Internet Addiction!!

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563205000439

I thought this was the hardest assignment we had to do. The article I read had to do with internet addiction or problematic internet use. It’s hard to think about being addicted to something like the internet but it is totally possible and this article proves it. We usually think of addiction as a physical problem, such as alcohol or drug addiction but it is possible to be addicted to something with no physical consequences. Young based her study for internet addiction on something similar in theory, gambling addiction. In order to be gambling dependent a subject must meet five out of ten criteria. There was also a five out of ten criteria number to meet internet dependency. These criteria include “preoccupation with the Internet, a need for increased time spent online to achieve the same amount of satisfaction, repeated efforts to curtail Internet use, irritability, depression, or mood lability when Internet use is limited, staying online longer than anticipated, putting a job or relationship in jeopardy to use Internet, lying to others about how much time is spent online, and using the Internet as a means of regulating mood”.

With this study we can see that people can become addicted to the internet. It’s crazy though really. We rely on the internet so much in this day and age to do tasks. We use it to research for a project or a paper. We use it to connect with friends and family via email and social networking sites. Most of us use the internet every day in our lives. The internet has no age limit either. People from an early age to those in the later stages of life all have the capability to use the internet. To think that people can become internet dependent is a scary thought. People becoming so dependent on a thing such as the internet can really handicap our society. It’s not like it’s like being addicted to a drug or something that has harmful effects to the body. It’s the internet. It’s supposed to be a useful tool but people can become addicted. It’s really a scary thought to have for the future of our society.

Technology Dependency

I thought this assignment would be easy. There’s no way that I would have a problem logging my technological moves. I mean I don’t use technology that much do I? Everything about those three previous is completely and utterly false. I hated this assignment. I use technology so much throughout a given day that I really hated logging all my moves. My life revolves around technology. I received 172 text messages throughout the day. I received the first one at 8:02 a.m. and I received the last one at 11:46 p.m. I literally sent and received text messages the entire day. I checked facebook 23 times from my phone, and seven of those times happened to be during class. For the majority of my day I was on a computer. I spent seven and a half hours on a computer the day I kept my diary. Usually I’m not on it that long but I had a class for two hours that revolves around a computer (Photoshop) and I had to finish a paper for another class. Regardless though my life does revolve around technology. I’m sure I could cut out some time that I use technology but all in all my life really does really revolve around technology.

Do I feel like I used my time effectively? I think the answer to this question is a yes. I did check facebook throughout the time I was on the computer but overall I think my time was well spent. I only spent around a half an hour on facebook so the other seven hours I was on the computer my time was spent studying and my time was beneficial to getting my assignments and homework done. I do think though that if I were to cut facebook out from my life and maybe deactivate my account I maybe be able to use that time more effectively. I spent about an hour total on facebook that day. I could’ve used that hour to do so much more. I could’ve used that hour to work out and do some cardio, or focus on my schoolwork that day and really be prepared for classes.

As for a theory to explain my technology dependency I don’t really think there is one. In society today I think that it’s normal for someone to use technology as much as I do. A good majority of society today have smart phones, lap tops, iPods, tablets and we use them, which is fine. What is the point of having something that you can’t use?

Inception

Summer is here and there’s only one thing on my mind. No it’s not my summer job, or the wonderful heat, or outdoor bbq’s with friends and family. The arrival of the summer movie cycle is the one thing on my mind. Summer usually, in my opinion, is the best time for movies. For example Jaws, Independence Day, E.T. the extraterrestrial, The Dark Knight, all were summer flicks (IMDB). Some of the greatest movies to ever be released have come out in the summer. This pattern held true with last year’s gem, Inception. Not only is this one of my favorite movies of all time but it also doubles as one with the greatest visual effect movies I have ever seen. Technology is to thank for that.

Inception begins with the main characters being in a dream. Dreams and entering dream worlds is the basis of the movie. The main characters focus on entering a person’s dream to gain their secrets which can be located in their subconscious, in this case dreams. The main characters go throughout this adventure to gain an important secret from a very important person in the world and for one of the main characters, Leonardo DiCaprio, to gain freedom from the U.S. government in exchange for his services. In the end all the goals are accomplished and everything works out but the audience is left unsure if the main characters are still stuck in the dream world.

The visual effects really made the movie so special and unique.  With the uniqueness of the visual effects Inception actually won the 2011 Oscar for best visual effects. Although technology wasn’t used as much as it is in other movies it really helped this movie in its creation of a dream. (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/19/entertainment/la-et-inception-backlash-20100719) In the scene below the CG technology really helps drive home the point that the main characters are in a dream world and the CG technology really helps the audience realize that the main characters are in a dream world. Without this technology, who knows what direction the film would’ve ended up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEw59NK_KOc Technology was an important player in creating effects for the movie. Throughout the trailer below many special effects involved technology. The fight scene where a world is portrayed with anti-gravity capabilities is a cool special effect and a cool use of technology. This really added to the dream effect of the movie. Technology is also used in the building movements and in the city movements. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66TuSJo4dZM)

Technology really creates such a vivid picture of a dream world and I don’t think the film would be anywhere close to amazing as it is with all the special effects. Technology in this film really helps drive home the fact that the main characters are in a dream world. I enjoyed the special effects so much and the CG technology is amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhavsmsi_5M

BP Allowed to Drill Again

     In April 2010, BP had a horrible oil spill that caused many unfortunate problems for many people. So many people were affected around the Gulf that it drove many companies into bankruptcy. Companies that had been around for decades failed in less than a year because of their reliance on the Gulf Coast. Fishing, tourism, people relying on the coast for an income had that option vanish before their eyes due to the oil spill. The ecosystem was drastically thrown for the wolves when an estimated 205 million barrels of oil was released into the Gulf Coast (Hoch) affecting generations of people and animals for years to come.

Well BP has been granted permission by the Obama administration to finally start drilling in the Gulf of Mexico again. Although BP only has permission to drill in one area and only create one well it’s still a stepping stone in a rebuilding process for the company. They plan to build at least 8 more drills and wells by this time next year (Krauss).

BP’s public appeal took a drastic turn when news of the oil leak was released. If BP can maintain this new well and everything runs smoothly BP may get back to being one of the leading producers of oil and gasoline in the world in the public’s eyes. The impacts of this new drill and well can be monumental. People could choose to overlook what happened just a year ago or they could stand up against this drilling creating a barrier between BP and the public. Will people fight against and protest this new drilling or will they just accept it? So many people were affected that I can’t see this new drilling allowance going over smoothly. Although BP did spend a hefty penny compensating many companies and individual people as well as their clean up fees, an estimated 3 billion dollars in compensation and clean up fees (Breen), the public was still not satisfied. The drilling needs to go smoothly and fly under the radar in order to keep people from protesting and disagreeing. The societal impact would be huge if everything works out. Lower oil and gas prices, happier consumers, the economy gets a boost because of a more balanced supply and demand economy. Drilling in the Gulf is okay and the public needs to be okay with it.

Breen, Tom (2010-07-05). "BP costs for oil spill response pass $3 billion". Associated Press (Yahoo News). http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/5/bp-costs-oil-spill-response-pass-3-billion/. Retrieved 2010-07-05.

Hoch, Maureen (2010-08-02). "New Estimate Puts Gulf Oil Leak at 205 Million Gallons". PBS NewsHour (MacNeil/Lehrer Productions). http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/08/new-estimate-puts-oil-leak-at-49-million-barrels.html.%20Retrieved%202010-12-19

Krauss, Clifford. "BP to Drill Again in the Gulf of Mexico - NYTimes.com." Energy and Environment - Green Blog - NYTimes.com. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/bp-to-drill-again-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/?ref=business>.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/bp-to-drill-again-in-the-gulf-of-mexico/?ref=business