Your Identity is Offline

During this week's class discussion, we have been talking about the way people portray themselves online compared to their actual identities. Being that I am on Facebook, youtube and an ESPN member, I see a lot of people that make comments that I do not think they would make in real life conversation. I constantly see people degrading other people online and talking about things they would never say to a person that was actually right in front of them. The people online that I notice quite often are people that pretend they are tougher than they really are. They portray themselves as someone who thinks they are better than everyone else and they know far more than anyone else in the world.

The way that people act in my opinion is the way that they wish they could act in real life. People always talk about serious situations like they are not bothered by them online as well like relationships. People like to put on a front whenever they know they are not saying these things in real life. They also always like to put pictures up of themselves that do not accurately portray how they really are. Many profile pictures on Facebook are of people that are partying all the time or doing something outrageous when in reality they do things that are outrageous like that maybe once every few months. In my honest opinion, we use online identities to say the things we only wish we could say in real life and this is why so many people have accounts with these various websites. It gives us a chance to escape actuality for a minute and go into this fantasy world where we know we can say and do almost anything we want.

Stereotypes and Audience Perceptions

After the discussions in class, there were some things that sparked some interest in my mind. The main thing was what we had recently discussed which was stand-up comedy routines that greatly stereotype other races and their own. One thing I agree with is that the people that criticize their own races are not violating cultural rules for the simple fact that they are part of this race. Katt Williams and Dave Chappelle's use of the "N" word is not seen as a problem because they are part of that race. However if someone of another ethnicity used this word, the effects may not be so positive. Sure it is fine for Caucasians comedians to poke fun at other races or Blacks to poke fun at others but at what point are they going to far?

I think that as long as these group members do not start throwing out racial slurs about other groups than there is no limit to what they can say. In my own opinion, I believe that the stereotypes that these comedians discuss hold some truth behind them which is the reason I think they do not highly offend other races. If they begin to start saying things that hold no validity behind them, this is when they start to become "racist" and should stop saying the things they are. Michael Richards is a primary example of when going to far can hurt you. Because he said the "n" word, he is no seen as a racist and people from the black community do not have any respect for him anymore. If a black comedian were to start calling whites "crackers", "white trash", etc. then I think they are crossing the line. If it is all out of good fun, then society should stop making such a big deal about what these comedians are saying because it doesn't necessarily hurt anyone's race. 

Do Video Games Really Impact Actions of Gameplayers?

After we have been discussing the effects that video games have on children along with adults alike, I wonder is there really a connection between the two? My answer is no. Video games are an entertainment form that we use in the world to let us escape reality for a minute amount of time. Just because there are some games that invoke violence, negative attitudes and criminal behavior, I do not think this has an effect on players. There are going to be those select few that think that they are able to accomplish the things video game characters do but for the most part, we know that they are games.

My best example of this would be by looking at the Columbine shootings. This happened in 1999 and long before violent video games were a part of the entertainment industry. There are people that are going to do crazy things in life and we simply can not blame a video game for it. When I play Grand Theft Auto, I understand that it is a game and it attracts me for the simple reason that I can do illegal things on the game and not get into real trouble for it. It is sort of like when kids under 18 smoke cigarettes. They do it because it gives them some suspense in life. They like the fact that they are doing something illegal and are getting away with it. But then these same kids, turn 18, and most of them never smoke again. Society today is full of people that like to do rebellious things. Once it is no longer rebellious, we stop doing it. Video games are the same way. We know that we can do things that are not acceptable in society in these games but when we put the controller down, these things could get us into major trouble.

When it comes down to it, video games do not play that big of a role in how people act today. All they do is take us away for a minute and let us escape the real world. Those who are invoked to do negative things after they put down the controller are the ones that shouldn't be playing video games. In the end, I think it all comes down to the person playing. If they are mature enough to understand that this is a video game and fantasy life, they will be able to play without trying to do things these characters do. Just because I play Madden, I don't go outside and think that I am Ray Lewis and should just start nailing people around me. Reality is reality and fantasy is fantasy. Those who do not understand this need to put down the controller and get a REALITY check.

Turn up the STEREOtyping!

After discussing various issues in class and throughout readings, one of the main issues I struggle to deal with is gender stereotyping. There are so many things we learn growing up about how girls and boys should "act" if they want to maintain their image. Boys are not supposed to wear dresses, play with dolls, or have long hair. Girls are supposed to wear dresses, cross their legs, and speak politely. The question is why do we live by those rules?

Sure we are told these rules by adults and peers growing up, but do we really need to live by them. Another problem is, why are women allowed to get away with so much more when it comes to breaking norms. Immediately after you see a man wearing high heels or a skirt, you instantly think he has to be trans-gender, yet when you see a girl wearing jeans and a pair of Jordans, she is just trying to be in style. While I do not believe men should be walking around like this, I still want to know why the two comparisons should be so much different.

Women have always been told how they should act in public and what they should wear. The media along with others have created this whole idea of how the perfect woman and man are supposed to look which in turn leads society to take on these norms. Twenty years ago, wearing a pink shirt would make you gay if you were a man, yet today, the slogan is "Real Men Wear Pink". It seems that there are so many different stereotypes that exist for each gender and they evolve every year. The main issue I would like to find out is if media creates these stereotypes and we buy into them, or does society create these stereotypes and the media just plays along to keep programs trendy?