Rebuttal to John: Should Child actors be held as Role Models?

     In John's post about how child actor should not be served as role models :

 "Miley Cyrus has done it all as you can say. In the past years, we has seen her grown more and more out of control. At first, she started coming out with pictures that leaked on to Myspace of her basically half- naked. Then she showed up on T.V. dancing around on a pole and in her music video for ‘Party in the U.S.A’, she was also wearing little to no clothes on. Also, she was dating a guy who happened to be a little older than her. He was 20 while she was only 16. The most recent news on Miley Cyrus was that she was smoking out of a bong and the drug was supposedly salvia. Miley Cyrus is not a good role model and for that reason."

     There were some great points that John made, but he didn't have evidence that she did all those things. These might be all gossip that people spread around. Miley Cyrus is not the only child actor out there. Her actions does not contribute the all the other actors. She doesn't define everything. Although I must agree that child actors must beware about their actions because there are children that follow up and look up to them. Without evidence to cite this and where he got this information, it makes his argument weak. There are lots of counter arguments to this. The question is, what does her actions do? Does it make children follow up with her actions and do the same thing she does? There isn't proof that children that look up to her are taking pictures of themselves half naked. Children have the choice to make their own decisions, everything can't be blamed on the celebrities because they are the role models.


     It is not the celebrities fault that the children follow them as an example. Parents are the ones that are responsible for their own kids. Celebrities are not the ones responsible for the action of their kids. Parents have the chance to discipline them, and they have the choice to tell their kids about whether their actions are good or bad. There are lots of celebrities that are bad role models, and everyday, they have influenced many people's lives. This doesn't mean that we can stop them from doing what they are doing. They are just basically doing theist jobs and they are also human beings. We are not all perfect and we all make mistakes.


     There are steps that parents could take to teach their kids to not follow the wrong path by informing them  about what they should do. " For example, if a celebrity they like is in trouble with alcohol, ask whether their peers are using alcohol or whether they have any anxieties or questions about drinking. Take time to share your opinions -- and expectations -- about the issues." By talking to your kids, even though their favorite celebrity might be taking bad actions, taking to your kids can help them clear their minds up and not follow up with their role models because they are oftentimes confused. Parents need to point out that the misbehaviors of celebrities id mostly because they want to make money. Most importantly, parents should set themselves as role models for their kids. "Explain that poor decisions now can lead to a reputation that can hurt them later." Informing kids about these things can lesson the chance of them being influenced by these peers. Even though their role models might be not responsible for themselves, kids will at least know what is the right decision they should take.


Cites:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/celebrity-role-models

Social Networks: Opening Statement

Are online social networks (Facebook, etc.) overall more harmful or more beneficial to society?
     
     Social networking are harmful to our society. Social networking means sitting in front of the computer for hours and hours, connecting with people. Why is this considered more beneficial? Children are so used to social networking that they have forgotten that they  could spent time interacting with people face-to-face. Social networking may allow people to create new relationships with others and reconnect with family and friends. Even improving communication skills. Is it true that it is really improving communication skills? Communication means talking to people face to face. Talking on the computer will not help you communicate with others in real life. We are not practicing when we speak behind the screens. The real way to practice your communication skills is talking to people face to face and getting the time to know more about them in perso7n. Social networking has entice people to spend more time on the computer rather than doing something more productive. "Teens spend an average of nine hours per week on social networking sites." If social networking expands even more, teens will spend even more time on the computer and spending less time interacting with others in person.
    
      Even though social networking sites allow people to message each other, posting blogs about themselves, uploading pictures, and etc. It doesn't mean that others won't get their hands on these information that you posted. Some of these information can even be used against you. Even though you might have deleted information that you have posted, people have ways to retrieve it. Information posted can lead others to stalk your personal life and steal your identity. Even though the information that people post might seem real to you, they might be hiding their real identity. Social networking have no way to verify who they claim to be. Is this really safe. Even though we get to meet people in using social networking, they might not be the person that we think they would be. You will have no idea if they are telling the truth and who they really are. Without knowing the person that you are communicating with, it leads people to be in danger. 


     Social networking has allowed cyber-bullying to happen. It is when people bully you online instead of in person. This is a real problem because at times you might not know who is sending these hate messages to you. It will let a person feel unconscious about their safety and leaving them in danger in public. Cyber-bullying makes it easier for people to bully an individual because the victim might not know who you are. "A 2009 study found that 17.3% of middle school students have been victims of cyber-bullying. Victims often experience a drop in grades, decreasing self-esteem, and other symptoms of depression." In fact, it has also caused others to suicide because they feel insecure about themselves. Does this mean that social networks are beneficial, when in fact it means that people have a chance of hurting others? It has lead others to have brain disorders and even feel bad about the,selves. 


     In conclusion, social networks are note beneficial to our society. It means less time socializing with people face-to-face and spending less time with family and friends. It also leads people to feel insecure and letting themselves out in the open being bullied by others. It has let cyber-bullying causing people to feel insecure about themselves. 


Cites:
http://socialnetworking.procon.org/

Response Post: "Child Parent Relationship"

This quote is from Crystal's response to Karen's Blog:

"One day, whether we like it or not, our parents will leave us. It is just a fact of life. No one will live forever-assuming that the logic of life and death applies to everyone... I think that this is the wish of all parents: to be able to see their child grow up happy and healthy.Therefore, whenever possible, we should take time away from chatting online or playing video games and spend time with our family, who will not be by your side forever-which we often think they will."

     This quote relates to our life in some ways and how we all treat our parents. We never really realize what our parents has prepare for us and all they want is let us "grow up happy and healthy." We have never really thought about the intentions that that leave us and the lessons that they teach us. Yes, we have all disagreed with our parents at some point and we have lots of arguments. This mostly happens when we reach our teenage years, but they all have a meaning to it. Every time our parents yell at us or spank us, they are trying to say that you are doing the wrong thing. They just want you to make the right decisions next time and not make the same mistake again.

      We have all took our parents for granted and make a big fuss about the chores they make us do, like Crystal said. Have you ever thought about why they make us do all these chores and tell us to help them out. They are basically just preparing us to be more independent, so that when they do leave us, we would be able to take care of ourselves. Also about college readiness. In college, we can't count on our parents any more to help us, we have to do things from out own hands: such as cooking, cleaning, doing your laundry, etc. 

     Reading this made me learn a lot about my relationships with my parents. Since I was eight, my dad wasn't here to take care of me and my sibling and it was only my mom taking care of us. I have always had arguments with my mom. Rethinking from what I did, I really regret it. I want to go back and change the past so that I have never made my mom really angry. I didn't really spent much time with my mom and talking to her. From reading this quote I agree with it a lot. I think that I will try to think more open and respect my mom's feelings. If I don't start cherishing the moments that i have now with my mom, I would really regret it in the future.