I stumbled upon this when I was looking for creative advertisements and had no idea how to react. As a kid that grew up on the ocean, swimming and pools were a fact of our daily summer days. Do you wanna go to the beach or the pool was our daily decision. Our pools most certainly did not have any advertisements and when I saw this one I was in shock.
Is it bad? Have they gone too far? I wasn't really sure what to think, so I of course did some more research.
Deconstruction Questions:
#1& #2: Watch Around Water is a prosocial group that was created in response to lots of drowning deaths in Western Australia's public swimming pools. In response to these deaths they created an ad campaign to help stop these tragedy. This image definitely gets their point across that "life guards are not babysitters." Although I agree with the message of the advertisement, I would not be too keen on seeing a similar ad in the public swimming pool where I grew up.
#3 & #4: From my personal experience, if I was babysitting and saw this ad I would immediately become extra paranoid and not leave the children for one moment around the water. However, I can't imagine how parents would feel if they saw this advertisement, and I think many of them would have a different reaction. As a parent I feel that you can be much more on guard about people telling you how to raise your kids or suggesting that you may be neglectful. I think that the ad is also very scary to look at from anyone's perspective. The floating image of the child takes it to a different level than just words.
Although it targets both groups I think there is a very big difference in response when a caretaker of a child sees this ad and when a parent sees this ad. Even as a child if I saw this advertisement I would be much more careful around the pool. It's almost like a lifeguard in the water saying be careful.
#5& #6: The subtext is pretty clearly targeting parents. It suggests in even its existence that whether you're a parents, guardian, babysitter, or even child you are not being careful around water and are being irresponsible. I'm almost surprised it doesn't say "don't let it happen to you." I think that there is a fine line between the fear and caution that this message instills among pool goers and our culture. The graphic nature of the floating young child is very traumatizing. I don't think I would want my children to get used to seeing and become desensitized to this problem by constantly seeing this image. Words are one thing, but instilling that fear in our society and world is another. Why are words not enough and why have we as a culture had to resort to disturbing images as PSA's and reminders.
#8: The fear in this ad is powerful. In matters of life and death this ad throws the death of young children in the viewers face. This tragedy is your fault and preventable if you watch your child. For the responsible people out there I think the fear of loosing a loved one can even turn into extreme paranoia. I definitely grew up around people that would consider not letting us young kids swim if they saw this ad.
Getting the point across is not an issue in this advertisement. No matter who you are I think the message is clear. The real question is though, have we taken the fear to far?
I stumbled upon these when I was looking for sports advertising.
When I look at the images separate from the words, they do not match. These women are beautiful, but beauty is not the first thing that comes to my mind; it's more like bringing sexy back. They also do not look ready to play sports and look like they were photoshoped with a racket.
On another note, strong is beautiful and by no means is that the image that my mind connotes.
What are we conveying as a society?!!!
Let me deconstruct this, using questions from page 553 -->
#1 & #2: These ads were made by the Women's Tennis Association to promote their sport and encourage people to watch and follow it.
#3 & #4: The ad is trying to attract people sexually to women's tennis. Whether you're a man or a women, if you like women, in more than a "just friends" way, you will be targeted by this ad. The women in the ad are incredibly sexually suggestive. Although the words state "strong is beautiful" that is not the first thing on people's minds as soon as they view the picture.
#6: This type of ad, where women are shown in only sexual way, create a culture of women who are striving for aesthetic beauty instead of something more internal. When ads like this persist in a society it becomes the norm. Everyone in the society, including men, women and children, begin to expect women to look like women portrayed in this advertisements. If you want proof, google "women".
This absolutely frightens me as an adult because as a
young teen I would try to emulate stuff like this. Not exactly, but by
being super thin and what I thought to be "sexy" all the time. I used
to also think that being sexy meant showing a lot of skin.
To take it even a little bit further, as a child I would also think that this image of women is what it meant to be strong and beautiful. Although this ad shows women being strong and powerful in their sports it is never "ugly."
The repercussions go further and have a larger impact than we would think without some self-reflection. As a young woman I wouldn't let anyone see me sweaty because I thought I didn't look pretty or beautiful.
#8: Beautiful faces are the front of most advertising nowadays. Although I'm not sure, I would take a bet that these women are also celebrities amidst the world of tennis. That's all this ad has to use, beautiful celebrities and a great slogan: strong is beautiful.
#10: This encapsulates: sex sells. I would have never guessed that this advertisement was about the Women's Tennis Association. I totally looked up the ETA. The ETA is getting people to watch their sport through convincing the public that their players look like their advertisements.
If you are "sexy" people will watch you.
If you want to go even further, if you are "sexy" the world of commerce will pay you.
I like to think of myself as a pretty media literate person. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I really do find myself frequently looking critically at my media usage and how I am constantly digesting the advertisements that are a constant in my life. I try not to sweat the small stuff too much, like the fact that I am a walking advertisement for Patagonia. I like their coats and I do not hate the fact that their brand name is labeled on my jacket like a name tag, so I live with it. Sometimes I feel like life is all about picking and choosing your battles, and I've never cared enough to muster up the energy to carefully remove the firmly attached brand name.
Even though I do not always do something about some of the advertisements that are built into my daily life, I still find myself frustrated by them or annoyed, if you will. This annoyance and awareness makes me feel more okay about not always starting a war on the advertisers.
However, one thing that I feel like has always slipped past my line of sight is Facebook.
As a full time college student with two jobs, I feel like I don't have much time. Facebook makes connecting with my friends easier. I can make plans quickly, create events, and make jokes, all on my cellphone (which of course never leaves my side). This one interface has made it easier for my boyfriend, who really is at war, to "talk" with me.
In theory, and for most of reality, these methods of communication are all great. They help make life easier, and save time: two of my favorite things. The line starts to get fuzzy when you begin doing things on Facebook other than just communicating with friends. I'm talking about looking through your friends' pictures, profile, status updates, and begin what some people call "Facebook stalking."
I'm not outing myself as a Facebook stalker or even trying to say you shouldn't look through other people's information. People put stuff up on their profile for others to look at. Facebook wouldn't be what it is without a little bit of stalking. How else would know who had a baby or who got engaged? Facebook makes it easy to find out and even send your congratulations.
Now, I like to think of myself as a happy person. I am happy for others when good things happen to them and I like it when good things happen to me. But sometimes when I see all these "happy" and fun pictures of my friends it brings up a lot more than just happy emotions. Sometimes I feel bad about my own life when I compare it to my friends. Whether someone bought a new car, got a haircut, or found new love, Facebook has a way of making people feel inadequate.
Through this series of questions I have taken a deeper look into my own Facebook usage.
What kind of culture(s) does the example create?
Although some people post about their misfortunes, for the most part posts are about "good" life events. There is a lot of talk about what is good enough to post on Facebook. Is "best Sunday ever" too vague? Or is "best Sunday ever" just a nice comment about someone's day? Whatever a post like "best Sunday ever" actually means, it creates a culture of people who are constantly one-upping each other whether they mean to or not.
What value(s) are reinforced?
Materialism is totally reinforced by Facebook. It is much easier to post a pic of your new adorable baby's stroller or her cute new outfit. What about those cute jeans you got? Some people are very obvious about it. Others may be a little more subtle by posting a photo in Mexico at the Four Seasons (but without captions).
Although vanity is not a value, the importance of looking good means everything to some on Facebook. "Don't post that pic, I look so ugly!" is a common phrase. No one wants to look "bad" in a public forum like Facebook. The image people project on Facebook needs to as beautiful as possible for most. It's easy to be accepting of others when we are all our best versions of ourselves on Facebook.
What different meanings would different people perceive?
Some people may not think a lot about Facebook. They may take things at face value. People's lives on Facebook look great. Isn't that what life should be like in real life? Why isn't my life "perfect"?
Is it closer to fantasy or reality?
This is a hard question because I think Facebook is real, however with huge omissions. It's like, are you lying if you are just leaving out an important part of the story? My parents always taught me omission of the truth is lying. Sometimes Facebook feels like a fantasy world because all of these goods things are happening all the time. However, if you posted something that wasn't actually a reality, I'm sure you would have at least five friends calling you out on it.
What is the connection to the world of commerce?
I think there are huge connections to the world of commerce. People frequently "check-in" to local businesses, upload photos of the cool new thing they bought, or check the advertisements on the side of their page. Advertisers don't even need to pay for the amount of advertising that people are just doing on their own on Facebook. Is it my cute, green Subaru that makes my life so great? Or is it my new pair of Danskos? You tell me.
What is not told? What related stories are missing?
Even though you'll find the occasional terrible picture of someone who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, for the most part, those stories are missing from Facebook. Hopefully anyways. The darker side of life frequently gets left out. Because of this paired with people's heavy Facebook usage, many may come to expect that the real world parallels Facebook.
What techniques of persuasion are used?
Facebook is so popular it doesn't have to use a lot of advertising. People just join Facebook because everyone else is doing it. Facebook doesn't have to market, but other people (or Facebook users) are marketing for Facebook. When I didn't have Facebook I remember one of my friends telling me I should just get it because everyone has it. People that don't work for Facebook use basic persuasion techniques to try to get their friends to become Facebook users.
Media usage is a guilty pleasure of mine. The amount of time I actually spend with media is not one of those things I like to think about. I am constantly ignoring the fact that media is more than just usage, and that it is completely integrated into almost every facet of my life.
This made taking the quiz very hard for me. Although I scored 8 out of 12 correctly, I guessed on most of the questions. For the most part, my guesses were in the ballpark. However, the one answer that did shock me was when 79 percent of children reported that the TV is left on even when no one is watching at least some or most of the time. This isn't economical! TV wastes electricity, and if no one is watching it, why is it still on?!
I really just wonder why people leave it on. Is it that people are too lazy? I'm sure this accounts for some of the population, since I know I have been guilty of this practice (mostly because we don't pay for our electric bill), which I know is terrible. However, as a child I know this was never allowed to happen in my house. My grandfather would be all over me like white on rice. I was hoping my sloth and apathy was just a product of my twenties, however it is clearly not just the twenty-something population causing this trend.
Digital Media Landscape:
What is it?
I really liked how this video talked about how what you say online can be like a tattoo. The images were simple, but the message was clear. This is a great instructional tool for the classroom and reminds us all what the internet is all about: "Think before you post."
I commonly forget to think about what this website is leaving out. I also don't always use the rule of three when finding information online either. Just because the first website I found is a University website, it doesn't mean that it is telling all sides of the story.
And last but certainly not least, "reporting inappropriate information isn't ratty." Kids shouldn't feel like they are a tattle tale because they told on someone who was doing something wrong. And what's so wrong with being a tattle tail sometimes? Why does trying to do the right thing have a bad connotation?
How do I use it?
I never realized what it takes for schools to succeed in social media, and that it was so complex! First off, I didn't even really realize that some schools were trying to use social media; I just thought it was straight-up banned. As I learn more about the whole social media puzzle, I realize that my narrow definition of social media may be why I thought it was all banned. I know now that social media is much more than Facebook and MySpace.
I still don't really get why communicating on social media is more fun for students. I personally would find it really weird and unprofessional if my teachers were liking my Facebook status and posting class updates on my wall. I enjoy the level of separation between the different facets of my life.
As a future teacher I am constantly reminding myself that the "my way or the highway" model doesn't work. It's OK that some people feel differently about the use of social media in the classroom. It is healthy to disagree! It's important to acknowledge that the same thing that works for me, may not be the same thing that works for the person sitting next to me, or my best friend.
After reading this article, I feel torn. For the most part, it sounds phenomenal and it sounds like you can see the benefits between child and parent interactions. What I have a hard time with is 6 & 7 year olds who have Twitter accounts. I wouldn't want what I said when I was in first grade published online forever. I just don't think kids this age have the capacity to make posting choices that might be permanently displayed on the internet for the rest of their lives.
Examples: Digital Learning Environments
I feel like one of the biggest worries about our culture's media usage is that people aren't getting enough "face time" and social interaction with others. One of the strengths of our BAE program is that we get a lot of "face time" with kids and spend lots of hours in the classroom.
While I was stumbling through the Digital Media Landscape section I came across this article through a series of clicks:
At the University of Central Florida they are using a program called TeachME. Through TeachME, students in the education program have the opportunity to work in a safe classroom environment. They work within a virtual classroom where students are projected on the screen. These virtual students are avatars that are being played by other students at the university. Advocates of the program say that this is a great way for education majors to practice their techniques in the classroom.
First, I must say that I have never seen the program in action, and all of my commentary should be taken with a grain of salt.
Right off the bat, this program seems like a big waste of time and money to me. One of the assets of education programs that require a lot of fieldwork practicum, is that you have real experience with kids in the classroom. With this comes the added benefit and safety net of an experienced mentor teacher. No matter how well trained these actors/avatars are in child development theory, they are still adults. This whole program seems more like an acting workshop, than a lesson in classroom management.
And lastly, this program is not supporting the community in the same way as traditional practicum in the classroom does. Although there can be a lot of logistical set-up, interacting with students in the schools is good for students at all grade levels. TeachME takes away this valuable asset that BAE programs across the nation provide for communities.
As a little kid it is hard to imagine a world that is different from the one you experience. Pictures can be worth a thousand words and this collection of photographs over the century can help students visualize what life was like during a different time.
When I was a little girl, I loved to look through pictures, especially of my family members. I think that some kind of photo project paired with an oral history project could be a great way for students to understand how things have changed over time, and learn more about their families.
Integrating Digital Content and Tools:
This website has so many great ideas! I think that it would be really cool to record class activities, in order to provide opportunities for students who miss class, parents who can't always volunteer, and as a resource to other students in the building. I would not only post this video to TeacherTube or Vimeo, but would certainly post it on a classroom blog or website. One day I hope to integrate technology into my classroom just like this class does.
I like this video because of the music. As a child, like most others, I fantasized about driving my own car and even just driving. As an adult I enjoy this ad for nostalgia's sake. I enjoy the images of children enjoying the "dream" of one day driving a car. It makes me think about how I enjoy my daily experience of being able to drive.
#1&2: The ad was made my Chevrolet. Chevrolet made the ad in order to sell their product, the Corette.
#8: This ad makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Watching these children dream about a fun, new car makes me smile. Is it so much to ask that these kids just want this fun and NEW car? Playing to my emotions, the ad makes me also think that this new product is exciting. Although I'm not falling off my chair laughing, the ad definitely is also funny, which makes me like this car.
#13: Like I said before, this ad targets a sense of nostalgia and people's inner child. Maybe the Corvette was the car that you wanted as a child? Maybe your family couldn't afford it for some reason? Now, as an adult, you can claim that car that you always wanted as a child.
#14: The ad is fantasy all the way. It tugs at the dreamer's in us all and likens the cars to what our fantasy life should look like.
I got this phone on Monday of last week. Surprisingly resistant to the whole iPhone thing, I was very content with my Blackberry and thought that the iPhone was a bit too much. "I don't need my phone for more than Facebook, email and chatting." Tracking my media I realized quickly that what I thought to be just a phone has become so much more than just that in even less than a week.
Because I work close to thirty hours a week on top of five upper division level classes, media usage for pleasure can only be justified when I am multitasking. Mornings are good times for checking my phone and updates because as I'm getting ready in the morning I don't feel like I'm wasting time as long as I'm in the process of completing something else, like say, cooking eggs for breakfast.
On Thursday morning, when I first began tracking my media usage, it was almost a reward when I got to sit and wait to get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube (which I would not have been able to find or locate without the gps in my iPhone). This was just an opportunity to play a little Words with Friends, check email and maybe even do a little studying. That hour and a half is a chance to feel free to use my phone all I want without feeling guilty.
The guilt comes from working a lot on my computer at work and being caught in just that one minute where I happen to "check" my Facebook. It always seems to happen the second I slip and try to check and see if my boyfriend has messaged me from Afghanistan has. Facebook has become our main interface for communicating, and I'll be checking to see if he wrote me and my boss's boss will walk in to say hello.
During the week I use media a lot. My work station is a computer and almost all of my homework assignments require some use of technology so I am constantly trying to get as much done possible in the shortest amount of time. Frequently at work I will find myself with multiple tabs in Safari open, while I am also playing multiple games on my phone, while also checking my Facebook, to try to circumvent that chance that someone will walk in and assume that I haven't been doing "much" of anything.
Up by at least 8 am every morning, by noon I have focused almost all of my time on some kind of media. One thing that I never even really thought about before our Media Diary was my use of even the radio. I really enjoy going to bed with music on and prefer the radio and its unpredictability compared to that of a set playlist.
I should probably rephrase that a little bit and note both the early hours of the days and the evenings. Any moment that I feel like I can actually relax I am on my media. Relaxation equals media. It calms me in some way knowing that I have checked all of my updates and am current with what is going on. If there is an update on my phone and I can't check it for one reason or another it will drive me crazy. I just want to know. Why would you conciously want to miss something?
On the weekends the usage is most definitely down. I think it is mostly because I wake up later and have less usable hours in the day. The TV will usually get turned on during the weekend, but there is no guarantee that I could even vaguely tell you what any of the programs that I "watched." As I sit on the couch I plan my grocery list and check some new recipes on my favorite foodie website.
Although I am well aware that I most certainly waste time during the day, it always seems like this rush and pressure to not waste a second. Media and technology help increase my productivity output. I like feeling connected and love knowing that someone can get in touch with me at a moment's notice. As a person who constantly overloads herself with much too much to do, I feel like my phone, computer and email are my backup. Google calendars is a godsend.
