Is the medium the message? Blog #8

Due: Tuesday, May 29 at 3:00 pm

Please read Article #3 (See the syllabus for the link to the electronic course reserve). For an entire 24-hour period, keep a diary of all of your interactions (or uses) with media (in any form). How have the media influenced the way you work, play, study, sleep, eat, and socialize? I want you to really think deeply about this. In what ways would your typical day be different from the typical day of a grandparent when he or she was at your exact current age? How is the medium the “message” in your life?

Notes for today.

Do the Media Still Set the Agenda? Blog #7

For this blog, please select 1 of the following 2 options:

Option #1: Think of all the sources you use to obtain information about the world. What is your primary source of news (where do you get most of your news from)? Have any of your preferences/sources changed recently? Explain. What do you think are the most important stories or issues of the day? Explain why you have come to feel this way? What has convinced you that these are so important?

Option #2: Check the links to the websites and blogspots that are being created by the different groups in our class. Please post a blog/comment in response to the materials/questions/ideas that have been posted by the group you have selected (please do not respond to your own group's site). I'm sure these groups would appreciate your thoughtful feedback. Send me an email telling me which group you responded to so that I can make sure and give you credit.

Due: Tuesday, May 22 at 11:59 pm

Music and youth culture: Blog #6

Select a popular song and analyze its lyrics. Next answer the following questions: 1) Why did you pick this particular song? What does it mean to your and how do the lyrics resonate with you personally? 2) How does this song affect your  mood or behavior? Please give and explain specific examples. 3) Under what circumstance might you purposively choose to listen to this song? Give an example of when you have done this. What effect did it have on you? 4) Finally, describe how this song might enable you to connect with or identify with others.

Due: Tuesday, May 15 at 3:00 pm

Media, Diet, Health & Body Image: Blog #5

This blog is due Sunday, May 13 at 3 p.m.

Please select one of the following options:

1) View 1 hour of children’s TV programming (e.g., Saturday morning network or cable programs, (not PBS or educational) and pay special attention to the advertisements. Answer the following questions: 1) List and describe the show you watched and all of the products advertised. How many are specifically directed to children? How many of these advertisements involve food(drinks, candy, general food, etc.)? Describe these food products and the persuasive strategies used to sell the product. 2) What is your assessment of the potential health effects of these products? 3) In Europe, many countries prohibit or severely restrict advertising directly to children,particularly for food-related products. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

2) Select a health or fitness magazine (if you are male select magazine directed to men; if you are a female, select a magazine that targets women). Spend some time reading and viewing the magazine. Immediately after reading the magazine, reflect (and write about) how you feel about your own physical appearance. At this moment, are you more likely pleased or displeased with your physical self and your health? Do you feel more or less motivated than normal to exercise, diet, or engage in physical activities? Do you feel happy or sad? In other words, how is your mood relative to how you felt before reading the magazine? How might this magazine have influenced your definition of what a typical college-age man or woman should look like?

Are "Others" Affected More Than Us? Blog #4

Interview three individuals (adults, BYU students, not members of this class). Ask them the following questions and report your findings: 1) Are you ever affected by the media? If so, explain how and to what degree. 2) If you saw a persuasive message in the media, would you be more, or less, affected that your close friends? Other BYU students? The public in general? Under what circumstances and why? 3) Why are some people so easily influenced by the media? 4) Why might you be less influenced?

Due: Tuesday, May 08 at 3 p.m.

Do the Media Facilitate Pseudo-Voyeurism? Blog #3

This blog is due Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m.

I want you to spend some time thinking about your favorite TV show and favorite characters (this could be a current show or something from when you were younger).

What was it about that show that appealed to you? Who was your favorite character and why? If you could have a conversation with that character, what would you talk about and why? What have you learned from that character? Have you ever found yourself copying any of that character's behaviors or mannerisms, or found yourself saying anything that you've seen or heard that character say? Explain.

Are Children Vulnerable to Media? Blog #2

Please select one of the following options:

Option 1) For 30 minutes, observe a child (under the age of 12) as he or she watches television. Answer the following questions: 1) How did the child actually interact with the television? In other words, how would you describe the actual process of “watching” and the impact it had on the child? 2) Describe what was being watched and then provide an assessment of what you think the child understood or did not understand?Why did you arrive at these conclusions? Explain.

Option 2) Reflect on and describe an experience from your childhood or from the childhood of one of your siblings in which you (or he or she) were traumatized or confused by something you saw in the media. You may also interview a roommate for this. What did you learn from this experience? Why do you think television (even though it is just fantasy) can have such profound effects on our perceptions of reality and experience? Finally, do you think we learn more from observation or direct experience? Why?

This is due Tuesday, May 01 at 3:00 p.m.

Media violence: Does TV kill? Blog #1

For your first blogs, please select one of the following options and post your response as a comment. Remember, you must respond by Sunday, April 29, at 3 p.m. to receive credit.

Option 1): Select and view a drama/action/adventure/horror film (that you have never seen before) and watch it. Every 10 minutes have someone take and record your pulse. Answer the following questions: a) How does your pulse change during the movie? b) Can you indicate at what points (and why) you had a strong or weak physiological reaction to what you were watching? c) What does our body tell us about media effects? Be sure and tell me the name of the movie and incude all your pulse measure in your essay/comments.

Option 2): Observe an individual (someone you know) who is engaged in playing an aggressive, high action (or violent) video game for at least 1 hour (you must not be a participant, only an outside observer--this is important). Make notes on how the game influences his or her behavior and answer the following questions: a) How did his or her demeanor change during the course of the hour? b) How was their behavior different while playing than under normal circumstances (did they say things or act in ways that are not typical)? c) After making the observations, interview the individual to assess his or her thoughts on how he or she may have been physically or emotionally affected. d) Was their an effect?