You've Got Mail

So I’m sure you’ve all heard of the networking websites known as Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter. In the last 5 years or so they have swept the nation, connecting millions all over the world. Starting out with teen and young adults, these websites have made their way to the fingertips of all adults, yes, even my mother has a Facebook. You would probably have to live under a rock to not know what these websites are but just for an overview, they are a place to update a personal profile with pictures and a “status” letting you’re friends know what you are currently doing. They have become a source of networking for businesses and colleagues. Teens have a tendency to be on their profile for hours, talking to friends, looking at pictures, and meeting new people. I can’t help but notice that society’s relationships with one another are becoming less and less real and tangible but more electronic with text messages, e-mail, and websites like Twitter and Facebook.

For instance, two days ago there was an earthquake and I happened to be on Facebook when it occurred. After earth stopped shaking, in a matter of 5 minutes I watched my “Online Friends” numbers go from around 75 people to 136. And within 2 minutes after that a ridiculous amount of people put up a status saying something about the earthquake, as if we didn’t feel the earth rumbling beneath us? The website even froze because there was so many people on at once trying to “Facebook Chat” with one another to discuss the events that just occurred. So what happens when face-to-face contact is eliminated and technology takes over as the main means of human communication? The intimacy is abolished is our day-to-day relationships.

Everyone has one, including myself, but it just amazes me how consumed we are by a website on the computer screen. In fact, I’m currently in the library and my friend next to me just said, “wow, I should be studying but I’m on Facebook instead, don’t you hate when that happens?” I have definitely been a victim of getting on Facebook and next thing I know its an hour later and I have gotten absolutely nothing done but view different friends’ profiles and pictures.

Music To My Ears

Music plays an enormous role in our society. Always has and most likely will continue to. Humans even tend to identify themselves with the interests and lifestyles of the type of music they commonly listen to. For instance, hip-hop has blown up in the past 25 years and has practically formed a culture of its own. Rock has had a dominant influence for numerous decades now and continues to act as a leading inspiration for America’s young and old. Any genre of music, no matter how popular on MTV, plays a significant role in someone’s life.

 Musicians have the talented ability to relate to their fans. Music brings a sense of comfort and motivation. Whether you’re mourning, celebrating, confused, frustrated, in need of encouragement, love, and acceptance, music is always there. That one song is always there. As I previously mentioned, music tends to morph into this sense of culture, which is constantly changing. For instance “pop culture” blew up in the 1990’s, with screaming teenage girls drooling over the Backstreet Boys and N’SYNC, and idolizing Britney Spears. But now, boy bands are a thing of the past and commonly mocked at. Artists such as Kanye West and P.Diddy are the new business moguls, influencing not just what we listen to but what clothing we wear, sports drink we drink, perfume or cologne we spray ourselves with, what television shows we watch, cars we buy, and so on. These “musicians” have used their fame to expand their networks into virtually everything possible. Organizations such as Rock the Vote, which is a very powerful and beneficial example of how artists are using their celebrity to engage and incite young people to register and vote in every election year.

Each celebrity exercises their notoriety in different ways, but the impact of music will always be alive throughout our culture and it will never sit idle, it will continue to transform, modify, and revolutionize. And while I may not favor what MTV has turned into, I can say that the culture that it promotes is without a doubt an influence on my life.

Flavor Fanatic

Our society’s obsession with beverages is alarming. Soft drinks, juices, energy drinks, even flavored water cover the shelves of the grocery store’s beverage aisle. Juice not only comes in every fruit flavor imaginable but now in combinations, like strawberry banana pineapple or orange mango passion. And, for consumer’s convenience, these juices come in the tradition big container or in an individual “juice boxes,” perfect for lunches and sports games. The aisle reserved solely for soda looks like a rainbow. From one end to the next you will find a liquid in every color, from red to purple to brown to yellow. Soda companies have also extended their flavor choices from the just the original Dr Pepper or Coke to an enhanced taste with vanilla or cherry. You will even find flavored water like Propel or Vitamin Water or Crystal Light packets, because I guess the bland taste of water just isn’t doing it for consumers anymore.

What do you think people would do if they went to a fast food place expecting to get a large Coke with their meal but instead found that the establishment only served water as a beverage? I think people would freak out, even leave and go to a place that did serve soda. Personally, I don’t drink a lot of soda at all. Juice, yes, but I’m not a fan of soda, so when I see people with one of those Big Gulps from 7-Eleven I’m dumbfounded by the fact that someone can actually drink that much soda in one day. Or I know someone that drinks Coke like its breathing, if he doesn’t have about 6 Cokes a day, he goes nuts, as if it were nicotine or something. I don’t think people realize just how bad soda is for our bodies, especially in the amounts that some are consuming. Energy drinks tend to use advertisements with the notion in mind that “sex sells.” A sexy commercial can send the message that hey, if I drink that product I will look like her and attract good-looking men. I see models, sports stars, or entertainers as spokespeople for certain energy drinks, which influences the audience because people look up to them.

Of course soda and energy drinks and multiple flavors of juice aren’t the most pressing issue surrounding our culture, but it does raise the issue of unhealthy choices at a maximum rate by America’s consumers today.