"Can Your Online Life Ruin Your Credit?"

Mies, G. (2010). Can Your Online Life Ruin Your Credit?. PC World, 28(5), 24. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Banks and other financial institutions are now using sites such as Facebook and Twitter to target find good credit customers. These institutions examine your profile information, your activity, even your friends. This is where the question "can your online life ruin your credit?" Rapleaf, a San Francisco-based social media research firm are saying no, the information is only used by marketers not the people in charge of making decisions about your credit. The information is also collected and used for promotional offers on credit cards and advertisements for certain products. Some of these finacial companies are judging your finacial status based on your social networking life. Banks also base your credit on what kind of friends you have, if your friends are home-owners, pay their bills on time they assume you will too and it may approve your loan faster. The banks arn't the only ones watching your online activity, so are bill-collectors. Bill-collectors look for alternative contact information and they also monitor your behavior, like if your buying frequently new things and not paying you debts; it will be noted. Be cautious you never know who's watching you.

"Television the Plug-in Drug"

In Winn's essay she examines how television has taken over family valuesand quality family time. She states how in the 1950's television was new technology, but the family viewed the television programs together. Today, families split up and watch television programs seperately and tend not to interact except during commercials. The writer concludes that television is growing to be the babysitter, entertainer, peer, and educater. Parent's are planning their scheduele around television programs, and she has stated that their was originally one television per household. Today their are four or five televisions in a household and the family secludes themselves to their own space. This text gives the reader a better insight on how television manages our time with ourselves and our families. Families need to turn "off" the television and get "on" with life.

"Where I Lived and What I Lived For"

In Thoreau's essay he portrays how life and technology are evolving very fast and how we do not take time to appreciate the simpliest ways of life. The author compares how we base our daily ways of living by the news we read and the gossip of others. The inventions coming into the nation are making life frivilous, not laboring for achievement. "If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both sides of the surface." This statement gives the idea we are no longer within our moral, but the morals of how others perceive the fact. This essay states life should be taken one day at a time, to live by how we feel within ourselves, not to be influenced by the easy way of getting things done. If we feel it is not complete, we need to check our moral compass to make it right.

"A Deadly Distraction"

Weir, K. (2011). DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION. Current Science, 96(13), 4-5. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Texting while driving is a serious safety issue with our drivers today, a risk of an accident or near accident is 23.2 times highter. The problem may become more severe as more teens become licensed drivers, and as adults add it to their cellphone comminication abilities. At least a hundred thousand motor vehicle accident occured because texting was involved. Twenty-one percent of one point two million accidents occured because the use of a cellular device. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009, half a million people were injured and fifty-five hundred were killed do to distracted driving. When a person is legally drunk they are four times more likely to get into an accident, when you are texting while driving the chances are eight times more likely: double that of a drunk driver.

"Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted"

This article diects how Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook sites are the "new" pen pal. Previously people would organize through word of mouth, news paper articles, church, school, or local community. Presently, people can organize a simple campaign or organization on a worldwide scale. No longer is there a need to write to your pen pal in Mexico, but we can email to all seven continents with a click of a mouse. Society is more dependent on email communication than ever before. Meeting new people each day can give a person a sense of self worth and importance. This article expresses how we use to organize and come together as a community. In today's world, the community is no longer in a certain area, but a myriad of people from countries worldwide.

"Media Multitasking"

Vogt, M. (2005). Kids and media: More multitasking. Reading Today, 22(5), 7. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

In this article it examines media use within in children and teens, and their capability to multitask media. Children and teens in today's world are becoming extremely proficent at mulitasking media, they're able to fit eight and a half hours of exposure in six in a half hours real-time in one day. While technology continues to develop children and teens are able to fit in the new technology without cutting back time on old technology. A study done by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation "Generation M," exmained media in the lives of eight to eight-teen year olds, this study concluded that exposure to media content in young people has increased by more than an hour in the past five years because of media multitasking the hours devoted to it remains steadly rising.

"Dating Online"

Epstein, R. (2009). The Truth about Online Dating. Scientific American Mind, 20(3), 54-61. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Online dating has become more and more acceptable in society, this article is about the trends and studies about online dating. More than fifty million people in the U.S. are using online dating and the satisfication levels are high, some studies have also shown that twenty percent of online daters have admitted to being deceptive; lying about age, weight, business, income. Sara Kiesler claims that by nature "computer-mediated communication," has no restrictions or restraints. This allows users to be able to say anything they feel like saying with no repercusions. Plus lying about age, weight, or income increases a users chance of more responses. Despiste the many problems of online dating, the services are booming. It is now a six-hundred million dollar industry with over eight-hundred companies worldwide. The next step in online dating is "virtual dating," which gives people the chance to interact with eachother by a virtual tour. Studies have shown virtual dating is subsequently more successful face to face meetings, it eliminates some of the safety concerns which prevents many from meeting face to face.