Romantic Relationships and Social Networking Sites

             The article I will be discussing is called “The role of Social Networking Sites in Romantic Relationships: Effects on Jealousy and Relationship Happiness”. In this article they discuss and break down the different roles that social networking sites (SNS), such as Facbook, play within romantic relationships. A survey was given to subjects who were currently involved in a romantic relationship. These results were then broken down into categories.

            The big debate at hand is whether or not social networking sites such as Facebook cause relationships to be unhealthy. The first issue that came up was that Facebook allows the couple to find out more information about their partner than they might find out without the use of a social networking site. I think this is very true. It is often easy to judge what type of person someone is based on how they interact with other people via Facebook without having any actual physical proof. Another issue discussed in this article is that social networking sites allow you to unnecessarily monitor your partner. Again, I believe this to be true as well. While viewing wall posts, comments, and pictures online, it can be easy to over analyze things and take things out of context. This often leads to jealousy, which can be the demise of a great relationship.

            Another issue covered is whether or not people in a romantic relationship should post personal information about the two of them, and if so, how much is ok to share with the rest of the world. I personally do not think that my relationship is the business of anyone else, and my personal relationships should stay private. For example, from personal experience, if you look online and see that one of your friends is always posting great things about their boyfriend or girlfriend, you may start to compare your significant other to that of your friend. These comparisons can often create standards that often cannot be reached. This is proof that relationship satisfaction is negatively related to SNS jealousy (Utz, 2011).

            In conclusion, I do not think there is any set of definite answers in deciding how one should go about sharing their romantic relationship on a social networking site. I do, however, think that putting or viewing too much information about your or anyone else’s relationships online is unhealthy. In the end it is up to the users to determine what is ok to post and how much information they want to gather by looking at their significant others profile. If you’re are not careful, the implications can be a negative relationship or can even cause a great relationship to end.

References:

Alcott, L. (2010, April 18). Twi-quilters: eclipse charity quilt: bella's broken heart. Twi-quilters. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://twilightquilterscoven.blogspot.com/2010/04/eclipse-charity-quilt-bellas-broken.html

Utz, S. (2011). The role of social networking sites in romantic relationships: effects on jealousy and relationship happiness. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 16(4), 511-527. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01552.x/full

            

My Technology Use

        I never really thought about how much I use different forms of technology on a daily basis until I actually wrote down and kept track of everything I’ve used in a single day. It all started at 8am in the morning when I turn off the alarm clock that I have set on my phone. Shortly after, I am out the door and the real techno addiction begins. As I walk to and from class, I listened to music for about ten minutes at a time. When I add up all of the classes I walk to and from, that ends up being about forty minutes of music play each day just with my iPhone alone. The next thing I did, often while listening to music on the way to class, is checking my email. After adding up each time that I checked my email throughout the day, it added up to be about twelve to fifteen minutes. That is way more than I spend checking my email on my actual computer. Texting played a smaller role of my day than I thought it would; I found myself only sending and receiving about 10 messages that day, which added up to about ten minutes of use. I think my low use of texting is due to the Critical Mass theory (Fox, 2011). I think that since practically everyone is on Facebook and also have a smart phone, I have a lower need to text because Facebook has become so mobile and immediate. The amount of people using Facebook has increased the value of Facebook and lowered the value of texting for me.

        The next thing I kept track of is my Facebook account. Throughout the day, I check Facebook via my iPhone at around fifteen times a day depending on what type of things are going on such as making plans with friends or the amount of comments I received on any given status I’ve posted. Also, when I get home from class, I find myself checking Facebook on my computer at least another five times. My total time spent on Facebook each day is sadly around forty-five minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. Another piece of technology I used was my TV. I used it, although most of the time I just turn it on for background noise while doing something else, for a total of two hours a day.

        I think my use of technology was fairly well spent although I probably could have been spending more time studying or being productive than checking my Facebook the amount I did. I think smart phones can be very useful because they are always on and with us, however, with the amount of tasking and social connectivity, they are becoming more and more distracting than a lot of other forms of technology. In the end, I am not afraid, as I’m sure many others aren’t either, to admit that I am a true Troglodyte.

Photo Source: 

Technology. (n.d.). AARP global network. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from              https://www.aarpglobalnetwork.org/netzine/Industry%20News/TechnologyforSeniors%20News/Pages/default.aspx

Fox, Jesse. "Basic design principles." COMM 450. School of Communication. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. 10 Oct. 2011. Lecture.

Nokia Reveals Four New Phones

           

            Cell phone company Nokia recently announced that it will be releasing four new smart and feature phones by the end of the year. The plan is to compete with the current dominating iPhone, Motorola, HTC and Samsung products. Now I don’t know about you, but when I think of a Nokia phone, I visualize the classic bulky non-flip phone with the black and white screen. However, this is simply not the case. With new, sleek, and colorful designs, I think Nokia might be on to something. The phones vary from having fully touch sensitive screen to having qwerty keyboards and some that are only feature phones as apposed to smart phones. They also seemed to incorporate different flashy and exciting colors.            

           

            Although Nokia was a little slow out the gate when it comes to smart phones, I think they will begin to gain a customer base. Thus far, there really hasn’t been much competing against the iPhone and Android powered smart phones. Nokia will be giving the Windows Mobile OS a fresh new look by incorporating it in their new smart phones. We can definitely count on seeing these in the near future. One thing about smart phones that use the Windows Mobile OS, from my own experience, is that they are not the prettiest of easiest to use. If Nokia and Windows can simplify the design and overall ease of use, I believe they will have a fighting chance against Android and iOS phones.

           

            Currently, most of the smart phones out there are back or white and many people, predominantly kids, would be more attracted to the colorful new phones from Nokia. Accessing the Internet, checking email, and logging onto Facebook are pretty much a given when it comes to smart phones in this day and age. So having a product that stands out against its competitors is very important. Another very important issue to consider is which provider is going to carry this phone. With the cost of data plans going up and some companies getting rid of unlimited data plans all together, the carrier for these new Nokia phones can be a deal maker or breaker. Although Nokia will start to gain some market share, I think it just might be too little, too late, unless they focus on a certain niche group of customers such as children and those who are new to the smart phone world. 

Article Link

Sources:

Nokia unveils four new series 40 phones. (n.d.). Mashable tech. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://mashable.com/2011/10/26/nokia-four-symbian-smartphones/#31577Nokia-Lumia-800

Boonie Mayfield's Black Koolaid

                                            ( Album Art from official Black Koolaid Album)

             Hip-hop and neo soul producer Solomon Vaughn, A.K.A. Boonie Mayfield or Boon Doc really outdid himself with his recent release of music. His long awaited debut instrumental album “Black Koolaid” gained a lot of attention throughout both the hip-hop and r&b scene. Boonie was one of the first producers to use Youtube as a platform to share his music. He makes videos showing each step he made in producing each track. From the drums to the synthesizer, Boonie walks you through the process of making of each creation and while playing difficult chord progressions and drum patters, he somehow makes it look effortless. So, when I downloaded his album I had high expectations based on the music I heard from him previously. Upon listening to “Black Koolaid” I can fairly say that I got what I expected and more.

            Boonie is amazing at giving his music an authentic and realistic feeling even though most of his music is produced through programs on the computer. In fact, if nobody ever told you that Boonie uses a computer for most of the records on the album, I think many people would have no clue. The album is very dynamic from beginning to end. Boon Doc uses a mixture of fast, or more up-tempo songs along with slower ballad type instrumentals. His use of technology is vital to his production. For example, If he hears a certain drum sound from an old record that he likes, he can cut that drum sound out and use it on his own songs. This would not be possible if it were not for the technology we have today.

            Throughout the songs, it is clear that technology played a major role. Boon Doc adds drops, where the music suddenly cuts out or sounds like a record has stopped spinning, and dj effects to add to the dynamics of each instrumental. The number one reason why technology is such a huge part of Boonie’s music is because it frees him to make music from the comfort of his own bedroom. No longer do producers have to go to multi-million dollar recording studios in order to create their art. This allows smaller, and more unknown producers such as Boon Doc to create a name for their selves; not to mention his use of video and Youtube gained virtually his entire fanbase.

            One song I liked in particular was a song called “Mario’s Revenge”. In this song Boonie brings a unique spin to the classic Mario game sound. Throughout the song, which is in stereo of course, boonie uses panning to add effect to the music. The sound bounces from left to right while fading in and out. Without the use of computers, this would not be possible. In this case, I think his use of technology greatly enhanced the overall sound. Boon Doc, in my opinion, has set the standard for computer-produced music.

 Artist Info Link

 Song Link