Facebook- My Guilty Pleasure

This will probably come as no shock to most of you reading this because you are probably one of the millions that are the same way. My most frequently visited website is the infamous Facebook. It is mine and a lot of other individual’s “guilty pleasure.” Every time I sit down at a computer it is more than likely the first website I visit. I feel connected with the people around me especially my friends at college that I know are checking it as frequently as I am. Facebook started off as a strictly college site to keep friends connected that go to different colleges around the nation. With sites like MySpace popularizing because anyone can join Facebook had to make some changes. I preferred Facebook when it was strictly college students because it was exclusive and I felt connected with people that shared something in common with me. Regardless of these changes I still enjoy being able to communicate with people via Facebook. The advertising on Facebook, found on the left hand site of the screen, changes with every click I make. It ranges from housing to beauty products but it is aimed at a younger, teenage demographic which comes of no surprise because of the age range of Facebook being about 17-23. I have not really fallen into the advertisement on Facebook because most of the time I am more interested in what is going on with mine or other’s profiles and not looking at the side, but that is just me. In conclusion, Add me as your friend on Facebook!

Me as a consumer citizen

I am the consumer citizen that every company wants to have. I am faithful to particular brands not because they are necessary the best quality but they best represent me and the image I like to display. I know it sounds superficial and that is something that I have learned to ignore, because I am content with the consumer citizen I have learned to be. I spend my money on clothes, shoes, and going out to dinner. These are all things that make me feel content and give me comfort. I feel that there are different stages in consumerism and this is the one I am in now. Now that I am approaching graduation in the next couple years I have started to think more along the lines of my future when I think about my role as a consumer. Right now, I am in college and my parents help me with rent and my car and stuff like that, but after graduation and I hopefully get a job these helpful fund from my parents are going to stop and my spending habits have to change. When this dreaded day comes my money will no longer go towards the things that I want to have it will go towards the things I need to have. As of now, I do enjoy the ability to do what I want with the money that I have but I know that in the near future life is not going to be the same.

Internet Regulation

Firstly, I don’t think the government should regulate the radio or television as heavily as it does, but that is not the issue at hand. Going off that, I feel that regulation can contribute positive aspects to media outlets such as television, radio, and internet, but the government is taking it too far. I feel that because media is heavily relied on for a source of information world wide, the content should be regulated for accuracy and not on obscenity but this is a sticky issue because there are no clear qualifications for what is obscene. I think age restrictions for particular sights and content found on the internet is a good for of regulation in regards to the upbringing of our youth, but the internet is a relatively new media and has an unimaginable amount of information to offer that regulating it the same way television and radio would be impossible.
I think after reading Reefer Madness we can all say undoubtedly that we are not a true democratic nation when it comes to media and what is being displayed for the masses. But since media has been prevalent in the United States, there have been people on both sides arguing for and against regulation, and this will never change. I think that if the internet becomes regulated by the government, it will lose a tremendous amount of individuality. Many people use the internet to express themselves in ways they can not or do not feel comfortable and by regulating this, it will lose this aspect it brings to many individuals lives. Government has taken over books, television, radio, but these three are all much easier to regulate than the internet would be especially if the standards for the internet are comparable to the standards they have for television.

Some Links:
The Practical Professor on internet regulation

Save Internet Freedom