#especially not studying human behavior. most people think that socialization and political topics are a fucking joke

[faultsofyouth]

It's fucked up that the sober population straight up ignores how a huge portion of addicts have chronic illnesses

#was thinking about my stepdad and his plethora of health issues and how they shape his life #and then i thought about sewercentipede and Then i thought about the huge population of bipolar people who are alcoholics #and then after all that i thought about a convo i had with a straight edge friend who was like 'using illegal drugs Should result in jail #time because they could just Not do those drugs. they do it just for fun' #like i understand where he is coming from but i literally think he is wrong af. #i think the people who do drugs (esp hard drugs) recreationally are outnumbered 2 to 1 by people who #are self medicating with illegal drugs. i think most people totally ignore how chronic illnesses #and severe mental illnesses can hurt you on a profound level and because they dont know about that suffering #they do not understand the urge to numb that pain. and people have no sympathy for what they dont understand #lately im so bothered by people who share their opinions with me about complicated issues but clearly havent ever done any research on them #everyone thinks their opinion is so smart and special and no one is studying #especially not studying human behavior. most people think that socialization and political topics are a fucking joke #with 0 relevance to their personal lives. like no one is ever going to be truly informed about All the things #and i know i certainly am not but it is so annoying to speak with people who make no effort at all to learn about a subject #before they try and tell people the business about it. like that guy. his only understanding of drug use #comes from his own relationship to alcohol. but he was not an alcoholic he was just a perv who decided to go christian #like its so egotistical to assume that your experience and emotions can apply to everyone and yet he is not the only guy i know #who has no interest in any perspective other than his own but thinks his perspective is well informed #im sure women piss me off with this behavior too its just that atm i can only think of examples of men acting like this

[hosalamax]

The Impact of Tech on Privacy: From Data Breaches to Cyberstalking

Technology is a valuable asset for the majority of people, but it can also lead to privacy concerns. For example, if you have personal information like your address, phone number, and credit card information stored online, it can be stolen, hacked, or tapped into by someone else.

However, the good news is that there are ways to protect yourself from this happening. You can change your password frequently and pay attention to websites for suspicious behavior or links that may not be safe to click on.

But there are also things that you can do to make your online experience more private, such as limiting the amount of data that you share. This is a great way to keep your personal information private and safe while still being able to enjoy the benefits of modern technology.

The Impact of Tech on Privacy: From Data Breaches to Cyberstalking Throughout human history, new information technologies have always raised concerns about how those changes could impact people's right to privacy. This is especially true with photography, telephony, and computers. Louis tech ogle Brandeis penned an article in the Harvard Law Review over a century ago on the potential effects of such advances on privacy, and many other scholars have devoted much of their work to studying the topic.

Today's technological advancements are increasingly creating opportunities for surveillance and social control on a scale not previously seen. Government agents have access to enormous amounts of information, including telephone conversations, Internet searches and electronic payments. They can even search for criminals and terrorists with the aid of sophisticated data mining tools.

One of the biggest concerns about this kind of data collection is that it can be used to identify individuals and groups, create discrimination, and promote inequalities. Among other negative effects, this can make it difficult for individuals to decide how they want to live their lives.

It is no surprise then that there are a wide range of opinions about technology and its effect on privacy. These opinions, whether expressed on a political or personal level, show how much the American public is understanding and thinking about these issues.

The first point to remember is that most privacy risks are caused by misuse or outright illegal acts. This is a distinction that is often overlooked, but that should be recognized.

Another point to consider is that the nature of these violations can vary a lot, depending technology background on what the perpetrators are doing with the data and how they intend to use it. For example, some marketers may be more apt to use the data to target consumers than others.

When marketing is done this way, the effects can be particularly egregious because they come up in real time and are literally in people's faces. This makes it easier for people to become concerned about the data, regardless of how erroneous or unintentional the use may be.

This is why it is essential to understand how privacy can be protected in the digital era. Moreover, it is crucial for technologists to remain informed about the latest privacy policies and ongoing court cases in order to ensure that their work does not compromise privacy.

[torispn15]

Warning long post ahead:

I have heard a lot from the news and from articles today. It can drive you crazy. So, I´m channeling my energy into explaining a couple of things about our (the US) political and economic system. It´s not perfect, as I put more emotion into this post than just straight logic. I have taken a politics 101 course and did a lot of studying and I am using basic common sense and empathy. At first I am talking about the Capitol incident and then it expands into more detail. If you don´t want to read, that´s cool. (I am not really gonna branch out into other countries on this topic. The main focus is the US) Anyways, here it is:

"A political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy. Anarchism calls for the abolition of the state, which it holds to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful."

Does this sound like the behavior of the people that stormed the Capitol? No. It sounds like the opposite of what they want. I´ve seen a lot of news networks such as NBC, call the fascists, anarchists. That, above, is the description of anarchism.

Anarchists reject any hierarchy. They, the fascists, want government and they want Trump. So, calling them anarchists is very very not accurate.

"A form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy. They believe that liberal democracy is obsolete and regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties."

Does this sound more like the behavior of the people that stormed the Capitol? Yes. It does. That is the description of fascism.

"A fascist state is led by a strong leader such as a dictator and a martial law government composed of the members of the governing fascist party to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society."

Remind you of anything??

Now, read this:

"Advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wage labour, social hierarchies and private property (while retaining respect for personal property, along with collectively-owned items, goods and services) in favor of common ownership of the means of production and direct democracy as well as a horizontal network of workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"."

This sounds way better than the first two, right? This is the description of anarcho-communism. Which is what I, personally, align with most.

What about this:

"An economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics include capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property and the recognition of property rights, voluntary exchange and wage labor. In this market economy, decision-making and investments are determined by every owner of wealth, property or production ability in capital and financial markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets."

This is the description of capitalism, which is what we have now. But, what you have to understand is that capitalism usually leads to fascism. Late-stage capitalism is fascism. One core idea of fascism is capitalism. Which is one of many reasons why it´s terrible. Also, you live here. You know how bad capitalism is. It´s why you can´t afford to buy medicine or go to the doctors. It´s why people die of starvation. It´s not because people don´t work hard enough. There are people who work three jobs who are still low-income individuals and families. It´s because of capitalism. It doesn´t give you any freedom. It is the opposite of freedom. In the "land of the free" we have a political and economic system that enslaves us. Think about that. Think about how much freedom you actually have.

When all of this is put into frame, what are your thoughts? What sounds like a place you want to live in?

The way we are now, the reason why most of the garbage in this country happens, you can connect that to capitalism. You can trace what happened at the Capitol today to fascism and capitalism (Which are basically the same thing).

A lot of Americans work minimum wage jobs. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, on average in the US. Assuming you work 40 hours a week, that equals 2,080 hours in a year. Your hourly wage of 7 dollars would end up being about $14,560 per year in salary. Even if you got $15 an hour, working 37.5 hours a week, you would still only make $29,250 a year. $15 an hour isn't enough to secure affordable housing in most US states. Nationally, someone would need to make $17.90 an hour to rent a one-bedroom apartment or $22.10 an hour to cover a two-bedroom home. In order to live comfortably, you´d have to get extra hours or a better job. Extra hours, is just slaving more of your life away to the point where it won´t matter how much money you earn. And it is very hard to get a job. Even if you go to college, you aren´t owed or guaranteed a job. You slave you life away. And none of this takes into consideration family members. None of this takes into consideration any children or people living in the household. You have to struggle all the time under capitalism.

You are in the top 1.8% of americans if you make more than 400k a year. So, no, not everyone or anyone can be rich or live nicely here. America loves to brand itself as a free country and the land of opportunity but, it has shown that is anything but. 30 million people in America, do not have health insurance. Do you know how much medical care costs without insurance? No one should struggle for basic medical care. Every human being deserves the basic necessities to stay alive. Every single one of us shouldn´t have to pay for food or water. We shouldn´t struggle to afford putting food on the table working two jobs while the millionaires and billionaires who sit on a yacht all day, who don´t earn a single cent, never have to worry about that. You wanna know how they make that money, you wanna know who gives them that money? You do. Your hard work and nights away from your family, earns them that money. That is your money. The system is set up for people like that to succeed and keep succeeding. The rich keep getting richer while you stay the same or even lose money. Does that sound fair or just to you? Life isn´t fair, no, but this isn´t life. This is a man-made system that we can fix. We built this and we can tear it down.

So stop being a bootlicker and sucking off capitalism just because there´s a small chance that, maybe, you will get rich. If you´re black in America, you have a 15.1% lower chance of becoming a millionaire than a white person in America. If you are white or asian with a college education, you have around a 20% chance of being a millionaire. But, if you can´t afford college, and you only have a high school diploma, your chances drop to a 2% chance. And most people who are rich in this country didn´t start out with a start-up company and worked hard. No. No. The majority of millionaires and billionaires did either one of these things or all of them:

⬤ Got lucky. By means of gambling, lottery, ⋆cough⋆ making a sex tape and it getting traction ⋆cough⋆...... things like that.

⬤ Scamming someone. By means of ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme, advance-fee scam, credit fraud, identity theft... things of that nature.

⬤ Other illegal shit. By means of embezzlement, hacking, robbing, selling counterfit goods (which can also fall into the scamming someone section), etc... you get the point.

And that doesn´t include being born into money and not paying any taxes as well. It usually doesn´t have shit to do with working hard. If working hard made you a millionaire, a hell of a lot more people would be rich af.

There´s also a lot more factors and circumstances to take into account. Even if I had time to explain, I probably couldn´t because, well, frankly, it´s impossible to go into every factor or circumstance especially since, I couldn´t possibly know every single one. This is a very basic and general post and I tried my best to explain some stuff. (some of the figures and percentages might be off by a percent ot two but, that´s easily searchable)

I do encourage researching, actual research. Because I, nor, anyone on this app are the authority for any topic. Never take anyone´s word for anything, especially not on this app of of all places. Please study and research. When you research, it is very important to check out the websites and sources for too much bias and make sure to fact check, such as comparing it to other websites and sources. Or maybe you could read different books about economics or politics and things of that nature. But, even for books, always fact check and check for too much bias. You can easily fall into traps if you don´t. I just started listening to an audio book titled: Anarchism and Other Essays by Emma Goldman. I am trying to learn more about anarchism and other political philosophies as well. I am most certaintly not a "political person" but, I do love to learn and I do love human beings and believe that human beings deserve basic rights which makes me interested in learning about different ways to improve our way of life.

So... that´s it.... I hope y´all have a goodnight/evening/morning! 💛

#supernatural #destiel #not spn #politics #political

[wreckedhoney]

June 2019 – Highlights of Tristan Harris (Computer Scientist, Design Ethicist, ft. on documentary The Social Dilemma) and others before Senate Commerce Committee regarding large tech companies using algorithms and machine learning to influence the public in the context of radicalization from false information and accountability.

The video is sixteen minutes and transcribed, and I’ll paste the dialogue under a cut for this post with some highlights in bold, but I want to share first just one of the many important insights of this meeting:

“…the business model is to keep people engaged…There's a tendency to think here that this is just human nature – that people are polarized and this is just playing out; it's a mirror it's holding up, a mirror to society. But what it's really doing is it's an amplifier for the worst parts of us.…It's calculating what is the thing that I can show you that will get the most engagement, and it turns out that outrage, moral outrage, gets the most engagement.…the polarization of our society is actually part of the business model.”

“…shorter, briefer things work better in Attention Economy than long, complex, nuanced ideas that take a long time to talk about…But reality and the most important topics to us are increasingly complex, while we can say increasingly simple things about them that automatically creates polarization – because you can't say something simple about something complicated and have everybody agree with you; people will, by definition, misinterpret and hate you for it, and then it's never been easier to retweet that and generate a mob that will come after you… subsequent effects in polarization are amplified by the fact that these platforms are rewarded to give you the most sensational stuff.”

Harris: Everything you said –  it's sad to me because it's happening not by accident but by design, because the business model is to keep people engaged – which, in other words, this hearing is about persuasive technology, and persuasion is about an invisible asymmetry of power. 

When I was a kid, I was a magician, and magic teaches you that you can have asymmetric power without the other person realizing it. You can masquerade to have asymmetric power while looking like you have an equal relationship. You say pick a card, any card, while meanwhile, you know exactly how to get that person to pick the card that you want – and essentially, what we're experiencing with technology is an increasing asymmetry of power that's been masquerading itself as an equal or contractual relationship where the responsibility is on us. 

So, let's walk through why that's happening in the race for attention, because there's only so much attention companies have. They get more of it by being more and more aggressive. I call it “the race to the bottom of the brainstem.” 

So, it starts with techniques like pull-to-refresh; so, you pull to refresh your newsfeed that operates like a slot machine. It has the same kind of addictive qualities that keep people in Las Vegas hooked to the slot machine. Other examples are: removing stopping cues. So, if I take the bottom out of this glass and I keep refilling the water or the wine, you won't know when to stop drinking. So, that's what happens with infinitely scrolling feeds; we naturally remove the stopping cues, and this is what keeps people scrolling. But the race for attention has to get more and more aggressive, and so it's not enough just to get your behavior and predict what will take your behavior; we have to predict how to keep you hooked in a different way. 

It crawled deeper down the brainstem into our social validation – so, that was the introduction of likes and followers and how many followers do I have. It was much cheaper to – instead of getting your attention – to get you addicted to getting attention from other people, and this has created the kind of mass narcissism and mass cultural thing that's happening with young people, especially today. After two decades in decline of the mental health of ten-to-fourteen year old girls, it has actually shot up in the last eight years, and this has been very characteristically the cause of social media and the race for attention. 

It's not enough just to get people addicted to attention, and the race has to migrate to AI, who can build a better predictive model of your behavior. And so, if you give an example of YouTube: You're about to hit play in a YouTube video, and you hit play, and then you think you're gonna watch this one video, and then you wake up two hours later and say, “What just happened?” The answer is, because you had a supercomputer pointed at your brain, the moment you hit play, it wakes up an avatar voodoo doll like version of you inside of a Google server, and that avatar based on all the clicks and likes and everything you've ever made – those are like your hair clippings and toenail clippings and nail filings that make the avatar look and act more and more like you. 

So, that inside of a Google server – they can simulate more and more possibilities. If I pick you for this video, if I pick you for this video, how long would you stay? The business model is simply, “what maximizes watch time?” This leads to the kind of algorithmic extremism that you've pointed out, and this is what's caused 70% of YouTube's traffic down be driven by recommendations; not by human choice, but by the machines. And it's a race between Facebook's voodoo doll, where you flick your finger – can they predict what to show you next? – and Google's voodoo doll. And these are abstract metaphors that apply to the whole tech industry, where it's a race between who can better predict your behavior. 

Facebook has something called loyalty prediction, where they can actually predict to an advertiser when you're about to become disloyal to a brand. So, if you're a mother, and you take Pampers diapers, they can tell Pampers, “Hey, this user is about to become disloyal to this brand.” So, in other words, they can predict things about us that we don't know about our own selves, and that's a new level of asymmetric power. 

And we have a name for this asymmetric relationship, which is a fiduciary relationship, or a duty of care – relationships the same standard we apply to doctors, to priests, to lawyers. Imagine a world in which priests only make their money by selling access to the confession booth to someone else. Except, in this case, Facebook listens to two billion people's confessions, has a supercomputer next to them, and is calculating and predicting confessions you're gonna make before you know you're gonna make them – and that's what's causing all this havoc. 

So, I'd love to talk about more of these things later. I just want to finish up by saying this affects everyone even if you don't use these products. You still send your kids to school where other people believing the anti-vaccine conspiracy theories impact your life, or other people voting in your elections. And when Marc Andreessen said into 2011, that the quote was, “Software is going to eat the world,” and what he meant by that – Marc Andreessen was the founder of Netscape – what he meant by that was that software can do every part of society more efficiently, because it's just adding efficiencies. And so, we're going to allow software to eat up our elections, we're gonna allow it to eat up our media, our taxi, our transportation – and the problem was that software was eating the world without taking responsibility for it. 

We used to have rules and standards around Saturday morning cartoons, and when YouTube gobbles up that part of society, it just takes away all of those protections. And I just want to finish up by saying that I know Mister Rogers, Fred Rogers, testified before this committee fifty years ago, concerned about the animated bombardment that we were showing children. I think he would be horrified today about what we're doing now, and at that same time, he was able to talk to the committee. And that committee made a choice differently, so I'm hoping we can talk more about that today. Thank you. 

Senator Thune (R-South Dakota): We know that internet platforms like Google and Facebook have vast quantities of data about each user. What can these companies predict about users based on that data? 

Harris: Thank you for the question. So, I think there's an important connection to make between privacy and persuasion that I think often isn't linked, so maybe it's helpful to link that. 

With Cambridge analytic – that was an event in which, based on your Facebook Likes, based on a hundred and fifty of your Facebook Likes, I could predict your political personality, and then I could do things with that. The reason I described in my opening statement that this is about an increasing asymmetry of power is that without any of your data, I can predict increasing features about you using AI. 

There's a paper recently that, with 80% accuracy, I can predict your same Big Five personality traits that Cambridge analytic got from you without any of your data. All I have to do is look at your mouse movements and click patterns. So, in other words, it's the end of the poker face. Your behavior is your signature – and we can know your political personality based on tweet text alone. We can actually know your political affiliation with about 80% accuracy. Computers can calculate probably that you're homosexual before you might know that you're homosexual. They can predict with 95% accuracy that you're gonna quit your job according to an IBM study. They can predict that you're pregnant. They can predict your micro expressions on your face better than a human being can. Micro expressions are your soft reactions to things that are not very visible, but are invisibly visible. Computers can predict that. As you keep going and you realize that you can start to deep fake things. You can actually generate a new synthetic piece of media, a new synthetic face, or synthetic message that is perfectly tuned to these characteristics. 

The reason why I open the statement by saying we have to recognize: That what this is all about is a growing asymmetry of power between technology and the limits of the human mind. My favorite socio-biologist, E.O. Wilson, said, “The fundamental problem of humanity is that we have Paleolithic ancient emotions, we have medieval institutions, and we have godlike technology.” So, we're chimpanzees with nukes, and our Paleolithic brains are limited. Again, the increasing exponential power of technology at predicting things about us, the reason why it's so important to migrate this relationship from being extractive to get things out of you, to being a fiduciary, is you can't have asymmetric power that is specifically designed to extract things from you – just like you can't have, again, lawyers or doctors whose entire business model is to take everything they learn and sell it to someone else. 

Except, in this case, the level of things that we can predict about you is far greater than actually each of those fields combined when you actually add up all the data that assembles a more and more accurate voodoo doll of each of us. And there's two billion voodoo dolls by the way; there's one for one out of every four people on Earth with YouTube and Facebook are more than two billion people. 

Senator Peters (D-Michigan): Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses. This is a fascinating discussion. I like to address an issue I think is of profound importance to our democratic republic – and that's the fact that, in order to have a vibrant democracy, you need to have an exchange of ideas and an open platform. And certainly, part of the promise of the Internet, as it was first conceived, is we'd have this incredible Universal Commons, where a variety of ideas would be discussed and debated, and it would be robust. And yet, it seems as if we're not getting that. We're actually getting more and more siloed. Doctor Wolfram, you mentioned how people could make choices, and they could live in a bubble, but at least it would be their bubble that they get to live in. But that's what we're seeing throughout our society as polarization increases, more and more folks are reverting to tribal type behavior. Mister Harris, you talked about our medieval institutions and Stone Age Minds. Tribalism was alive and well and in the past, and we're seeing advances in technology, in a lot of ways, bring us back into that kind of tribal behavior. So, my question is to what extent is this technology actually accelerating that, and is there a way out? 

Harris: Thank you. I love this question. There's a tendency to think here that this is just human nature – that people are polarized and this is just playing out; it's a mirror it's holding up, a mirror to society. But what it's really doing is it's an amplifier for the worst parts of us. 

So, in the race to the bottom of the brainstem to get attention, let's take an example like Twitter. It's calculating what is the thing that I can show you that will get the most engagement, and it turns out that outrage, moral outrage, gets the most engagement. So, it was found in a study that for every world word of moral outrage that you add to a tweet, it increases your retweet rate by 17%. So, in other words, you know the polarization of our society is actually part of the business model. 

Another example of this is that shorter, briefer things work better in Attention Economy than long, complex, nuanced ideas that take a long time to talk about, and so that's why you get a hundred and forty characters dominating our social discourse. But reality and the most important topics to us are increasingly complex, while we can say increasingly simple things about them that automatically creates polarization – because you can't say something simple about something complicated and have everybody agree with you; people will, by definition, misinterpret and hate you for it, and then it's never been easier to retweet that and generate a mob that will come after you. And this has created a callout culture and chilling effects, and a whole bunch of other subsequent effects in polarization that are amplified by the fact that these platforms are rewarded to give you the most sensational stuff. 

One last example of this is on YouTube. Let's say we actually equalize; I know there's people here concerned about equal representation on the Left and the Right in media. Let's say we get that perfectly right. As recently as just a month ago on YouTube, if you did a map of the top 15  most frequently mentioned verbs or keywords in the recommended videos, they were: “hates,” “debunks,” “obliterates,” “destroys” – in other words, you know, “Jordan Peterson destroys social justice warrior in video.” So, that kind of thing is the background radiation that we're dosing two billion people with, and you can hire content moderators in English and start to handle the problem, but the problem is that two billion people in hundreds of languages are using these products. How many engineers at YouTube speak the twenty-two languages of India where there's an election coming up? So, that's some context on that. 

Sen. Peters: Well, there's a lot of context. Fascinating. I'm running out of time, but I took particular note in your testimony when you talked about how technology will eat up elections, and you were referencing, I think, another writer on that issue. In the remaining brief time I have, what's your biggest concern about the 2020 elections and how technology may eat up this election coming up? 

Harris: Another example of how we used to have protections that technology took away – we used to have equal price campaign ads, so that it cost the same amount on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. for any candidate to run an election. When Facebook gobbles up that part of media, it just takes away those protections – so, there's now no equal pricing. What I'm mostly worried about is the fact that none of these problems have been solved. The business model hasn't changed. And the reason why you see a Christchurch event happen in the video just show up everywhere, or, you know, any of these examples – fundamentally, there's no easy way for these platforms to address this problem, because the problem is their business model. 

Harris: This is one of the issues that most concerns me. As I think Senator Schatz (D-Hawaii) mentioned at the beginning, there's evidence that in the last month – even as recently as that, keeping in mind that these issues have been reported on for years now – there was a pattern identified by YouTube that young girls who had taken videos of themselves dancing in front of cameras were linked in usage patterns to other videos like that, which went further and further into that realm, and that was just identified by YouTube, as a supercomputer, as a pattern. It's a pattern of “this is a kind of pathway that tends to be highly engaging.” 

The way that we tend to describe this is: If you imagine a spectrum on YouTube on my left side, there's the calm Walter Cronkite section of YouTube. On the right hand side, there's crazytown, UFOs, conspiracy theories, Bigfoot – you know, whatever. If you take a human being and you could drop them anywhere, you could drop them in the calm section, or you could drop them in Crazy Town. But If I'm YouTube and I want you to watch more, which direction from there am I going to send you? I'm never gonna send you to the calm section. I'm always gonna send you towards Crazy Town. So, now you imagine two billion people, like an ant colony of humanity, and it's tilting the playing field towards the crazy stuff. 

The specific examples of this: A year ago, a teen girl who looked at a dieting video on YouTube would be recommended anorexia videos, because that was the more extreme thing to show. The voodoo doll that looked like a teen girl – there's all these voodoo girls that look like that – and the next thing to show is anorexia. 

If you looked at a NASA moon landing, it would show Flat Earth conspiracy theories, which were recommended hundreds of millions of times before being taken down recently. I wrote down another example. Fifty percent of white nationalist in a study had said that it was YouTube that had “red pilled” them; “red pilling” is the term for the opening of the mind. The best predictor of whether you'll believe in a conspiracy theory is whether I can get you to believe in one conspiracy theory, because one conspiracy sort of opens up the mind and makes you doubt and question things and, say, get really paranoid. And the problem is that YouTube is doing this en mass, and it's created sort of two billion personalized Truman Shows. Each channel has that radicalizing direction, and if you think about it from an accountability perspective – back when we had Janet Jackson on one side of the TV screen at the Super Bowl, and we had 60 million Americans on the other, we had a five-second TV delay and a bunch of humans in the loop it for a reason. But what happens when you have two billion Truman shows, two billion possible Janet Jackson's and two billion people on the other end? It's a digital Frankenstein that's really hard to control, and so that's the way that we need to see it.

From there, we can talk about how to regulate it. 

Senator Sullivan (R-Alaska): Anyone else have a thought on a pretty important threshold question? 

Harris: Is it okay if I check in? Thank you, Senator. The issue here is that Section 230 of the Communications Decency section – 230 has obviously made it so that the platforms are not responsible for any content that is on them, which freed them up to do what we've created today. The problem is if, you know, is YouTube a publisher? Well, they're not generating the content, they're not paying journalists, they're not doing that, but they are recommending things, and I think that we need a new class between, you know… 

The New York Times is responsible if they say something that defames someone else that reaches a certain hundred million or so people. When YouTube recommends flat earth conspiracy theories hundreds of millions of times, and if you consider that 70% of YouTube's traffic is driven by recommendations, meaning driven by what they are recommending, what algorithm is choosing to put in front of the eyeballs of a person, it's if you were to backwards derive a motto, it would be, “With great power comes no responsibility.”

#social media #u.s. politics #the social dilemma #facebook #politics

[thegreatcorpus]

Leyte Normal University

College of Arts and Sciences

Language and Literature Unit

EVALUATION OF MEDIA CONTENT TRHOUGH LANGUAGE USE

A Concept Paper

Submitted by:

FRNZA MAE G. ARCEGA

JOSHUA D. DAGAMI

MARY JANE LABUTAP

BAEL AE2-1

Submitted to:

MR. ROGELIO TICOY, JR.

Instructor, Language and Media

July 15, 2020

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The term “media linguistics” has been formed based on the combination of two key components “media” and “linguistics”, the subject of this new discipline is the study of language functioning in the sphere of mass communication. In other words, media linguistics deals with overall complex research of a particular social field of language usage. (Luginbühl, 2015)

Language registers refer to the levels of formality are used in different situations and scenarios. It is important to be conscious on how we are going to use language appropriately in presenting our messages, when to use a specific register and in what type of media platform it should be used. Topic, audience, purpose and location should be taken into consideration when choosing a register. According to Nordquist (2019), “there are five existing language registers. It includes frozen/static register, formal register, consultative register, casual register and intimate register.

Language style also known as stylistics, is the study of style used in literary, and verbal language and the effect the writer/speaker wishes to communicate to the reader/hearer. It attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language. It strengthens the contact with the reader and heightens their awareness. (Lamichhane, 2017)

Grammar refers to the structural regulations and rules that govern the construction of phrases, sentences and words in any language. This is because they are extremely important for the communication that is desired. Although, some might argue that correct grammar and spelling does not really matter, especially in advertising, like what Paul Suggett (2010, as mentioned in Sommerfield, 2014) statement “A sentence that is structured beautifully, obeying all the laws, and bylaws, of the English language, is not what advertising is all about. In fact, in advertising you don’t even need to use real words, good sentence structure, and proper punctuation, or obey any of the rules that were drummed into you in school.” Indeed, using grammar seems like an uphill battle, but media content without it is a suicide.

Semiotics, also called semiology, is the study of signs and sign-using behavior. The Swiss Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, one of its founders, defined it as the study of “the life signs within the society”. On the other hand, American Philosopher Charles Sandres Pierce defined sign as “something which stands to somebody for something” and contributed its categorization into three namely: icon, index and symbol. He added that a sign can never have a definite meaning, for the meaning must be continuously qualified. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020)

Pragmatics deals with utterances, by which we will mean specific events, the intentional acts of speakers at times and places, typically involving language. Logic and semantics traditionally deal with properties of types of expressions, and not with properties that differ from token to token, or use to use, or, as we shall say, from utterance to utterance, and vary with the particular properties that differentiate them. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2019)

INTRODUCTION

Media is deeply rooted in our lives that it is significant in our personal lives, as well as in business, politics and society. Its importance has grown exponentially. It seems like the world is lifeless without it.

Rapid development of the print and the electronic media, quick growth of virtual communications and the Internet have enormously changed people’s lives, giving stimuli for the development of the whole range of information society theories. (Luginbühl, 2015) It creates an overwhelming feeling which made people to take every information that is served on the table. Oftentimes, it misleads people that is why it is important to critically think and evaluate media content.

Patton (1987) defined evaluation as “a process that critically examines something. It involves collecting and analyzing information which include its activities, characteristics and outcomes. It is done in order to make judgments and to ensure that they are as effective as they can be. It can help us identify media content.

This paper aims to provide criteria that will help media users in evaluating media content of different types of media through language use.

DICUSSION

Media content can be evaluated through representation, audience, institutions, language, ideology, narrative and genre, but we are only going to focus on how language is used in these media types. It is also called as media linguistics.

There are six different types of media: Print Media, Visual Media, Electronic Broadcasting Media, Outdoor Media, Transit Media and Digital Media. Each media type will be evaluated on how language is used, specifically language registers, language style, grammar, semiotics and pragmatics.

PRINT MEDIA

Print media represents the oldest and the most widespread type of mass media published on paper. It includes books, circulars, journals, lithographs, memos, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and periodicals. (Oxford Reference, 2020)

Evaluating print media content in terms of:

Registers: Papers with an international audience usually use formal register.

Stylistics: It follows formal type of writing. it also uses a hierarchy of information to guide the consumer’s attention towards the most important statement/topic. Claims or statements are supported with evidence either in text or figure. Author’s information is usually detailed to make it easy for prospects to contact them and it holds them accountable for any problems on their published article.

Grammar: In this type of media, correct grammar and spelling should be observed. Based on the study conducted by Appelman & Bolls (2011), grammatical errors can affect the credibility of news stories and the amount of time and effort required to read them. Such errors increases reading difficulty and lower readers’ perception of credibility.

Semiotics: Effective print media design is bold and clear. Fonts should be easy to read and high quality graphics should work together. A few prominent graphics will do a much better job that having numerous elements scattered throughout the page. Contrast is everything. It highlights the most important parts of the message to create some visual appeal. Monotone color palette or tones that are very similar to each other are refrained from using.

Pragmatics: The main function of headlines and titles is to inform the reader briefly about the text that follows. They also signal of the paper’s attitude to the facts reported. Also semantically, the headline can be interpreted due to its literal meaning and inferences that readers reach depending on their cognitive knowledge. In order to demonstrate the meaning in its full efficiency, pragmatic aspects are also helpful in specifying the purpose of the article by making appropriate sense. The writer can use different stylistic devices such as discourse markers and connectors, metaphors, rhetorical questions, and emotive words to facilitate the interpretation of the utterances and attract readers’ attention. (Ismail, 2016)

VISUAL MEDIA

Visual Media as defined by the International Visual Literacy Association is ‘a group of vision competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences. (Welsh & Wright, 2010) In addition to this, it is as a set of competencies that ‘enable a visually literate person to discriminate and interpret the visual actions, objects, and/or creative use of these competencies, we are able to communicate with others. (Debes, 1969) it includes images, paintings, videos and infographics.

Evaluating visual media content in terms of:

Registers: Papers with an international audience usually use formal or casual register to attract a wider scope of audience. Lasquite (n.d.) stated, that visual communication is a key component in visual content marketing. Every marketer understands the value of sending the right message to consumers.

Stylistics: Content of this type of media is not going to be plain and boring if they are full of interesting characters and places, if they are connected to themes like good vs. evil etc. and if they have engaging prose that the audience can appreciate.

Grammar: Bradley (2010) said that design elements are like letters and words. When we add design principles and apply them to our elements, our words, we form a visual grammar. As we learn to use both we enable ourselves to communicate visually. In life we can communicate through the spoken word or through gestures. In design we’re bound by a visual language. Even the words on the page are made up of characters of type which are abstract shapes. Written language itself is a visual representation of spoken language. Bradley also stated that the  visual grammar, is the context within which we study design principles. When we learn to use girds or better understand typography or color we are doing so in order to communicate more effectively with our audience. The principles are the trees. Visual grammar is the forest.

Semiotics: Parsa (n.d.) stated that in visual semiotics iconic signs look like its object. They are more ‘motivated’ signs. The indexical signs draw attention to the thing to which it refers. The symbol signs, - e.g. a red rose is a symbol of ‘passion’ in Valentine’s Day and means ‘love’– are unmotivated or arbitrary. In a different culture this color of flower may not signify ‘passion’ or ‘love’. Also, any information, if not directly provided, is gained via a process of interpretation. Texts are not always produced recognizable codes in a communicative process. Usage of symbolic narratives, metaphors and metonymy may restrain the comprehension and signification of the text. In other words, in the exploration of the connotations and the associations, one requires to “make interpretations”. It also includes the material used, camera angles and color filters.

Pragmatics: David Lodge, writing in the Paradise News, says that pragmatics gives humans "a fuller, deeper, and generally more reasonable account of human language behavior." Without pragmatics, there is often no understanding of what language actually means, or what a person truly means when she is speaking. The context—the social signs, the image, body language, and tone of voice (the pragmatics)—is what makes utterances clear or unclear to the speaker and her listeners.

ELECTRONIC BROADCASTING MEDIA

Electronic media is the media that one can share on any electronic device for the audiences viewing, internet to transmit facts, skills, understanding, knowledge and appreciation with the aims of to attract general publics in general and marketers in particular. Popular examples of electronic media are television and radio. (Wikipedia, 2020)

Evaluating electronic broadcasting media content in terms of:

Registers: Electronic broadcasting media sometimes use formal register because less rigid but still constrained, where communication is expected to be respectful, uninterrupted, and restrained. Slang is never used and contractions are rare. However, it also uses consultative register. often in conversation when they are speaking with someone who has specialized knowledge or who is offering advice

Stylistics: Electronic broadcasting media is combined with a general negative view against excessive foul language has tempered electronic broadcasting into a much more “family friendly” media form. They use electromechanical energy or electronics for public to access the content. Main resources of electronic media are CD-ROM, online content, slide presentations, audio recordings, video recordings and multimedia presentations. Emotional appeal and repetition is highly observed.

Grammar: Electronic broadcasting media encompasses any form of media that is primarily consumed through listening. The grammars that they used in conveying the information to the audience are appealing and interested in the ears and eyes of the viewer.

Semiotics: Electronic broadcasting media uses connotation since they are designed to generate culturally-significant meanings. Iconic sign is usually used in advertisements of this media type. Advertisers do this, not only through repetition, but also through the combining of symbols, bringing words, images and music together into one meaningful and coherent composition.

Pragmatics: Its language contains plural codes, which interact to create new meanings or messages. Electronic broadcasting media uses the language without any opinion to the audience and convey the information just like they are interacting to the audience.

OUTDOOR MEDIA

Outdoor media is typically consisting of any advertising seen outside of the home, and is primarily grouped into a few specific categories such Billboards, posters and transit to name a few. Outdoor advertisements are the best medium to inform the moving population. Once an advertisement board is installed at a place, it usually remains there for a fairly longer period. What is best in outdoor media is that it can be displayed at a place where best impact can be created. (Nguyen, 2020)

Evaluating outdoor media content in terms of:

Registers: It uses casual register because it is probably use when you consider how you talk with other people, often in a group setting—marketers to be specific. Use of slang, contractions, and vernacular grammar is all common in Outdoor media. Also, Outdoor media uses the static register wherein it contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices.

Stylistics: Outdoor media often uses public notices in advertising to different locations. It also uses figurative languages to make their advertisement more reliable and catchier to the commuters or even to the tourists. Outdoor media uses visual techniques to make the viewers more attentive and languages are more powerful in visualizing their ads for the commuters and tourists to have a desirable view.

Grammar: Just like any advertising and marketing strategy, outdoor advertising requires research and preparation so that their use of grammar may not be mistaken because it can affect their viewer’s insight about their advertisement.

Semiotics: When it comes to branding and advertising, semiotics can provide some amazing insights. In some cases, the sign can be an exact representation of the thing being signified, while in other cases, it may be a symbol associated with it. In outdoor media, they use image to visualize the product being sold. They also use word to convey a message with the same effectiveness as an entire picture. It uses the Rule of Thirds and The Golden Mean.

Pragmatics: Outdoor media uses words and images to advertise their products and the words and pictures that they are using, connects to the understanding of the people. The words and images they used are more attractive, catchy and have a bigger size for their viewers to be more interested in their advertisement.

TRANSIT MEDIA

Transit media refers to advertising placed in, on, or around modes of public transportation: buses, subways, and taxis, as well as at bus, train, and subway stations. Transit media can be a great way to reach a really diverse audience: families traveling to daycares, professionals heading to work, tourists navigating a new town, or even students making their way to a local coffee shop. (Hendricks, 2020)

Evaluating transit media content in terms of:

Registers: Conversational register is often used in this type of media because of its target audience.

Stylistics: Placing a message outside targets a larger audience and is recognized by three quarters of passing individuals. It serves as a last minute reminder or as impulse motivator at pricely a time when real and potential consumers are on the move. Exterior bus posters, displayed on the front, back, and sides of the vehicle, offer advertisers high exposure, particularly in largeurban areas. There are commuters and tourists, or people in cabs, rental cars, and on foot who can see the rolling billboard go by. According to "The Complete Guide to Creative Out-Of-Home Media Forms," bus exteriors are available in 80 to 85 percent of the top 100 markets in the United States on more than 36,500 buses. The bus exteriors provide "mass audience exposures" that are repeated and reinforced as they follow the same routes every day. The more innovative, intriguing and humorous it is, the better.

Grammar: The message should be brief consisting of at least 3-5 words.

Semiotics: It also helps that nearly all transit ads are available at eye level with large graphics and text. The message should be legible. Colors are used to contrast each other. It builds a recognizable format or layout that catches the briefest eyes contact.

Pragmatics: Every transit agency that advertises has guidelines dealing with "objectionable" material. The problem comes in defining what might fall into that category. Seventy percent of the respondents indicated that they had formal, written guidelines addressing ad content. The restrictions differ throughout the transit industry, but generally include some variation of the following prohibited content: illegal, indecent, or immoral ads; political, alcohol, or tobacco ads; libelous, obscene, or profane ads; ads that ridicule individuals or groups of people; advocacy of or opposition to a religion, denomination, tenet, or belief; violent, criminal, or anti-social behavior; false, misleading, or deceptive ads; adult materials and services; explicit sexual material; pornography or businesses that traffic in pornography; and advertising that appears as graffiti, gang signs, or symbols.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Digital media are any media that are encoded in machine-readable formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved on digital electronics devices. Examples of digital media include software, digital images, digital video, video games, web pages and websites, social media, digital data and databases, digital audio such as MP3, electronic documents and electronic books. (Richard, 2013 as mentioned in Wikepedia, 2020).

Evaluating digital media content in terms of:

Registers: It uses casual register or consultative register because it is probably use when you consider how you talk with other people, often in a group setting—marketers to be specific.

Stylistics: User-generated content raises issues of privacy, credibility, civility and compensation for cultural, intellectual and artistic contributions. The spread of digital media, and the wide range of literacy and communications skills necessary to use it effectively, have deepened the digital divide between those who have access to digital media and those who don't. Each digital media network has its own intended purpose and audience. Understanding this and matching your content and tone to the proper social media outlet is imperative for success..

Grammar: Gumpart & Cathcart examined how new media develop their own grammars, the way individual acquire media literacy, and the effect of media literacy on ways people relate to the world and each other. It concludes that people develop different states of media consciousness based upon the… media grammars, and that particular consciousness produce media gaps which separate people.

Semiotics: When it comes to graphics, it uses color psychology. Photos and videos can boost your social media strategy. Tweets that feature images earn 150 percent more retweets are favorited 89 percent more and lead to 18 percent more clicks. Typing in all capital letters is visually alarming, they also communicate that you’re upset (and yelling) about something. It should be avoided. When used correctly, hashtags will increase your online visibility and followers. When used in excess, it looks spammy and becomes ineffective.

Pragmatics: Its language contains speech acts like constatives (assertive, concessives, suggestive, suppositive, responsive), directives (request, question & requirement), expressives (thank, accept, reject, negative opinion & positive opinion) and attachments (link, code & log).

CONCLUSION

Media has evolved rapidly over the last couple of centuries. These changes brought a lot of convenience in accessing different types of information, from typical newspapers to our smartphones. It provided an ocean of information these days, but “we need to be critical enough not to drown in hoaxes and misinformation.” Hence, it is our duty to be responsible consumers of information, regardless of media type, and to examine every small detail we see and hear on the media. Indeed, “media is a blessing for humans as it plays a vital role in our personal lives and many other walks of our lives.” It lies upon us who decide whether “media is a blessing or a curse.”

REFERENCES:

Gray, J. (2008). How to move into moving media: Transit Media. Journal of Marketing. Retrieved from https://journals.co.za/content/mfsa1/2008/04/EJC74350

Gumpert, G. & Cathcart, R. (2009). Media grammars, generations, and media gaps. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/15295038509360059

Appelman, A. & Bolls, p. (2011). Article Recall, Credibility Lower with Grammar Errors. Newspaper Research Journal. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/073953291103200205

Herrmann, E. (2015). Language Register: What is it and why does it matter in education? Retrieved from https://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/language-register-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/education

Nordquist, R. (2019). What is Register in Linguistics? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/register-language-style-1692038

Eilders,C. (2016). Print Media. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc193#accessDenialLayout

Wikipedia (2020). Digital Media. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/digital_media

Wikipedia (2020). Electronic Media. Retrieved fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_media

Oaks, D. (2011). Rethinking the role of grammar in advertising and marketing curriculum. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/073953291103200205?journalCode=nrja#:~:text=It%20was%20observed%20that%20grammar,retention%20and%20low%20perceived%20credibility.

Nguyen, G. (2020). Types of Outdoor Media. Retrieved from https://penji.co/types-of-outdoor-advertising/

Oxford Reference (2020). Print media. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100346392

Lewis, J. (2020). Semiotics in Advertising. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-semiotics-advertising-38593.html#:~:text=Semiotics%20are%20frequently%20used%20in,symbol%20that%20signifies%20something%20else.

Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020). Semiotics. Retrieved from https://encyclopaediabritannica./semiotics

Authors:

Frenza Mae G. Arcega

Joshua D. Dagami

Mary Jane Labutap

[akram119101]

ID: 119101

Number of words: 1399

Assignment 2

 Introduction:

We all know that communications have been and still are an integral part of human life throughout history. Because it is of great importance to many things such as dating, business, receiving information, and other benefits of communication. Communication started face to face, then with new inventions and technical development, people began to communicate using media such as newspapers, telephones, telegrams, radios and televisions. With the development of technology, new social media has been created including emails, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and more. With all these increasing developments and the passage of time, the role and effectiveness of the media has increased. During this semester and in the Communication Issues course, I learned a lot of important things that I should focus on because of their importance.

 Submitted material:

At first, I learned the importance of critical thinking, a process that challenges an individual to use contemplative, reasonable and rational thinking to collect, interpret, and evaluate information in order to extract judgment. I knew that in order to display critical thinking, I needed to develop my skills in interpretation, analysis, thinking and evaluation. From here, I realized the existence of misinformation, we all know that all people are keen to obtain information whose fields differ from one person to another. I then realized that misinformation is used for specific purposes to have some impact on the audience. Through the course, in addition to the research, I became acquainted with the misleading information and methods used for this purpose, especially after the advancement of technology. Misinformation gives the public deceptive information about fraud by intention, using fake maps, images, documents, and websites. It is used to rig cases like elections and politics. The media uses software tactics including Photoshop and others. Misinformation is extremely harmful and destructive.

Misinformation:

It also confirmed the existence of news literacy, which is the most specific ability to understand the language of news and its agreements as a genre, and to learn how to exploit these features with malicious intent. Empowerment enables individuals to become masters of their identity, to recognize and resist when they are manipulated in connection with disguised disinformation as news, and disguised disinformation in the form of news from the US, French, Kenyan, and German elections in 2016 and 2017 is just the tip of the flood of many information. The media mistake has clearly become widespread. It will spread further with the development of means of communication.

Cognitive strategy in social media:

There are many basic persuasion techniques that can be used here, such as: Many ads show a lot of people using the product, which means that "everyone is doing it", Linking a product, service, or idea to something already loved or desired by the target audience, such as (pleasure, beauty, security, intimacy, success, wealth), Use good-looking models (you might also be a celebrity) to get people's attention, Convince people to buy a product by promising to give them something else, such as a discount, coupon, or "free gift", The use of celebrities when advertising and many others. Through this topic, we find that the cognitive strategy in the media helps us a lot in understanding people's behavior, emotions and personalities and enables us to deal with them. the cognitive strategy in the media helps us a lot in understanding people's behavior, emotions and personalities and enables us to deal with them. Through this topic, we find that the cognitive strategy in the media helps us a lot in understanding people's behavior, emotions and personalities and enables us to deal with them.

 Communication used in Cold War, World War I, World War II, The American coalition invasion of Iraq:

I learned that the media is very important in all fields, even in the field of war and politics, and this was evident in the First World War, which was used by some birds and transporters to carry messages between leaders and soldiers. Media was frequently used in World War II, when it was used by the military media at the time, as it was based on publications and radio that caused anxiety and destruction. It was also used in the Cold War and in the United States and Iraq, but using various means commensurate with the development taking place in the world.

How do media outside Oman present race, gender (Male, Female & 3rds) and class?

By searching on this topic, I found that there is a big difference between what some countries talk about tolerance and what they do in their news. I found that there are a lot of international media that differentiate between races, age groups as well as different social classes, and this is clear Very much in what we take into account by the super powers in their dealings with people. The United States of America carries a lot of hatred against black people, and this makes them spread some false news about them, as well as Muslims.

 Selfie and narcissism - fame online

:

There is a relationship between personality and narcissism and this is confirmed by British researchers after they followed 74 people between the ages of 18 and 34 for a period of four months. The study results showed that those who posted a large number of personal photos on social media, their average increased by 25 percent in narcissistic traits such as dialogue, a sense of worthiness and exploitation of others. Many people search for popularity on the Internet for a number of reasons, including:

- Gain people's trust.

- He is promoting himself.

- Bring money.

And other reasons.

This popularity may be positive for the benefit of the people (posting useful information related to the well-known character), and it may be negative (for example, spreading rumors). Every celebrity outlines its pros and cons.

 Hate speech:

Hate speech, including nicknames, assumptions and phrases that promote malicious stereotypes, can be non-verbal pictures and symbols. Many people criticize hate speech not only because it causes psychological and physical harm to its victims when it incites violence, but also undermines the social equality of its victims. One example is what is said about China, and that the cause of this disease has spread throughout the world, because it is the first country in which this disease appeared.

 THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN HEALTH EDUCATION:

The media plays an important and effective role in all areas, the most important of which is health, and the role of the media in health education is clear in times of crisis and in pushing people to take preventive precautions for that, and the health of their community. She got acquainted with some of the media's roles in health education.

 COMICS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

I learned that there are many methods by which to communicate media messages, and illustrations are one of the most important of these methods.  And I find it very useful and meaningful to spread awareness among people as well as to show problems in a different way that is easy for everyone to understand, and these graphics may have different meanings that everyone understands.

 Discussing two hypotheses (Citizens have the right to know, Citizens do not need to know everything):

n my view, the two hypotheses must be combined so that everyone (citizens and the official media) can accept them. Official media must provide citizens with all the news they want about them that does not affect them and the state negatively, and at the same time they must keep news and information that it is not important for all citizens to know and that may affect citizens or the country negatively. However, the media must be honest, credible, and transparent when reporting news to citizens, so that citizens are satisfied with the news provided to them by the media.

 perspective about media ethic challenges:

There are many challenges to media ethics. I mentioned some of them in this article, and there are many of them that I have not touched upon, such as freedom of opinion that may reach unethical aspects, and other challenges. It is worth noting that the media people are trying to tackle these challenges and deal with them.

 Conclusion:

As students of the media, we need to get behind the glitz of media text and technologies and ask the hard questions about their production, content and reception.

   #MASS2026_20  #SQURT

[kingofthewilderwest]

Sorry for that baity ask before I just don’t see how Astrid is written to be a problem is because I don’t care like tumblr does. So it has nothing to do with me being stupid it’s just I don’t care. Female characters are hard to write correctly because women are more emotional then men. And I am a woman even I know this. Tumblr really has a psychosomatic obsession with female characters it’s kinda scary. Look this is my honest opinion please don’t hate me for this. Sincerely a long time follower

I believe from this: [link]Another relevant post on this topic: [link]

Thanks so much forfollowing me so long, friend! I’m touched!!!

You and I don’t have toagree, and I’ll never speak hate on you. I wouldn’t want to be nastyto you - or anyone, for that matter! :) At the same time, I hope you canunderstand I’ll kindly say I disagree with you here. I mean no rudeness. You alsodid hop into my inbox with these expressed opinions, and I do have the respectful right - as this being part of my blog - to answer with my thoughts.

I do hope you find it okay ifI suggest you might reconsider whether or not your wording comes off as respectful. Claiming “honesty” doesn’t bypass the consequences of our speech or erase away underlying rudeness. Honesty isn’t automatic virtue or asylum. “Honest” doesn’t excuse something unkind,unwarranted, unethical, or bigoted (I’m not trying to callyou unethical or bigoted, nor try to preach; I’m explaining honesty =/= “okay”). Friend, whetheror not you see eye-to-eye with someone, your phraseology does unfortunatelysound irreverent, especially consideringwho your audience is. You know your audience includes me, someone who’s said Iconsider writing good female characters important. I might not clump myselfwith extreme, inciting political blogging, but you do know what I value,and you chose to call my values “psychosomatic obsession.”

You don’t have to read this. I’llcontinue blogging about HTTYD and I hope you don’t feel unwelcome.

I’m going to actually pull up academic papers and other sources. The topic merits more research than I have here, so I hope no one looks ill on me for nothaving ALL the info, up-to-date data, or the like. I don’t have full universityaccess to articles as I did with my undergrad minor in Cognitive Science, and Ialso wanted to spend one day writing this analysis instead of severalweeks. XD And I’m not perfect so maybe I presented a fact or two wrong. Nevertheless, this should be a strong enough foundation to providenot just my anecdotal experiences, but also supply more objective data – data whichscientists have legitimately researched and published materials over. This isn’tthe overtly biased babbling of someone seething in propaganda. This is Science™.

A. Gender and Emotion

Though it’s an interesting and important topic, I’m notgoing to spend much time here because it’s not relevant to the main points Iwant to make (you’ll see what I mean later). That said, I do think it’simportant to consider gender, sex, and emotionality are complicated topics that lack a black-and-white “X gender’s more emotional”answer. Even just touching on research, it’s clear science isn’t giving usconcrete proof women are more emotional than men. It’s a mess of complications,qualifications, contradictions, questions, clarifications, and debates. I thinkMoriguchi et al (2013) do a good job describing some of the research that’s beenpoured into sex and emotion:

Despite the prevailing belief that women are the moreemotional sex, however, objective measures of emotion do not consistently showsex differences. For example, some studies report that women show largerphysiological changes in evocative situations (Bradley et al., 2001), whereasothers do not (Quigley and Barrett, 1999; Kelly et al., 2006), and some studiesreport the opposite pattern of results (Greenwald et al., 1989). Sometimeswomen smile more than men (LaFrance et al., 2003) and sometimes less (Ansfield,2007). Men and women do not differ in the magnitude of physical reactivity likecortisol level and autonomic responding when exposed to an experimental socialstress (e.g. preparation for speech), although they differed in reportingirritability and fear after the task (Kelly et al., 2008). Men and women alsodo not differ in their subjective reports of moment-to-moment emotionalexperiences in response to specific events as they occur in everyday life whenmeasured using an experience-sampling procedure, although women describethemselves as more emotional when using memory-based self-report measures(Barrett et al., 1998), this is most likely because such measures tapstereotypes and other beliefs that are strongly gendered (Robinson and Clore,2002).

Basically: the loads and loads of science done on this topic doesn’t say “women are more emotional than men.” Our own immediate experiences and perceptions are sometimes wrong, which is chill, and that’s why science is important: to help dispel information we might have misinterpreted in our lives. I know there’s lots of things I thought I observed about the world that turned out to be inaccurate.

If you want to get your information in something more vernacularthan an academic paper published by Oxford, there’s this article that mentions:

[M]ale and female teens gave self-reports and had severalphysiological measures taken while they viewed animated clips depicting peoplebeing hurt. Female participants scored higher than males on self-reportedempathy, and this sex difference increased with age. But no sex differenceswere detected in blood pressure, heart rate, or pupil dilation—all measures ofemotional responsiveness. These results suggest that males and females feel thesame thing, but report what they feel differently.

And in this video, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett – a UniversityDistinguished Professor of Psychology at the R1 instituted NortheasternUniversity – talks about the same idea. Women in general think they’re more emotional thanmen, men think women are more emotional than men, but when these people actuallyrecord daily experiences and their physiological reactions are recorded… thesexes are emotionally comparable. And how we judge people emoting isn’t equal, either. In one research study Dr. Barrett mentions, when test subjects see the same face and same expression, but one is coded with female hair and one with male, they’re more likely to associate the “woman” with having “more emotion.” They’re more likely to judge that the man’s expression is simply a bad day, but the woman’s expression is a part of her allegedly emotional character. All because people presumed a different gender to the same pictured face.

Despite prevailing societal ideas from both men and women that“women are more emotional,” that’s not what data’s telling us. It’s notthat straightforward and true inside the research – and there’s been lots of it.

I also like how Dr. Barrett talks about how some emotion research,which tries to focus on facial movements, doesn’t match the full complexity of how human faces emote – the same muscle contractions andmovements can be used to express a variety of emotions.

This isn’t even going into societal norm studies – if men aremocked for crying, for instance, then it only makes sense they’ll try to suppressthat rather than let themselves show tears. Is it so cut-and-dry to say womenare more emotional if we enforce different gender standards for what emotionallyexpressive behaviors are “acceptable” in society?

B. Writing the Gender “Norm”

Now, women expressing emotions differently than men can very well be the case, and thus still be an issue in writing characters. Regardless, even if it turned out women were objectively more emotional thanmen, that doesn’t alter my perspective about whether or not women are hard to write. You may find womenhard to write, and many showrunners may find women hard to write. That’s your experiences. That’s no debate. However, I think a lot of this sense of ease or difficulty has to do withcomfort and normalization. Usually, we’re most comfortable and successfulcompleting tasks to which we’ve had lots of practice and exposure. In the caseof writing, I feel that usually what’s easiest to write… is what we’re usedto writing.

I’ve been a creative writer since I learned my letters. I’vehonestly always found women easier to write, probably because most of mystories from preschool onward had women-heavy casts. I’d say a good 80% of mystories featured women protagonists. Significant male roles were rare, and I’m sure that, even including my minor male characters, womenoutnumbered them over 3 to 1. I’ve gotten much more balanced, ofcourse. But looking at my stories from kindergarten, back before I knew whatfeminism was or was exposed to it… it was clear I preferred writing ladies. Trying to get into the perspective of a man was more difficult because it wasn’t my norm, my life, my experiences.

For me, the norm was womanhood. And because I livedin a norm of womanhood, I expressed that easily in my writing. That was my default, and I didn’t realize it was my default until I was older and asked myself, “Where are the men???” I had to thinkharder, push myself, and adapt to be able to go out of my comfort zone andwrite men.

What I wrote, of course, isn’t the pattern we see in media. Mediaskews toward men. In media, men are default, men are the norm.

So. I think one reason the public often says women are “harderto write” is because women are considered “the divergence from the norm.”

We do live in a world where men are the norm in whatwe consume. I’m going to italicize some points, but just check out a few statistics Women’s Media Centergave about 2017’s female representation on the big and small screen:

Of 11,306 speaking characters in film, TV and digital shows,66.5 percent were male and 33.5 percent were female. In film, 28.7 percentof all speaking roles went to women. In network TV, cable TV and showsstreaming online, the respective figures were 36.4 percent, 37.3 percent and38.1 percent. An average of 18 percent of films and TV/digital series had whatresearchers deemed as “balanced casts,” where females held 45 percent to 54.9percent of all speaking roles. Cable TV shows fared best, with 23 percent of castsin those shows deemed as balanced. In film, 73.5 percent of leading orco-leading characters were male. Across film, TV and online, femalescomprised 25.7 percent of characters aged 40 and older. Online entertainmenthad the most women characters in the age group, 33.1 percent. Of charactersclad in sexy attire, 34.3 percent were female, while 7.6 percent were male; ofpartially nude characters, 33.4 percent were female and 10.8 percent were male.

This shows us that, despite women being roughly 50% of theworld’s population, almost three quarters of films put men in leadroles, women made up barely more than 25% of any speaking role infilm, and women were at least three times more likely to be depicted insexually appealing ways. I’m sure you’re also aware of the Bechdel Test, which honestly is a VERY low bar for women’s roles, and yet over 40% of today’s films still fail this. Media DOES skew men as “norm” and women as thatsecondary “other.” And this is progress forward from what representationhas been in previous decades.

Considering the fact that an even HIGHER percentage of major filmcreators, writers, producers, etc. are male… and that women AREN’T depicted asmuch in media… it makes sense that people say women are “hard” to write. They’renot what’s normally written. Women aren’t the norm in stories. Writing women is“hard” because it’s not a skill that media creators focus on or develop. For some people, writing this gender might be hard despite working on it lots. For many creators, I suspect, writing this gender is hard because they lack sufficient effort and practice.

If I invest zero time in playing my viola, I won’t be ableto play viola well, even if I’m talented playing flute. It’s not that playingflute is objectively easier… but if I invest all my time and skills into thatmusical instrument rather than another… I’m going to experience playingone as easier than the other. When I was a kid and tried to learn how to drawhumans, I drew mostly women… and thus became great at drawing women, poor at drawing men. My lack of time investment in drawing men meant thatI had no chance to have good art featuring male bodies, even when I tried. But if I’ddivided my attention differently and drew only men, then I would have foundwomen hard to draw. Men aren’t innately harder to draw – it’s justthat how I’ve invested my life makes men seem harder. Andso, I do think it’s important to consider… in a world where men are writtendisproportionately more than women, all the writers’ skill points have beeninvested in writing men. You experience something as easier if you make it partof your investment, your practice, your norm, your actions.

If we’re feeding into this idea that women are “hard” towrite, it’s probably because we’re feeding into a subconscious idea that women are secondary and different than the “average human.”

That’s not something I want to espouse, ignore, or perpetuate.

Beyond that, I don’t think that emotionality has to beinnately more difficult to write. If we believed men were less emotional, but we’re used to writing women, then men would be harder because we’renot used to writing something less emotional. We could complain, “Men areharder to write than women because I’m used to writing more emotional characters!”That’s entirely feasible.

The point is, I don’t think just because you find women moreemotional than men, doesn’t make them innately hard to write. It’s not anexcuse media creators can hide behind for writing less-than-stellar women. It just allows them to keep not-thinking about women and perpetuate a male-focused norm.

That’s why folks have issue with women’s representation when it’s done poorly. Writers couldhave the ability to write women as complex, intricate, important characters. There are many ways in which writers can learn about women and learn how towrite women well. It’s not like we’re demanding writers to focus on 0.001%of the population, rare cases of poorly-documented experiences. Womenconstitute over half the population of the world. Women are very familiar,common human beings we constantly interact with in our day-to-day lives. Womenare normal. With that in mind, women should probably be consideredcommonplace, something that isn’t nefariously challenging to understand orwrite about, even with the fact humans are complex creatures. We should be able to halfway decently write something that’s socommon it’s over 50% of the population, right? If women are so hard to write…isn’t that just saying we aren’t paying attention to the women we’re supposedto be writing?

C. The Effects of Gender Presentation in Media

Now… for some people, it’s insulting enough that women aren’tgiven as much attention and respect in media. That is bad. Yet this problemis even bigger than that. How adults and children alike perceive gender isrelated to the media we consume.

I’ll cite scientific studies later, but first I’ll chat about my personal experiences – as one case study example of how childreningrain media into their lives and belief systems.

As a child, I didn’t realize how much shows, movies, games, and books affected me. But they did. Hugely.

I started writing stories when I was about four years old.Some stories were straight out of franchises: Star Wars, Monsters, Inc. ABug’s Life, Frogger… I even wrote about Furbies and Beanie Babies becausethey were the toys I played with. My consumerism led me to retell the stories Iconsumed, sometimes retelling exact canon, other times liberally diverging from plot.

But it wasn’t just characters that made it into my stories. Values were there, too. Story tropes. World frameworks. Societal expectations. Stereotypes. Everything. All of that was reproduced in my writingbecause what I consumed taught me how the world “worked.” What I’d beenexposed to from the shows I watched and books I read… I emulated, perpetuated,reproduced, and believed.

I created classic princess tales. “Queen Misty” I wrote whenI was about seven. A rabbit queen staged a competition for her princess daughters: the first daughter to find and marry a prince would become the kingdom’s next ruler. Thebest thing the women could do for their lives was find romance. The prince,meanwhile, saved our damsel in distress, taught her new ways of the world, helped her recover from amnesia, andfought off a gang of vicious cats. Another story of mine from the same timeperiod, “Mandy Estuchia,” involved another princess being driven away from herfamily because she was ugly. Only after she grew into a beautiful teenager andfound a boyfriend did she return to the kingdom and get accepted by herpeople. I was seven. I didn’t realize I was regurgitating questionablegender values, and yet I regurgitated them anyway – because I’d been exposed tothem and had unknowingly internalized them. What I consumed in media became what I THOUGHTand GENERATED. And I did it all without knowing there were problems with theseideas, or that I even HAD them.

I created many other stories, too. Stories that fall in the same spirit as the Ugly Duckling, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or TheLion King. I wrote picture books that integrated what I read in Bible stories,down to virgin births being foretold by God’s angels. MANY stories of mine wereStar Wars ripoffs. I even had an Anakin Skywalker-like alien professionalvehicle racing prodigy foretold to be The Chosen One. Her name was Cheacabrrand her design was influenced by another Star Wars podracer, Neva Kee.

Even uncomfortable raciststereotypes entered my earliest childhood stories. I’ve never admitted thisbefore to ANYONE because I’m so appalled this came out of me. But it’strue. I consumed extremely racist things about Native Americans as a child. Itentered my creative writing and childhood play at recess. I had “Indian”characters named “Ug Heblum” [shudders] and “Sunshine.” I believed all “Indians”shouted by flapping hands over their mouths and could talk to wolvesthrough… uh… spiritualism? Let’s not mention my old Halloween costumes. I didn’tunderstand racism and its repercussions yet. I was five. And yet here I was,propagating horrifying racism. The point is: I couldn’t discern that the worstparts of media were underlyingly “bad” because the media I consumed didn’t tell me it was some “bad” villainous thing– and so as a little kid I ate up the racism and thought it was all true information andgood fun. YIKES.

What children consume in media is EXTREMELY importantbecause we are EXTREMELY impressionable. This is how one kidinteracted with media. But it’s part of the pattern for how kids interact with whatwe consume. Kids pretend to be their favorite superheroes, or Disney princesses,or whatever media it is that they love. They find rolemodels – often of their same gender–in what they watch and read.

Research conclusively supports that kids are influenced by fictional characters, down to gender stereotyping. Signorella et al had children in a research experiment classifyattributes as “male” or “female.” One trend they noticed: “television viewing[was] significantly related to forced choice scores.” That’s to say, kids moreexposed to television media were statistically significantly more likely tojudge people according to male/female stereotypes. Furthermore, “children whoview prosocial behaviors on television are more likely to exhibit those typesof behaviors themselves. Young children will imitate and repeat behaviors theysee on television. Consequently, children may exhibit these gender-biasedbehaviors and develop the gender-biased attitudes that they see modeled ontelevision” (Witt).

The evidence just keeps piling up, more and more andmore: kids find rolemodels from media, especially rolemodels of thegender they identify with. Kids imitate behaviors they see onscreen and internalize the messages, even when they’re just toddlers. I’m going to paste some findings and summary discussions from papers and reports:

From Ward and Aubrey:

Higher levels of TV viewing are associated with 4-year-oldsbeing more likely to believe that others think boys and men are better thangirls and women (Halim, Ruble, & Tamis-LeMonda, 2013). Boys are attractedto masculine role models to learn how to behave in masculine ways, and they areless interested in media featuring feminine role models (Luecke-Aleksa,Anderson, Collins, & Schmitt, 1995; Slaby & Frey, 1975). In children’sfilms and on children’s television (e.g., superhero shows) and in media favoredby older adolescents (e.g., reality shows, sports pro - gramming), masculinityis illustrated by characteristics such as aggression, power, dominance, statusseeking, emotional restraint, heterosexuality, and risk taking (Baker &Raney, 2007; Coyne, Callister, & Robinson, 2010; Stern, 2005). Moreover,research has suggested that media exposure affects masculine attitudes andbehaviors. For example, preschool boys who are frequent viewers of televisionprograms about super - heroes tend to engage in more male-stereotyped toy playand more weapon play (Coyne, Lindner, Rasmussen, Nelson, & Collier, 2014).Among older male adolescents, sports TV viewing and reality TV viewing areassociated with stronger conformity with masculine beliefs (Giaccardi, Ward,Seabrook, Manago, & Lippman, 2016).

The lesson that girls should be concerned with theirappearance and sexiness is communicated in media targeting youth, beginning inearly childhood (Baker & Raney, 2007; Hentges & Case, 2013; Smith,Choueiti, Prescott, & Pieper, 2013). There is evidence that exposure toappearance-focused TV content increases body dissatisfaction among 5- to8-year old girls (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006), and by early adolescence, mediaexposure is predictive of the internalization of media-based appearance idealsfor both girls and boys (Trekels & Eggermont, 2017). Media messages teachgirls that looking sexy is often preferred or expected and is equated withpopularity and romantic success. One consequence is self-objectification —i.e., viewing oneself as an object whose external appearance matters more thaninternal qualities (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Self-objectification isassociated with many negative outcomes, including diminished academicperformance (Pacilli, Tomasetto, & Cadinu, 2016), lowered body esteem,increased anxiety, lowered confidence in math ability (Grabe & Hyde, 2009),body shame, and depressive symptoms (Tiggemann & Slater, 2015).

From Coyne et al:

We found that boys who viewed superhero programs were moregender stereotyped in terms of their play and activities 1 year later, evenafter controlling for initial levels of gender stereotyped play and othercontrols. Notably, our alternative model did not find the opposite – thatmale-stereotyped play led to more superhero exposure over time for boys,suggesting that media may be driving the association between these twovariables over time. This confirms existing research demonstrating thatexposure to gender stereotypes in the media can influence behavior in real life(e.g., Herrett-Skjellum and Allen 1996).

From England et al:

[E]xposure to gendered material may influence children’sgender role acquisition and expression. Children certainly seem to be consciousof gendered portrayals. Oliver and Green (2001) suggest that animated contentfor children is often targeted toward one gender, and that children are wellaware of the gender classifications of such media. In fact, the children intheir study actively used this background knowledge to predict which cartoonsboys or girls would identify with and like better. Thompson and Zerbinos (1995)relatedly found that children who recognized more gender stereotyping incartoons had similarly gendered expectations for themselves and others.Consistently portrayed gender role images may be interpreted as “normal” bychildren and become connected with their concepts of socially acceptablebehavior and morality. For example, when children see villainy in a characterillustrated via gender transgression (e.g., a male villain appearingeffeminate), they may develop lasting negative associations withnon-stereotypical gendered behavior (Li-Vollmer and LaPointe 2003).

From Calvert:

Although a longitudinal content analysis of the number ofmale and female characters in television programs demonstrated significantincreases in the number of females over the past several decades, from 24% in1967 to 41% in 2009, men still outnumbered women as television characters intelevision programs compared to their actual representation in the U.S.population, and men continued to have more prestigious occupations than womendid (Signorielli, 2012). The value of women often comes from their physicalappearance rather than their occupation. Content analyses documented that womenin popular films were younger than their male counterparts (Lauzen &Dozier, 1999), and women in television depictions were likely to have thin andattractive bodies (Fouts & Burggraf, 2000). Overall, the media depicts menas strong, serious, powerful, and heterosexual, and women as passive andemotional (Hust & Brown, 2008). Children’s programs were especially likelyto portray characters in gender-stereotyped ways, where females were emotionaland romantic (Calvert & Huston, 1987; Signorielli, 2012), and males weremuscular and powerful superheroes (Baker & Raney, 2007). Even femalecharacters who were superheroes were still physically attractive and emotional(Baker & Raney, 2007). Content analyses of children’s educational andinformational television programs found no differences in the number of maleand female characters, but male characters engaged in a wider range of rolesthan female characters did, and no programs had a female lead character(Barner, 1999) Taken together, the findings suggest that children encounter aworld of television that adheres to traditional gendered stereotypes.

Consistent with social cognitive theory, children alsoselect same-sex role models more so than opposite-sex role models. Forinstance, when children were asked which media character they would like to belike, boys chose only male characters and girls chose female characters twothirds of the time (Miller & Reeves, 1976) Consistent with these findings,3-year-old children who were heavy television viewers selected moregender-stereotypical occupations for their futures than light televisionviewers did (Beuf, 1974).

This is just a tiny, tiny sampling of material thatdiscusses how children consume media and learn gender stereotypes through it.There’s newer information, better information, more in depth information, thaneven this. It can’t be denied: children are influenced by what they consume. Children learn gender stereotypes through media.

This isn’t even going into all the effects media has on adults,too. I don’t have time to get into THAT body of literature, but suffice it to say that exists.

The point is, adult or child, gendered media stereotypesaffect our lives. This is something that hurts us every day. The idea of women as “secondary” can create scary situations. I don’t know aboutyou, but I was taught to be “careful” and keep myself“safe” – I was in greater danger because I had boobs. Park inwell-lit areas. Walk to the car with keys in your hand and pepperspray ready after dark. Don’t accept drinks someone else gifts you. Bewary of men who look at you certain ways. Travel in groups. Keep yourphone on you, ready to call. You’re not safe, you’re not safe, you’re notsafe, you’re not safe… Crime statistics against women in domestic, etc. cases… sort ofindicate why women have become so vigilant. Women are targeted as victims. What these crimes suggest is women are treated and perceived with less respect. This says something about how society views that gender, doesn’t it?

It’s everywhere. I affirm that anecdotally. I’mnot the stereotypical sort of beautiful you expect from a “woman.” I’m VERYnon-typical in appearance for someone with boobs. I have legitimate facial hairthat could almost be called a scruffy beard. I don’t wear makeup 95% of the time. I’m notthe usual “target” for leering because I don’t look stereotypically feminine or“conventionally attractive.” And yet even I, in fairly “safe” cities,have been catcalled by men as I walk through the streets. I’ve had a strangergrab and kiss me on the lips, then try to bullshit that he was “asexual so it’s okay.” (Me, an asexual, didn’t believe that one second). I’ve had creeps hiton me on my work shifts, try to figure out my work schedule, and tryto get me to hop in their cars or go to their homes alone. I got extremely gross sexual comments when I wore a cosplay that emphasized boobs and butt (despite being FULLY clothed - I was Tali’Zorah from Mass Effect). I don’t even look muchlike a “woman,” but because most people register me as a “woman,” I’m treatedwith noticeable… devaluing. To the point it’s not SAFE.

^ That’s how I usually look in public (I’m lazy and don’t do my hair). I’m targeted. Friends who are more “conventionally attractive” are targeted worse. That’s not okay, whatever we look like (and all humans are beautiful!). But simply being registered as “female” is enough to create negative repercussions and be treated more poorly.

When people are angry that women are written poorly inmedia, it’s all part of seeing a system that devalues women. Women are treated so poorly that many don’t feel safe in their own neighborhoods. Women aretreated so secondary that they’re not even represented decently in our dailyentertainment. Maybe(?) you don’t feel these impacts as much as some others do, but that doesn’t negate the fact this exists and permeates society.

D. Getting Back to Astrid

So why does it matter if Astrid is written poorly or well inRTTE?

First, because it shows whether or not society even caresabout whether women are important enough to be written well.

Second, because it affects how adults continue to perceiveand write women, or excuse that women are written poorly.

And third, because kids will emulate this. Kids will fall in love with characters, and they willemulate what they see on screen – the good, the bad, and the ugly. They’llthink it’s “okay” and ingrain it into their minds as “a part of the world.” Ifwe’re showing kids terrible representations of women, they’ll grow up believingthat’s “how women are.”

If we’re repeatedly teaching kids women will be damsels indistress, they will pick up on it. If we’re teaching that men are default and women are secondary, they will pick up on it. If we’re teaching that boy’s media is fun for everyone but girl’s media is only for “girly girls” – or is elsewise cringe-worthy – they will pick that up. If we’re teaching that boys are fighters and girls are emotional crybabies, they will pick that up.

I’ve already linked my post on Astrid’s mixed representation in RTTE. To label just one point of constructive commentary: Astrid is written more often as a damsel indistress than she probably should be. This will affect how everyone,including the children in the audience, perceive and normalize women. It will affect how children believe that they should act and what their gender “is.” Witt pointsout that, “Children who witness female characters on television programs whoare passive, indecisive, and subordinate to men, and who see this reinforced bytheir environment, will likely believe that this is the appropriate way forfemales to behave. Female children are less likely to develop autonomy,initiative, and industriousness if they rarely see those traits modeled. Similarly,because male characters on television programs are more likely to be shown inleadership roles and exhibiting assertive, decisive behavior, children learnthis is the appropriate way for males to behave.” Of course, it’s not that Astrid is THAT submissive - but if all characters kids see on screen become damsels, won’t they internalize the pattern? How Astrid is written is an issue not because some people ontumblr haven’t seen sunlight for forty days. It may be something to consider that people are uncomfortably aware Astrid’s DW Dragons writing contains harmful gender elements that keep getting perpetuated and recycled in our society. Even if this particular show doesn’t teach kids a bad gender stereotype, it still shows it’s part of an imperfect system that does.

It might not be emotionally centric to you whether or notAstrid is written perfectly, and you can fully enjoy the show regardless of howshe’s presented. It’s true something like this will bother some viewers morethan others. It may also be the case that sometimes people on tumblr get theirbutt hairs tied in knots, angry, about very minute things in the realm ofsociety’s woes. There’s always going to be that one person who overreacts aboutanything, tumblr or otherwise. But it may be worth considering: maybe this isn’t necessarilya case of all of tumblr having their panties shoved up their butts. Maybe it’sthe case people observe how female representation is a prevalent and noteworthyissue affecting media and society, down to what happens with our youngest children.It may be because this is a very real, very documentable issue.

Whether or not you care, I hope you can at least externally perceive why some people might think femalerepresentation isn’t “nothing important.” Now, Astrid from RTTE isn’t the“worst offender” in the world of female representation. Nowhere close,thankfully. But there’s something to be said that all our experiences combinedteach us something. If kids keep seeing patterns of damsels-in-distress andwomen being secondary and so forth… they’re going to pick up the pattern inDreamWorks Dragons, too. It’s something to at least observe, to help us be aware of how these patterns keep returning in our media.

People like me talk about these media issues because we’re acknowledging and exposing the prevalence of this problem. It’snot a bad thing to be aware that even the stories we cherish may still ingrain some imperfect societal messages. I still love RTTE, DreamWorks Dragons, andAstrid. I still think there are MANY things to appreciate about her characterand how she’s written. There’s many things to have fun with or celebrate. I don’t hate you for your opinion and I’m not going totry to make you see this as an issue. I do hope that youin turn, friend, may consider that maybe my opinion is worthy of respect andconsideration, too. Thank you for reading.

Take care, and may we all have fun together withDRAGONS!

#long post #feminism #female representation #ask #ask me #anonymous #Astrid #rtte #Race to the Edge #DreamWorks Dragons #analysis #my analysis #to be clear: I'm not saying tumblrites are over-excitable or prone to screaming illogically about small issues AT ALL I am NOT saying that #I'm just saying that - as with any area on social media - there are a few select people we'll see from time to time that may go overkill #I'm addressing a stereotype of tumblrites rather than saying I have a bias to seeing tumblrites that way #just in case anyone was wondering or thought that was unclear #anyway! #take care ya'll! #yeah this is long but tumblr has a shit history with breaking read more links so #here it is #hope this doesn't come off as too pushy for my perspective #take care :)

[uniquelylaura-blog]

The Magic of “Old” Friendships

What is it about the friends that you have had a friendship with that seems like you have known them forever? They know your history, your quirks and all of you faults. They share old stories over and over that you never get tired of listening too. You have been through marriages, divorces, deaths and births of children. You go on “girls’ trips” and you plan future trips. You celebrated turning 20, then 30, then 40 and now 50-year birthdays.

 I said I would never write about my girlfriends, but apparently, I have changed my mind. What I will not write about is all those stories that do not need to be put into print! This would mean most of our stories.

 I met my best friend in high school when I was 15 and she was 14 years old. We were “thick as thieves” in high school. Our friendship continued into college and after. I met the next “batch” of girls in college. The group has grown over the years by adding co-workers, other friends and cousins to “the girl’s group.”

 Over the last 35 years, I have been to weddings, funerals, baby showers, ect. I have watched all of our children and “fur babies” grow up. I am now waiting on the first grandchild, which hopefully is not too soon. Grandchildren will just confirm that I am now old!

 What makes these friendships endure? I have had plenty of other friends that come and go, but this groups always seems to stay together. I had other friends in high school and college, but rarely am I in touch with many of them.

 I have learned over the years that there are a number of different types of friendships. There are work friends, neighborhood friends, colleagues in your line of work friends and social friends, to name a few.

 When I first started working at my first professional job, I became friends with my co-workers. I worked in a physical rehabilitation hospital and we went through a lot of emotional situations in dealing with our patients. The staff would lean on each other for emotional support through these times. My boss would even have socials at her home for all of us to get together for cook outs and stress relief. I even recall a few weekend beach trips with them. However, when I left the hospital to pursue another career, we lost touch. I have not spoken to any of them in more 20 years. I can not tell you why either.

 During my years of studying counseling, I read about how some friendships are “situational.” This is when you are friends with someone because of where you work or maybe from the club at the swimming pool. These friends share a common interest. It seems that when this common interest is no longer present, these friendships have a tendency to fade.

 Conversely, I have a friend that I met at my second job and she and I have remained friends for over 30 years. We still chat on the phone, do fun activities together, celebrate all the birthdays and confide in each other. What makes this happen? What makes one relationship thrive and others disappear?

 The advent of Facebook and other social media have allowed people to contact their long lost friends. Have you tried locating someone that you have had no contact with for a number of years? How did it turn out?

 Have you ever had a friend that you thought was super cool and awesome for years, then realize one day that you were wrong? I have had friends that I was extremely close too, then something would happen to open my eyes to what the person was really like. There were times that I did not like what I saw. Research says that sometimes when you do not like something about someone else is because this is a trait that is innate in you. So, you do not like someone because you are just like them?

 I think one reason that friendships endure is patience. I have had to be patient with some friends and I know they have had to be patient with me. Have you ever been in a situation where you or someone else was being completely unreasonable? If you said no, you are wrong. It happens to everyone at some time or another. I know I have experienced both sides of this situation. I find at these difficult times that it is a “test” of the friendship. Most important is how YOU handle the situation.

 My mom always told me, “you may not be able to stop what you are thinking, but you have the power to decide how you are going to behave.” You always have a choice, even if none of the choices seem appealing. In my opinion, this is a true test of someone’s character. I work hard on trying not to say things that I will regret later. This is a lifelong lesson, though.

 So, what makes one friendship last and others do not? I do not know the answer, I was just asking it out loud to myself.

 I have a theory that some people seem to be more “in tune” with your personality. I find I can connect with some people on multiple levels that include spiritual beliefs, social norms and morals and common interests.

 There are some topics that I have learned not to discuss at any time as these can be fierce discussions and can end in an argument. Subjects include:

1.      Religion

2.      Abortion vs. Pro-life

3.      Politics of any kind

4.      Parenting/Discipline

5.      Public school vs. Private school

6.      Vegetarian vs. Non-vegetarian

7.      Hunting

These issues are “hot beds” for debate and can quickly fuel into a shouting match. Steer clear of these issues as you can. If someone presses you to discuss, find simple ways to get out of expressing your opinion. Remember, just because you listen to a person’s point of view does not mean that you agree with them! I use phrases that are benign like, “hmm, interesting” or “really”. Allowing people to have their own opinion should not interfere with your life.

 By the way, I was a vegetarian for 12 years, then returned to eating red meat. I have been on both sides of this discussion and no one ever wins. When I was a single and still a vegetarian, a friend set me up with a guy. Turns out, this guy was an avid hunter. He spent the entire date trying to convince me that hunting was “necessary to maintain/control the population of animals” and “hunting is part of human nature” and blah, blah, blah. What was my friend thinking when she set me up with this guy? Did I wrong her in a past life or something? As you would guess, this was our only date.

 Have you ever had a “friendship crush” on someone? It could be male or female. I am not talking about romantic crushes. A friendship crush is when you just adore and admire someone so much that you may do the “toddler dance” prior to seeing them. I have had many. I also noticed that I would go out of my way and inconvenience others just to please my crush! You do not see their faults, because you think that they do not have any. This can put you in precarious situation.

 Many times, when I have had a “friendship crush”, I do not make good choices. By this I mean, I would do whatever activity the crush wanted to do just to please them, even if I did not like the activity. I would blow off plans with others if my crush wanted to hang out with me. I would refuse to see any negative traits in my crush that other friends would point out, then go onto defend my crush’s behavior!

 Inevitability, there would be a time when a situation would occur that would force me to open my eyes to the true nature of the person that I had a crush on. I realized this person had faults and I was devastated! How could this happen to such a perfect person that I have a crush on? Answer: Because NO ONE is perfect!

 I later realized that I had placed unrealistic expectations on my crush. I had idolized another person and that can be very painful when truth is revealed.

 What makes friendships last for so many years? What cuts a friendship “short”? Do you know when you meet someone that they will be a friend for life? Are you a good friend to have? What constitutes a “good friend”?

 I do not know any of the answers to these questions, but they are put to you to make you think for yourself!

 I think part of the “magic” of long-term friendships are the willingness of you to “evolve” as a person. This means as your life changes that you learn and grow. The dictionary defines the word evolve as “develop gradually, especially from a simple to more complex form.”

 Long term friendships require that as life changes, you change with it. I think as we become more complex people, we learn about ourselves.

 So, I think that all friendships are valuable. However, there is something special about the friends that have a long history with you.

 To my “girls”, I thank you for always being there for me. I thank you for all the fun times we have had and those yet to come. I look forward to more “girls” trips. I look forward to all of our grandchildren, as we will all get together to celebrate. I find myself lucky to be a part of this group.

 If you have friends that you have thought of contacting, do it! Think for yourself what a true friend is and then be that. If you have negative friends in your life, distance them and wish them well.

 Friendships can bring much joy to your life. “Old friendships” remind you of the magic that there is in living your life!

 Too my “girls”, Cheers!

Please visit uniquelylaura.com for more stories!

#friendship #magic #old

[branfranco-blog]

PHIL 242 Blogs

Week one day 2

I believe Darius, a king of Persia interest in various cultures is found in few individuals that are willing to be exposed themselves. I feel that many cultures are closed minded and aren’t willing to understand because of how morally different a group can be. I am sure every cultural background has different uncomfortable past (Eskimo’s killing their children) but It important to challenge the standard normality to develop individual’s ethics. For example, I experienced arrogant societies which are hard to tolerant living in Carlsbad, California. As a child I was always bullied for speaking Spanish to the point where I stop during my child hood. Being different is very enlightening and love meeting culturally diverse individuals. In all the various places lived in between Los Angeles and San Diego, I believe Las Vegas is the most diverse environment. I find food a value all cultures share which a community cannot exist without daily intake.

Week two day 1

I believe Sears chairman Eddie Lampert has a complex ethical ego rooting to his college studies at Yale. Mina Kimes mention that individuals describing Eddie created a dimension that feed his ego but I feel it goes farther than that. When his father died, I can image how that may affect his outlook to become an individual of great competence. Few cases show people feel the need to fill that voidance because the experience develops issues with self-esteem or relationships. Its relatable how you can create a statement of ethical relativism from these dramatic experiences. His management style goes against everything I’ve learned so far in college and work experience. He created a toxic culture so he can assess 40 branches and contradict teamwork displays his capitalist ego.  It was disappointing learning he fired Collins and Haworth because they were pursuing a collaborative project. That cut throat environment is not for everyone but I highly believe in teamwork to be  highly effective company.

Week two day two

During the 18th and 19th centuries I feel ethical concerns weren’t a priority due to colonization. The different societies had powerful egos which slowly changed because of philosopher’s new ideas presented for the best and worst interests. Morality was taught at a young through western Christianity traditions. I’m a huge believer in utilitarianism because I was never taught to judge off a first impression. For example, the marijuana case presented an interesting debate. I relate to the issue about the older generation being substantial judgmental about drugs because there was numerous of old anti-marijuana advertisements. That mind set affected me to approaching each situation with pros and cons. Its interesting how critical thinking has played an enormous role on how we approach moral situations.  In chapter 8, the author states how philosophers have almost abandoned utilitarianism which I disagree with the course of action. The great moral ethics is a foundation for societies and can be displayed even if there’s a level of complexity to the theory.

Week three day one

I agree with author Elizabeth Anscombe points concerning ideologies of murder. Many societies justify the means of murder but in the end, it doesn’t even matter because it’s a choose. The complex situation president Harry S. Truman face was approach with a utilitarianism point of view. During the bombing of Hiroshima, I feel there was certain political individuals who let their ethical ego cover the barbarism act of a decision for the better good. For example, Immanuel Kant observed individuals that used certain languages such as “ought” to justify means. Many legislators have ethical egos which justifies their political agendas. Another justification is expression of human dignity that somehow allows individuals to have the highest value. These ethical egos need to be held to a moral standard of self-respect and proper behavior.

Week three day two

After reading chapter 11 and 12 I am a huge believer in the ethics of virtue. Before learning about Aristotle teachings, every day I ask myself what is good for mankind and how can I make a difference to myself and others. Aristotle had great moral questions which I believe virtue ethics need to be taught more frequently especially, how parts of society values money over life. For example, the study “Heinz’s Dilemma” by Kohlberg bought attention to how moral ethic is development when money is involved. The same situation happens when former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli purchase the patent for Daraprim which is a drug for treatment of AIDS. He demonstrated acts of ethical egoism by increasing the market price of dosage from 13 dollars to 750 dollars causing many individuals to decide if life worth more than money or need an alternative.

week four day two

The initial reaction learning about the Sadhu individual naked in those conditions was devastating. The New Zealander displayed the worst quality of ethical egoism. For individuals to only care about his goal in finishing the climb and not help someone suffering from hypothermia goes against all my ethical virtue values. I believe Stephan and I share similar values and would rip their shirt off for someone in greater need. Stephen the effort to help the Sadhu and finish the hike showed great courage and selflessness. I did not agree with the ethical egoist methods of the New Zealander and Bowen McCoy assuming each party would service the Sadhu. Bowen expresses western exceptions which conflicts with different social moral codes. He assumes that others parties have the same cultural relativist ideals but one individual stood up against all others.

Week five day one

I found the article to be interesting on how advancements of technology have certainly caused concerns for human ethics. We as a society have come had many proudful strides but the utilitarianism approach about obliging happiness for all individuals with in the constructs(city) has caused massive effect on social environments. For example, social media is a technological advancement that has extended the spread between artificial and nature. Many individuals have given up their freedom and become a sunken slave to their phone and I cannot realize the true nature surrounding them. Another issue, social media have a moral responsibility to individual’s privacy. The crucial topic has been under scrutiny for unethical use of data which, social media mogul company Facebook have been at the forefront.

Week six day one

The “Act at a distance” is a very powerful fragment sentence because I feel society is always striving for advance technology that might benefit but the morality ethics will be question in the process. Professor Epting has consist addressed that the future engineer students are us and we need a moral approach each situation. As we continue to out technologic advancements, I believe our society depend on prescription behaviors. For example, I was part of the Geology club at Cal state San Marcos and one of our student’s car broke down during a club hike in the desert. He had no idea and tools to fix a simple mechanical error. Engineers design these products to be user friendly not constant physically depend. Most individuals take advantage of what we experience in everyday live. Google Map is a great example because I’ve seen many people get frustrated (self-included) if the application doesn’t deliver to the precise locations. I feel individuals need to be more appreciate in what they have.

Week six day two

When Marten displays the three dimensions of sustainability, the complication of social justice is dictated by different situations. I feel that legislators have not taken environmental preservation into much consideration compared to social and economic dimensions. I realize Marten has valid points about the thoughtlessness of social justice but infrastructure is depleting our natural resources. The main challenge is cost benefit analyzation which should not pertain because natural resource should be a priceless need. Engineers need new alternatives because by 2050 is when food and natural minerals are going to be exhausted according to a few scientist’s prediction. Another challenge will be convincing government officials to prioritize the future needs such as waste management. I see this dilemma in Las Vegas and has effective the landscapes in an area that has toxic air pollution.

[perpetually-jungshook]

Without You: Bloodstone (Part 25)

Genre: AU, bts!werewolf, fantasy, angst

Warnings: language, violence, suggestive content

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary: Werewolves, contrary to popular belief, are usually gentle creatures. Except for a very specific set of circumstances, they would never hurt a human (on purpose). The few unfortunate times when mistakes were made put a permanent dark mark on the beasts and people began labeling them as monsters. What the human population failed to recognize was the fact that they were protecting us from something much more sinister. Luckily, a few survived and the gene was passed down hereditarily until one day finding its way to me… in the form of my best friend.

Link to: Storyboard (reference pictures) | General lore post | Intimacy lore post Prologue | Previous | Masterlist | Next

Loyalty is often as blind as justice should be, as unstable as a lightning storm ought to be, and as misplaced as an opinion in the truth.

Chapter 25:

Despite Jimin being gone, Jungkook still seems committed to avoiding me, along with the other wolves. Namjoon and Seokjin are more polite about it, often stoping to have brief conversations, but Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jungkook hardly speak to me. Yoongi seems apathetic, but I rarely saw him to begin with anyway.

The pack spends most days outside. Doing what? I’m not sure. Exercising? I went for a walk once and came across Taehyung and Jungkook. They were chasing each other, the bronze wolf running from the raven black one. When Jungkook finally caught up, they playfully wrestled. I had paused to watch, curious, but for over twenty minutes they didn’t do anything else. I think they eventually noticed me, so with their supernatural speed they loped off elsewhere, leaving me physically unable to keep up and follow.

I’d heard in one of my classes that when they’re young, animals (mammals in particular) play to develop hunting and/or social skills. Maybe Jungkook could be considered “young” as he just recently transformed. That’s the reason I stick with to validate the behavior.

I tried to go out for walks often, following different paths of hidden lanterns to give myself a sense of variety, but the wolves evaded me. Purposeful or not, it made me feel lonely.

All I wanted was to see my friend, to see how he’s progressing and growing. Even at mealtimes, I got ignored by almost everyone except Munhee, my questions and comments going unheard amidst the general din of conversation.

For whatever reason, the isolation, especially when the others were within arm’s reach around me, began to feel heavy. Naturally, the thought of simply eating alone crossed my mind. It would make me feel less frustrated that they ignore me, avoid me. But I’d only done it once or twice before I realized that eating alone is what Jimin always did. The psychological threat of being like him drove me back to the dinner table.

So I buried myself in my studies.

Munhee and I went to the workshop every day. With my new silver knife in hand, she taught me the basics of how to use it, making me practice holding, hiding, and brandishing it. I also started learning intermediate magic.

I can now perform reactive magic with most herbs and stones. It’s simpler than I thought it would be, interacting with the energy of the object instead of only my own. I can produce all sorts of colors of “flame” now and find myself often carrying wildflowers in my pockets to “burn.” Most plants don’t do anything as dramatic as the Calendulas but I find it entertaining.

Munhee has scolded me several times, saying it’s not right to play with magic, but it’s not hurting anyone and practice makes perfect. Whenever I’m not on a walk, practicing reactive magic, being bitter about being alone, or pretending I have any skills with a knife whatsoever, I find myself reading.

There are so many herbs and stones that do incredible things with magic, but like I said, there are so many more that do absolutely nothing. Memorizing them all is not difficult. It just takes a lot of time.

Among the things that I have not done are: ask where Jimin might have gone (because that’s his business and I doubt anyone here would know anyway) and tell Munhee about my second exchange with Halsahm.

Obviously, Munhee knows something happened as there was a dead body in my room, but I figure I won’t have to deal with any of it for a while. Besides, good spirits, corresponding evil spirits… it might all just be something Halsahm made up in an attempt to possess me. Maybe even my rudimentary magic might be advantageous for it- especially since I would be relatively easier to access than someone as skilled as Munhee. I couldn’t even find anything about it in the workshop’s literature collection, so I decided to drop the topic for now.

I turn the page of the book in front of me carefully. It is thin and yellowed, delicate. I idly wonder if I should ask Munhee about rewriting it. Or better, photocopying.

This chapter is about quartz, something I’ve already read extensively about. I sigh quietly. Might as well just skim then. There may be some obscure yet useful information. As my eyes trace over the words, I can’t help but let my mind wander a bit.

Another thing that I haven’t seen in any of the books is divination.

Not a single word.

It’s led me to question whether divination is actually magic and if… I hallucinated the whole thing. Doubt is easy, especially self doubt. But the vision hadn’t been wrong. Halsahm had been alive.

Maybe I can try it again after my walk today. The Hepaticas aren’t in bloom and I’m not exactly sure what I should be searching for, but who knows? I might just see something interesting.

I set my book aside, fix Jimin’s bed, pick up my backpack, grab a few fruits from the kitchen, and head outside. Today, I choose to follow the red lanterns. Howling and playful barks echo through the empty streets surrounded by crumbling buildings, all shadowy sounds carried on the breeze. Each of my steps leaves a small crunch in my wake, courtesy of the gravel and plant life that litters the roads.

I find the edge of the forest and take a seat against a tree to eat. At least I’m getting fresh air.

Now late summer, early autumn, it’s a bit hot out, but not unbearably so, particularly in the shade. Clouds have begun to gather in the distance. A cold front? That might be pleasant. I scan the decaying town with interest and a bitter weight settles on my chest. Somewhere in there, my best friend is living his life without me. All because of Jimin.

I kick angrily at a small pebble and it skitters a meter or two away. Why couldn’t things just be easy and simple? Slowly, I reach for my backpack and dig around until I find the bloodstone. The surface is cool to the touch, polished. I smooth the pad of my thumb over it.

Okay, I did this once, I can do it again. The only question is: what had I done?

Stared at the stone and asked questions, felt frustrated… I start to zone out, trying to remember. Then the flickering starts. I find myself in the village, in front of one of the partially collapsed structures with a blue lantern inside. Not as shellshocked due to vague familiarity with the location, I find it easy to relax into the double vision.

The village is still in front of me, the forest behind and in my peripheral vision, but I can also see the wolves, four of them. I can’t see anything beyond or around them. Just their spectral forms, Jungkook, Hoseok, Seokjin, and Yoongi.

The soft grapefruit colored wolf, lies off to the side, watching with bored eyes. The other three prance and sprint around, batting each other roughly, but not harmfully until one is pinned or has fallen, only to start over again. Irritation seeps through me, making the vision waver. It still looks like they’re only playing. Why aren’t they training? To fight demons?

What had I expected? Specialized training? Yes. Organized exercises? Yes. But this is the second time I’ve seen them… messing around. And it’s annoying. I bury myself in studies to make myself stronger, more useful and they’re playing.

I try not to be angry. I could be assuming things incorrectly or- or…

This is exhausting, making excuses on other peoples’ behalf to see the best in them. I blink and the vision of the wolves disappears, like clearing blurriness out of my eyes. I stare idly at the bloodstone, torn between fairness and supporting my friend. Well, my “friend” that hasn’t spoken directly to me in days. I run my finger over the surface of the stone again and can’t help but empathize with Jimin. Just a little.

The crimson specks in the bloodstone flicker.

I see a field, full of short, flowerless plants. They’re familiar, yet oddly different. The Hepaticas? Why am I here? My view pans around as my mind’s eye silently requests. Now that I have a basic comprehension of magic, it makes this a great deal easier, more understandable.

I can’t see the trees at the edge of the clearing. It takes a few seconds, but I eventually notice the person kneeling in the middle of the field.

Jimin.

I almost call out to him in shock, but then I remember that I’m not actually physically present. Why is Jimin in the Hepatica field? Where has he been this whole time? For some reason, my heart starts to pound- no. Flutter. Excitement.

He gets up and starts walking toward where I know the edge of the forest is supposed to be, but in the opposite direction of the bunker. Panic floods through me. He’s leaving. Why? He can’t just leave- but I can’t go get him. I might be able to stumble across the Hepatica field, but there’s no way I’d make it there before he disappears back into the mists of… I have no time for metaphors.

“Jimin!” his name futilely leaves my lips and the sensation causes the vision to waver. Maybe I’m seeing things. Maybe the double vision is messing with my head. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.

But I could swear he turns and… sees me.

“Eun?”

The jolt back to the real world- or back to the reality that surrounds my body is disorienting. I blink a few times before Namjoon settles in my field of vision. He is blurry for a second or two, but the effect fades as he continues speaking.

“You alright? You seem a little dazed.”

“Sorry, sunbae. I was practicing divination,” the words leave my mouth before I can think about them. But what’s the harm? Namjoon knows I practice magic.

“Divination?”

“Yes.”

“That’s quite a skill you have,” he smiles warmly. “Even noona finds it hard to perform divination.”

“Really?”

Namjoon nods, “That’s advanced magic, at least, according to what she’s told me. It’s great that she’s teaching it to you.”

Teaching it to me… right. I agree politely.

The man with the blue-grey hair laughs lightly, “What were you looking at? If I may ask.”

“Nothing particularly interesting,” I shrug, but refrain from being aloof to avoid suspicion. He doesn’t need to know I saw Jimin and he probably already knows what Jungkook was doing. “Just exploring around.”

“Well that’s wonderful. It’s good to test your personal limits, especially with things like this,” he offers me a hand up, a surprising gesture considering I’ve been unofficially ostracized. I take his hand and hoist myself to my feet. “Noona asked me to tell you that we’re all heading into town later to pick up groceries and extra supplies. Would you like to go? Or do you need anything?”

“I think I’d rather stay here if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course. I’ll let you get back to practicing then-”

“Sunbae? Can Jungkook stay behind with me? Just in case.”

Namjoon pauses mid-act of turning around, then nods, “If he agrees, absolutely. I’ll ask him for you.”

“Thank you.” I give him a polite bow.

The pack leader looks as if he’s going to say something more, but then a howl splits the air, a deep sound, velvety. Taehyung. Namjoon’s attention snaps toward it.

“Sorry to cut this short,” he whispers. “Gotta go take care of something.”

Before I can acknowledge his statement, his shirt is off, he’s transformed into the massive blue-grey lupine creature, and full sprinting in the direction of the howl. Bending down, I pick up the bloodstone from a small tuft of weeds and slip it into my backpack. Apparently, I’d dropped it at some point after Namjoon startled me. I have to stop doing that before I lose it.

Figuring that the howl had something to do with demons, which even with my silver knife I should stay far away from, I decide to stay out a little bit longer and try to find the Hepatica field.   Why? Plot development. I have nothing better to do other than attempt to find Jimin.

He’s irritating, pretentious, and possibly dangerous, but now I’m armed and for some reason… I miss him. The thought makes me cringe and I blame it on supernatural hormones. I will blame it on an “instinct thing.”

Hiking my backpack higher on my shoulders, I start my rather pointless walk through the forest. It’s highly likely I’ll get lost and even if I, by stumbling over a deposit of miracles, do somehow manage to find the Hepatica field, Jimin will probably be gone. But here I go anyway.

While familiar with the dilapidated town now, I haven’t been into the forest more than a few times, at least, beyond a few yards past the tree line. Every time I’d gone further, it had been with someone else leading the way.

At first I try looking around for familiar landmarks, but the change of season has all sorts of new mosses and lichens growing and the stream has swollen a bit too, swallowing any notable stones or the like.

As I walk, my hand reaches into my pocket to find the wildflowers I’ve been idly collecting. Taking a moment to gauge their different energies, I pick one and crush it in my hand, letting the heatless fire consume it, creating a royal purple flame. I repeat the process every time the flame starts to turn a pale pastel color. It’s not productive, but it keeps me busy and keeps my anxiety low.

I also make sure to brush against as many plants as possible, leaving my scent so someone (one of the wolves) can presumably find me if they come looking. Especially Hobi.

It only takes a half an hour for me to get absolutely lost, and yet I keep walking.

As the sun starts to fall below the tops of the trees, I decide to take a break and sit down with my back against a fallen log. This was such a stupid idea, but who cares? The only person who will probably immediately miss me is Munhee-

The thought gives me chills. Is this how Jimin feels? Except, he doesn’t have an “only person” to miss him.

I reach into my pocket for another flower, a therapeutic compulsive habit, but find it empty. With a sigh, I hold my palm out in front of me, letting the familiar green flame blossom on my palm. If only revelation magic could take me to the Hepatica field.

Sudden movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, just at the edge of my field of vision, a flash moving between two trees.

A coffee colored werewolf. The coffee colored werewolf.

I immediately get to my feet, almost stumbling and falling under the weight of my backpack, and rush forward in a dead sprint; but by the time I reach the place I thought he might be, there’s nothing there. Not a footprint, not a broken branch.

I even conjure the green flame again to provide a little more (color tinted) light. Nothing.

On the slight breeze that slithers through the forest, I can hear a very distant howl and identify it easily. Jungkook.

I brush the recognition aside and look around. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe I hadn’t seen him, or maybe I had gotten the place wrong-

A flash of rich brown in the corner of my eye causes me to turn my head. Like the naive little girl I am, I follow. And follow again. Each glimpse of hope, illuminated by the green flame flickering in my palm and eventually the light of the full moon as it rises, leads me further, making me- almost redundantly- more lost.

Until I find myself in the Hepatica field.

Naturally, as I’d predicted, Jimin isn’t here, but the very fact that I’d found it is astonishing. Did it actually have something to do with the revelation magic I had been using? Or maybe this is some strange offshoot of my seeming talent for divination.

I glance around the clearing, breathing in deeply the smell of damp earth and natural, earthy, sweet forest decay. The sky above me should be peppered with stars, but everything has started to take on a grainy quality. Fog will be settling in soon. I should get back before something happens to the moonlight and I’m left in the complete dark. Well, except for the whole magic fire thing. I look around as if the universe will present to me the thing that I want. The person that I need.

Wait… amber eyes? In the trees on the other side of the clearing…

“Jimin?” for some reason, excitement permeates through me, then dissipates almost immediately.

“Eun, what the hell?”

I glance away just for a moment, but by the time I look back, the eyes are gone and my full attention swivels to a very angry Jungkook.

“Where have you been?”

I sigh, wanting to ask him why he suddenly cares, but that would be bitter and I am not a bitter person. At least, I refuse to be. I play idly with one of the tattered straps on my backpack, “Just taking a walk.”

“Do you even know how long it took me to find you? Were you just wandering around in circles?”

My gaze drops to the plants that litter the ground around my feet, crushed underneath them. I feel like a scolded child as my voice gets soft, “Kind of. Yes. You were busy and I had nothing better to do.”

“So you went tramping through the forest?”

“I didn’t go tramping.”

Jungkook lets out a huff, raking his fingers through his hair, “We’re going back to the bunker.”

“But…” I look back at the forest, where I had seen- where I had thought I’d seen the amber eyes.

Jungkook steps forward, catching my wrist, “Let’s go.”

“Okay,” I relent, knowing that Jungkook is the easiest, if not my only way home. I wait until he’s shifted to climb onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his raven black fur.

This is the first time in weeks that I’ve touched him for more than mere moments, more than accidental brushes of hands passing plates at the dinner table or attempted but failed embraces at the mistletoe double doors before he leaves. I’m surprised he’s letting me touch him at all. Maybe it’s because Jimin has been gone for so long. Maybe it has something to do with convenience. As he starts walking, then speeds up into a jog, I can’t help but let my heart hurt.

I miss him- Jungkook.

With this close proximity, I notice he feels more muscular than before, fur more shiny, movements more purposeful and coordinated. My best friend has changed so much, physically and mentally it seems. He’s never spoken to me so sternly, so angrily. He’s been worried, sure. Demanding too, but never furious. That hurts more than the inadvertent abandonment. What happened to my sweet, soft Jungkook?

The more I think about it, the more it hurts me.

With each of his confident, bounding strides forward, I can feel the movement resonate in my own body and roll through me in waves of nothing short of pure loneliness. I begin to feel the despair that Jimin must have felt at first, then the inevitable ebbing of feelings as we draw into ourselves, closing ourselves off emotionally because knowing we’re being shut out by everyone for something that isn’t really our fault… it hurts.

Jungkook starts to slow as we leave the army of fading trees, entering the empty village. I loosen my grip around his neck and allow myself to drop to the gravely street. He transforms back into a human, walking a few paces ahead of me.

He says nothing, which I suddenly find is worse than yelling.

The further we walk, the more his demeanor begins to get colder, and the more the fog rolls in. I begin to feel numb. By the time the little shack that hides the staircase to the bunker is in sight, I am numb.

Jungkook reaches for the door, then stops.

He slowly turns around, “What’s your problem?”

You. Me…

“This whole thing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” his tone is as distant as it is aggravated, a strange combination.

“This, us, this place. I want to go home.”

Jungkook’s stare is hard.

The fog that surrounds us is heavy, so thick that I can barely see three meters in any direction. It stills the air, absorbing sounds, muting color, a visual manifestation of the emotions looming inside me.

“I just can’t do it anymore,” my voice cracks, but I somehow manage to keep his gaze.

Jungkook’s composed expression falters, features simultaneously betraying both hurt and anger, “What? Do you think I want this? Do you think constantly tearing my body apart and losing my mind is fun?”

“Do you think watching it happen is any better?”

His gaze flicks to the sky and I know his attention is pegged exactly on the full moon, despite not being able to see it myself. Jungkook’s voice lowers in warning, “Now’s not the time to have this conversation.”

His words only make anger bubble into my chest, “Oh? Then when would be better for you? After training? After everyone else gets back? After you’re off your man-period?”

“Male dogs don’t go into heat,” he states blandly.

“Well excuse me for not knowing everything.”

“Maybe, if you paid more attention to noona, you would.”

My skin prickles in irritation, “Stop making this about you.”

“I’m not the one being selfish,” he snaps, attention plunging down from the moon to me. “Do you understand how hard it’ll be if you leave? How many people I could hurt? How many people those things will kill?”

“Selfish? I’ve given up months of my life, Jungkook.”

“At least you can leave after this,” he storms forward until stopping only a handful of centimeters away, harsh amber flooding his irises, “I’m going to be stuck with this for my entire life.”

Instinctive fear trickles through me at the change in his eyes, the subtle rippling of his muscles, but I refuse to let it be the reason this argument stops, “You’re making it about you again.”

“We’re not having this conversation right now.”

“Sure, just keep pushing it off and maybe you won’t have to deal with it.”

“What’s your problem?” Jungkook’s body shudders, making him clench his jaw and speak through his teeth, “We’re not even asking you to do anything difficult.”

“Not difficult?” my voice begins to rise, “First of all, you get to go gallivanting around with your  friends while-”

“We aren’t gallivanting.”

I talk right over him, “While I have to spend countless hours memorizing and reading and practicing, only to get left behind and ignored. On top of that, I have to lie to my family so that I can stay here and make sure you are okay. And let’s not forget I risk my life staying here, for you.”

The last part visibly makes him bristle, “That’s not my fault.”

“No, it’s not, but I’m doing it because you’re my friend, Jungkook.”

“Well I didn’t ask for that either.”

Both of us pull away slightly, eyes widening, shocked into speechlessness by the implication of his statement. Time slides to a stop, the only evidence of its passage being uneven breaths. I recover first, “I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble then.”

“Eun,” he calls my name, regret lacing his tone, shock rendering him immobile, and amber draining completely from his irises, replaced by the familiar chocolate brown, but I don’t hesitate to turn and enter the small, inconspicuous shack, quick pace fueled by my desperation to not let him see me cry. I’m halfway down the concrete staircase when he finally chases after me, pleading, “Eun-ssi, wait, I didn’t mean it like that-”

I manage to slam the double doors in his face, knowing he won’t pass the mistletoe barrier unless it was opened for him. With my back pressed against the hard wooden surface, I listen for the telltale signs, the screaming, the whimpering, the snarling, or (a recent development) just the cracking of bones, but am met with none of those.

Even through the haze of my anger and the violence of my tears, I can’t help but notice he’s kept his human form, despite the emotional pull of the argument and in sight of the hormonal impact from the full moon. The smallest bit of pride flits through me at this mutual accomplishment, but is forgotten as soon as I hear a door from within the bunker open, making me freeze.

Everyone had just left for a trip into town…meaning Jungkook and I were supposed to be here alone.

Hope surges through me. Maybe Jimin had come back. Maybe he’d led me to the Hepatica field and followed Jungkook and I back to the bunker, slipping inside when we were arguing. Maybe-

Then I feel it, the eerie stillness. My ears prick up and I realize that the silence from the fog outside has permeated into the bunker. The strange suspension in time hadn’t been warped perception due to stress.

Hello, Eun. Have you thought about what I said?

✩✩✩♔✩✩✩

A/N: sorry it’s a bit late. Life happened :’) hope you enjoyed!

Send me your theories/questions here. Or just come say hi ;)

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#bts fanfic #werewolf bts #jimin fanfic #jimin angst #werewolf jimin #jungkook fanfic #jungkook angst #werewolf jungkook #namjoon fanfic #fantasy #werewolf fanfic #without you: Bloodstone #bloodstone

[shoury01]

BEHAVIOURAL LESSONS FROM THE WORK-FROM-HOME ERA

It is safe to assume that an overwhelming majority of the population has now participated in a videoconference. People who may not have even known how to start one six months ago now use them daily—and it is all beginning to feel normal. The technologies that we have all come to rely on have so seamlessly infiltrated our lives that it is easy to overlook their impact. But when we consider the repercussions of remote working, we will see that these platforms have taught us more than just how to use them. They have made us better leaders, collaborators, employees, and employers. Here are some lessons we did not realize we learned from the tools we use to work from home.

Lesson 01- Transparency is not so frightening after all: . . . .. . . . . . . 

Many of us who came of age in the business world between the 1980s and the 2010s have an innate fear of letting a client see anything before it is “ready.” As businesses, we are entrusted to lead projects that constitute millions of dollars in revenue, which has led to the belief that if work is shared with a client before it’s “perfect,” then that trust will be lost. However, after five months of remote work during the most unpredictable time in most of our lives, it’s clear that nothing is perfect and the notion that we need to pretend it is has no place in our minds. Being open and vulnerable in business isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Lesson 02- Our significance is no longer tied to our location: . . . .. . . . . . . 

Good talent is expensive. You get what you pay for, and the best talent in the world is either totally undiscovered or very successful (hence the high cost). Employers did not know what they could not see, so if you were not directly in front of them, they had no idea you existed. The global pandemic has completely changed that.

With budgets being slashed, offices closed, companies shuttering, and the gig economy being revitalized, we have all been forced to realize that remote work works. The past notions of “oh, they work in a metro/ tier 1 city, so they must be good” are gone, and as people across the country were able to refine their work-from-home setups and became familiar, even comfortable, with Slack, Zoom, Dropbox, etc., the playing field was levelled. The migration of talent and remote work reckoning will afford talented creators and businesspeople from across the globe more opportunities and shake businesses clean of the attitude that someone is less valuable if they are not in a big city. After all, in today’s world, if you have tech tools, Wi-Fi, and talent, you can get the job done.

Lesson 03- Our collaboration skills might want improvement: . . . .. . . . . . .

Between zoom, slack, chat, messenger, texting, and a good old-fashioned conference call or two, there are endless channels for socially distanced conversations to take place. But collaboration is something entirely different, and it is important to remember that talking is not co-thinking, and co-thinking is what gets things done. Energy, attitude, and personality cannot be ‘remoted’ through even the best fiber optic lines. (**quoted - Jerry Sinefield).

Every video call platform has managed to make it more obvious than ever how often team members speak over one another. It is an honest mistake, but even the slightest lag has taught many of us to wait our turn, take a second, and make sure we are not infringing on someone’s time to speak. This small change many have unconsciously implemented has made all the things that feed innovative thinking that much better.

The truth is that as humans, we adapt. Sometimes it happens so quietly that we don’t even notice. So, the next time we notice ourselves waiting our turn to speak, being more vulnerable with a client or co-worker, or not second-guessing our value, we can say a silent “thank you” to all of our work-from-home technology for helping us make positive changes from our couch.

Behaviors That Bring More Focus

Focus seems to be the key. It’s hard to imagine achieving anything of value without given it due attention. And whether it’s in relation to family life, work or study, more focus enables more effective setting and achievement of goals. But while most of us can appreciate the benefits of focus, the path to becoming more focused is often elusive. This is especially the case in our modern world: where gadgets, social media and around-the-clock coverage of world events (and non-events) often serve to distract us.

One solution could be to simply avoid the same things highly focused people avoid. Study after study of highly focused (and not-so-focused) people has given us a good idea of the do’s and don’ts of maintaining attention and getting the job done. Here are some behaviors of focused people:

They do not focus their attention on being focused: . . . . . .. . It might seem counterintuitive, but recent research suggests the best way to gain and keep focus is not to try. In other words, maintaining focus could best be undertaken as a defensive sport. Allowing even 200 milliseconds of mental distraction (around 1/5th of second, i.e., the blink of the eye) can disturb our focus for up to 40 minutes. Getting distracted depletes both our physical energy and our brain power. For example, it uses up vital thinking resources and pushes us more quickly towards mental overload—a state wherein we are less able to make decisions. By contrast, placing effort on getting rid of random distractions regains our focus and preserves our scarce, mental reserves.

They reframe dull work to be interesting: . . . . . . . . . We are only focused when we’re interested in the topic. It is no surprise that if the task at hand is incredibly boring, we lose focus quickly. Nonetheless, seldom in life do we get to work things that are always interesting and engaging. For that reason, highly focused people reframe whatever work or tasks they have, to make them more “interesting”. For example, signing a bunch of documents might be reframed as a chance to reflect on the beauty (or ugliness) of your signature. Reading an exceptionally long and poorly structured client brief might allow thoughts of copyediting.

They never begin something without clear, realistic goals. :. . . . . . . . Goal setting is an entire sub-field of management behavioral science. One of its many insights is that setting clear goals increases productivity. However, the mechanism by which goals appear to boost productivity relates to focus: clear goals give a person an object of focus and helps them mark progress. And that leads to something else. The goal-setting literature says our objectives should be challenging; however, they should also be realistic. Goals that are set too high or too low undermines focus and, as a result, productivity.

They chase those goals with flexibility and agility: . . . . . . . .. At the same time, highly focused people do some things that seem counterintuitive. For example, they set goals but do not set rigid ways of achieving them. As a result, high focused people leave themselves open to exploiting opportunities that arise along the way. These opportunities might make their existing goals easer to reach or change them altogether. When people set out with a rigid plan of action towards achieving goals, they are mostly asking “how” and not “why”. Yet. while seemingly harmless, this subtle distinction reduces focus dramatically. For example, as we become bogged down in the details of pursuing a specific action plan, subconsciously, we get lured off-topic by distractions. Part of that might stem from frustrations in not responding to what is happening then and there. By contrast, asking “why” opens the doorway to accepting alternative approaches and revising what we are doing based upon new data. By doing all that, it helps us maintain focus out of maintained interest and engagement.

They use diversions strategically: . . . . . .. .. Diversions are not always bad. While it’s important to distinguish random distractions from those related to our undertakings, there’s even an important place for random distractions in maintaining focus. Brief, strategically timed distractions—often at various intervals while doing our work—helps us “bounce back” into focus. For example, highly focused people might walk outside to observe the hustle and bustle of city streets or go for a walk in nature or even have an irrelevant conversation as a bounce back strategy. The only caveat is if the distraction involves electronic devices—which, for other reasons—can operate on our brains through visual channels and detract from focus.

They prioritize the mind-soul-body connection:. . . . . . . .. Highly focused people understand that their physical, emotional, and even spiritual condition can influence their abilities to maintain attention. Sufficient sleep is important for maintaining focus, even though many believe “all-nighters” or crunching for deadlines are effective ways to work and focus. Highly saturated foods lead to poor focus, and even a slight amount of dehydration kills our attention and leaves our brains foggy.

Having aggressive emotions (such as produced by an argument or by reading a politically-explosive news article) can affect our abilities to reason for some moments after the event—apart from depleting our mental reserves as they arise. The many ancient practices of meditation and prayer offer different ways of gathering focus.

They never befriend their electronic gadgets:. . . . . . . .. Science shows that our devices distract our attention and deplete our focus substantially. That might seem obvious, when considering email or chats, but even the mere presence of a mobile phone near us, impairs our ability to focus. Studies have shown that our grey matter is pivotal in enabling us to switch tasks and regain focus, as well as process information, build memories and other vital functions. Not only is multi-tasking across electronic media distracting, it could progressively impair our abilities to focus over the longer term by affecting our grey matter.

Content Curated By: Dr Shoury Kuttappa

#transparency #collaboration #co-thinking #trust #attitude #conversations #feedback #listening #leadership #teamwork #emotional intelligence #focus #goal setting #flexibility #Prioritization

[jonathantaylorthomas]

Taylor Swift, Entering a New Era, Sticks to a Safe Space: Tumblr

For a megastar approaching the release of her latest blockbuster, Taylor Swift, the human, has been eerily quiet.

Yes, she’s put out four songs and two music videos from “Reputation,” her sixth album, out Friday, and her visage currently adorns a racecar and a promotional fleet of UPS trucks. But Ms. Swift hasn’t given an interview in 18 months, and she has performed in public only once this year, at a pre-Super Bowl event for a corporate partner. (She will be the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.)

Judging by the relatively reserved rollout for “Reputation,” it’s easy to assume that Ms. Swift is pulling a Beyoncé — communicating only strategically, if at all, and mostly letting the work speak for itself. That is, unless you know where to look.

“The general public has not seen much of Taylor, really, in the last year and a half,” said Caitlin Buckvold, 28, who along with her twin sister, Megan, runs a fan blog dedicated to the singer on Tumblr. “But we’ve seen a lot of Taylor. We interact with her on a daily basis.”

At perhaps the most fraught moment in her storied career — after a tense sexual assault trial and amid ceaseless celebrity beefs and internet dramas that threaten to overwhelm the music — Ms. Swift, 27, has recommitted to engaging with her most faithful followers, known as Swifties, cocooning herself in the vibrant, supportive community they have built on the social-media platform Tumblr.

The artist is far from just an observer: Since taking personal control of her official Tumblr page in 2014, Ms. Swift has “liked” some 27,000 posts, stoking hype for her new songs, registering support for fan theories and lyric interpretations and signaling that she remains an ever-watchful eye to her devoted listeners.

Even in an age of unprecedented connection between stars and their public on social media, Ms. Swift goes beyond typical interaction on Tumblr, a niche blogging platform that, with its multimedia flexibility, including images, GIFs and text posts, is conducive to obsessive fandoms. She follows some 5,000 blogs, where users can upload original creations or “re-blog” the work of others with or without adding their own two cents.

While Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have become largely promotional megaphones for the singer (outside of a few sly surprises), she has posted more than 100 times on her Tumblr since October, often re-blogging content from Swifties and adding her own commentary (typically including their first name and a string of excited emojis).

Ms. Swift also participates in inside jokes (ask a teenager about “no its becky”), dotes on pet cats and monitors the life events of her devotees, sending flowers and making breakup playlists for those in need. There’s even a term for her omnipresence on the platform: #Taylurking.

“This is how she knows the pulse of her fan base,” said Nate Auerbach, the former head of music strategy and outreach at Tumblr, who helped Ms. Swift join the platform ahead of the release of “1989,” her previous, Grammy-winning album.

Tatiana Simonian, the current head of entertainment partnerships at Tumblr, said: “She’s just not using it like a celebrity uses it,” and called Ms. Swift “a star who behaves like a fan on the platform — she’s a fan of her fans.”

By tending to her base with such bespoke dedication — and with the looming possibility of firsthand contact — Ms. Swift can breed loyalty in listeners while focusing on positive vibes only. She plucked hundreds of fans from social media to hear “Reputation” early, at Secret Sessions held at her homes in Rhode Island, Los Angeles, London and Nashville.

“Tumblr allows her to focus on the people who matter to her,” said Megan Chesney, 17, who blogs as ohtaylorswiift. “She gets to talk directly to her fans and eliminates all of that drama and excess hate on Twitter or Instagram.”

Ms. Chesney said she joined Tumblr because Ms. Swift did, and the singer followed her page about two years ago. Like most Swifties, she remembers exactly when and how many times Ms. Swift has interacted with her blog.

“It’s, like, crazily overwhelming because it’s just hard to believe that some iconic superstar celebrity decided to take time out of her day to make someone else’s day, even with a single emoji,” Ms. Chesney said in an interview during her school lunch.

Though the Taylor Swift Tumblr was originally set up as yet another online marketing vehicle, to be run by staffers, it was Ms. Swift’s decision to take the reins herself that made it a valuable resource. “Taylor here. I’m locking myself in my room and not leaving until I figure out how to use my Tumblr,” she wrote in September 2014, following in the footsteps of artists like Lorde and Frank Ocean, who were Tumblr users before they were famous.

“The impact was immediate and didn’t taper off,” Mr. Auerbach said, noting that few stars with Ms. Swift’s reach have really dived in and sustained such a presence. “She was learning about herself in the eyes of the fans,” he added. “No one did it like her. She was incredible at it.”

The generous, loose and jocular version of Ms. Swift that fans get on Tumblr can be a far cry from a public persona that some see as meticulously calculated and overbearing. On Monday, Ms. Swift was criticized in some corners after the ACLU of Northern California pushed back against a letter from Ms. Swift’s attorney demanding the takedown of a small-time blog post that linked the singer’s music to the alt-right and white supremacy.

While the ACLU called out Ms. Swift’s “intimidation tactics,” the topic spurred civil discussion on Tumblr. Wrote one fan: “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you (not your attorneys) publicly denounce alt-right neo-nazis who take it upon themselves to use you, your lyrics, and the imagery in your music videos to bolster their disgusting beliefs.”

But many Swifties ultimately defended the singer. “Have people out there seriously not caught on to how taylor has decided this era to NOT interact with the media?” another user wrote. “She doesn’t want to give in and tell them where she stands politically. She’s done with them. And if she were to say something, we all know she’d still get torn apart anyway.”

Like Beyoncé’s BeyHive, Swifties can be rabid in their allegiance, especially in the virtual presence of their hands-on queen. (“Taylor always says that she sees everything and knows everyone and exactly what’s going on with her fans,” Ms. Chesney said.) This week, ahead of the release of “Reputation,” fans on Tumblr urged one another to be vigilant about reporting leaked music to the singer’s label and management team.

“They’re doing a lot of work for her in many ways,” said Linda Ryan Bengtsson, an assistant professor of media and communication studies at Karlstad University in Sweden. Ms. Bengtsson is currently conducting research on fan behavior across social media, with a focus on Swifties, whom she called “really loyal” and generally “very friendly and positive.”

She added, “They really lift each other and share each other,” often with the goal of reaching Ms. Swift’s field of vision.

“Everyone’s just helping each other out to get noticed by Taylor,” said Ani, 15, a high school student in Hong Kong who blogs as rosegardensthorns and asked that her last name be withheld because of college admissions.

“She followed me back in February and I freaked out,” Ani said. Months later, when Ms. Swift finally reposted a photo from her page, “I definitely cried in the metro station,” she said. “And then I showed my friend and she cried, too.”

Such gestures, executed in a public but largely unseen ecosystem, allow Ms. Swift to do good-natured brand maintenance and outreach without oversaturating a more skeptical general audience.

“She was very ubiquitous for a while there,” said the man behind the analyzingtaylor Tumblr, who writes under the name Matt to protect his professional prospects. “I just think that she knew it was time to not be as omnipresent as she was with 10 magazine covers and five different interviews.”

After all, Ms. Swift, at her best, has always been both sweet and savvy. “I think in 2017, you’ve got to appeal to your most die-hard fans, because they’re going to to do the promotion for you,” Matt said. “It’s a smarter way to go about business.”

[psy598]

Module Five

I chose this picture because this was a tough semester, regardless of everything going on outside and in my personal life, I survived Summer A semester!

Part 1: Final Reflections

1a. After looking over my initial blog post, I’ve realized that I met and went beyond my goals for this class was to understand what the field of cross-cultural psychology is about and why this field of psychology is important. I’ve noticed at what point I found answers to questions I didn’t know I had, for instance, how can I use the knowledge gained in this class in a clinical setting. This question was answered when we completed the case study and had to incorporate the cultural background of our clients. For the most part, the tone of my blog post has the same pattern but as the class moved further along, I see the change in writing as it reflects more knowledge and critical thinking.

1b. After looking over the entries of my peers, I have learned we all have very similar experiences in life. We’ve had microaggression said towards us, we strive to be better as human beings, and we want to connect with others but didn’t know how or want to step outside our comfort zones to interact with those different from us. I learned that educating people that are from other groups will allow them to develop a different perspective so we all can begin to understand each other. 

Part 2: What did you learn?

2a. The most useful thing I learned in this class is the incorporation of culture in effectively treating mental issues as we practiced within the case study assignment. I found this to be useful as I am always searching for ways to relate the courses I take to real-world practice. This was especially useful as I plan on working with clients who’ve experienced trauma in their lives. I’m understanding how culture and family have a huge influence on the client’s treatment plan and what support groups I could gather for them to increase their results. Within this aspect of using culture to help clients, surprisingly the article by Duran et. al. (2008), discusses the envisioned that I would include in my practice. Since there is an emphasis on integrating culture in an individual’s healing process it is important to also address their spiritual needs and heal their soul wounds. The article talks about how the psychic and spiritual suffering further generations will face if it’s not effectively dealt with. Culture and the culture’s history can affect the present mental well-being of the culture’s descendants (Duran et. al, 2008). This an interesting and surprising thing to read as I assumed there was no research on this type of method, and I was delighted to see that other people have the same ideas as I do.

2b. The most upsetting thing I learned in this course came while I watched the video ‘The Difference Between Us: Race – The Power of an Illusion’ (2003). The DNA tests and the research of different racial groups was upsetting as certain individuals decided the fate of Jew, Blacks, Italians, etc. They determined that their race was the reason they deserved the consequences of hate. Racial identity, a social-political construct, was and still is a way to control people and who has power.

2c. Going forward, I can use this information to remember to remain aware of my bias and how my culture influences how I react and respond to others. I can use this information to challenge current individualist methodologies of treatment. Using this information, I can be the change I hope to see within the field of psychology by promoting cultural psychology and creating conversations surrounding topics relating to culture.

2d. Future directions in cultural/cross-cultural/multicultural psychology should include additional research on groups that do not primarily consist of white Americans. It should create a conversation on the benefits of using cultural psychology methods to help clients and identify ways specific to each culture that these methods can be used. It should also identify similar methods that overlap in effectively helping different cultures. Yes, psychology’s and psychologists’ responsibility to engage in social justice as it’s within one to the goals of psychology, to control/modify inappropriate behavior. There cannot be healing in hate, we need to actively identify social justice issues and work to create communities that do not enable these issues. These issues are also the main reason why people seek treatment, to be effective we must stop the problem at the source.

References

Duran, E., Firehammer, J., & Gonzalez, J. (2008). Liberation Psychology as the Path Toward Healing Cultural Soul Wounds. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(3), 288-295. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2008.tb00511.x

Films Media Group. (2003). The Difference Between Us: Race – The Power of an Illusion. Films on Demand. Retrieved from: https://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=11854&xtid=49734.

#module five