Social Media’s impact on society

There is no doubt that social media has great power, but how does it affect today’s society? I am going to elaborate positive and negative effects on this intensive mobile use. I am also going to talk about how social media has taken over our lives. Research shows that in average people check their phone 110 times a day. News, messages, music, games, calls, surfing, videos, pictures, articles and access to see what your friends are doing draws our attention, it has become a huge part of our lives and a large part of young people are more or less addicted. Whatever we do, our phone is with us.

Positive sides of social media

Enhances our connectivity

There are 2 billion social network users each month around the globe. Together we constitute a large network, all connected to each other through mutual friends and acquaintances. The internet has become our way to connect and create a community. We are reducing communication barriers and learning to get along with other cultures and religions. Another thing social media contributes with is building relationships and making new friends. You can meet people with the same interests as you or you can contact old friends you have not spoken with for years. There are countless dating sites where you can date people online.

A way of getting empathy

It has also become a way to empathize with each other. For instance when you lose someone you loved and post a eulogy on Facebook, people will comment and condolence. When the massacre on Utøya happened, news and affected wrote and posted on social media and people who did not even know the victims, showed so much empathy and sympathy.

 

 Voices can be heard and people can inspire each other

The internet is also a place where your voice can be heard, either through blogging, commenting on news, posting and sharing on Facebook and Twitter or writing directly to the person/persons you want to receive your message. Social media allows us to inspire each other. You can watch a girl from another country’s YouTube video and get inspired. Maybe she is dressing a certain way that you like or having a lifestyle that you want. Maybe you want to travel the world and find inspiration in someone who has done it already.

Find information and ask questions

The internet is also a great place to find information. Whether you are writing an article about dinosaurs or you want to know how far away Jupiter is. You can also ask questions and get answers. There are several forum pages where people can discuss and ask questions to both professionals and each other. If you are pregnant, for instance, there are forums for pregnant women where they discuss and asks each other questions. If you are sick or having weird symptoms, you can ask a doctor online what you are suffering from and what you can do to feel better. If you are interested in the ocean, you can find almost all the information there is to find about the ocean, on the internet.

Entertainment

A huge part of social media includes entertainment. Surfing, scrolling through Instagram photos, watching Youtube videos, playing games and chatting with friends are all things I find myself doing when I am bored, waiting for something/someone or just want to avoid certain situations.  I do not think I only speak for myself when I say that I have a tendency to use social media as an excuse to avoid uncomfortable conversations and situations I don’t want to take part in. When I am sitting on the bus, on my way home from school and I am tired and exhausted, I usually pick up my phone to listen to music. We have access to entertainment via our smartphones and computers, wherever we are, whenever we want.

In touch with the world

Almost all kinds of business happens over the internet, shopping online is getting more and more popular and communication between countries happens through the internet. Social media enhances our connectivity. Many would say that we are getting in touch with the world.

Negative sides of social media

Loneliness, isolation and depression

Even though there are many positive sides with social media, it is far from only good aspects; loneliness, isolation and depression are just some of the negative ones. People feel lonelier even though they are surrounded by people, because the social media has become some sort of a new reality for many. When we write a message to someone or post something, we expect responds and if we don’t get attention we feel lonely, just like in the real world, if you feel that nobody cares or gives you attention, you feel lonely. Let’s say you post something you are proud of on Facebook, then you go to your feed and leave friendly comments and like others pictures and updates, you also send a few messages to your closest friends. It is getting late so you go to bed, but you have this inner turmoil, you need to check Facebook one last time. You log in and expect replies and comments on your recent post, but all you meet is an empty notification and an empty inbox. You get dissatisfied. You get irritated. No one is around to talk to you, and you feel… lonely. It has become an obsession because we are always checking the news feed, recent messages, missed calls, forecast, the latest music, celebrity world, likes on photos and videos, what your friends are doing and so on. Social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Youtube and Tumblr draws our interest and can keep our attention for long periods.

“Social media is addictive precisely because it gives us something which the real world lacks: it gives us immediacy, direction, and value as an individual.”

- David Amerland (“15 inspiring social media quotes,” 01:54:27 UTC)

People compare their life with others and get poor self esteem.

Talking about liking and commenting on your friend’s posts, people have a bad habit of comparing their own lives with others. People want to show off their best side, which means that they only share the most beautiful photos, funniest videos and exiting stories. After logging off social media, many feel that their life is boring and sad compared to others, but even though friends and strangers has an impact on us, fashion world has most of the influence on today’s society. Models, style icons and celebrities have long, thick and healthy hair, flawless skin and thin and toned bodies. This is an example of proliferation of misinformation even though the opposite is proved. We make ourselves believe that this is real, even though we all know the photos is photo-shopped and edited. Why is that? Probably because we are surrounded by it all the time and it has become a new reality for us. Peoples’ self-esteem is weakened and countless young girls are really struggling. Regardless of this, these celebrities are role models for countless young people nowadays and their fanbase need to know every single detail about them. Did Beyoncé take plastic surgery? Who is Justin Biebers new girlfriend? Is Kim Kardashian pregnant? Their lives are definitely not private, because everything they do gets published and shared with the entire human race. They are like a book without a locker and everyone who would like to can read it. This allows the population to make conclusions about them without knowing them in real life. Many of these conclusions are rumours or misinterpreted situations.

Cyber bullying

Speaking about rumours. Cyber bullying has become a major problem around the world. Cases of appearance bullying and made up stories are numerous. Approximately 80% thinks that online bullying is easier to get away with than bullying in person. About 43% of kids and teenagers has been bullied, and nearly 4500 are committing suicide because of it, per year! This is a serious problem and can seriously undermine a person’s life.

Personal lives are more public

Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives, because intimate details of our lives can be posted so easily. Name, date of birth, where you live, where you come from, personal details and other things that refers to a person's identity is published in several social media and the information can be retrieved from the entire world's population. This exposes especially children to online predators. Men, mostly, are taking advantages of young teenagers and children who doesn’t have netiquette.

Encouraging poor grammar and spelling

Social media are encouraging poor grammar and spelling. Are you writing an article in school, you make sure that the grammar is right and that you have remembered uppercase and lowercase letters. After school, however, it is much faster to write shorter sentences with abbreviations and slang. This becomes a bad habit as young children grow and develop their writing skills, their writing at school are influenced by bad writing outside of school.

Multitasking

Our obsession about social media leads us to multitask. Even though the internet has become some sort of a new reality, we still have things to do in real life. For example, you are having a conversation with someone on the phone, you are listening to music and you are thinking about what you are going to eat for dinner today, all this while you are driving a car. Research has shown that our brains don’t have the capacity to fully focus our attention on two things at once. Multitasking hinders information processing and productivity.

My opinion and conclusion

I think that social media has its benefits. I use it every day, but I am not abusing it. I try not to spend too much time on my electronics, but I find it hard sometimes when my friends in the USA are calling me on Skype eleven pm and my phone in blinking constantly because I’m a member in several group chats. It is rare that I cannot find answer to my questions on the internet, I find a lot of information and facts on pages like Wikipedia. If not, I just ask friends and family on Facebook. Social media allows me to keep in touch with people I live far away from and haven’t seen in a long time. For example, I keep in touch with several of my second cousins ​​and third cousins ​​from Oslo and Stavanger. I am also having conversations with people I met on Mathilde expedition, 3 years ago. My aunt just moved to Lofoten so now I can keep in touch with her ​​also through social media. I can’t ignore that social media has had an impact on my self esteem sometimes, nut  I don’t think that I have any bad experiences with social media, because my parents learned me netiquette and how to behave online from an early stage. I do know people who abuse social media and have gotten problems because of it, though. Young people need to learn how to use social media correctly, how else will they know what is right and what is wrong? And what is smart not share with everyone. Social media takes a huge part of our lives. We are available from the moment we open our eyes in the morning until we close them again at night. For many, the first and the last thing they do during the day, is checking their phone. I think social media is a good thing as long as we learn to use it wisely. 

What have I learned so far?

I have learned that the Prime minister in the UK, David Cameron does not think there is an answer that can be achieved simply by taking in more and more refugees. He want to grab the root of the problem, which is in the homeland of the refugees. He will make sure there are worthwhile jobs and stronger economies in these countries. Yet has he suggested a target of 10,000 refugees being taken by the UK.

                                http://news.bfnn.co.uk/prof-stephen-hawking-calls-david-cameron-a-right-twat-on-twitter/

I have also learned the difference between refugees and economic migrants. Refugees are people who had to escape from their home country because they have suffered or feared. Race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion are typical reasons why. Economic migrants seek an improvement in living standards by immigrating to another region. This is often provided of living conditions or job opportunities.

Frontex is an agency of the European Union or a “filter”, to detect and stop illegal immigration, human trafficking and terrorist infiltration.

People trafficking is the trade of humans. Mostly used for sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. They are exposed for forced marriage and the extraction of organs. Human traffickers do also smuggle refugees across borders. 

Spot check, page 102

a)  Why is culture important for communicaton? 

     Culture is important for communications because it provides a common basis for us to understand      one another. English has led to the meeting and mixing of many cultures. 

b) Why is command of English in itself no longer enough for accurate communication? 

    Command of English in itself is no longer enough for accurate communication because English is       increasingly used in intercultural communications, it has become important for English speakers to     train themselves to be aware both of their own culture and of the culture of the people they speak       with.

c) Into what three parts can comunication be divided? 

    Communication can be seen as having three parts: a sender, a message and a receiver.

d) What is ethnocentrism? 

    Ethnocentrism: when someone views the world as if your culture is the centre of the universe from     which everything and everybody is judged. It is based on ignorance of other cultures that your             own.

e) What is cultural relativism? 

   Cultural relativism: when someone view other cultures as equals with your own. However, you are      conscious of your own beliefs. You understand other people's values and you accept them. 

The Australian Variety Of English

Australian English differs from other varieties of English in vocabulary accent, pronunciation, register, grammar and spelling. They love to find their own words and expressions. Sadly, Australian slang is dying out among young people, and it is not really present or relevant in city life, but here are some typical slang words.

Other typical slang words and funny expressions:

• G'day mate - hello my friend
• Sheila - a girl or a woman
• Ripper - amazing
• Stoked - really happy/pleased
• Snag - sausage 
• Come a guster - accident/misstake
• Stubby - a bottle of beer
• Mad as a cut snake - very angry
• Grinning like a shot fox - smugly smiling
• Ratbag - naughty children
• Off their rocker - mentally challenged
• Shonky - bad quality
• Crack onto - flirting
• Dunny - bathroom
• Built like a shithouse - strong and big
• Arvo - afternoon

Questions about English as a world language

What is the history of the English language after WWII?

After WWII, England was totally bombed. USA helped them and became a global superpower. This is the reason that English is the number one world language today.

What is meant by ESL, EFL, ESP?

ESL is English people learn in addition to their mother tongue so they can take part in the life of the country in which they live. Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans for instance.

EFL is English learned by people who have no daily contact with the language. They start from scratch and learn it as a foreign language.

ESP is to give people some specific English skills in, for example, trades, business or other professions.

Do you think that international English enriches the cultures of the world, or does it drain them of their uniqueness?

I think English helps other cultures and languages by allowing them to communicate and spread their culture to different countries. They learn to respect other cultures and they can develop an understanding for people different from themselves.

Explain the terms inner - outer - expanding circle.

The inner circle: Countries where native English speakers live.

The outer circle: Countries in which English is spoken as a second language.

The expanding circle: The many countries in which English is spoken as a foreign language.

Why is it necessary to have standard forms of English?

It is important and necessary to have standard forms of English because today the non-native English speakers is a majority. They make their own version of English. For example, for them it might be “right” to say “she look sad” instead of “she looks sad” which the right way to say it is. If we keep doing this, the proper English dies. It just fades away, because there are so many other versions exceeding it.

Which forms of English does David Crystal believe we will have in the future?

David Crystal believes that we will have three different forms of English in the future:

One they speak locally as their dialect

One variety for education and business

One standard international English for communicating with foreigners

English has become important in six different fields - which?

International education

International business and trade

International diplomacy

Art and entertainment

Science and technology

Digital communications

Why English Is Important!

English has become important in six different fields - which?

It has become the language of:

•           International education. Pupils from all over the world are taking exchange years abroad where they meet people from other countries and use English to communicate. English textbooks is essential in different studies in higher education.
•           International business and trade. Shipping, production of goods, movement of goods, services, employees. All of these use English as their communication language.
•          International diplomacy. Both for nations and large international organizations like the United Nations or The Red Cross.
•           Art and entertainment. British and American TV programs, movies and popular music have been exported all over the world. Authors, song writers, movie makers and performers, have chosen English as their means of dissemination.
•           Science and technology. Researches from all around the world meet in conferences to exchange their ideas and findings in English.
•           Digital communications. Net surfing, social networks, online gaming, virtual worlds and much more.

NASA discover most Earth-like planet yet

I have found two different newspapers which writes about the same news. I am going to compare them and see if I can find any similarities and differences. Both of these articles writes about that NASA have discovered a planet remarkably similar to our own Earth, located 1400 light years away, in the constellation Cygnus. Kepler, as they call it, is positioned about as far from it's parent star as Earth is from the sun, completing and orbit in 385 days, compared to Earth's 365 day orbit. At that distance, surface temperatures would be suitable for liquid water. 

https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasas-kepler-discovers-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-of-another-star

Both of these articles include facts about the planet and the headlines absolutely suits the content. They use sources like astronomers, scientist and NASA, there is no random people talking about things they don't know anything about. The authors write in objective terms and expresses nothing subjectively. The content is quite similar in these articles. They convey facts and contains quotes spoken by scientists and people from NASA. Good quality and complementary content. I will say there is used some loaded language, Words that engages and creates interest to the readers keeps coming up, such as "huge, large and massive"

    http://topinfopost.com/2015/02/15/earth-like-planet-found-kepler-186f

It was easy to find similarities between these news, but I had some struggle finding differences. They had very similar structure and content. However, one thing I noticed, was that the news from CNN mentioned what the plan was further. How they would proceed to do more reaserch on this planet. It also had more pictures and a video showing what they think Kepler looks like. That way CNN shows more expertise and thorough work.

CNN's article:

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/23/us/feat-nasa-kepler-planet-discovery/

Reuters article:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/07/23/uk-space-usa-nasa-planet-idUKKCN0PX22720150723

If you want to learn more about this planet Click here! and watch the video.

Mark Zuckerberg

(the creator of facebook)

Hi!

My name is Mark Zuckerberg and I am 31 years old. I was born in West Palm Beach in Florida in 1984. I am a chief executive of corporation and I studied computer-programming games at Harvard University. During my studies I developed various Internet solutions. Later in life, I took the initiative to create the famous networking site, Facebook. Facebook was founded Februray 4th, 2004 in Massachusetts. At one point in life, I was considered the world's youngest billionare. The movie "The Social Netwok" provides a portrait of me after working with the development of Facebook.

http://newsroom.fb.com/media-gallery/executives/mark-zuckerberg/

Click here to watch the trailer!

Click here to read about the movie!

Task 1 and 2, page 26

1) When I have had conversations with non-Norwegians in the past, I haven’t exactly cared about either vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation. I just wanted to get my message across and have them understand my point. If I couldn’t find a word or an expression I used to find synonyms or try to talk around the subject. It is only now that I have begun caring about vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Whenever I am speaking with non-Norwegians today, I see it as practise, and try to say things correctly and have fluency in my sentences. If I have to choose the most important of them (vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation), I think I have to say vocabulary. It is more important than pronunciation and grammar because you can make others understand you without a perfect pronunciation or correctly endings. As long as you know the words, most of the ones you are talking to will understand. Norwegians understand foreigners with accent, so why shouldn't they understand us?

2) Vocabulary: “Inner Sircle” and “Outer Sircle” are contributions we have.

Standars: Today we have two different standar forms of english: American and British.

Other “Englishes”: Countries where English has been a second language for a long time, it occur other Englishes like Spanglish, Englog, Hinglish and Singlish.

The future of English: Professor David Crystal believes that in the future there will be three forms of English: local dialect, education business, and communicating with foreigners.

How To Detect Bias In News

Media has great power worldwide with followers from all around the world. Everybody have access to see what media puts out. Media should therefore be honest, fair and accurate, but it is not always easy to distinguish genuine and fake. At least not when Photoshop, special effects and editing exists. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to detect bias in Media.

Who are the sources?

Media has a tendency to rely on Official Sources like the government, corporate and establishment think tank. You must be aware of the political perspectives of the sources used in a story.

Is there a lack of diversity?

How is the gender diversity and the race diversity distributed? How many producers, editors, co-workers, chiefs and decision makers are women, gay, lesbian or people of colour?

Are there double standards?

Does media hold a standard for a group of people and another standard for another group? Young people of colour are often to be seen as super dangerous if they commit a crime, but if a white adult commits a crime people think it is tragic and that he was led astray.

Do the headlines and stories match?

Usually a journalist does not write the headlines. Sometimes the headlines and the stories does not match. 

What are the unchallenged assumptions?

From whose point of view is the news reported?

Do stereotypes skew coverage?

Is the language loaded?

Is there a lack of context?

Are stories and important issues featured prominently?

The Journalists use different methods to find out if a source is real or fake. Twitter, Google Maps/Google Earth, Spokeo, Human Sources, The Weathercast and YouTube are just some of them. Some cases are more difficult and need more research than others. For instance, if they find a video of a tornado that sucks up a cow, they can look at past weather forecaster to see if the tornado were present. Other techniques is to use Google Earth to see if the place the film was recorded really exists, they can also find the owner of the video on Spokeo, and ask if the recording is real. They just have to be creative and use social media.

Working With Statistics

7c)

The position of English in the world today

Many humans on earth speaks English, but 20% of the world's population has Chinese as their native language. Although Chinese is the language with most native speakers, English truly comes out best when it comes to peoples second language (showed by table 1). Since there are more people speaking English as their second language, fewer speaks Chinese. This makes English the Lingua Franca; wich means a language used by two different native speakers to communicate. As it shows on table 2, English is the most used language in articles around the world, because it reaches out to more people. Almost all transport and communication between different countries is in English.