Deadly Texting

Last month, one of the worst railroad crashes in U.S history that killed 25 people is under speculation. It has been said that the conductor crashed the train because he was receiving and responding to text messages. According to msnbc.com’s article, "Americans still texting dangerously," people text during dangerous situations despite the risk. According to a survey released last Tuesday, 77% of American’s have texted while driving a moving vehicle.

Furthermore, the survey found that 41% of Americans have texted while skiing, horseback riding, and bicycle riding. If this isn’t Computer Mediated Communication taking over our lives, I don’t know what is. Surveys have also found that half of teenagers frequently text while they are driving.

In February of this year, NBC investigated the dangers of teenagers texting while driving. Ashley Freitas, from Waterbury, was tested by driving around cones with and without texting. Without texting, she did fine, but when she opened her phone, she completely missed one cone. To further the inspection, a police officer was tested and narrowly missed 2 cars and did not see a pedestrian.

There has been much talk about banning cell phone use in vehicles, but like every other law, it is going to be broken. I am guilty of texting while I am driving. I have never narrowly missed hitting something, or completely missed a stop sign, but who is to say that I won’t in the future. The texting aspect of CMC can be a fun thing to do during a non moving activity, but it is a seriously dangerous hobby while driving a train!

It's Time for a Change

Are you interested in changing the world but feel too small to make any difference? Are you passionate about global warming, genocide, immigration, or other political issues? Well, now is the time to make change.

So, you are probably reading this and wondering, “What does this have to do with electronic communication or CMC?” Then why don’t you take a look at change.org and see how you can make a difference.

Change.org’s managing editor Josh Levy, states that the blog is a place where people can read about the latest news and has tools for taking action about 13 issues that we face today. The 13 causes include global warming, animal rights, women’s rights, gay rights, social entrepreneurship, human rights, immigration, genocide, humanitarian relief, homelessness, fair trade, criminal justice, and peace in the Middle East. "People want to do stuff, but how do you make it easy and fun and connected to their life? This is an attempt to solve that," says Levy.

Because of this computer mediated communication, people are able to make a difference in causes that they believe in. The site teaches people how to give in smaller gifts, and some people have even called this a political space online. The article written on msnbc.com, Blogging like the World Depended on It states yes, that change.org speaks loudly to the appeal of Senator Barack Obama. The site right now deals a lot with a liberal perspective on causes and issues, but the creators of change.org hope to see multiple perspectives in the future.

Finding Happiness Online

More men then women find happiness online.

This is an article, found on msnbc.com, focuses on the results of an Australian pole of what makes men and women happy. It is human nature that men and women do not find the same things appealing, and according to this article, the internet makes men more happy then women.

The pole, called the “Happiness Index,” polled more than 8,500 Australians, ranging from age 18 to 64. According to the pole, most men and women found relaxation an enjoyable activity, and physical exercise less enjoyable. The pole also found that Australians find enjoyment on week-to-week basis, rather than possessions and achievements. They also find enjoyments from entertaining experiences and meaningful interactions with other people.

This leads to the online aspect of the happiness of men and women. Over half of the men poled stated that they find relaxation from surfing the web, playing online games, and using social networking sites such as facebook. Only 39% of women found happiness and relaxation in the internet. On the other hand, more than half of the women said they found happiness in having meals and spending time with their family.

An interesting aspect about this pole is that it debunked some of the stereotypes of men and women. It found that only 30% of women found happiness shopping online for clothes and shoes.

As discussed on the first day of class, 60 million Americans have used the internet to help them with something major in their life. This statistic and the article previously discussed displays how much people rely on the internet. If it is just a relaxing hobby, or making a major life decision, the internet plays a major role in people’s lives.