Module II 500 Word Blog

I read the article written by John Raacke, Ph.D. and Jennifer Bonds-Raacke, Ph.D. entitled "MySpace and Facebook: Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Exploring Friend-Networking Sites." It explores the functions of social networking sites for both male and female college students. Why people use them, who uses them, and what gratifications are met for their users. The Raackes found that most college students use these sites to make new friends and catch up with old ones. They found very little variation in the amount of or reason for use between males and females along with different ethnic groups. Also, they found that women engage in online communication mostly to maintain contact with family, friends, and coworkers, while men use it for pursuing sexual interests and romance. In another article, I read that men are less likely than women to mention their significant others in their profiles on social networking sites; I think these two statistics are related.
Young people are more comfortable than older people with using social networking sites. MySpace and Facebook have millions of users, most of whom are young college students. More people register for these sites every day, and the reasons why were included in the Raackes’ study. People take advantage of the free networking opportunities to advertise businesses as well as their own personal profiles. The social well-being of more frequent visitors of the sites proved to be impacted greatly by what they read on them, mostly things posted by their friends and acquaintances. A majority of college students surveyed receive gratification as a result of keeping in touch with old friends and current friends, while only a small percentage of students feel gratification from academic purposes and dating purposes.
The Raackes also surveyed the students who did not use social networking sites. Some of the main reasons they listed of their non-use were that they have no desire, are busy, don’t have time, and think it’s stupid. Smaller percentages of those people say they don’t want to keep in touch, are loners, don’t want to conform, aren’t cool, don’t have any friends, feel intimidated, and finally that they think other people wouldn’t be interested in their profiles.

Visual Advocacy Project

A classroom of students at the University of Michigan Dearborn.

Skin color doesn’t come between these friends.



There’s no “I” in team.

Fishing together

We all smile in the same language.

Love is blind.

Personal Essay
I started off with a picture from our school’s website that shows a group of students with many different skin colors working together in a classroom. I chose it because the University of Michigan Dearborn is known for its diverse population, one of the reasons I chose to attend.
The next picture is of two children who don’t let the colors of their skin get in the way of their friendship. Children are innocent and don’t judge others because they look different; all they see is a new person to get to know. If more adults would follow after their children’s examples there would be a lot less discrimination. Fortunately I think people are becoming more and more color blind when it comes to race and being open minded to seeing others for who they are. I took Psychology my first semester of college and in it I learned about the contact hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, if someone spends an extended amount of time with a specific type of person that they may have prejudices against their opinions could be proved wrong. By observing the group as a whole, it is usually discovered that most of them don’t fit in their stereotypes at all. I feel that if people work together toward a common goal they will be more likely to rely on their teammates no matter what race they are. That’s where the picture of the construction workers fits in. One of the men is White and two are Hispanic, but that doesn’t stop them from working together and getting the job done.
I went fishing today and couldn’t help but notice the diverse range of people. This project has opened my eyes to how much people actually mix. As we were walking by the dock we noticed a couple, a Black woman and a White man, fishing together. Of course I got my camera out and snapped a picture to help me prove my point.
Next is a picture of my Mom when she went to Minneapolis for a residency. She met all sorts of people from all over the world, and although not completely without prejudices, she made friends with all of them. She came home with a bunch of stories about her diverse experience and how they were all getting their PhDs. One of the friends she made was named Manuel. He was from Texas and didn’t speak very good English but she was drawn to him because of his sparkling personality. They fell in love regardless of their cultural differences and lived happily ever after.

Screenshot-Activity 2

Project Proposal

For my Visual Advocacy Project, I plan to use visuals that represent both a local and worldwide controversy. I've chosen to produce it based on an issue that has an effect on my everyday life--racial (in)equality. In researching for a topic for this project, I ran across 2 blogs. One titled "Proud to be white-someone finally said it" and the other titled "Why white people are so ignorant." Judging by some of the comments made by both sides, I am reminded that there is definitely still tension between whites and blacks, although I believe there much less than previously. In doing my project I hope to capture photographs that show people of all ages and races working together toward a common goal, no matter its size or importance. Everyone has prejudices, but I think this is the perfect kind of project to prove that they have subsided somewhat over the years; I'd really like to focus on the positives and the progression of people moving away from judgments based on skin color.