This blog will be based of Chapter 4 Subcultures from the book, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures by Wiley-Blackwell. It begins by saying "subcultures are social groups that possess or deploy specific cultural forms and characteristics where these forms/characteristics are used for the political purpose of opposing high or dominant culture."

      
Another definition I found is, "a set of people with distinct sets of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part."

    "The subculture may be a distinctive because of the age of its members, or by their race, ethnicity, class or gender. The qualities that determine a subculture as distinct may be aesthetic, religious, occupational, political, sexual, or a combination of these factors."

   Cultures can also, be formed around political ideas, fashion, or taste in music. With these certain definitions a few subcultures that come to mind are the amish and transgender. The transgender subculture is "composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual or gender identity."

                                                           
                          Renee James Blog

    "I live in two genders. In my female life, I am Renee James, a 60-something American who spent most of a lifetime puzzling over and trying to deny this strange obsession I had with my feminine side.

    As a male, I am very masculine. I played competitive sports to the age of 60 and still work out hard several times a week. I’m a Vietnam veteran. I fish and hike and paddle canoes in distant wildernesses.

   As a transwoman, I’m all those things in a dress, wearing makeup and a woman’s hairstyle. I’m not over-the-top femme, but I like to feel pretty."

       The amish subculture is the amish living in the American society. But they are a group who live together, they share the same government and economy as the american society, they also have to live by the same laws. But they have there own schools and churches. They isolate themselves by living in small net work of communities and having different beliefs and norms than we do.





What makes them a subculture is the beliefs of not killing people even if it is self-defense or war, not using electricity, using the land for food, and not having cars.

    Subcultures are cultures formed unofficially that seek to escape a higher power. These subcultures have taken to online lives and communities because they break the overwhelming control on information. Cyberspace is a home that allows the existence of subcultures to be able to thrive. Cultures that are electronic are essentially a "social practice" that uses digital technology to exist.

    Cybercrime is a more dangerous subcultural use of cybercultural technologies. Personal details may be stolen from your personal computer and sold to a third party. Corrupt emails can invade your hard drive through deliberate viruses and locating online financial transactions can result in theft. Hacker groups in the 1980s and 1990s represented a new social configuration enabled and empowered by technology.

I am blogging about chapters 13 and 14 in Alone Together by Sherry Turkle. The old fashion rule, if you cannot say anything nice then do not say anything at all should still apply this day in age. Just because we are in front of a screen and cannot see the reaction of another person does not mean the words you are typing are not hurtful or mean.

Technology is a mystery. You can never be too sure who you are talking to.

Turkle brings up the story of a boy who created fake accounts to start up conversations about himself to see others opinions. This is dangerous because people are under false pretenses and could say things that are extremely hurtful and could cause major damage. Although, one point I do think of is the boy who is making these false accounts, is being just as kiniving as the people talking bad about him. He is deceiving them and weaseling his way in. He is looking for trouble. Kids who search for pain and the acceptance of others are setting themselves up for failure.

Now the kids who are bullied online by people just attacking is another scenario. Just like the girl in the book said, I give myself "permission to say mean things" online. These are the people who are destroying lives.

- Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.
-More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online.
-Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.
-Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs.




-Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
-Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
-A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
-10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above
-According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying

I find it extremely interesting that technology helps us to manage life stresses but generates anxieties of its own. It helps adolescents to deal with separating from hope and also to help parents cope with their kids being out for the first time by themselves. Technology allows you to be connected at all times, you are not cut off from anything. This gives a sense of comfort but also a feeling of being overwhelmed. I at times feel like I am being pulled at constantly in a million directions from others. One is calling, another is texting me, another is trying to Skype me, and another is sending me Facebook messages. At times it is just too much. I feel as if I do not tend to all of these different outlets then I am being rude. Anxiety is most certainly cause by the many options we have to stay "in touch."

Being alone for the first time use to be a character building exercise. It allowed you to reach within yourself and depend on you and you alone. Technology allows us to skip this process with the option of calling someone or texting someone if your in need. You are not alone...ever and do not need to depend on just yourself. Why are people scared to be alone? What about our generation has started to ingrain in us that we always need someone? Decades ago it was powerful to be independent and to be alone meant you were strong not lonely. People can give speeches all day on self motivation but if their phone is glued to their hand then what does it all really mean? If you cannot be alone what are you trying to hide?

The point that people feel like they may miss something if they are not always logging in  and staying connected is odd. Why are people so infatuated about other people's lives that they feel as they continually have to keep up to speed? I do not feel as if my life is so boring that I have to live through others. If someone feels they are boring and just find excitement looking at other people then maybe they should focus more of their energy on making their lives more interesting. If they are not one of you closest friends then why are you so attentive to staying connected with what they have done for the day, what they ate, or who they are dating? If they are a close friend, you should not have to feel anxious to check social media but actually talk to them and see them in person to know the details of their life.

The pressure to text back when you receive a text does exist. In the younger audiences, its like attending to your emails. You have to get back to everyone because they know you get the text within 10 minutes of them sending it. Children have to compete with technology for their parent's attention. Laptops and blackberries attend on family vacations. Turkle speaks of one instance when signal was gone so the dad packed up a day early so he could get back and be connected. 

If we were to go on a weekend trip with a loved one and said we were going to leave our cell phones at home, would be be considered weird? I know today's age is different and more dangerous but is it not safe to carry a cell phone now?
Why do children have a double standard? We can text and be on our phones while we ignore and shut our parents out but when they are on their phones then it is a different story. I am guilty of this. I am on my phone a good bit while my mom is talking to me but as soon as I start talking and I need her to listen but she is texting then this 5 year old brat emerges. Im like pay attention to me!!! I do miss the days where we would be at Wendy's and my dad was not playing on his phone during lunch. I wonder what it was like 5 years ago when things were different but I was this age and felt the same.

     This blog will be about chapter 11, "reduction and betrayal" by Sherry Turkle. To start off I just want to define the word avatar. The definition is: "A manifestation of a deity in bodily form on earth. An incarnation, embodiment, or manifestation of a person or idea: "he set himself up as a new avatar of Arab radicalism." This begins to set the platform of people in the 1990s that just began to experiment with creating characters and placing them in a virtual world. Turkle speaks ok a man named, Raymond who made an  avatar, Ramona. He would capture every moment of his life and then turn them into Ramona's gestures. He had to be careful of his certain gestures, to make them more feminine like his avatar. We have taken this once revolutionary idea and now have turned it into a game.

        Turkle brings up, Rock Band, the Beatles edition and how it was described as, "transformative entertainment experience." Players hold each instrument that is represented in the band along with microphones that makes into the sounds produced of the avatars. The goal of this is to play and sing just as the Beatles. Kids that are not blessed with the gift of playing an instrument or able to sing are allowed into that world in a way with this particular game. One idea is that if a child plays such games then they will someday play the real instrument. This game takes you from performing like a true rockstar to feeling like one. In an online world people are able to live a fantasy, be at the center of a community with best friends, and have a sense of belonging. Your performance allows you to feel better and be a truer you that may not be able to happen in the real world. 

        Another game that come to mind is the Sims. This game started to evolve when I was around 8 years old. I became fascinated with the idea that you could create your own character and make them do what you wanted to. It is quite fascinating that a Sims community then grew and people were allowed in interact with one another and have relationships. You were able to create another life different from your real one and make it just how you picture it. We have made these games.... Creating a new life and being someone different that who you really are. Why do people feel the need to escape their own life? Why are they expressing their hopes, strengths, and vulnerabilities online? Does the real world not allow them to do this?



Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, to interact with each other through "Residents". Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another. Second Life is intended for people aged 16 and over and is free to sign up. This game allows people to create a better life different from their own. They also use this game to practice what will happen in their own life. A woman who just had surgery for a prosthetic leg was wanting a romantic relationship again. Before she tried in real life, she tried dating and being intimate in Second Life. This then gave her the confidence to try in her real life.

      Confessional sites are something I have never been aware of. Turkle does describe that  online confession is something individuals use as therapy to express their deepest secrets. The world can either reply or ignore their expressions. When confessing something to a friend that you have an on going relationship with and they disapprove of your confession, can be difficult. If you confess to someone face to face and they offer back criticism then of course the virtual world is better to express to. Venting is like sharing, it releases toxic feelings that otherwise would be left in. Feelings ca be dealt with but people do not have to be apart of that. Now, the online world can handle the humans emotions.  If your going to "just read" a confessional site and not post yourself, or comment back, do you not feel like your invading someone else's privacy? If I were to just log on and read a confessional site and someone confessed they were considering suicide, that would take me to a very unhappy, unpleasant place.

     If you express one thing to a stranger and they respond with hatred, it does not protect you from pain. No matter if you know the person or not, if you share something personal and you do not receive approval then you will feel pain. Many think they would rather post on a site where people can interact back so they feel more "personal" but are they truly ready to hear what a person online thinks? Just because someone is online and not in front of you does not mean they will not have the same opinion. When people make themselves vulnerable they expect to be nurtured.

    When did we move to the era of posting every feeling we have, to "get it out" on the internet? When did people become so evil that we feel as if we cannot tell them in person but instead run to the computer? 10 years ago I do not feel like we were in this tsage. People enjoyed meeting up and having relationships where they felt safe and could share their life. How does the internet with milions of users make anyone feel less likely to be judged. What hapened to writing in a journal? It seems as if people want an opinoin so they can keep the emotions rolling.




                                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRgitbxFCs