30. November 2010 by student.

The internet is a vast cyber play ground for kids, teens, and adults. It can be a place to have fun, meet people or just talk to your friends. The internet is not all fun an games sometimes. There is a new kind of bullying out there that the older generations have not had to deal with. This new kind of bullying is call cyberbullying. Cyberbulling is a wide spread problem that is affecting almost half to American teens. Can you imagine out of a hole school about half of them are being tormented and ridiculed though technology. Cyberbullying has a bigger impact on kids than most people think. Most people think its not as bad as in person so I wont have as big of an affect on the childes self-confidence or feeling. The wide spread use of cyberbullying has become a bigger problem then any one could have seen. Not only are these kids getting bullied in real life but when they get home and online it does not stop. They get bombarded with hurtful messages and threats online. Cyberbullying does not just fall under the category of the internet. It can also have one the person cell phone as well. Getting  nasty txt messages or phone calls call also be a form of cyberbullying. It has bin such big problem with kids today that they have no idea that there leading the kids there bullying to thoughts of suicide. 

            People think getting ride of face book and myspace will take care of the big problem with cyberbullying. The thing is face book and myspace are not the cause of cyber bulling. They are just ways to do cyber bulling. Its kind of like taking drugs away from a drug deal. He is still going to sell more drugs. He just going to get more and start selling. So you have to take out the root of the problem, the drug dealer. That being said it is the kids we have to deal with not the online websites. 

            The way to stop cyberbullying is to let kids know how serious it is and how it affects the kids there doing it to. Most kids that do it think its just a joke to get a laugh out of it and has no idea that it is giving the other child fear and loss of self-confidence. It could not only give the child suicide thoughts but he mite be so unhappy because of the cyberbullying that he kill himself. None of kids that are cyberbullying want the kids to kill themselves. It is not there intention. It is to get a quick laugh off someone then for get about it. They need to be informed about how detrimental in can be on a kids life. In resent cases in the new kids are actually killing themselves because of this hurtful electronic attacks. Some kids mite now kill themselves it but it sticks with them for the rest of there life. Getting cyberbullyed is not something someone can just for get about an more on, it sticks.  Its not just a thing to talk about any more its really hurting are youth an has to be dealt with now.   

Posted in Social Problems, Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

The internet is a vast cyber play ground for kids, teens, and adults. It can be a place to have fun, meet people or just talk to your friends. The internet is not all fun an games sometimes. There is a new kind of bullying out there that the older generations have not had to deal with. This new kind of bullying is call cyberbullying. Cyberbulling is a wide spread problem that is affecting almost half to American teens. Can you imagine out of a hole school about half of them are being tormented and ridiculed though technology. Cyberbullying has a bigger impact on kids than most people think. Most people think its not as bad as in person so I wont have as big of an affect on the childes self-confidence or feeling. The wide spread use of cyberbullying has become a bigger problem then any one could have seen. Not only are these kids getting bullied in real life but when they get home and online it does not stop. They get bombarded with hurtful messages and threats online. Cyberbullying does not just fall under the category of the internet. It can also have one the person cell phone as well. Getting  nasty txt messages or phone calls call also be a form of cyberbullying. It has bin such big problem with kids today that they have no idea that there leading the kids there bullying to thoughts of suicide. 

            People think getting ride of face book and myspace will take care of the big problem with cyberbullying. The thing is face book and myspace are not the cause of cyber bulling. They are just ways to do cyber bulling. Its kind of like taking drugs away from a drug deal. He is still going to sell more drugs. He just going to get more and start selling. So you have to take out the root of the problem, the drug dealer. That being said it is the kids we have to deal with not the online websites. 

            The way to stop cyberbullying is to let kids know how serious it is and how it affects the kids there doing it to. Most kids that do it think its just a joke to get a laugh out of it and has no idea that it is giving the other child fear and loss of self-confidence. It could not only give the child suicide thoughts but he mite be so unhappy because of the cyberbullying that he kill himself. None of kids that are cyberbullying want the kids to kill themselves. It is not there intention. It is to get a quick laugh off someone then for get about it. They need to be informed about how detrimental in can be on a kids life. In resent cases in the new kids are actually killing themselves because of this hurtful electronic attacks. Some kids mite now kill themselves it but it sticks with them for the rest of there life. Getting cyberbullyed is not something someone can just for get about an more on, it sticks.  Its not just a thing to talk about any more its really hurting are youth an has to be dealt with now.   

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

30. November 2010 by student.

               One day at work a customer asked me what do you like to do? Without even having to think i said work. Those words that slid off my tongue like a waterfall made me stop in my own tracks. work, i thought, i hate to work. Over the years work has become who i am not what i do. Like many Americans i hate my job, but do nothing to change the situation. I work to many hours, and leave no time to actually live my life. Workaholic? No way i thought, my mom was a workaholic and i hated that about her. over 84 percent of Americans  do not like their job’s. Many people do not believe that they can achieve their dreams, they work a dead end job living pay check to paycheck barley making ends meet. When i heard the phrase “don’t work your life away” i knew it was time for me to stop working 45+ hours a week, and actually take time to enjoy my life. Being a workaholic does not only affect you it affects your family, especially your children. The crime rate in the United states has risen year after year, but with more and more children coming home from school to an empty house i do not wonder why. Children need supervision, and when a parent is working to much they do not have time to see everything their child is doing. It makes it very easy for a child to get into drugs, gangs, and other crime related things when they have no one their to guide them. One thing to think about is, is my child’s life worth all the over time i have been doing at work.

There have been many studies done proving that over working causes health problems. Stress levels are through the roof,  also over working causes sleep depervition,  short temper, low moral, and increased use of drugs, and alcohol. A study was done to see how many hours the average American works, here are the results; “28% of the participants answered that their average work week was between 40-49 hours. A close second was 20% at 50-59 hours. This is proving to be an epidemic.”  I believe this problem needs to be addressed and not ignored!

Posted in Introduction to Sociology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

Gang violence is a problem in society today. More and more children are joining gangs every day. Are gangs western societies way of introducing boys into emerging adults (manhood)? It has become evident that gangs made up of young people are causing numerous problems throughout communities. Gang violence and gang activities impact all of those around the gang members. The kids in these gangs are hurting themselves, each other, their families, and the communities they belong to. Gangs effect the children in many different ways including physcially, emotionally and cognitively. 

The definition of a gang  is a “group whose members meet together with some regularity, over time, on the basis of some group-determined criteria for membership and group-determined organizational structure, usually with some sense of territoriality.” Younger and younger kids have been joining gangs now. Exploited, and encouraged or forced to commit criminal acts for their boss, the youngsters identify older criminal gang members as role models of success. More and more individuals remain in gangs after their teen years, too, as the phenomenon as “maturing out” weakens. Because relatively few good jobs are available to poor, minority young men, gang membership often continues into adulthood with older members assuming leadership roles. As a result, gang involvement in profitable criminal activities has become sophisticated and extensive.

Gangs range from all over the states. They are mainly found in California and New Jersey and most of the urban states. To try to stop gang violence, it is important to have  open communication with your kid about gangs and the violence that can be induced. In my school, they used to prohibit colored clothing that had anything related to gang colors. Another solution is to offer counseling for gang victims living in the area and having classes taught about the dangers of drugs and violence. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

Over the weekend I overheard people complaining about a number of airlines that are now requiring obese passengers to purchase two seats if they do not fit in one. This way all passengers will experience a comfortable flight.  Southwest Airlines requires obese passengers to purchase a second seat if they cannot lower the armrests between seats of their body or if their body extends into any adjacent seating. United, Delta, and American airlines have them purchase two tickets on another flight or purchase a seat in business class if they are overbooked. Many obese passengers became upset because they do not want to purchase a second seat. So many ask should they purchase a second seat if they clearly do not fit into one?Honestly, if someone needs a second seat then they should just purchase it. The fact that they are overweight should not be anyone else’s problem but their own. They are in control of their body and airlines should not be forced to pay extra because of someone’s medical issues. When the airlines give two seats to someone that is 400 pounds and that person only paid half of the price, the airlines are losing money. They are not only burning extra fuel but they are not receiving the money to pay for the extra fuel burned. With times like these everyone needs to watch their money. Airlines have employees to pay and using their own money to carry someone, who pretty much received a free seat, is unfair.Around 68% of Americans are considered overweight and 35% of them are obese. The majority of people who are obese became this way based off of the environment they grew up with. So many grow up around this environment of unhealthy food and limited  physical activity and when they become parents that is all they know, so they continue the cycle and pass it on to their children. They do not know how to stop or make a change. Very few people who are obese is actually related to a genetic disorder or a serious condition/ disease. The majority is related with heredity, environment, depression, anxiety, and so on. These people need serious help. They need to learn how to make a change and take control of their lives. I feel that if giving an additional seat to an obese person for free, is enabling obese people to stay the way they are and not take responsibility for their condition. Obesity is not handicap because it is not a permanent stage. There are many ways to lose the weight regardless of the cause of the obesity. No matter how much weight that person is carrying they can always reverse it. It may be difficult for some but its all up to the person and how much they want to change. They need to reach out for help because if their weight it seriously taking over their life, they need to seek help from professionals. There are so many programs and people who do nothing but help others lose weight. It is extremely rare that a person who is hundreds of pounds overweight can not control their weight. Even if they have a specific condition they can change their weight, it all comes down to them. It is their choice. So airlines should not have to pay for an extra seat if it is their choice to stay the way they are.Many say that airplanes should create bigger seats. This is still the same, because there will be less room to have more seats therefore there will be less people flying on one flight which will cause the price for one seat to rise. Airlines should continue to charge people who need two seats. They do not get to receive a special discount because they can not fit into one seat. We need to fight against obesity because everyone deserves to live a long, healthy life. Who knows maybe this will be a wake up call to some and help them push themselves to lose the weight.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

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A few weeks ago I was presented with the quote “America’s greatest fear is inconvenience.” It really struck me how true it really is and how wide spread it is. Society is conformed to this idea that everything should be done as fast and as easy as possible and whether you are aware of it or not, even if it means sacrificing your health, safety or time.

Last week I went to McDonalds with a few friends, we pulled up to the drive through and there was a line of about ten to twelve cars. We waited a few minutes and the line did not move so I pulled into a parking spot and walked inside. We all ordered and ate our food in about ten minutes. When we walked outside the car I was behind just got to the speaker box to order their food.  If the driver had just walked inside and ordered his food he would have saved himself a lot of time. Most people don’t put much thought into what really saves time and money. They have this preconceived idea that whatever is presented as the most convenient is always the best route.

Americans have become so attached to the idea of convenience that they will do almost anything for it. Most inventions today are to fulfill this need. Watch almost any infomercial; it will be on something that claims to makes your life a lot simpler. Inventions like microwaves, automatic doors, escalators, washing machines, and even fast food were all created to do one thing; save you time. It doesn’t matter how McDonalds makes their food, we all know it is unhealthy, but it is easy, fast, and cheap so we don’t care. Almost everyone is conformed to this type of “Garage Door” type of lifestyle. You could easily get out of your car, open the garage door manually, which takes much less time than it automatically opening, and get back in your car and drive into your garage. We all know we don’t want to do this; we would rather push a simple button and wait for it to open. None of us really care that it might take more time to wait, as long as we don’t have to get out of our cars.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

30. November 2010 by student.

We have all seen the “Lifetime” movies of the abused woman who breaks free and becomes a successful mother and citizen in spite of her partners attempts to keep her down, but does this actually occur in real life? Unfortunately, it is a scarce event. A startling statistic, 1 in 3 teenagers have experienced violence in a relationship while 31% of the population has admitted to being sexually abused by their male partner. These horrifying truths lead to one question, “Why do these women remain in these situations?” The answers are many and varied for each woman, but contrary to popular belief it rarely has to do with their self-esteem. A psychological explanation has to do with the women’s home life as a child, how the mother and father interacted with one another and with their daughter. If physical violence was a norm, whether followed by apologies or continued violence, then it will be the expectation of the woman that she should be beaten. Violence is inevitable in her eyes, and the period between outbursts from their partner is more agonizing than the actual pain. More commonly,though, the reason for staying has to do with outward forces such as children, finances, opinions of the family and even fear of what their partner will do if they left.

    In cases where children are involved a mother will suffer almost anything to keep them safe and happy, including physical violence from their spouse, especially if the women is not financially secure and believes either the man will win primary custody or she will not be able to care for the child herself. If there are no children involved, the object of money will still hover around her if she is cut off from the man. In some cases the man has full control over her finances and if she leaves she will be alone and penniless on the streets, or so she is lead to believe. The idea of being alone scares most of these women back into the arms of the perpetrator solely because she has been taught all along that she cannot be independant. The opinion of the family also creates a barrier trapping her in the relationship, especially if they are unaware of what is happening. To disappoint her parents and loved ones may be a hardship she could not bear, so instead chooses to endure physical pain instead of emotional distress from her most trusted relatives. A final, and most dangerous explanation as to why these women remain in painful situations is the fear that if they leave it will only get worse, for them or maybe someone they know. The man may threaten to kill her or someone she is close to if she ever left him, and these threats have enough evidence behind them to be true, that the woman would rather suffer through the beatings than endanger anyone else. There are far too few shelters that can keep women safe, so it is commen that they will stay with the man until the situation is too dangerous and they finally take the initiative to get out and save themselves and their futures.

Women are not the weak willed, scared maidens in distress that they have been portrayed throughout the years, in fact quite the opposite as we see females soaring to the “World’s most Successful” lists every year, but there are still those who exist in awful situations. Though there are usually sound reasons behind their staying, women around the world must band together and stop this abuse before any more lives are changed or ended.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

“I’ll admit. I’m addicted to text messaging.” These days, the better portion of the American teen population can relate to Amber Alexander when she writes about texting in her blog. In today’s modern world, 72% of teens (or 88% of teen cell-phone users) are text messagers (Lenhart). I can assure you, I am one of those 88%, but I haven’t always been. For me, I believe it started just three short years ago. Texting was never really big before then. I was a junior in high school and I started noticing a trend: my friends stopped calling and started texting. I realized that the only way my friends would communicate with me outside of school was facebook or texting, so I begged my parents to get a texting plan. My first texting plan had about 500 text messages, and that was enough—for a while. Soon I started to go over my limit, and I would get into arguments with my parents about paying for my cell phone. Eventually, they raised my limit to 1000, but after a while, that was not enough. Now I am at unlimited text messaging (but I pay my own bill) and I can honestly say I am in the same boat as Amber Alexander—I’m addicted to text messaging.

So why is texting a social problem? I believe it is a social problem for many reasons, but my main concern is the overwhelming increase in texting while driving, and the accidents that it causes. 48% of young Americans from 12-17 say they’ve been in a car while the driver was texting. Furthermore, the majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving. How can that be safe to the drivers around them? It is evident from the increase in auto accidents due to inattentiveness of the driver that it is not safe to the drivers around them. Being a text addict myself, I understand the risks of texting and driving, but when I imagine getting into an accident because of texting, I immediately think of the families and loved ones of those I might hurt or kill. Think of how mad you would be to find out someone you love was killed in a car accident because the driver that caused the accident was texting. I would be infuriated and vengeful, to say the least.

More reasons I see texting as a social problem are because of the decline in English grammar, injuries (not related to driving and texting), and inattentiveness of the texter. The more teens text, the more they are endangering themselves and those around them. Next time you go to a park or mall, take a look around you and observe the teens that text while they walk. They are almost 100% likely to run into a person, column, or trip because of their lack of attention to their surroundings, and that puts others at risk of injuries.

Lenhart, Amanda. “Teens, Cell Phones and Texting.” Pew Internet & American Life Project (2010): n. pag. Web. 30 Nov 2010. <http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1572/>.

Posted in Mr. Andoscia, Social Problems | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

The constitution states that “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” If the constitution states that all men are created equally then why are they not being granted the same rights? Why is it that homosexuals are not permitted to be married and have the same rights as heterosexuals? Just imagine loving someone and not even being able to make decisions on behalf of your partner if they were deathly ill. It’s just not fair! Heterosexuals who are married are able to make medical decisions on behalf of his or her partner, take a sick leave to care for a partner, receive social security benefits, tax breaks, veterans discounts, visitation of a partner in a hospital or a prison, assumption of a spouse’s pension, automatic inheritance, burial determination, and insurance breaks. In Accordance to all these privileges listed people whether they are black, white, yellow, or purple like to know that they have a person that is officially committed to them for life. Most people want stability in a relationship and marriage gives stability to life partners. So then why does society still have a negative social stigma toward gay marriage?One of the main reasons for this social stigma is societies culture, norms, and values. In society the social norm is for a man and a woman to share a special bond together, get married, and have children. For instance, ever since television was created the “normal” family was a father, mother, and usually a boy and girl child. Two people of the same sex having a family together is just not a social norm and it is out of the box so people automatically judge and say gay marriage is wrong. But, what is so wrong about human beings all having the same desires? Just because they are homosexuals does not make them have different life goals, hopes, and dreams.People are wasting time and energy on arguing about gay marriage when it is not harming anyone. How can two people being married harm a heterosexual person? What people want to do with their love lives honestly is not anyone else’s business or problem. There are a plethora of issues in the world such as starving children in Africa, but yet so much attention is emphasized on petty things such as how gay marriage is wrong or Lil Wayne’s latest arrest. There are so many other issues that deserve more attention.The one guarantee in life is change. However, many individuals do not like change. If change did not occur then there would be no social progress for human kind. Two people of the same sex being married honestly is not hurting anyone. The constitution says it in black and white that all men should be created equally. So come on people just give them what they want and step out of the box a little times are changing! 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

30. November 2010 by student.

The constituton states that “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” If the constitution states that all men are created equally then why are they not being granted the same rights? Why is it that homosexuals are not permitted to be married and have the same rights as heterosexuals? Just imagine loving someone and not even being able to make decisions on behalf of your partner if they were dealthly ill. I’ts just not fair! Heterosexuals who are married are able to make medical decisions on behalf of his or her partner, take a sick leave to care for a partner, receive social security benefits, tax breaks, veterans discounts, visitation of a partner in a hospital or a prison, assumption of spouses pension, automatic inheritance, burial determination, and insurance breaks. In Accordance to all these privileges listed people whether they are black, white,yellow, or purple like to know that they have a person that is officially committed to them for life. Most people want stability in a relationship and marriage gives stability to life partners. So then why does society still have a negative social stigma toward gay marriage?

One of the main reasons for this social stigma is societies culture, norms, and values. In society the social norm is for a man and a woman to share a special bond together, get married, and have children. For instance, ever since television was created the “normal” family was a father, mother, and usually a boy and girl child. Two people of the same sex having a family together is just not a social norm and it is out of the box so people automatically judge and say gay marriage is wrong. But, what is so wrong about human beings all having the same desires? Just because they are homosexuals does not make them have different life goals, hopes, and dreams.

People are wasting time and energy on arguing about gay marriage when it is not harming anyone. How can two people being married harm a heterosexual person? What people want to do with their love lives honestly is not anyone elses business or problem. There are a plethora of issues in the world such as starving children in Africa, but yet so much attention is emphasized on petty things such as how gay marriage is wrong  or Lil Wayne’s latest arrest. There are so many other issues that deserve more attention.

The one guarantee in life is change. However, many individuals do not like change. If change did not occur then there would be no social progress for human kind. Two people of the same sex being married honestly is not hurting anyone. The constitution says it in black and white that all men should be created equally. So come on people just give them what they want and step out of the box a little times are changing!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »