Global Media News

Protecting Children

Since the advent of the internet, the federal government has taken many measures to protect the youth. In response to the rise of the internet, the government created the "Communications Decency Act of 1996". It was the government's first attempt to restrict pornographic material online. Things that became illegal:

knowingly (A) uses an interactive computer service to send to a specific person or persons under 18 years of age, or (B) uses any interactive computer service to display in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs.

Although laws have been enacted, children are more exposed then ever. That is why parents have to take the initiative to protect their children. The FBI has taken measures by producing a publication, A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety, to help parents protect their children. They state many signs that should raise concerns:

"Your child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night, You find pornography on your child's computer, Your child receives phone calls from men you don't know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don't recognize, Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room, Your child becomes withdrawn from the family, Your child is using an on-line account belonging to someone else."

If you suspect your child is communicating with a sexual predator online, or you want to minimize the possibility of such interactions, the FBI suggest thing like:

Consider talking openly with your child about your suspicions. Tell them about the dangers of computer-sex offenders.Review what is on your child's computer. If you don't know how, ask a friend, coworker, relative, or other knowledgeable person. Pornography or any kind of sexual communication can be a warning sign.

To Market: E-Commerce from Advertising to Online Shopping

E-Commerce from Online Advertising to M-Commerce

  Our sixth webcast of the season concerns the fast-paced world of  e-commerce.  Where are the advertising dollars flowing?   Here's the rundown of this week's show: 

• Online Shopping
• M-Commerce: Shopping with your mobile phone
• The Revolution in Consumer Apps
• Online Trading: The future of the stock market?
• Is the Future of Advertising Online?

Two Weeks from Now: At Play in the Digital World: Families & Children   

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live?   Our  next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, November 3.

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The Effect of Video Games on Youth

Video gaming is a form of entertainment that has been enjoyed by people of all ages for decades. The evolution of video games has been astounding as the level of interaction between the player and the games has become more concise. This progression of game and console development has come at a price. For years, video games have been accused of influencing obesity and violence among children.

The debate of weather or not video games influences violence among children has been ongoing. The American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry claims that video games do promote violence among the youth, saying that:

"Studies of children exposed to violence have shown that they can become: “immune” or numb to the horror of violence, imitate the violence they see, and show more aggressive behavior with greater exposure to violence. Some children accept violence as a way to handle problems. Studies have also shown that the more realistic and repeated the exposure to violence, the greater the impact on children."

Michael Gallagher of the Entertainment Software Association counters that quote by saying that the claims of video games influencing violence among children is a myth which has been undermined by scientific research. He also goes on to say that despite the fact that video game popularity has soared in recent years, violence among youth has declined. This claim coming from FBI statistics. 

The issue of child obesity has become more serious since the turn of the 21st century, and video games have in fact been a contributor. Kids spend more time playing video games then playing outside, which poses a health risk for children. This claim is not argued with, it can be agreed that physical inactivity leads to obesity. A study recorded at the University of Texas showed that children who regularly played video games were more likely to be overweight then children who did not play video games on a daily basis.

There are also some positive effects on the youth that can be seen. For instance, innovations such as Nintendo Wii and the popular game Dance Dance Revolution allow gamers to physically participate in the games that they're playing. Also, educational video games are constantly being release that do not expose the young to violence. Weather or not these children are exposed to such games not only rests on the shoulders of the gamers but their parents as well.

   

Is Family Becoming Lost In Technology?

    When I was 10 years old back in 1989, life was a whole lot different. I don't remember gathering the family for a sit down dinner to be the surmountable task that it is today. Between facebook, Ipods and pads, Xbox, and all the other gadgets and gizmos available to us today, sitting down and having face to face conversations with our kids and parents have really declined in our society. Hence this cartoon I found on YouTube.

 A Typical Family Meal In 2011

     Is this accurate? Is this really how families are interacting today? If so, how is this affecting our society as a whole?

    According to an article in USA Today,  Michael Gilbert of the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of South Carolina reported that that 28% of Americans  interviewed in a study last year said they had been spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11% who said that in 2006. He found that people were spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on them.

    Gilbert added, "it can't be a good thing that families are spending less face-to-face time together. Ultimately it leads to less cohesive and less communicative families." In the first half of the decade, people reported spending an average of 26 hours per month with their families. By 2008, however, that shared time had dropped by more than 30%, to about 18 hours.

    The Internet and social networking has brought the global world closer together, but it might have been at the cost of one on one relationships and family.

Too Much Exposure

The internet is vast and unlimited. You can search anything, you can communicate through social networking, you can do anything. With this, not just adults but children use the internet. Their parents either gives them a computer, cellphone, or they access the internet through school or friends. There many dangers, early exposure to adult topics, and contact with unknown persons.

Pornography, nudity, sex, indecency is obliviously a big problem. The problem is easy access. You can google anything and you'll get it. There is so much of it, you can inadvertently end up at a porno site, you can be searching youtube, a very popular site, and come across inappropriate material for minors. You can be doing anything, it's all over the place. In general its a danger according to Donna Rice Hughes, President of Enough Is Enough. On her Website, Protect Kids, when children are exposed to this type of material, it causes them to grow up too fast, children may mimic what they see, it shapes their values, attitude, and behavior.

According to Tori DeAngelis from the American Psychological Association (APA), DeAngelis also disccuses the effects of pornography on children in his 2007 article.   

"Each year about 40 percent of teens and preteens visit sexually explicit sites either deliberately or accidentally, studies here and abroad show." "In one study surveying 471 Dutch teens ages 13 to 18, the researchers found that the more often young people sought out online porn, the more likely they were to have a "recreational" attitude toward sex--specifically, to view sex as a purely physical function like eating or drinking."  "The Dutch team found a link between the type and explicitness of sexual media the teens saw and their tendency to view women as sexual 'play things.'"

 Another danger to children is the anonymousness of the internet. Most social and chat sites have age restrictions, but children lie about their age to sign on. On these websites they are stalkers and child predators. According to a CBS article from 2009 by By John Kreiser, on myspace older individuals have disguise themselves as minors to interact with children. In some cases, minors have met up with strangers and gone missing or were murdered.  

"In New Jersey, Majalie Cajuste is grieving the murder of her daughter Judy. The 14-year-old reportedly told friends she met a man in his 20s through MySpace.com." "Across the country, in Northern California, friends are mourning 15-year-old Kayla Reed. She was active on MySpace until the day she disappeared."

 Now they are a number of ways to help protect children from these dangers, like engaging the parental block on all home computers, and refrain from giving your child a cellphone that has access to the internet. Tori DeAngelisin in his article suggest, "Proactive parenting", but also throws out the idea of ,"Protect or educate?".  In general, parents have to put their foot down and practice old fashion child rearing to control child and raise them right.

The Online Trading Revolution

Times are hard so when thinking about investing money, many look for the cheapest and most effective way possible.  This environment paves the way for the online trading revolution. 

Before the online trading revolution, people called up their full service broker who would then enter it into their system which was connected to the trading floor.  Today, in comparison, much of the trading is done online and at a significant discount.  "Many, if not all brokers are now offering online services with unique trading platforms", according to Wikipedia.

When researching the investing scene, one may turn to the internet to find information on several brokers available as well as the minimums required to actually get involved.  On MSN, a newbie investor may be interested in, "The Broker Center," which shows several big trading companies that show their differences or how to ,"Start Investing With Just $100."  Even still, people are penny pinching and reluctant to even start there, because maybe they're not all that sure of how it works or they're uncomfortable with the set-up which is what has led to start-up companies like Loyal3 to develop.  Loyal3 allows someone to invest with as little as $10 a month towards a company's stock.  Nasdaq actually paired up with the start-up to take advantage of Loyal3's vision.  With Loyal3, you do not have to start a brokerage account or pay any fees.  They take advantage of social networking with Facebook, really making the stock market user-friendly to small investors.  Signing up through their Facebook app is just as easy as buying book from Amazon. 

 

With all the available ways one can access online, it's interesting to find out that there are, “More Wireless Devices Than People,” according to the New York Times.  This clearly illustrates the shift of communication becoming more digitally dependent than face-to-face.  If you want to buy laundry detergent, pay your credit cart bill, or trade a stock, you can do it all online.  With the economy shift as well, it's no surprise people are looking for the easiest way possible to get it done.

The Family That Games Together, Stays Together?

     Togetherness of family in the digital age is described by Alex Williams in a New York Times article as a "domestic version of “The Matrix” — families sharing a common space, but plugged into entirely separate planes of existence through technology."  Unlike previous generations, gaming at home rarely involves a deck of cards or a board game.  There is gaming for all ages.  While dad may be enjoying fantasy football, mom might be hooked on one of the many Facebook games.  The article describes a family that are still able to connect and share with eachother when they come up for air from their digital device; explaining that it beats forced family time. 

    Others agree that gaming has brought their family together, providing quality time spent playing video games with their kids.  Parents describe their ability to monitor their use and providing teachable moments; such as, how not to be a sore loser, and conversations about war and violence.  Banning video games will only add to the allure, it is wise for families to embrace gaming as a family past time in the new millenium.  

 

Digital VS Traditional Advertisement

 There is a rapid growth of people spending more time on the Internet, and this growth has generated a new market for advertising; the digital advertisement.  Traditional advertisement such as News Papers, TV and Radio are still being used but there is a drastic shift from traditional to digital advertisement.

According to a Wall Street Journal article "The digital marketing research firm says U.S. spending on online ads will hit $25.8 billion, surpassing the $22.8 billion spent on print ads in newspapers”.  Companies are spending more on internet ads because they are looking for away to specifically market to people that will actually purchase their product. Online advertisement does just that, it guarantees that the people who are viewing your ads are the one who will most likely purchase it. Online Advertisement is able to do this by using program like Google’s Adwords and AdSense. The functions of these programs are used to match up advertisers with targeted individuals verse a wide audience traditional advertisement.  

"U.S. users spend 12 hours per week online, which represents about 32 percent of their media time. However, online advertising makes up only 13.6 percent of advertising spend in the U.S." Susan Wojcicki, VP Public Policy and Communications, Google

There is a Wall Street Journal article that argues “There's a realization that online advertising, in general, is not as effective as advertising during big events” For example the Grammy’s and the Superbowl attracts a large audience. People are more focused and are interested in the advertisements. However, traditional Advertising can be very expensive, a magazine ad can cost several hundred dollars, radio and television commercials are even more. During a major event the prices are even more money.  If your company has a small budget, internet advertising can be also much more cost efficient.  In a Huffingtonpost article, Pepsi started its shift to a Direct Response Marketing during the 2011 SuperBowl. Pepsi moved their entire TVC to online advertisement and social media.

 

The Virtual You: Online Identity and Reputation

Our Fifth Webcast! Virtual Identity

Who are we are online?   Identities and reputations are being created and destroyed virtually.  Here's the rundown of this week's show: 

• The Avatar Life:  Virtual identities
• Double Lives Online
• Multiple Identities:  Do you have a different identity for every account?
• Ruined on FaceBook: Managing your Facebook reputation
• "It Gets Better":  Gay & lesbian identity online
• Identity Attack:  Mean people online
• Online Dating: The perils of profile creation

Next Week:  E-commerce from Online Advertising to Mobile Commerce

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live?   Our  next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, October 20.

Subscribe Now!

Identity and safety in Online-Dating

We have gone from every day face to face interaction to relying on the internet and apps to find friends or a date. How safe is someone's identity if they are always able to be pin pointed. Websites and apps such as twitter, foursquare and blendr are just some examples. Blendr for example is an app on your phone that can help you find people near by with the same common interest. The creator of blendr also created Grindr for homosexuals looking to meet other homosexuals.

The problem comes in when the person you think is another homosexual is really a homophobic or its a older man/woman or maybe a felon. How does one know? According to New York Times we can now Unmask Mr or Ms Wrong. New York and New Jersey are teaming up to regulate internet dating sites in order to create more safety. This will allow people to do background checks, "look up before you hook up." This creates a safer internet dating lifestyle yet it goes back to peoples identity. It makes it harder for people to hide who the trully are if anyone and everyone can run a background check on them before even meeting the person.  

There are also a lot of location based apps that might allow you to tell people not only what you like or what you are doing, but exactly where you are at. The Boston.com took a step to give people tips in order to protect themselves and their identity