Summary of "It's Complicated" by Danah Boyd, Chapters 2-5

Internet Addiction

In chapters 2-4 of It's Complicated, a novel that helps parents to understand the social lives of networked teens, Danah Boyd discusses three different major topics, including online privacy, internet addiction, and cyber-safety. Each chapter revolves around a different topic. In chapter 2, Boyd points out that teens tend to blur the lines between privacy and publicity. This means that teens often aren't concious of what should and shouldn't be posted online. She also mentions how there are a lot of teens who don't know how to control or access privacy settings on social media sites. Boyd concludes her chapter on privacy with the statement that parents should communicate with their teens, and create online goals and guidlines to help them find the balance between privacy and publicity. In chapter 3, Boyd adresses internet addiction. She states that most teens who suffer from internet addiction, aren't even aware of it. When teens think of online addiction, they think of the stereotypical scenario of a luminescent computer screen shoved in a teens face at three-o-clock in the morning. However, Boyd points out that that internet addiction can be as simple as the need to check a social media site once a day, everyday. In Boyd's fourth chapter, she discusses a variety of topics within online safety. Boyd explains how the internet isn't as dangerous of a place as parents think. In most cases, talking in an online chatroom with a stranger does not put teens in any danger. Boyd also points out that the internet is sometimes blamed for harmful behavior in teens today. In conclusion, Boyd argues that teens aren't entirely responsible enough to tackle the difficulties of online privacy on their own. Also, most teens today suffer from internet addiction. Boyd's final point is that the internet isn't as dangerous as parents make it out to be for teens today.

Essential Question

Essential Question: Do the positive aspects of social media outweigh the negatives?

Claim: The negative aspects of social media outweigh the positives.

Reason: People can be just as harmful online as they are offline. 

Explanation: Teens are victims to cybverbullying everyday. Most teens that witness cyberbullying don't report it to an adult, and about 1 in 10 teens tell their parents if they have been cyberbullied. Catfishing is also a cyber issue. People lie about their age, gender, name, ect. in order to become close to someone online. This is known as "catfishing". Catfishing can be dangerous as there have been many kidnappings and abductions caused by it.



This is an example of cyberbullying in action

 

Catfish

 

Summary of "It's Complicated" by Danah Boyd

"It's Complicated": The truth about teens and social media

 In the beginning of the informative novel, It's Complicated, Danah Boyd gives an in depth understanding to why teen lives revolve around social media. Boyd explains how social media use is completely normal, and is a crucial part of teenage life. She met with many teens and parents across the United States from 2005 through 2012, and discussed various topics within the online world. One of which was what Boyd reffered to as networked publics, Boyd's term for an online community. She states that instead of hanging out with friends in person, teens connect with eachother within the walls of their bedrooms. Boyd points out that teens also tend to represent themselves differently online. For example, one of the girls Boyd met with represented herself as Jessica Smith on Facebook, but littlemonster on Twitter. Boyd refers to this as teens' online identities. She explains that context is the most important aspect of online identity. She concludes that it is important to evaluate the situation and other aspects before making assumptions about something or someone online.

Social Media Survey Reflection

The results of our social media survey did not surprise me. Almost everyone said that they log onto social media sites more than once a day and that social media sometimes had a negative effect on their school work. Most students said that they use Instagram the most, followed by twitter, and no one said that they use Facebook the most. There was one student who said that they never use social media, which really surprised me because most teens today are glued to social media sites to a point that one might say it's unhealthy. When asked how often they witness cyberbullying, there was a large amount of students who said never, which surprised me, because cyberbullying has become such a major issue for teens today. The majority of the students who took the survey also said that they never treat people differently online. Most of these results were as expected, however, there were some that surprised me. Overall, it was clear from the survey that teens use social media very often, maybe even more than they should. 

Social Media Survey Link

click here

Gossip Girl Post #2

Critique and analyze Vanessa's decision to cast Marjorie as "Natasha" in her short film, instead of Serena.

It was foolish and immature of Vanessa for her not to have casted Serena as "Natasha" in her short film. During auditions for the role, Serena clearly did the better job at playing "Natasha". However, Vanessa casted Marjorie instead. She acted purely out of jealousy and by doing so, jeopardized her video project for class. The moment Serena began the scene in her audition with Dan Humphrey, there was immediately a major connection between. When Marjorie preformed the scene with Dan, however, she was constantly smacking her gum and not portraying the role that Vanessa had in mind properly, unlike Serena. Dan definitely noticed that Serena did the better job, but that could be the main factor why Vanessa casted Marjorie in the first place. She was jealous of the connection that Serena and Dan had. She was also jealous of the fact that Dan obviously had feelings for Serena. When Vanessa told him that she chose Marjorie for the role of Natasha, Dan had an opposing reaction. "'I really think this is a mistake. Serena totally ruled. I don't know why you would't want her. She's awesome" (110).  Vanessa was being immature to cast Marjorie instead of Serena out of jealousy.

Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen

Gossip Girl Post #1

Compare and contrast the relationships between Nate and Blair and Nate and Serena. What are some strong and weak aspects of each opponent? Predict how Nate's feelings for Serena will affect Serena and Blair's friendship.

Nothing good could come out of the love triangle between Nate, Blair, and Serena. Blair and Serena's friendship will never be the same after she finds out about Nate's feelings for Serena. Serena just wants her friendship with Blair to be repaired and for everything to go back to the way it was before she left for boarding school. They used to be best friends, since they were little kids. Being best friends with Blair is what Serena is used to; one could even go to the extent of calling it a way of life for Serena, so naturally she wanted everything to go back to normal. However, when she returned home from the out-of-state boarding school she had attended for her junior year of high school, she discovered that her best friend had changed. Without Serena, Blair was the center of attention, especially when it came to her boyfriend, Nate. With Serena out of the picture, Nate had no choice but to be with Blair. She was the next best thing. Nate was caught off guard when he found out that Serena came back to the Upper East Side. "Nate dropped Blair's hand and straightened up like a soldier called to attention" (15). He was and probably always will be in love with Serena. When Blair finds out about Nate and Serena, not only will it ruin Nate and Blair's relationship, but it will ruin any chance Serena and Blair ever have of being friends again.

Connecting Experiences to the World

Instagram

Malcom Gladwell TED Talk Conclusions

Malclom Gladwell did a total of three TED Talks, each on completely different topics. The first TED Talk is about creating the perfect spaghetti sauce. In his second TED Talk, he discusses the creation and effects of the Norden Bombsite. He tells the story and analysis of David and Goliath in his third TED Talk. 

In all of these TED talks, as well as a chapter from his third published novel, Blink, Gladwell focuses on the theme of taking a closer look at commonly known subjects. He takes the obvious facts and breaks them into smaller, complex ideas and hypotheses. You may see something in a completely different light if you take a closer look at it. Sometimes society can fool us into believing something that subconsciously you find completely false. For example, in Gladwell's first TED Talk, he talks about how most people say that they prefer smooth tomato sauce when asked directly, when in reality they actually subconsciously prefer their tomato sauce chunky. But of course, we are tricked by society to naturally like "the norm" better than what actually appeals more to us. 

In daily life, I've experienced multiple examples of this theory. For instance, someone could love pistachio ice cream, but when asked what flavor they prefer in a group of friends, they say chocolate or vanilla naturally because those are universal favorites. Girls with naturally beautiful curly hair are tricked into hating their natural curls because it is not "the norm," so they straiten it everyday. 

Malcom Gladwell and his theories interest me because I find reasoning behind human decisions and opinions so intriguing. It's fascinating to discover why people do the things they do, and what previous experiences might affect their reasoning. The subconscious decisions we make are the most important and impactful, and we don't even know that they're even occurring. 

the cover of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink

Malcolm Gladwell interview about Blink