Pros and Cons of Social Media

Social media is a relatively new form of technology that turns out to have a bigger impact on our lives than we may think. www.briansolis.com states that "70% of adult social networking users visit the sites to connect with friends and family." This is a statistic that shows how amazing and beneficial social media can be, millions of people use it to connect with people they know and communicate with people across the world. I believe this statistic to be true, Brian Solis appears to be a very successful award-winning writer and blogger. He seems very legitimate, he is a well-known public speaker and has a very professional website. One con of social media is that is has been reported to cause people to spend less time interacting face-to-face. According to www.mashable.com "32% of people reported using social media or texting during meals." This statistic seems legit as well, mashable appears to be a very good source of reliable news and media updates. I would not be surprised at all if 32% of Americans use their phones while eating meals. We learned that people become so wrapped up in social media because they want to be in constant contact of being entertained. It is very common today to walk into restaurants and see people using their phones, technology is changing us!

Celebrities and Normal People

Celebrities are seen by common people constantly whether it is on T.V., in magazines, or ad endorsements they are in direct view of the public a lot. This is one of the reasons why they live different lives than us, they are seen as symbolic or as a person we should look up to when it comes to style, looks. or personality. They also have a huge impact on what we buy, and example would be how Kylie Jenner's lip-kits for women sell like crazy! Just because she endorses a lipstick it becomes widely popular and sells out in minutes, but everyday people see her as beautiful and think that buying her makeup makes them special just like her. Our love for these specific people has made them famous and they will soon be stalked by the very watchful eyes of the media. This differs celebrities from normal people because as soon as they get media coverage they will forever be scrutinized for every decision they make. Normal people do not have to keep up an image because we are not constantly getting looked at and evaluated, whereas celebrities always have to look good to keep relevant and true to their "celeb status."

Different Types Of Social Currency

One thing that is rather hot right now is a T.V. show entitled "The Walking Dead." It is on AMC's network and is the most viewed television series currently. It uses the Social Currency of Remark-ability simply because most of America watches it, with that may people viewing the television show each week, it can't help but spark people's interests to try it out.

http://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead

Another popular brand is Jordan, they release clothing and very limited shoe releases almost every 2 months. Its signature "Retro" line is available in very limited quantities and can resale for hundreds more than you spent on the shoes. It uses the Insider social currency because only the people who know when the next shoe is going to come out will get them in the very limited quantities they have making them feel exclusive to the people who buy them.

http://sneakernews.com/air-jordan-release-dates/

The last piece of social currency is one of the latest forms of technology to hit the video gaming market. It is known as VR or virtual reality, it uses all 3 forms of social currency, Remark-ability because the producers of the product are using the newest and best tech to create a new product for playing video games. It grabs people's attention it is something totally new and different. It also uses Game Mechanics because it is literally used to play video games so the player earns rewards or perks while they participate in a game. You can also argue that it uses Insider social currency as well, this new tech is expensive and currently back ordered because they can not produce enough to keep up with the demand. This is leaving people frustrated because they have no idea when they will get their VR set and is being reported as "one of the worst release weeks for a piece of video gaming tech."

https://www.oculus.com/en-us/

Mixed Message Tattoos

In the reading "Secret Ink: Tattoos in American Culture" explains why people get tattoos but still yet feel the need to hide or conceal them. The people who choose to mark their bodies feel the need to express themselves in that way but still may require it to be hidden by clothing. This is the mixed message that tattoos give, people may want to get tattoos but chose to hide them. This is usually because of the persons career goals, and do not want to endanger their future or social life. Another mixed message tattoos give is how people get them to represent important things in their life, or to tell a specific story. Tattoos also send a fear into the people who get inked up, the constant reminder of pain and the unknown culture of tattoos can completely turn people off to it because they are not very familiarized with tattoos.