With music videos becoming racier and racier, and the lives of popstars being followed even more closely, the effect seems to be moving to our adolescents and affecting them more than anyone else. Kids are at a much younger age becoming sexualized and trying to emulate their favourite celebrities by dressing and acting like them.
This is leading to many girls beginning to dress in less clothing at a younger age. With this, many music videos show promiscuous women, and kids are beginning to try to emulate that. This is lead to the development of sex lives and a knowledge of sexual acts at an early age that was not found to be this common ten years ago.
On the male side of things, many of the males in videos are portrayed as being players. This spend money and get many women lifestyle seems to be prominent among lyrics and videos. Along with this, like what has been being seen with girls over past years, the male body is becoming increasingly and increasingly standardized to being hairless and having chiselled muscles. This body image is beginning to become closer and closer to the one many girls think they have to be like.
In the end, it is important to try and find a way to return youth to the young kids and allow them an opportunity to still have more innocent fun before their life becomes complicated by sex. The best way to do this would be to have frank and open discussions with children and talk about what they are seeing in movies, tv and music videos.
The effect of technology
Over the course of my life, I have been able to witness and be a part of the technology boom in the world. Technology is increasing at such a rapid rate, that pretty well as soon as something comes out, it gets replaced by something better, faster, and cooler. With the increasing access to smartphones, internet and other electronics, children are being exposed to a world that is increasingly more dangerous than it was 10 years ago and these things were harder to come by.
The increasing connectivity is becoming a major concern for parents. With the advent of this technology, young children and young teens can access pornographic materials with ease. This is especially concerning as we found out in Sext up Kids because a lot of the children and young teens are beginning to think that pornography is an accurate representation of relationships.
Along with this, many children now have cell phones. This easy access to private communication allows children to be sexting at a young age, describing themselves doing acts that are not appropriate of children their age. Along with these sexual explicit texts, younger children are starting to send sexually explicit pictures through the phone. This is dangerous, as they are taking a risk with the person they are sending it to. If that person so desires, they could send that picture to others or post it online.
The best way to try to avoid such things would be for the parents to be frank and honest with the kids and have discussions with them. By being involved in the kids life, they can ensure that they can be there for any issue or questions that their children may have. By doing this, hopefully they will be able to explain the difference between pornography and a real relationship.
The increasing connectivity is becoming a major concern for parents. With the advent of this technology, young children and young teens can access pornographic materials with ease. This is especially concerning as we found out in Sext up Kids because a lot of the children and young teens are beginning to think that pornography is an accurate representation of relationships.
Along with this, many children now have cell phones. This easy access to private communication allows children to be sexting at a young age, describing themselves doing acts that are not appropriate of children their age. Along with these sexual explicit texts, younger children are starting to send sexually explicit pictures through the phone. This is dangerous, as they are taking a risk with the person they are sending it to. If that person so desires, they could send that picture to others or post it online.
The best way to try to avoid such things would be for the parents to be frank and honest with the kids and have discussions with them. By being involved in the kids life, they can ensure that they can be there for any issue or questions that their children may have. By doing this, hopefully they will be able to explain the difference between pornography and a real relationship.
Agents of Socialization
In any persons life, they will have many people who socialize with them and help accustom them to the world and change the way they look at things. I believe that this happens on a continuing basis with the people who we interact with in our day to day lives. I believe that the time in life when the most influence is on someone is when they are going through puberty. This is a time in life where many questions are being raised and kids are starting to learn more and more without their parents help.
The major socializing factors early in my life were my parents and my sister. I was always very close with my mom and my sister specifically (mainly because my father was often working, however he would make sure that he could come to everyone's events). My sister is the closest sibling in my family to my age, and always treated me very well, because of this, I emulated her in many ways and began a close relationship that remains so until this day.
As I aged, the influence of family became less and less (though I still remained close to them) and began to fade towards my peers. As with many teens, I was very concerned about how well liked I was, and how I appeared to others. This led me to emulate the more popular people in my school as well as try to catch on trends from people in pop culture. At this point in my life, I feel I could have been enticed into many crazy things if I thought it would have made me popular. This seems to be a common feeling among adolescents.
To this day, I am still greatly affected, but it is not to the extent it previously was. I am more careful now about what activities I undertake because of the people I socialize with. Though now, and before, the people I socialize with have affected how I speak, dress, and act in given situations.
I feel that I will always be affected by the people I socialize with in some form. This seems only natural with anyone who keeps a social life. I believe that the ability to learn from others, and modify your behaviour based on what you learned is an important part of life.
The major socializing factors early in my life were my parents and my sister. I was always very close with my mom and my sister specifically (mainly because my father was often working, however he would make sure that he could come to everyone's events). My sister is the closest sibling in my family to my age, and always treated me very well, because of this, I emulated her in many ways and began a close relationship that remains so until this day.
As I aged, the influence of family became less and less (though I still remained close to them) and began to fade towards my peers. As with many teens, I was very concerned about how well liked I was, and how I appeared to others. This led me to emulate the more popular people in my school as well as try to catch on trends from people in pop culture. At this point in my life, I feel I could have been enticed into many crazy things if I thought it would have made me popular. This seems to be a common feeling among adolescents.
To this day, I am still greatly affected, but it is not to the extent it previously was. I am more careful now about what activities I undertake because of the people I socialize with. Though now, and before, the people I socialize with have affected how I speak, dress, and act in given situations.
I feel that I will always be affected by the people I socialize with in some form. This seems only natural with anyone who keeps a social life. I believe that the ability to learn from others, and modify your behaviour based on what you learned is an important part of life.
Comfort with one's cultural self
There are many aspects that may change how comfortable someone is with their cultural self. Specifically today, I am going to talk about my thoughts on the effects of minority groups, first/second generation immigrant, or whether you live in a unicultural or multicultural setting.
When we look at whether someone is from a minority or majority group it would make a lot of sense that this would effect the comfort with the cultural self. It would be quite apparent, that someone from a minority group would be less comfortable with their cultural self. They would be in a society of people of dominant other beliefs, skin colours, or languages. Because of this, they would be less certain with how others view them, and how they act culturally.
When it comes to looking at a first/second generation immigrant, it is very clear that a second generation immigrant would be much more comfortable. This would be because they had grown up in the same area as the culture, and while there would be certain things transmitted by their parents, they would be interacting everyday from birth in the dominant culture. First generation immigrants would be dependent on when they moved here. As discussed in the textbook, there seem to be sensitive periods for cultural learning (that's linked quite closely with the sensitive periods for language acquisition). So the earlier they would have immigrated, the more comfortable they would be likely to be with their cultural self in a new area.
The area I live in is quite bicultural. At this time, more and more Asians are beginning to move into the Moncton area, but the area is still dominated by white people of European descent. The two major cultures around Moncton are the English and the French Acadians. Because of this mix, Moncton like other Acadian areas has a health dose of the French English mixed language named Chiaque (or Frenglish to some). due to being a part of one of the major groups in the Moncton area, it is a lot easier to be able to feel comfortable with my cultural identity.
When we look at whether someone is from a minority or majority group it would make a lot of sense that this would effect the comfort with the cultural self. It would be quite apparent, that someone from a minority group would be less comfortable with their cultural self. They would be in a society of people of dominant other beliefs, skin colours, or languages. Because of this, they would be less certain with how others view them, and how they act culturally.
When it comes to looking at a first/second generation immigrant, it is very clear that a second generation immigrant would be much more comfortable. This would be because they had grown up in the same area as the culture, and while there would be certain things transmitted by their parents, they would be interacting everyday from birth in the dominant culture. First generation immigrants would be dependent on when they moved here. As discussed in the textbook, there seem to be sensitive periods for cultural learning (that's linked quite closely with the sensitive periods for language acquisition). So the earlier they would have immigrated, the more comfortable they would be likely to be with their cultural self in a new area.
The area I live in is quite bicultural. At this time, more and more Asians are beginning to move into the Moncton area, but the area is still dominated by white people of European descent. The two major cultures around Moncton are the English and the French Acadians. Because of this mix, Moncton like other Acadian areas has a health dose of the French English mixed language named Chiaque (or Frenglish to some). due to being a part of one of the major groups in the Moncton area, it is a lot easier to be able to feel comfortable with my cultural identity.
Where do my values come from?
When I really take the time to think about what it is I value in life it all seems to revolve around one thing... Loyalty. This relates to a few things, but for this purpose of this post, I'll relate it to loyalty to family and loyalty to friends. Since both of these are quite different, it is only natural that they would stem from different life experiences.
For loyalty to family, that one definitely comes from the experiences of growing up within a close family. We often would have supper together, have family outings, and all our vacations were always taken as a family (at least until the older siblings started getting their own jobs, and even then we still try to all get away). It is through all these experiences as a child that this value was instilled into me.
However, loyalty towards friends came through a much different and more difficult set of circumstances. This developed fairly early on in my childhood (all throughout elementary school) because of the friends that I had drawn close to me. These friends were very unloyal, would often ditch me, and sometimes just be downright mean. This hurt me very much and it is because of this that it has become so important to me to be loyal to my word for my friends, and stick up for them if there is any issue.
How have others cultures affected me?
How globalized am I? Looking from a solely introspective view on the question, it is really hard to actually decide how globalized I truly am. While I feel that I have been greatly influenced by the cultures of others, I have never spent an extended period of time in another culture, nor are many of my close friends from a culture very different from my own.
I feel that the way I look at water usage, food waste, etc. has really been influenced by other cultures. The major thing that made me think more about this was when I was in the 12th grade, I was at a conference and Craig Kielberger was one of the keynote speakers. Craig was a fantastic speaker, and his experience with poverty is incredible. While he was not poor himself, he created the organization Free the Children at the age of twelve. During his speech he really discussed the conditions in many emergent cultures, and really was motivational talking about how one person can truly make a large difference.
Also, I feel that the exposure to other cultures (no matter how minor) gives us an interesting way to look at ourselves. When I was a child, I thought the North American way of life was the same as it was for all people. I had a very hard time understanding why people didn't think the same way as my family and culture. After socializing with many other people, I was able to get a further perspective on how North American thought is very different from other cultures though. Since I was able to learn this at a fairly young age, combined with my mom's teaching of treating everyone as equals, I have been able to gain incredible insight on daily activities, life, religion and death.
While my daily life hasn't been completely changed based on my interactions with other cultures , it has certainly given me valuable insight and allowed me to really meet some great people who I would of potentially had problems getting along with had I been so set in my ways. I feel that it's important to allow other cultures to afect you, but if it doesn't seem to be a fit in your life, you will at least be able to gain great insight on the thoughts of other people, and gain a much deeper understanding of different people.
I feel that the way I look at water usage, food waste, etc. has really been influenced by other cultures. The major thing that made me think more about this was when I was in the 12th grade, I was at a conference and Craig Kielberger was one of the keynote speakers. Craig was a fantastic speaker, and his experience with poverty is incredible. While he was not poor himself, he created the organization Free the Children at the age of twelve. During his speech he really discussed the conditions in many emergent cultures, and really was motivational talking about how one person can truly make a large difference.
Also, I feel that the exposure to other cultures (no matter how minor) gives us an interesting way to look at ourselves. When I was a child, I thought the North American way of life was the same as it was for all people. I had a very hard time understanding why people didn't think the same way as my family and culture. After socializing with many other people, I was able to get a further perspective on how North American thought is very different from other cultures though. Since I was able to learn this at a fairly young age, combined with my mom's teaching of treating everyone as equals, I have been able to gain incredible insight on daily activities, life, religion and death.
While my daily life hasn't been completely changed based on my interactions with other cultures , it has certainly given me valuable insight and allowed me to really meet some great people who I would of potentially had problems getting along with had I been so set in my ways. I feel that it's important to allow other cultures to afect you, but if it doesn't seem to be a fit in your life, you will at least be able to gain great insight on the thoughts of other people, and gain a much deeper understanding of different people.
How has my culture shaped me?
How has my culture shaped me? It's an interesting question that certain merits a look into. Growing up, my parents always put a lot of emphasis on the importance of family. Because of this emphasis, we have all remained close despite being dispersed across the country. It was important growing up that we would participate in things like family dinner, and spending time with the others, even if it is just watching TV or a movie. Because of this abundance of time spent together when we were young we developed close bonds (that even teasing couldn't break). To me, family is incredibly important and we must come to each other's aid whenever it is needed.
We had a strong sense of tradition, and still carry many of them out to this day (while it may not always include the entire family, we still do our best). We still go to church on Christmas eve to be followed by a delicious feast of Chinese food from a local restaurant and we still ensure to have an Easter egg hunt every Easter (despite me being the youngest of the children at 21). Keeping with tradition has led me to really believe in the power of traditions to bring people together. Even if we're fighting, stressed, or just feeling down, we are always able to count on that time with out family.
Another thing that had a major influence on the shaping of my life was a constant involvement in sports. This taught me to be very disciplined in how I act. My desire to not let anyone down really fueled this, as I did not want to be the one getting hot headed and putting my team at risk. This is something that I try to transfer to my day to day life.
Growing up, I had an issue with having a lot of fairweather friends. This led to constant disappointment. Since I've grown up, I've been afforded the opportunity to look back at those days and realize that they were clearly not the people I should have been hanging out with because of how they treated me. This is part of the reason why I am incredibly loyal to my friends and expect the same thing in return.
We had a strong sense of tradition, and still carry many of them out to this day (while it may not always include the entire family, we still do our best). We still go to church on Christmas eve to be followed by a delicious feast of Chinese food from a local restaurant and we still ensure to have an Easter egg hunt every Easter (despite me being the youngest of the children at 21). Keeping with tradition has led me to really believe in the power of traditions to bring people together. Even if we're fighting, stressed, or just feeling down, we are always able to count on that time with out family.
Another thing that had a major influence on the shaping of my life was a constant involvement in sports. This taught me to be very disciplined in how I act. My desire to not let anyone down really fueled this, as I did not want to be the one getting hot headed and putting my team at risk. This is something that I try to transfer to my day to day life.
Growing up, I had an issue with having a lot of fairweather friends. This led to constant disappointment. Since I've grown up, I've been afforded the opportunity to look back at those days and realize that they were clearly not the people I should have been hanging out with because of how they treated me. This is part of the reason why I am incredibly loyal to my friends and expect the same thing in return.
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