http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8eYIKvGurg
*I was unable to fix the sound on this video.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Community Problem Report
Community Problem Report: Texting Addiction
Samantha Ramirez
University of Texas at El Paso
Abstract
Mobile phone text messaging often is more affordable than voice messaging in the developing world. Having that said it makes it easier for a person to texting because its more convenient and faster. Some people overuse the luxury and develop addiction-like tendencie that doctors would find in drugs addicts. Symptoms of addiction related to tolerance, withdrawal, displacement of attention to school or work, and the inability to diminish use. Displacement of people was common among a higher percentage of respondents. The number of messages sent, and the perceived skill at using SMS technology were significant predictors of the number of addiction criteria exhibited by respondents. While gender had been shown to be a predictor of overuse tendencies in past studies, no gender differences were found for addiction measures, but males were heavier users of text messaging than females. Another fact produced from this research was that eighteen percent of all accidents are cell phone related.
According to the Washington post twenty-eight percent of all traffic accidents are caused by people texting or using their cell phones.( Halsey, A. 2010, January 13) But even more disturbingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that there are more than 100,000 accidents each year related to drowsiness -- resulting in 1,500 fatalities. In light of all these recent texting car related accidents, states are cracking down on laws the try and prevent more from occurring. Texting has become such an impulse that 28 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers and 30 states, D.C. and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers. “Eleven of these laws were enacted in 2010. 26 states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four, texting bans are secondary”. (GHSA. 2010, June 18). Although law makers may think that putting a law in place will help the numbers decrease, they do not fully realize that for many people it’s a type of addiction and cannot be stopped.
There are two main health issues that surround texting, one being the lack of awareness the surrounding would. (Hemp, P. (2006) A person that is texting can be so focused on texting and not even realize what is going on around them. Having that said twenty states have made it illegal to use a mobile device while driving because of all the cell phone related accidents. This would potentially be a beneficial law, especially for teenagers, who have such a problem with using their mobile devices while behind the wheel. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute outlines how dangerous texting and driving truly is. Researchers studied drivers driving their own vehicles for more than six million miles. Texting was not studied in those operating cars, but texting while driving a truck increased the risk of accident by a stunning 23.20%. Dialing a cell phone while driving a car increased risk of an accident by 280%; risk while driving a heavy vehicle increased by 59%.”The researchers concluded that, when texting, one's eyes are off the road for enough time to travel along a road the length of a football field while going 55 miles per hour.” (Poncelet, B. 2010).
Eric F. Dubow, a psychologist from Bowling Green State University conducted a study “to address questions regarding the frequency and compulsivity of adolescents’ texting, its relation to adjustment, and moderators of the relation between compulsivity of texting and adjustment. “ According to Dubow acquired 211 8th graders to complete a survey that asked questions about how many types they received and send text messages. (Dubow, S. E. 2010). The survey also included questions that dealt with how the subjects felt and reactions to receiving text messages. Dubow concluded that “Students with Higher Levels of Self-Control Will Have Non-Significant Relations between Compulsive Texting and Internalizing Problems; Students with Lower Levels of Self-Control Will Have Significant Positive Relations between Compulsive Texting and Internalizing Problems.” Another result of the survey showed Females reported greater compulsivity of texting than males. (Dubow, S. E. 2010)
Teenagers attention spans are not every long and some have a hard time repeating a phrase you said a few minutes back. Imagine putting a cell phone in their hand and letting them text. In a study conducted by Dr. Erlbaum, “concluded that teenagers were more likely to remember who and what a texting message said, which they received two hours ago, versus being able to explain a simple paragraph they just read. It’s rather shocking to actually realize how addiction or into texting teenagers can be. It is apparently that texting is bad for teenagers in more ways than one. The studies done my doctors and psychologist have also proven. It’s safe to conclude and say that texting is an actual addictions and needs to be taken seriously as well as treated. Without treatment texting can lead to many unfortunate and unnecessary sonorous.
Barto, Thomas P. and Wang, Wenli. (2010). “Deterring adolescent dependency on text messaging: a conceptual model and framework for behavior control" (2010). AMCIS 2010 Proceedings. Paper 563. http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2010/563
Block, J. J. (2008). Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction. The american journal of psychiatry, 165(3), 306-307. Retrieved October 1, 2010
Dubow, S. E. (2010). The role of texting motivations in moderating the relation between compulsive texting and adolescents' adjustment. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from Google scholar (bgsu1270157782. Bookmark this page as <http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1270157782>.).
Erlbaum, L. (2007). Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self-esteem, addiction symptoms and patterns of mobile phone use. Thesis, Mediated Interpersonal Communication. Retrieved October 7, 2010, from http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/cuccr/en/pdf/mp9-CMC.pdf
GHSA. (2010, June 18). In Cell phone and texting laws. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
Halsey, A. (2010, January 13). 28 percent of accidents involve talking, texting on cell phones. Washtington Post, pp. A1, A2. Retrieved November 1, 2010
Hemp, P. (2006). Death by information overload. (Doctoral dissertation, www.hbr.org. 2006). Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://tenfor2010.com/Global/pdfs/Contributors'%20Content/Death%20by%20Information%20Overload.pdf
Kershaw, T., & Cole-Lewis, H. (2010, March 30). Text messaging as a tool for behavior change in disease Prevention and Management. Oxford Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/03/30/epirev.mxq004.abstract
Lister, K. M. (2007). Compulsive text messaging: do youth need to kick the habit? (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio Links, AL. . 2007). Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Lister%20Kelly%20M.pdf?bgsu1276915835
Poncelet, B. (2010). Texting and Driving – A Deadly Combination. About.com.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Annotated Bibliography
Samantha Ramirez
Annotated bibliography
10-1-10
Block, J. J. (2008). Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction. The american journal of psychiatry, 165(3), 306-307. Retrieved October 1, 2010
In this article the author explores the subtypes of internet addiction, and texting being one of them. People get drawn in to the internet and texting and cell phones because we are in a time where thing such as these are popular. The author tell of different ways to avoid being addicted.
Kershaw, T., & Cole-Lewis, H. (2010, March 30). Text messaging as a tool for behavior change in disease Prevention and Management. Oxford Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/03/30/epirev.mxq004.abstract
Most of the articles you will read on texting addiction will mainly be negative and tell of the dangers of too much texting. This particular article does the opposite, it encourages the use of texting and its benefits because it is so widely available. This author argues that it can have a positive impact on a child’s behavior and turn them into a more social person.
Lister, K. M. (2007). Compulsive text messaging: do youth need to kick the habit? (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio Links, AL. . 2007). Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Lister%20Kelly%20M.pdf?bgsu1276915835
This dissertation would be very helpful for a parent that was trying to get their children involved with a study for texting addiction. It is study done online by any young participants willing to be involved. You must fill out daily charts, along with these charts they provide information from previous studies.
Barto, Thomas P. and Wang, Wenli. (2010). "Deterring adolescent dependency on text aessaging: a conceptual model and framework for behavior control" (2010). AMCIS 2010 Proceedings. Paper 563. http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2010/563
This research provides a behavior control conceptual model intended to tak control of technology over-adaptation. People should not have to give in to become a slave or addicted to texting. The article contains a “model” that also brings together a behavior control mechanism outlines that gives you other options than “technology dependency”.
Domoff, S. E. (2010). The role of texting motivations in moderating the relation between compulsive texting and adolescents' adjustment . Retrieved October 6, 2010, from Google scholar (bgsu1270157782. Bookmark this page as <http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1270157782>.).
This article is explaing how they used the Gratifications Model to start the bases of their study. Not having many studies to feed from they began with a hypothesis. This hypothesis being “does the compulsive texting come from an emotional standpoint?” After surveying 403 students in the 8th and 11th grades in a rural Midwestern community they reached a conclusion that the high rate of compulsive texting was due to higher levels of aggression and internalizing symptoms and lower levels of academic adjustment
Hemp, P. (2006). Death by information overload. (Doctoral dissertation, www.hbr.org. 2006). Retrieved October 6, 2010, from http://tenfor2010.com/Global/pdfs/Contributors'%20Content/Death%20by%20Information%20Overload.pdf
This dissertation is trying to warn people of the over use of technology such as cell phone and text messaging use. Using to much of it can cause overload and break downs of a persons mental health. Luck this article gives tips that can help minimize and manage this “overload.” Keep in mind that they tips will not help you successfully overcome this multidimensional problem, there is not quick fix.
Erlbaum, L. (2007). Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self-esteem, addiction symptoms and patterns of mobile phone use. Thesis, Mediated Interpersonal Communication. Retrieved October 7, 2010, from http://www.com.cuhk.edu.hk/cuccr/en/pdf/mp9-CMC.pdf
This study was set in place to evaluate the symptoms one might have if they have an addiction to texting. Around 620 young adults were studies and took survey to calculate data and place these young adults in groups. The analysis identified four common mobile phone addiction symptoms: “losing control and receiving complaints”, “anxiety and craving”, “withdrawal/escape”, and “productivity loss”.
Rhectorical and Visual Analysis Assignment
Rhetorical and Visual Analysis: Texting as an Addiction
Samantha Ramirez
Pathos, Logos, and Ethos are rhetorical affects used to show and appeal to different senses. By utilizing these appeals we can better analyze documents such as articles such as the article “Can teen texting become an addiction?” by Deborah Feyerick. By using the three appeals we can analyze the story and its visual to see if these two concepts coincide with each other or how affective one would be without the other.
The audience in this case could be anyone who has children who own cell phones. Particularly it would appeal towards parents that think their children might be texting at an alarming rate. Everyone watches news but when there is a story that might appeal to something you’re family might be susceptible to, more than likely you tend to watch. Having that said parents who have children that are constantly texting would really be interested in watching this segment and would be prone to showing their children this as well.
Deborah Feyerick is the interviewer and author of the article and newscast. Since news channels are agencies because provide a certain services for the community and inform the community. With this being said you can infer that Feyerick works for the agency CNN. The article would increase her credibility because she has sources that support the “texting addiction” theory as well as teens talking about their view on this topic. The argument is presented in a way that they had actually professionals and teens talking about the addictions. By going into detail about the effects that the brain shows when receiving a text the reporter is trying to evoke a sense of shock. Views are able to feel alarmed or surprised when they hear Dr.Seyffert say (Feyerick 2010): the brain produces dopamine just like a drug addicts brain would when getting high. This well supported statement from Dr. Seyffert reinforces the reports story of the addictiveness of texting which really hits the emotional side of the viewer.
The quality of the supporting evidence has its flaws in that Feyerick could have broadened her research more and found a few more sources. This article gives two main sources, the teens speaking about their personal experiences and the neurologist. After reading the article it is clear that the author is directed towards the topic of the affects of texting rather than the addiction of texting. Feyerick seems to be dawn more to the subject which really doesn’t leave much expansion or room to grow the topic from there. This article doesn’t give much evidence but the little she does give us is enough to really make you think. The lack of evidence or sources weakens the argument a bit but the alarming content of the evidence does strength the argument and is appeal to logos.
The story itself cannot fully be comprehended without the video along side. The article itself would not evoke much emotion but the video is what really evokes the true feelings of being worried for teenage safety and well being. The scale and perspective of the video play a big part in the effectiveness. Had the video been small and not placed where it was in the article, the viewers might not have been as inclined to watch it. This video being not too short or long either gets straight to the point and informative. The visual does a great job in supporting the text and better elaborating on the text. After the audience has viewed the video they can gather and analyze that it supports the argument within the article.
The video is contracted in a way that the viewers will be able to get drawn in to the story. The words are not difficult and hard for someone to try and get into the flow of the story. The visual is organized where the audience can recall the information from the text more readily during the duration of the video. The organization of it provides great reference points for the viewers to look back on. The medium used for this video would be the news website, www.CNN.com. The scale and perspective of the video would be that the video is slightly large and fixed on the top of the site.
The main focal point of the article would be the video, the texting is arranged around the video giving the illusion that the text feeds off of the video. Together the video and text complement each other well. Both the video and the text might go together well but the video itself goes more into depth. It explains more of what the sources are saying and trying to relate to the audience. In the end the video really deepens the article and gives it more meaning. The location of the video is higher up that then text and is the first thing the audience would see and be inclined to watching before actually reading. Unfortunately without the video the text would be rather dry. It would in result leave the viewers “hanging”, not fully developing the story.
Reference Page
Deborah Feyerick (2010 April 20). Can teen texting become an addiction?. Retrieved from http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/20/can-teen-texting-become-an-addiction/
Topic Proposal
Samantha Ramirez
When Technology Becomes an Addiction
In today’s society half of the things we do revolve around technology. So many people are dependent on getting updated via email or text messages, also getting the weather or the news from the internet. Another thing we use technology for is to keep in touch with people. There are thousands of websites that are available to anyone who owns a computer or cell phone. All these things harbor the potential for many forms of addiction. The perfect subtopic to technology addictions would be texting.
What is texting? Short message service is means of communications without having to physically talk to a person. One doesn’t often associate texting with being an addiction because society has its own ideas of what “addictions” are. Yet we label an addiction as a state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. That definition describes in words exactly how addiction texting can be. Many physiologist disagree with the theory that texting can be an addiction say that they could create a dozen new disorders tomorrow doing the exact same thing, but unfortunately it would be no more scientifically valid.
There are many discourse communities available to help aid in the recovery of this addiction. Such communities would be self help groups or rehabs out that can help people recover or not depend on texting or technology. People should become more aware of this epidemic. Just like drug or alcohol addictions can be deadly so can texting. So many people die or are in accidents and seriously injured because they are using their cell phones to talk or text.
Hopefully by investigating and reading more into this topic I can find more information that supports texting as an addiction, resulting in more awareness for the public. I hope to bring the severity of this problem to my class and maybe shed light on how to stop texting so frequently. Personally I think this topic is very relatable in the sense that everyone is the class as some sort of addiction to texting. Also being that our city has a law in place that makes texting or using the phone while driving is illegal. Other people might really relate to this topic because they might be directly affected by this. They may know someone or have family members who were either hurt in an accident because they were texting or they could have been the person who cause the accident due to texting.
Agency Discourse
Samantha Ramirez
The Boys and Girls Club of America is an agency that has set forth to help the youth of cities to become more productive members of society. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Boys & Girls Clubs of America number one among youth organizations for the 13th consecutive year, and number 12 among all nonprofit organizations. This clubs provides a safe place for children to learn and grow with the help of adult figures they may not have at home. The majority of the children in this program are kids that may not have one or more parent figure in their lives to help guide them. Their ages ranging from 6 to 18, and no child is turned away. The El Paso Branch of the Boy and Girls Club is a community based organization that provides disadvantaged children with a safe fun environment and conducted monthly activities. These activities are a great opportunity for the community to impact the lives of youth while also enjoying great and unique events
This organization uses many genres to communicate and get their message out there. They have many signed or billboards that can be seen from the freeway. There are various pamphlets available and stores, doctors’ offices, and some recreational centers. Recently they have also been airing commercials on TV in attempt to reach more viewers. Also available online is their monthly calendar of activities, and fundraisers that are open to all members and are encouraged to attend. If someone is interested in signing their child up for this club there is many ways they can go about it. First they can go visit any of the three locations here in El Paso, and those addresses are on the brochures. The second thing they can do is go online to http://www.bgcelpaso.org/contact.asp , where all their contact information is available. With all these types of advertisements this organizations can have many advantages. They could gain an overwhelming support of volunteers and support from the community. Also varies donations which can help improve many of the locations for the children in these clubs.
The Boys and Girls Club can relate to many children here in our boarder city. Being that El Paso is made up of mainly minorities; children coming from broken homes, parents with substance abuse problems, or single parent families these children need this club the most. This is where the boys and girls club comes into play; they want to prevent these children from going down the wrong path and ending up in a life they shouldn’t be leading. They use programs such and character& life leaderships, education& career leadership, health& life skills, art, sports and fitness to help meet the children’s interest. They intertwine these activities with adult supervisors to help build self esteem in themselves and trust in others. This boarder city has seen lots of violence from the drug cartel over the board and how it has impacted many young children. These innocent children are getting caught up in drugs and doing the wrong things when none of this is necessary. That’s why I must reiterate myself when say that the Boys and Girls Clubs is a great things for all children; not just troubled youth; to be a part of. They strive to make children productive and successful citizens of society.
Discourse Communities Discussion
Samantha Ramirez
Discourse Communities Discussion
My discourse community map was based on my four different areas of my life. Those four areas being my job as a lifeguard, youth group member, pre-pharmacy student, and a swimmer. All these different parts of my map have a purpose and that is to better describe and go more into depth about myself. The first community would be lifeguard; we have many conventions that we have to follow. One of the main things we must do is enforce rules to keep the public safe from any accidents. To become a lifeguard all you have to do is sign up for a two week class and obtain your certifications in CPR, AID, and First Aid. Once a week we have meetings with our manager telling us our feedback for the prior week and tells us what we need to work on. Also once a month we attend a meetings with aquatic managers and they give us tips, show us different videos and scenarios of drowning and how to prevent them. These regrouping methods help us to focus on our common goal which is to make people more aware of water safety rules.
As a member of Our Lady of the Light Youth Group we have many responsibilities such as trying to find more members to join our community. We use many genres such as putting memos in the church bulletin, making announcements before mass, and passing out fliers. There are also rules we have to flow such as meeting a certain amount of community service, only missing one meeting a month, and attending mass every Sunday. Our youth group is also very involved in volunteer work around El Paso and also for Juarez. During Christmas time we gather toys for poor children in Juarez, we do can food drives at thanksgiving, and do lots of different walk-a-thons throughout the year. Anyone can become a member just by contacting the church and signing up. Our audience usually consists of younger children in the bible study classes and every year we hold a retreat for the confirmation II students. In these retreat we each get to write our own life story that helps convey to the students how we found our way to god and why it has made us a very different and better person.
My next community would be the swimming community. Swimming is a life sport and is the best way in my opinion to keep in shape while having fun. I am a part of the Dessert Sharks Swim Club, and we keep in touch with our coach and when we have practice via email, text message, and checking our monthly workout schedule. During our practices our coach has certain words that only competitive swimmers would know and understand. Some specialized language would be words such as negative split, VO2 max, red pace, blue pace, and cycles. Someone who is interested in become a part of DSSC could fine the number to the club in the phonebook or find the website online under Dessert Sharks Swim Club.
My final community would be Pre-Pharmacy student at the University of Texas at El Paso. There are many aspects and traditions to live up to in college. You have to take a certain amount of class, study, make good grade and eventually obtain a degree in a certain field and make a career out of it. Fortunately there are many resourceful things to help students, for example the library, the professors themselves, tutors, and study sessions. Another helpful way students can keep in touch with each other is through emails, blackboard, learning communities, and discussion boards set up by professors. If someone is looking to become a Pre-Pharmacy student at UTEP they can apply to the cooportative program with UT Austin you need to apply while still in high school or you can wait after your two years obtaining your prerequisites you can apply then.
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