Internet Biases

Earlier this week in class, we read the essay "About Men," its title simply stating its subject matter. I found it interesting how the essay discussed the differences between real cowboys and the medias's portrayal and general perceptions of the macho men of the west. In my blog, I've decided to tackle the issue of gendered space online. There are many different kinds of websites online, but some forums tend to be echo chambers filled with only those who agree with a certain viewpoint. I decided to consider the issue with one of the sites I use most often for news and entertainment, Reddit. Reddit is, as calculated by the Alexa ranking system, the 7th most visited website in the US. It also has 67 percent male users. Considering the disparity in gender percentages from real life, it helps if I take that bias into account when considering the accuracy of certain news articles. Unfortunately, the echo chamber effect is even more pronounced on Reddit due to the ability to make "subreddits" that allow you to talk to people that have the same viewpoint as you. Taking that into consideration, because subreddits like /r/news have 71 percent male users, my newsfeed may be completely shifted, and the more important developments aren't being brought to my attention. This isn't to say that gender makeup ruins the credibility of news, but next time you are browsing a website, at least take it into consideration as a confounding variable!

Real Weddings

American culture has become completely immersed in commercialism. Even simple declarations of love have turned into consumer services, as shown in the essay we read this week, "Marrying Absurd." In this piece, Didion criticizes the consumerist culture that has turned marriage into what it is today. I am going to refute her, and say that marriage was never such a pure and incorruptible thing. The actual event of marriage doesn't matter, because the relationship that comes after marriage is what really counts. Does it really matter how much a wedding costs or how romantic it is if the relationship itself isn't satisfying? Maybe offering a cheaper wedding service is what is needed for true love to shine legally, while still allowing people to enjoy themselves. Good weddings have never guaranteed a good marriage, so maybe letting a little absurdity shine through isn't too terrible. Even though young people only want to have their weddings in Las Vegas to emulate their ideas of a real marriage, letting them be foolishly happy doesn't hurt anyone. They would never be able to afford a real wedding in the first place, so this is the closest they would get. Maybe we don't have to criticize happiness for being based on something fake. Maybe the fake is of far greater value. In its deliberate attempt to be real, it's more real than the real thing.

American Outrage

When I look at America, I see a land of opportunity. Because of the openness of American markets, I am able to appreciate how large of a head start I have been given in the race of life. What I don't understand or appreciate is the intolerance and discrimination that at times seem to run rampant in our society. Taking a step outside America, and looking at our country today, there seems to much more negativity nowadays. On both sides of the political spectrum , there tends to be outrage over something or other.

In many cases, the outrage is completely justified, but because of the over saturation of this anger in media, I feel like I, along with many other people, have been desensitized to political scandals. This doesn't mean I don't feel strongly about politics, but that I find it too much of a hassle to talk about it. No matter what someone is saying about the current situation, it tends to require me to act angry over President Trump's new executive order or to laugh at "salty liberals." It all requires too much energy considering how tired I am nowadays. Going back to how America is full of opportunity, how free can a country really be if not everyone is given an equal chance to succeed? I know I work less hard than many other people out there, yet I can probably go to a pretty good college just because of the quality of the education that I have access to. I definitely work less hard than many teens who have to help work to provide for their families, yet my skills are recognized more than theirs. Given equal opportunities, there is no saying which of us would achieve more in life. This is why, even though politics tire me out, I recognize the need for people to protest for equality, and for science to win. This is why I support the protests, because people need to stand up for basic liberties, and for equal opportunity.

Growing Up

Recently, our class read the short story "Arm Wrestling with My Father." Reading this reminded me of my own relationships with my parents and sister. My relationship with my family has changed over the years. When I was little, I used to love hanging out and just talking to my parents. At dinner my dad would start talking about random stories or legends. Now our bonds have grown weaker as the need to interact with my family has lessened. I'm more focused on school and how to bolster my college applications. Whenever I come home, I stay holed up in my room doing homework or procrastinating for an upcoming test or competition.

My only interactions with my parents come at dinner time, or during the weekends. Reflecting on how my relationships have changed makes me sad, because I feel like there were more opportunities to connect. Through all of this though, I feel loved. My parents are supportive of my efforts to improve myself, and even though I feel tired all of the time, I'm still happy. Because of the loving environment I have been raised in, I realize the privilege I have been given over other people. My problem is that although I'm taking advantage of everything my parents have done to help their children, I barely give anything back. I've always told myself that I would pay them back when I grew older, but now I realize that the size of the debt that I owe them can't be repaid back in one lifetime. My perspective on family may be forced from the stress of this year, but I'm truly thankful for the opportunities that my family has provided me.

Disabilities in Daily Life

This week, our class read an essay from Nancy Mairs titled "Disability," which deals with the under representation of disabled people in media. She discusses many topics regarding disabilities, including how her disabilities don't define herself, and how ads are hurting everyone by not including disabilities. I'd like to focus on the second point by discussing what the ads are doing wrong. Disabled people are hurt because they are alienated and feel like "there is something queer about (them), something ugly or foolish or shameful." This doesn't only affect disabled people though. Because being disabled is "the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time," it makes it a great deal harder for one to psychologically cope with being disabled if they are able to see other disabled people being represented in ads or other media.

Nancy Mairs also brought up the point that ad companies are hurting themselves economically by not representing disabled people. Because ad companies don't show disabled people in ads, they will be less inclined to buy items that would be helpful to them than if it was shown straight up. Unfortunately, this is still happening even today, as ads that could have been better shown with a disabled person, and that are targeted toward disabled people, don't want to "give people the idea that (their) product is just for the handicapped." These types of ads are mocked in online forums for their over the top portrayals, but if people knew that disabled people faced these challenges daily, I doubt they would still make fun of them.