Story Telling

Telling stories is an important part of every culture, whether it is scary stories around a camp fire, a nice fairy tale bed time story or just an old tall tale that your grandfather tells every chance he gets. I am sure everyone has at least a couple of these fond memories that they hold dearly.

Penelope Starr writes a blog on the benefits of storytelling. She states that it creates an emotional connection to the minds of the listeners. It gives a greater understanding by teaching a lesson in an exaggerated story or a parable that can be easily related to.

Everyone has their favorite nursery rhyme that they loved having read to as a kid. These nursery rhymes have become an important part of our culture. Not only is it entertainment for the child but perhaps more importantly it is boding time for the parent and child. This priceless bonding is essential for the development of kids today.  In past cultures story telling may have taken different forms, such as stories around a campfire, spiritual dances, or even writings in a cave, but they all tell the story that brings members of a society closer together.

What do you think? Do you think that these stories are an important part of today's culture as well as past?

More Facebook

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of time, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.”

                                                    --Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Facebook and other Social networking sites have entwined and entangled their selves into all of our lives more than we may realize it. But is it for the good?? .  Social Nerdia proposes the same question in a blog asking is this media transformation “for the better or the worse.” Forbes writes telling its audience three reasons why “you should quit social media in 2013.”

Both of the authors take a strong viewpoint against the use of social media listing persuasive logos of the negative impact that these websites have had on society. Easteban Contreras of Social Nerdia describes life as almost being unlivable in today’s world with the many interactions everyone has day to day with the internet. The logos that he presents give the audience a good understanding short of a time these sites have been able to take over our lives.

Forbes also uses these same rhetorical techniques to convince readers but manly focuses on the pathos side of the argument; listing examples of Facebook hurting self-esteem and increasing blood pressure. This technique captures the reader’s attention and makes the m think that possibly the source of their stress is social media. He then challenges everyone to quit social media in the year 2013 and see for yourself. This seems tough but do you think you could take on this challenge?

These two different approaches to the same issue have different effects on the audience and could influence their opinion? Which do you think does a better job of influencing your opinion?

Social Networking

As we read articles in Reading Culture about how the media is” rewiring us” I can’t help but think about is the media really changing our society or is this just a bunch of exaggeration?

And the more I read the more and more these experts have do have valid points. We are attached to our phones and social networking sites. Just ask yourself “How long could you last without your phone?”  But are we so attached it’s a problem? Courtnie Packer doesn’t think so, who writes an article answering the question “Are Teenagers Becoming Too Attached to Their Cell Phones?” She believes the advantages of the cell phone far out weights the negative. They allow parents to keep in touch and monitor their kids.

Of course there is many negatives of social networking sites.  Some believe that Facebook contributes to obesity from kids sitting around waiting to see what all their friends are doing in this virtual world, instead of going out. But I believe perhaps the biggest problem today is it seems that it’s the “normal to have hundreds and hundreds of “friends” instead of going out and making good true friends that you can rely on. We can become more quantity over quality here in the recent years. Social networking sites are broadening the amount of people that we are “friends” with but they are swallowing the real connection with real people.

Do you agree and think that these social networking sites do more good than harm? Or do we need to change the way we live our day to day lives?