinking while doing homework or anything else that is non-media related. To read the article Click Here and for the video from the New York Times Click Here.

I thought the article was very true to how young people act today. If you walk down the hall you will see almost everyone texting and half carrying on a conversation. Kids these days get bored very easily and so they feel like if they do their homework and are on some sort of electronic it would be less boring. This isn't the best for the kids because they are getting less and less capable of doing one thing and have to be stimulated all the time.

This is true for me. While I am doing homework I am typically doing something else like Facebook or watching t.v. I don't really know why I do this. It is mainly because I feel like the work is so boring so i give myself little brakes and things like that. It would work out fine except for the fact that when i get on some sort of electronic the homework always comes second. I can not stay focused and tend to be less involved in the actual homework.

I have a pretty substantial amount of media use. I usually go one the computer and watch YouTube videos or go on Facebook. I like those things because they are more interesting than school work and they keep me interested. I thought the video was interesting because, even thought these things are going on around us we don't really think about them that much.


CLICK HERE FOR STORY

"Wired For Distraction" Response

This article also applies to my life because everything I do at my house relates to media multi-tasking. I find it funny how grown ups now can be shocked and surprised on how kids in this generation can use so much media objects at once than before. But, I think the more they keep making better media software, the more us kids/teens get stuck to it.



Usually when I get home I immediately put on the T.V. and at the same time use my cell phone to text people or listen to my ipod. To be honest I can't remember the last time I've done my homework at home without any media in my face, but at the same time that would easily describe the reason why my grades look like they do now.
The days I can remember doing my homework at home with very little distractions was a better process for me school-wise. I think if I deduct my media usage during homework time, I would receive much better grades than I receive now but at the same time it would definitely be a hard thing to do in a teen's perspective. I would also go to sleep a little earlier than I normally do now without using the internet in between those hours at home.

Lastly, video games also play a huge role in my media time at home because I am a video game machine most times and I won't back down from playing them during a school night, yet once I finally shut off the system later in the night,  I am usually tired then so I take a shower and go to bed without even thinking about homework.

Compared to my media usage, my homework hours are VERY little to none at home and you can obviously blame the media for that, but I think EVERY kid/student should have a period at school to complete as much homework as they can so when they arrive home later they won't have to worry so much about how much homework they have to complete before the next day. The problem though is that not every kid has a period to do homework so it wouldn't be fare to those kids that don't have a free homework time because they have to complete more homework at home than the kids with those periods.


I found the article a bit interesting because it gave me a better sight on different people's views on media usage for teens now days, and a better understanding on how serious this topic is in the world currently. I wouldn't really say it fully convinced me of watching my media hours during school but it sure did give me an idea or a thought of how to handle those hours on a smarter level. To read the article click here, and to watch the video, click here

Teen Digital Exposure

I thought this article was very true regarding how teenagers interact with media and their relation to homework. I feel as if teens are addicted to their electronics. Even though in our high school electronics are banned, if you walked through to halls you would never know it. You see ipods, headphones, and cell phones all being used. So this article came to no real surprise to me.

I use a lot of media, especially while doing homework. I am actually listening to music from Youtube at the moment while doing this assignment. I do feel that media sometimes gets in the way of homework.

Overall, I watch TV, text, listen to my ipod, play on my itouch and play Xbox 360. Sometimes it will take me longer to finish my homework because I stop every few minutes to change a song.  Or I will rush through my work because one of my friends just texted me to play a video game with them via X Box 360. Or I will try to do my homework in the one minute intermissions between games.

I would say that I am exposed to a lot of media when I am home. This is because when I have school or sports, I can't use any electronics. But when I am at home,  I'm always either texting, listening to music, on the computer or watching TV. Many times I'm having multiple of these things going on at once. I would say that my habits parallel the ones described in the article.

Click here to read: Growing Up Online, Wired for Distraction

Response to "Wired for Distraction"

Almost everything that I saw in the movie Wired for Distraction applied to my life and the life of my high school classmates. It seems to me that every night I am up until 10:30 or 11:00 doing homework, and the main reason for that is probably Facebook and YouTube.

Tonight I tried to isolate myself as much as I could from media multitasking and procrastination and found that I finished my homework three hours earlier than I usually do.

Unlike some of the teens in the film we watched, I don't have an unlimited texting plan, which keeps me from being attached to my phone 24/7. But for those who can text whenever they want, I can only imagine how tempting it is to communicate with your friends rather than doing schoolwork. Video games, the other issue that was discussed doesn't apply to me as much because the only game system I have is an old PlayStation 2, which basically just collects dust.

The one thing I can tell you about for sure is that Facebook does distract people, and not only because it takes you away from your work initially. Once you start to think about what your friends are doing as you read miscellaneous posts, it becomes harder and harder to think about your work, because there are now other things on your mind, even if the web browser is closed.

I think the issues of Vishal Singh and other American teens are very important and need to be considered. Hopefully, teens can understand  that excessive media use is a problem, and can find a way to cut down without being told to do so by other people. The reason that I find it a big issue is because I honestly believe that it does make our brains less focused. The more and more kids find instant gratification, the less patient they will be when they have to search for answers that do not involve Google or Wikipedia. YouTube, especially, makes finding entertainment extremely easy, and with so many choices, you can get caught up and find yourself watching video after video after video.

It was really interesting to see some of the problems that I face shown in the film, and it convinced me, at least for the moment, to cut down on my media use, especially multitasking. To read the full article on the New York Time's website, click here. For the video, click here.

"Wired for Distraction"

What I read in the story applies to my life completely. It is actually pretty amazing to find out how most of what is written in the article, happens every day with me. Sometimes when I am doing homework and my computer is on, I usually catch myself going on Facebook and Youtube most of the time. I always think to my self that I will just go on for a second, to check my notifications, or look up one video, but its only after a couple of hours that I finally figure out how much time I had actually spent looking at the screen, hoping to go on for just "a second."

I've been hearing about this since elementary school, all those teachers and parents saying "Don't stay on the computer too much!" or "TV is bad for your eyes!" but I have never really understood that until now. During my earlier school days, almost like any 7 or 10 year old, you would usually see me either outside on the playground or reading some kid's book at home, but of course there were those one or two hours a day that you catch me watching TV or playing a game on the computer. And those comments by the grownups, seemed, nothing to do with me. And now, I find myself doing homework until 10 or 11pm and always blaming my teachers for giving me so much. When my parents ask me why am I up so late, I always answer the most obvious response "I'm doing homework." When I think back on those days, I feel like I've been working all day and wonder why do those evil teachers like to torture us so much? But after thinking in more detail about what I have done all day, it is noticeable how much, from all the time in the day, I have actually spent watching TV or sitting on the computer while "doing my homework" and realizing how much I stretched out one, out of many math problems, or one easy history question, to last me for about a whole hour.

My media usage is not as high, compared to some of my friends who can sit for hours and hours staring at the computer or TV screen, without noticing, and some who text non-stop, but I still somehow manage to not have enough time to finish my homework, at home, and always having to finish it quickly before school, at lunch, or during other classes. Personally I think that bringing more technology into classrooms will affect students greatly, and in a positive manner. I think that students would do better in school because they will be in a more exciting environment, and they will also be learning more about the technology that they keep so close to themselves, and how to use it to learn and not fall asleep from boredom at the same time.

Click here for the STORY Click here for the VIDEO

Turkey Day Mirror

After reading NY Time's Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction & Video you will create a blog post in reaction to this very important article about learning, media, and the teenage brain.
These blog post are due Monday, 29th and will be graded.

1- Include your reactions to the article
2- Talk about your own media use
3- Discuss your homework habits in relation to your media use. Do examples from the article parallel your own media use?

Please make sure to correct grammar and spelling as these will be graded. Please include a link to the article and pictures to enhance the blog.

Response to "Thug Life"

As we saw in the documentary "Thug Angel"about the life of Tupac Shakur, he dramatically changed from a wide-eyed, innocent and talented young man into an international superstar and "thug" rapper.
What do you make of this transition in personality? What do you think were the causes? How does this documentary make you feel about about such a controversial figure?

China Halts

I choose this video because it affects all the countries in the world who receive these things from China, including United States. Us, being the United States, import A LOT of manufactures from China and without that country we wouldn't have half the money we have today (in my opinion)

Click Here

Abortion affecting Politics

I choose the issue of abortion as my controversial topic. It has always been a touchy subject but now it has affected politics. It has divided democrats over the health care bill. Usually, members of the same political party, such as the democrats, will side with whatever their party stands for regardless of their opinion. But, some issues such as this one is what is called a "hot button issue". This is where politicians show their own feeling on controversial subject.These issues are very important in political elections because it shows how that individual actually feels, not how their party tells them to feel.

Watch this video this learn more.

Longer School Day?

I heard a story on the NY times website about the impact that schools have in children's obesity. There were two women talking about what we can do to help children turn the epidemic around. The argument they said was that the school day should be significantly longer so that children can eat all three of their meals at school. They thought that for poor families that were struggling with money it would be a good way for the kids to be able to eat healthier and the parents not have to worry about after school care. They think that the government needs to be more involved in the children's education and their health. They talked about how they think that the teachers union also needs to make a push for this because it could never happen with the strict rules that are in the contracts right now.
I am not really a fair person to give my opinion on this topic. Since I am in school right now I would definitely not want a longer day. However, I do think maybe in the long run it would help. Not with the health aspect but many other things. I can't say that I personally agree with the longer school day helping with obesity. I feel like even if the school controls the meals they can not control how much kids exercises or what they eat on the weekends. I also feel that kids will be angry that they have to have that significantly longer school day so they will be less willing to try ti let it help the problem.

HERE IS A LINK TO MY STORY

F.D.A. Unveils Proposed Graphic Warning Labels for Cigarette Packs

Federal drug regulators unveiled 36 warning labels for cigarrette packages. The labels are designed to cover half the surface area of a cigarrette package. The labels are intended to get the smokers attention and get them to quit smoking by providing graphic reminders of tobacco's dangers. These labels are now required under a law passed last year under the Food and Drug addministration the power to regulate but not ban tobacco or drug products. Public hope officials have high hopes that the new ciggarrette packages have an effect for addictive smokers, and have the power to get them to quit. From my point of view I think its a great idea to do because it gets the addictive smokers thinking everytime they buy pack of cigarrettes.

For More Information Click Here

Click Here for a video

No Diversity in Baseball?

In a recent New York Times video, Diversity in baseball was questioned. Now we aren't talking about players in Major League Baseball (MLB) because the players in this league come from all over the world making it one of the most diverse pro sports leagues. In this video they are talking about it's coaches. This reporter has said 66% of it's first base coaches are minorities and only 20% of it's third base coaches are minorities. This is a problem because 1/3 of the managers (Head Coach) in the MLB were third base coaches before they took that next step to become the head coach. Ten out of the thirty managers were third base coaches. Looking into this, it is a bit of an issue, but there are many managers in the MLB who come from different backgrounds. I would like to see more diversity in third base coaches because that is the "stepping stone" to become a manager in the MLB. For more information and the video Click Here

Are Steroids Causing Kidney Disease?

On the New York Times Video Blog, I found an interesting video about a weightlifter, Patrick Antonecchiam, who admitted to steroid use, and eventually found himself with a kidney disease. The disease led to the end of his weightlifting career. It is set up as an interview, with the story being told by Antonecchiam himself. Surprisingly enough, he said that he didn't regret his steroid use, as his lifestyle was focused on his desire to get stronger and the steroids helped him do that.

The reason that I chose this as a controversial topic is because steroid use among all athletes, not just bodybuilders and weightlifters, is a very important issue. The findings that steroid use can lead directly to kidney disease as it did in Antonecchiam's case is just one of the many arguments against steroid use, and may be used as a reason to increase drug testing among athletes.

To see the whole video on Patrick Antonecchiam, click here.

Problems on the Lake of Baikal

On the New York Times website, there was a video on the enviroment in Russia. It was called the "Trouble on Russia's Lake Baikal"

This video is about a factory that, to many enviromentalists, is poluting one of the natural wonders on Earth, Lake Baikal. Enviromentalists fight to have the factory closed to stop destroying the natural glory, but citizens who live there oppose that idea, for that factory is pretty much the ONLY job available for many miles.
This video is controversial because it shows the two sides of the problem, which is still going on today, and not many know what to do. For now the factory is again open, coming from the fact the it had been shut down for a while, but then again reopened by the Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.
The reported presents this information by video taping, and talking about, both of the sides of the problem. He explains the reason for both parties, and let them explain them selves too. He also included the history of the factory and the town that proved how important the factoy is to the people, and the rest of their economy.


To see the Video on the NYTimes website CLICK HERE.

By Anna A.

Controversial Subject?

The semester closes on Friday so do this homework assignment and end on a positive note!
Your assignment will be to find a NYTIMES video that "covers" a controversial subject.
Make sure to:
Create a link to the video
Discuss why the video is controversial and how the reporter presents the information.
I look forward to seeing your blogs & videos!! We will watch them in class on Friday!!

On the Media Matters Conference, a while before we had to chose a couple of classes that we may like, and a few weeks after that we went to the conference its self. There were many different classes that we were put in, and each taught us about the topic in description, teaching about the right way to write, speak, ask questions, or even do a job. In each class there was a professor that taught in U Mass. Most classes were about 45 minutes long, but some were for for an hour and 30 minutes. Some conferences were for teachers, while some were for just students, but most were for all. I found the Media Matters Conference interesting, and hope that I can go back there next year to learn some more.

Media Matters Conference

On Thursday November 4, 2010 I attended the media matters conference. This conference was held at the UMass- Boston campus. This conference was aimed to help and teach high school students with many different areas in journalism and broadcasting. I attended a few workshops. One was called "Teaching Generation Text to Talk on TV". This was taught by Jimmy Myers, a former sportscaster from various networks. He know runs a company that helps kids get into the broadcasting business. Also, Bob Halloran was also there. He is the current sportscaster for channel 5 news. I got a chance to talk with Mr. Halloran about reporting sports and he gave me some very helpful insight.

I also took a workshop called "Preparing for a Job in Broadcast". Th=is was taught but current Fox news anchor Mark Ockerbloom. He told us his story of his journey though the world of broadcasting and how he ended up where he is today. He also showed us some clips of him broadcasting different styles of stories. Such as, field reporting, in studio reporting, hard news, soft news and debates.

Overall, I enjoyed my time there and it really helped me because I would like to pursuit a career in broadcasting. And for anyone else interested in broadcasting, I would suggest taking Ms. O'Grady's journalism class, Ms. Ventura's TV & News Production class, and going to this conference in upcoming years.

U Mass Writing Conference

Today I went to a writing conference at U Mass with some people from my t.v production class. It was very interesting and informative. The classes I got were one about responding to writing, one about conducting an interview and one about investigative journalism. The one about investigative journalism interested me the most because I want to be a journalist. The person who taught us was Sean Murphy who works at Suffolk. He is an investigative journalist who works for the Boston Globe and he explained to us that an investigative journalist has to investigate for some period of time and then write a story about it. It is usually about government officials.
My responding to writing one was very interesting as well and my presenter taught as all about good types of feedback to give to writers you may respond to in your class. He told us the most important part of responding is to give positive feedback and tell the writer about what they did right.
My other class was one about conducting interviews. It was really good and informative. The only problem was that the teacher was like 20 minutes late so I didnt get as much time in the class as I would have liked. She explained to us how the most important part of an interview is to be prepared and to make sure you understand what you are talking about
Overall I really enjoyed they day and learned a lot from it.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE WEB SITE