Read the two articles posted below and respond to the following question.
"What are the potentially positive or negative effects of a viral video like the one described in these two articles? Do viral videos have an influence on you and teens you know? Why or why not?"
CONSIDER THESE WRITING TIPS BEFORE COMPOSING YOUR RESPONSE
* Brianstorm reasons for your position
* Briefly outline your argument - How can you distinguish yourself from other writers?
* Consider your audience (perhaps teenagers like you)
* Include reasonable textual support (with proper citations)
* Convince your reader with a compelling writing voice
* Write a roughly 250-300 word response
From Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/03/31/bully_beatdowns_viral_video
From The Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/25/2132524/video-of-a-bullys-revenge-may.html
TEST
ReplyDeleteNowadays, more and more people have been posting their own videos and blogs on the internet, releasing a part of their life to the world. Personally, I believe that posting videos of one’s self is fine and acceptable, but it should be done with the utmost responsibility. In other words, don’t post a video of you doing something stupid, or something to that affect.
ReplyDeleteWith these viral videos, the effect upon teens is tremendous, that many should be careful with this tipsy trend. Unfortunately, this trend has begun to go, salon.com says “But lately we're seeing more and more viral videos popping up of victims "beating up" the mean kids” What’s even worse is when someone ends up on the internet by someone else’s doing. This could lead to embarrassment, humiliation, and can even lead to depression. For example: a few months ago, a man in his twenties was being harassed for his sexuality and these harassers decided to record him when he was unaware of the camera’s presence. They ended up catching film of him performing homosexual acts with another male. These monsters then decided to post this video on Facebook causing this man to commit suicide.
However, it is not always a bad thing to have viral videos. Many people have become greatly famous due to these viral videos and sometimes are granted wealth and employment. For example: Justin Bieber became a famous super star just because of his viral videos posted on Youtube.
I’ve seen plenty of situations where someone has a case of the “bad internet videos.” It almost always ends badly. One particular example is of someone in our school, but I’m not going to mention names so we’ll just call him R.G. Now, R.G was a rather large kid who tended to pick fights with people and attempt to remain as top dog. Because of this, many people are not very fond of him as most people could imagine. However, recently R.G had started a fight with a classmate and lost horribly, while someone had recorded via cell phone it before long, it was posted online. This makes R.G look very bad in front of almost everyone in the school that has a Facebook and viral videos to blame.
The ability to post these viral videos is a great power that every-day teenagers have and should be exercised with caution. Although it can be used for good in some cases, the risk is not worth hurting someone else.
Charles R.
ReplyDeleteThere are positive and negative effects to every viral video out there. People who watch these videos for the most part are enjoying themselves and may even feel better about the lives they live compared to the people in the video. Those are obviously positive aspects to viral videos because the watchers are feeling good and having a good time. On the other hand, people may watch the video and then go out and try to reenact what they just saw or even worse try to top what they just witnessed. When this happens it is potentially causing harm to the people doing the “stunt” and all of the people around them. I know with my group of friends when we are watching a video we always check to see how many views it has; if it has more a couple of million views we always try to come up with a way to top it and theoretically get more views. However, in my case my friends and I never follow through in making the better video so we never get hurt or in trouble. Unfortunately, there are thousands of people out there on the web that are not as sane as us and do follow though in making the video to top the old one. The viral videos do influence us all especially teens, thankfully, for most teens the influence goes as far as a few laughs as sharing it with friends. Not as far as actually going out and doing something stupid, like trying to top it, for just 15 minutes of fame. Ana Veciana-Suarez from the Miami Herald agrees saying “Some people will do anything for their 15 minutes. It makes me realize what a prized possession anonymity is these days.”
A 16 year old boy being bullied by a 12 year old body slams his bully into the ground, only 10 or so people saw it happen, but over a million have watched it on YouTube. Kids fight back against harassment and the videos go viral sending both positive and negative messages to the world. I think that the kids being bullied who fight back is a good thing. Watching the videos made me proud of them for standing up for themselves. People may argue that it makes them the bullies but you never know until put into that situation. I was bullied in elementary school and talking about it or just dealing with it doesn't help. I was lucky because I had good friends and the kid stopped when they backed me up. Not everyone is that lucky. For this kid who stood up for himself and showed the bully he wasn't going to take it anymore I say good job, very well done.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of these videos going viral I do have a slight problem. While it is good to stand up for yourself this shouldn't encourage others to stage fights to get their 15 minutes of fame. This one kid who body slams a bully deserves the self satisfaction of feeling safe for a change, not interviews and fame from TV shows and a viral video. All in all I think that kids fighting back against their bullies is a powerful movement, it shouldn't be an “everyone does it” kind of thing but I'm proud of those who stand up and say enough.
People will argue things like Columbine happen when kids fight back. Things like Columbine wouldn't happen without bullies pushing these kids to a breaking point. Also not every kid who fights a bully is going on a shooting spree. It's all very situational bad things can happen when people fight back but great things can happen as well just look at the world, our country even. We fought our “bullies” and created a nation.
World leaders like Gandhi just took the abuse but in a child's world passive protest won't help and these kids do what it takes to feel safe. I don't encourage the videos going viral but it gives me a feeling of hope to see someone take a stand and be the change they wish to see in the world.
The world today is a very overly protected place. Or is it? Many people will argue that children are shielded from the harmful reality of the outside world, and that too many people nowadays see life through a rose colored glass. However true these statements may be, this does not declare or prove that our world is protected and safe. With wars raging in the Middle East, riots throughout Eastern Europe and genocides in Africa our world is very much a ruthless place. Now you may ask how a viral video such as “Bully Beat Down” affects such a world, well plainly it has a negative effect. Videos like "Bully Beat Down" desensitize viewers and promote an animalistic way of handling situations. The conversation salon.com says, is “But lately we're seeing more and more viral videos popping up of victims "beating up" the mean kids” These types of videos bring fame to the people involved, and even as hard to believe as it is some crazy person out there will get the living crap kicked out of them just for a quick ten minutes of fame. Viral videos are attention getters and the people in them will throw dignity right out of the window just so they can say they are "famous". Viral videos display almost a fake reality to teans and youngsters. If these teens view these videos they are viewing a false reality. Teens and youngsters will think they can get away with fighting and beating people up, in a way promoting violence with no repercussion. I know students in our high school talk and spread the new hottest viral videos around and sure I've gotten a kick out of a couple, but the message they carry isn’t one that should most times be rewarded. By watching these videos we are rewarding the actors and actresses and telling them basically, that it’s ok to make a fool out of yourself for our enjoyment. But in a world like that where do you find truth and sanctity?
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly is justification? How do we express it? What forms of every-day occurrences and situations clearly define what justification is? When we see or hear about someone at school getting harassed or picked on, we all say “that’s not right. That’s not right at all”, and no, it isn’t right. When we see the victim turning the tables and fighting back, we understand that that behavior is acceptable, because he already know the prior history and ramifications to the action. Although, at what point do we become hypocritical to our justifying morals on situations like victims of bullies fighting back? How far should we go as to encouraging this behavior?
ReplyDeleteNot to say that this behavior should be encouraged or rewarded, but victims of bullying do have logical justifications for fighting back their oppressors. My mother always told me “if you’re going to go out looking for trouble, then you’re going to get it”, and I think this clearly represents what’s going on with the people involved with these bully revenge viral videos. This also goes for general bullying everywhere. If you have enough stamina and heat in you to target your peers and abuse them, then you have to understand what sort of consequences you’re getting yourself into. But, for these bullies, obviously they don’t. These are three basic types of bullying abuse; emotional, verbal, and physical. Whatever their drink of poison may be, ultimately, bullying will most definitely cause psychological damage.
Yes, violence really is not the universal way to resolve conflicts, and a lot of these popular viral videos of bullies can be solved and calmed in a very different fashion, but based off of my personal beliefs, these bullies should get whatever they deserve. I honestly don’t believe these bully victims retaliate just for the internet or school-wide fame, but for the purpose of gaining their social-control and dignity back. “Becoming a celebrity is now at the fingertips of anybody with a cellphone.” (Miami) Yes, but to anyone with a cellphone that is obviously a bystander. They’re the ones that make and post these viral videos, not the targets or bullies. If there should be any punishment or judgment, than it should be on the ones who are dumb enough to post them on the internet. But even if this was a so controversial of an issue, wouldn’t the on-looking students be doing something about it instead of video taping it? Or are their peers not that ones at fault because they’re just kids? Who knows.
In conclusion, while violence should not be advocated or promoted, I understand why these bully beatdown videos are so controversial, and also why they’re so popular. Targets of bullies have a legal and moral right to fight back their oppressors, and their actions are definitely justifiable in my book.
Viral videos have both positive and negative effects on the both the viewer and the creator. The minds of teenagers are easily manipulated by what they view. Viral videos range in content from a song about Friday to a schoolyard fight. The popularity of a video on the internet is dependent upon its comedic value; whether the video was intended to humorous is irrelevant. The video of the bully being beat down by the victim was so widely received because the audience found it amusing to see a small, scrawny child thrown to the ground by an obese classmate. Both positive and negative consequences materialize from the appearance this type of video. The video has received a large amount of views, and many people have gained some insight on what occurs in the schooling system. It has taught people of all ages the effect that bullying has on students at school. However, the video may also increase violence amount bullies and their victims because they were inspired by the actions that they saw in the video. In some cases, videos are placed onto the internet for corporate gain. Videos such as Old Spice commercials are created to be humorous so that the audience will be entertained and become interested in purchasing the product. “Old Spice has gotten an indescribably amount of attention and press from their newest campaign.” (Ferris) These large businesses are using the viral video playground for the gain of their business. The effects of viral videos majorly influence teenagers and people of all ages. It can cause people to become more violent, push them to be more cognizant of what is going on in the world, or persuade them to purchase a new product.
ReplyDeleteViral videos are one of the more recent crazes sweeping the world. But not all of these videos turn out to be good things. Some videos can boost a person’s efforts to achieve stardom even if it is temporary. Others can put a spotlight directly on issues such as violence and bullying, that’s not exactly something that should be highlighted. These videos have a direct influence on me and people I know. Everyone is always talking about the latest video that is featured on the Youtube homepage. If it’s an especially good video it causes some friends of mine to run out and make their own version of it. But if the content is controversial it leads to a discussion on what the video is showcasing. Some groups may think that a video showing “ victims "beating up" the mean kids,” is a thing to be celebrated and rewarded like Drew Grant tried to share with his piece on “Bully Beatdowns” .Other groups think that the entire thing could have been staged and is entirely false. Sure showing these videos could possible boost anti-bullying but it could also cause more kids to want to tape their own ventures at trying to stop the bully. “Some people will do anything for their 15 minutes.” When Ana Veciana-Suarez wrote these words she meant them. Alot of people just want to be famous for the wrong reasons; it makes you think about what is real and what is staged. Just think about it, why are viral videos exactly that, viral videos? What makes them different from everything else out there? What makes this kid standing up to a bully infront of a camera different from a kid without the camera? Viral videos aren’t all what they’re cracked up to be. Not everything is as good as it seems.
ReplyDelete~Andrea L.~
Punching, kicking, slapping, "beat downs", what? In our society violence has always been the only way to solve conflicts. I mean, just look down the time line; the Civil War, the war in Iraq, and now "Bully Beatdown" videos on the web. Where will it stop you say? Well, the very clear and obvious answer to that is never. After reading the two articles on the graphic video, I was not only concerned for the two boy’s mental state but totally shocked that no one really seemed to do anything about this. Coming from a family of "hippies" I was never a person of violence, nor have I ever been exposed to such extreme forms of violence I seen in the Bully Beatdown video. It was so shocking to see children this young fighting so violently, and then I was also appalled at the fact that other children were standing around watching and video taping this. I feel that things like this should not be getting as much publicity as it does, and if it is put on the internet it should be taken down immediately. Sure I understand that everyone wants to get that "sweet long lived" revenge on your child hood bully, but where does "two wrongs don't make a right" come into play here? Violence is never the way to solve things, so why do we encourage children to do so? And why did we reward them for this graphic video?
ReplyDeleteSophie S.
ReplyDeleteRecently, viral videos have been becoming increasingly popular. I remember learning about what a viral video was when my cousin showed me a video of a dog who could supposedly talk. He explained that this video had gone viral, which meant that millions of people throughout the country, and even the world, had been watching it. I thought that this was a pretty neat idea, but then again, it was a harmless video of a talking dog. It was short, cute, funny, and very entertaining. However, after that, viral videos began to take a turn for the worse. Violence can now be watched easily on the internet, which should not be acceptable. For instance, there is the recent video of a bully victim beating up his bully. People have the right to videotape whatever they want, and they have been doing so for awhile.
However, there are some things that go public, which are personal matters and should stay private. “Yes, we want to see bullies get a taste of their own medicine. But unlike movies or TV shows, there's no context to who is the "good guy" and who is the bad one.” (Grant 1). People look up to famous people, especially children. They see how much attention famous people get, and they want the attention too. In this case, two teenage boys got their moment of fame for negative behavior. They were interviewed several times after the incident; and people, children included, watched the fight all over the world. People may be getting the wrong idea, because there are some people who will do anything for fame. Unfortunately, there have been more videos of bullying and fights that were posted on the internet after this fight went viral. Our world is obviously not perfect, and it will never be perfect. People argue, people fight; people even kill. As the people of an imperfect world, we understand that people mess up. However, violence should not be videotaped and posted on the internet, because impressionable people see the fame that this can cause and are further encouraged to act out violently.
Viral Videos can have both negative and positive effects on people and our community. The video described both on Salon.com and the Miami Herald is a great example of how a video can be good and bad. Both website at least infer if not out right stating that this video is teaching children the wrong message and has received negative press as a result. However, I think that this is just another case of the blame game. Quite simply, parents are responsible for instilling values in their children. Parents should tell their child not to do what they see in viral videos or mock the behavior. But when parents get too lazy this seems to go by the way side, and they start playing the blame game for their inept parenting.
ReplyDeleteSo yes viral videos can be bad but they need to be taken as a pure form of entertainment and that is a good thing; some of them are funny. Viral videos affect teens almost more than they affect children now anyway. They become the popular topic of conversation. And because we can effectively decide for ourselves what is right and wrong about a viral video. So we can copy them in anyway we want; whether it be for humor or anything else. I know that within my own group of friends we talk about Youtube videos and are always finding more to laugh and make fun of. We are the market that causes some of these videos to make actual money; for example the bed intruder song is now on itunes. I would never purchase the Bed Intruder Song, however, itunes is one of the most influential and popular music stores on the planet. So a simple viral video becoming a music industry hit is a big deal.
In conclusion viral videos have plenty of positives; like enriching our culture and daily lives and need to be taken less seriously. We as people need to stop looking for hidden messages that may be detrimental and just enjoy them; honestly watching the bully get beat up was really funny.
When you achieve something in your life you have a certain feeling or glow that embodies your presence, this usually happens after someone has done something great or finally achieved a goal that they have been working hard to reach. Nowadays a person can achieve that sense of accomplishment , they can feel like they have changed the world, or at least made a little bit of a difference. People can do this simply by posting a video on a website of them playing a song, singing, doing something funny, or even editing the news and making it into a song. People can become famous from showing their talent and some people can even make an actual career by doing these things. Who would have thought that a simple website like YouTube could help give people the feeling of success? That’s the good thing about the internet.
ReplyDeleteThe internet has positively changed the lives of many people in many good ways. Many bands have became famous by putting their videos up on YouTube. For example the band Boyce Avenue. They started making acoustic covers of popular songs and ended up getting a record deal out of it. The internet can help peoples careers in a good way, but the main news stories we hear on the nightly news aren’t of how people used the internet to better themselves, we shed the light the attention seekers or thrill seekers. Which I’m pretty sure wasn’t the intentions of the creator of YouTube.
Recently we have seen fights on the internet being glorified and giving kids and even adults this “accomplishing spotlight” with no consequences. This is one of the negative and potentially dangerous things about the internet. We are telling people that its okay to fight and hurt someone as long as you get attention. Not only are we sending children the wrong message, we are lowering the morals and values of our society.
Videos like this have a negative and destructive effect on teenagers. The main reason being that we are basically telling teenagers to go out and fight a kid, do something potentially dangerous and harmful, you’ll get famous! These videos have an influence on my friends and I, only for good intentions though. But saying it hasn’t crossed our minds to put up a funny or embarrassing video would be a lie. In this new era of technology becoming famous is so easy these days and it would be nice to get a little of that spotlight.
A video like sets an example for kids sufferinging from bulling and may encourage further violence. Personally im not effected too strongly by viral vidoes and i watch them only for the entertainment value. Im usually the last one to hear about them anyway. This may be because im not always online. I dont know very many people who are influenced by them because people have better judgement than people give them credit for and its a very small population that is influenced by silly things like this. However, they make themselves very known
ReplyDeleteChristina P.
ReplyDeleteIn these articles they talk about how bad it is that such a violent video went viral, especially now through all of the no bullying campaigns. Specifically with this video it may have not been as good as the teens make it seem and it is not something that teens need to follow the example of either. I believe that the viewing audience that would be affected by this video should be old enough to not become influenced by viral videos such as this one. I don’t believe that viral videos have an affect on my friends or I further then a topic to talk about in class. The video could have been good by sending the message that this is what is going to happen if the bullying continues but I feel as if most of its audience won’t look past the fact that the bully got what he’s been dishing out. The article said “But lately we're seeing more and more viral videos popping up of victims "beating up" the mean kids, raising the question: Who is really doing the bullying here?” It seems as though the bully and the victim have switched places but that still doesn’t make it right. The saying “do to other what you would want done to yourself” still applies whether you are the bully or the victim.
With the click of a mouse button, one can become known and even famous, for good or bad reasons, by people in every corner of the world. When people post videos that become “viral”, there can be a wide range of reactions and responses that come from the diverse population that exists on the internet. They come out of nowhere and find their place in current pop-culture, until the next great thing comes along. Generally, I do not look down upon these kinds of videos, but the people posting them need to act responsibly and realize literally thousands of people can find out about it overnight.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the effects of a video like the bullying one of interest, a potentially positive one is that it could send a message to bullies that what they are doing is unacceptable and that their victims are not always immune to fighting back. Although I think the video is a haphazard example to portray as an anti-bullying scare tactic, it still serves some purpose in that, staged or not, it shows bully getting punished for what he has done wrong.
A negative effect of this video is that it shows a single moment in time in which the victim himself is the one causing the violence, which could make people perceive him as the bully. In addition, it is probably not in the best interests’ of either of the boys or their parents to have a video like this become accessible and known by hundreds of thousands of people. As quoted from the Miami Herald article, “Nothing is deemed too private or embarrassing anymore, and viciousness appears to be a requirement for dubious stardom.” The victim may have gained fame, or possibly infamy, from this video, but he now may face suspension or even trouble with the law for defending himself after years of torment.
While viral videos can be a short burst of entertainment, I do not feel like they influence me or other teens I know because many of them are over-the-top and are not really meant to have a serious lesson that is to be learned from them. It’s not likely that the people who filmed the recent bully video had any other motive than to get the video on the internet for entertainment’s sake.
Overall, I think that this video did more harm than good, because the scene portrayed in it has been broadcasted all over the world, and forced likely unwanted attention to the victim of the bullying. He was able to give the bully a taste of his own medicine, but now has to deal with all the implications of his video becoming viral. All in all, viral videos remain a fun diversion in our postmodern culture, as long they remain relatively appropriate and do not destroy one’s privacy.
500 million views on one video, that’s more than American’s entire population. The power of viral videos has affected the lives of everyone with accesses to the World Wide Web. Viral videos spread entertainment, fame, and controversy worldwide within a matter of seconds. One would think with such power viral videos have a dangerous affect on how teens react or use viral videos. But, even if viral videos sometimes show negative behavior it does not promote or entice negative behavior among teenagers. Teenagers strictly view viral videos as fun and entertainment.
ReplyDeleteTeenage behavior is predetermined by the environment in which they grow up, or simply by their nature. Just because a teenager sees his peers beat-up each other, doesn’t make him/her want to go out the next day and beat someone up. “[Viral videos] will do nothing to address an age-old problem. It’s become more entertainment than object lesson” (Suarez). Viral videos are created to entertain not to teach/influence teenage violence. Personally, I’ve seen several viral videos of fights in and out of school and I have never wanted to beat someone up because of it. Even before the viral video phenomenon, fighting/violence were still present among teenagers. Whether teens feel the need to fight or not is heavily dependent on their human nature and the way they were brought up.
Viral videos are a very popular form of entertainment; whether for a few minutes or for hours. For teenagers, video of peers getting beat up endorses a good laugh and an occasional cringe of visual pain but does not brainwash teenagers.
^ Mike Matza
ReplyDeleteA viral video is a video that becomes extremely popular and well known through Internet sharing. Anyone that owns a computer and frequently goes on the internet has seen at least one. Most of the time when watched these videos they make us laugh, or smile; however some are not always of the most appropriate subjects that we as viewers may find horrid or offensive. In a recent viral videos about bullying where the victim in the situation fought back and ended up beating the original bully we see how within about a week the two we even see more of these “bully videos.”
ReplyDeleteViral videos are very powerful ways of sending messages to the world, in a way they are some of the most successful ways. Bands have used them to become popular like the band OK Go in order to become more famous. Political leaders have even been known to use them in order to gain support for their campaigns like Mike Huckabee did featuring the favorite Chuck Norris when running for president. All and all they are used by many different types of people and they have both positive and negative effects. In this bullying video however people come into a little bit of a pickle when trying to determine if this video was positive or negative. In some ways it is said to be popular because it shows that when children are bullied they don’t always have to stand and take the insults. They can give the bully what
they really deserve. But at the same time it can also be negative because it shows the original victim turn into a bully himself when beating the original bully to smithereens. When one is watching this video they will most likely side with the child throwing his fists and body slamming the original bully, but once you finish the video you realize that he is no better than the child teasing and bothering him in the first place. The “New Bully,” is not really solving any problem here other than just proving he is some what of a hypocrite if he originally did not want to fight. This is not to say that viral videos do not have a positive effect. In a recent CBS interview (http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6282248n) the lead singer of OK Go says how without viral videos they would really be no were in their career right now proving that some viral videos do indeed have a positive affect.
ReplyDeleteWhen viewers see these videos they can see someone they possibly might want to be like in the future or they can see that they may never want to be like someone or something in a video they see. I know for a fact when I viewed the video featuring the two children brawl it showed me that fighting is almost never the right answer in cases and that neither me nor my friends would think that this has a positive influence like this because it ends up hurting both parties. In videos like the bully video, I think they do indeed have an influence on the viewer but a influence not to be like either person in the video because in the end like said in a Salon.com article how it “Turns the victim into the bully, and continues the cycle of violence.”
Videos today, with the use of the internet, are more readily accessible. Millions of people across the world are now able to view videos from other countries almost instantaneously. This is why videos sometimes can be called “viral videos”. The ability for an uploaded video to become a sensation overnight is just fascinating. But with tons of people watching these videos, there are both positive and negative effects in which viewers gain.
ReplyDeletePotentially positive effects consist of a couple different examples. These examples could consist of awareness, popularity, personal connections, entertainment, and positive emotions. In regards to awareness, having these videos can inform people of what is possible and what is probable. The videos also have the ability to inform people of what is going on in the world. For instance, in the viral video of the “Bed Intruder”, people are aware of the possibility of someone breaking into their house. Popularity comes from the mass numbers of people who view the videos in just a matter of a couple hours, or even days. People make personal connections through the videos to the subjects through personal experiences or even similar emotions. These viral videos also provide entertainment for its audience and bring forth emotions of happiness, sadness, and most often laughter.
Viral videos possess negative effects which are forced upon their audience as well as the stars. Such effects like negative popularity, poor demonstration of solutions, and pessimistic emotions are only a couple. To reflect on emotions first, the videos give free range of banter to take place. People may pick on the stars, make fun of them, or even post mean comments about them. In relation to pessimistic emotions, negative popularity comes into play. Negative popularity may encourage actions to be repeated even though it is not the right thing to do. For instance, in movies, bullying almost always works out for the bully. In the case of the Australian boy bullying the older boy, it was the opposite. Ana Veciana Suarez, a writer of the Miami Herald says, “Forty-one seconds of a school-hall fight has garnered two Australian boys a worldwide audience, won one of them thousands of Facebook admirers showered them both with attention neither deserved”. From this video the boys’ popularity not only sky-rocketed, but was seen across the world. In the end the video portrayed a negative event ending in instant fame. Lastly, viral videos may portray poor demonstration of solutions to problems. In the same article, Suarez says, “technology will facilitate your revenge”. A person may think just because they saw it work in the video, it’ll work for them too. Although, most of the time that’s not the case.
As far as influencing teens, I believe this source of media does in fact affect us. Many times after watching these videos many teens acquire ideas on how to make their own videos. Sometimes people attempt to act in a similar way and even believe the actions performed are “okay”. Many people realize it is not the right thing to do, but one can’t take account of everyone.
Recently, viral videos have been spreading across the nation like wildfire. What is a viral video you may ask? A viral video is a video that becomes popular in society and is constantly being shared through a social network such as facebook, twitter, tumblr, or even yahoo mail. These videos are all stored on a website called youtube.com. Every day millions of people around the world log onto this website to view anything from a popular Justin Beiber song, to news being reworked into a song, to a song about going to buy shoes, or even most recently, to see a bully beat down. Viral videos are starting to affect the nation in a negative way. The ‘Average American’ now has the opportunity to become worldly known within a matter of seconds. This means that people are now putting themselves in dumb, immature, and self situations to receive their fifteen minutes of fame. You may be sitting there thinking, what could possibly be wrong with that? Yes, viral videos give you the opportunity to become an international sensation, but sometimes it is for all of the wrong reasons. Ana Veciana Suarez states in her article “After all, we live in an age where ever act, however insignificant or cruel, can be documented in graphic detail and disseminated to millions with the click of a mouse.” The recently posted bully beat down has received thousands of views in a short period of time, and for what reason? Neither of the kids featured in this video deserved this national recognition. This video teaches all viewers that it is ok to fight in certain situations. Before viewing this video you know nothing about the kid’s personalities, what happens before, or what happens after. All you are given is a short fourty seconds that was posted in order to be nothing but pure entertainment. Teenagers, along with the rest of the nation, are now being shown under a negative light. In the past people aimed to have a good reputation but now it seems like that is the last thing on many people’s minds. Viral videos give teens the idea that they can do anything, or act anyway they want to and not only get away with it, but become famous as well. People may not realize it but the things that they post on the internet are on there for anyone to see at anytime. The videos never just go away like many may think, they are there forever. This puts many people’s future at risk because if a college, job, or significant person see’s something stupid you did in the past it could ruin your future. They are influencing our generation in a negative way, by promoting violence across the nation, making people act however they would like, and become greedy because deep down every person wants to be known.
ReplyDeleteI believe with viral video they could have their fair share of both positive and negative effects. Say, for instance, if there was a video sent out over the internet of some of the devastation that occurred in places like Haiti or Japan, it might get people to feel bad about the situation and help out. The negative things though are stupid videos that people put on the internet, such as the victim who bodyslammed his bully. That doesn't teach us anything, it's purely for entertainment. I feel that videos such as the bullying video should not be posted on the internet because believe it or not, those types of videos do have a huge influence on teens and other people. Teens feel that if they see someone fighting in an online video and then get international attention for it, they probably will end up doing something stupid and posting it to the internet. That either could get the famous for a stupid reason, or get them in a lot of trouble. In cases like Japan and Haiti, I feel a viral video would help a situation over there because teens and adults would realize what actually is going on over there and possibly help by either a donation or taking a trip over there to help out. The internet should not be filled with videos that have things on it that can influence teens to get into trouble, because in my opinion, if a teen sees someone do something and not get into trouble and become a celebrity instead, then they'll end up doing it. That is why I believe we should use the internet to our advantage to learn, not to abuse it with awful videos that teach us nothing.
ReplyDelete- Jon B.
With YouTube.com reported to be the third most popular website on the World Wide Web, viral videos that show up on the site are having an immense impact on our society in a very bad way (http://mostpopularwebsites.net/1-50/). While these videos may occasionally provide laughter and brighten the days of many people, it almost always comes at the cost of someone’s life being ruined and a negative message often being sent out. For example, the video of the Australian bully getting beat up by his victim not only humiliated both kids for either being bullied or getting beat up, but it also sent out the message that fighting is okay under certain circumstances. Without any background knowledge, one would feel bad for the little kid getting body slammed by the bigger kid, however, with the description of the video describing how the little kid was actually a bully, people put justification to the fighting and support it without even knowing what the truth is. Anybody can say anything they want on the internet and spin it any which way they feel like. Furthermore, people forget that everything posted on the internet is not true or fact checked. When people post false information or information that could be detrimental to another human being such as an embarrassing video, millions of people have access to the video, oftentimes millions of people do view it, and it will be on the internet forever. This can ruin the lives of people that may lose their jobs or be rejected by their friends as a result of something someone else posted. We need to be mindful of what we post on the internet of ourselves and others because the affects it may have on someone else or ourselves could be life changing in a way we may regret.
ReplyDeleteDAN KIMPLE
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t you rather be famous than being a common person? Through a site called YouTube can help you create a viral video that will gain you over 1 million viewers in less than a week. However have you ever considered the effects on society of a funny video like the YouTube video "Bully's Revenge” as an example? Viewers are the ones who are just seeing the video as a source of enjoyable entertainment. But it is the effects of the video that make think," Is this real?"
“But unlike movies or TV shows, there's no context to who is the "good guy" and who is the bad one. In real life, there is rarely such a clear delineation,” as said by Drew Grant. It starts to put to out the world that you need a video of someone getting hurt to get fame. Ana Veciana Suarez points out,"After all, we live in an age where every act, however insignificant or cruel, can be documented in graphic detail and disseminated to millions with the click of a mouse." Another wards our beliefs in things are being switched what is wrong is good and what is good is bad.
Despite the fact that many are used in a comedy matter not all viral videos are bad some are good to for promoting support and help for those in need and that is a good thing. Viral videos that are used in this manner show the devastation that people are facing in the world and how they need help from you. And through a donation or a comment on the page you are helping them as a result. Viral Videos are a trend nowadays with teens because of the endless subjects involved. The videos are a large influence because sharing is possible with the web and anyone can search and find the topic they are looking for. They give us ideas for making music, help us with memorizing elements, and teach us how to dance. Viral videos are like a virus or a tool for success and through the internet today makes either of these possible.
With a viral video like this there are many positive and negative effects. First you have to look on the positive side. A video like this could bring awareness if it is used in the correct way. It can teach younger children the things that could happen if you are a bully, or if you get bullied. By no means is this video appropriate or right, and most of the time its parents advice that hurts the kids.
ReplyDeleteI find it easier to relate to this. I will be honest, when I was young, my dad always told me, “if someone touches you or hits you, I will have your back and I give you every right to fight back”. In schools now a days that isn’t even evident. Most schools have some ridiculous rule, to the extent where the other person has to hit you three times before you defend yourself. All in all we must show the young the right thing to do when it comes to bullying and fighting and prevent it. All it’s going to do is lead to a downfall in school.
The negative effects are much more serious. When touching on this topic you need to think of all the major things that could come with this. It starts with bullying, leads to a fight, and after that can lead from serious injuries, to lawsuits. The problem with bullying now a day is that it’s occurring at every age level, and any school. A video like the one talked about doesn’t just start drama, but it can be humiliation. One thing I can relate this too is the kid from Rutgers. Some of these guys decided to post footage from a hidden web cam top the web. It turned out it was the guy with another guy; however, he was so humiliated he committed suicide. That’s why this is so serious and why President Barack Obama wants to make a change and get rid of bullying.
Whether it be positive or negative, bullying will never be right. It has more negative than positive effects which could lead to serious issues. Injuries, lawsuits, and even death can occur. It is just so out of line to bully and if you’re a bully or someone you know is tell them to cut it out. There is absolutely no reason to bully. Your not the big cool tough guy if you bully, your just smaller.
DAN K.
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t you rather be famous than being a common person? Through a site called YouTube can help you create a viral video that will gain you over 1 million viewers in less than a week. However have you ever considered the effects on society of a funny video like the YouTube video "Bully's Revenge” as an example? Viewers are the ones who are just seeing the video as a source of enjoyable entertainment. But it is the effects of the video that make think," Is this real?"
“But unlike movies or TV shows, there's no context to who is the "good guy" and who is the bad one. In real life, there is rarely such a clear delineation,” as said by Drew Grant. It starts to put to out the world that you need a video of someone getting hurt to get fame. Ana Veciana Suarez points out,"After all, we live in an age where every act, however insignificant or cruel, can be documented in graphic detail and disseminated to millions with the click of a mouse." Another wards our beliefs in things are being switched what is wrong is good and what is good is bad.
Despite the fact that many are used in a comedy matter not all viral videos are bad some are good to for promoting support and help for those in need and that is a good thing. Viral videos that are used in this manner show the devastation that people are facing in the world and how they need help from you. And through a donation or a comment on the page you are helping them as a result. Viral Videos are a trend nowadays with teens because of the endless subjects involved. The videos are a large influence because sharing is possible with the web and anyone can search and find the topic they are looking for. They give us ideas for making music, help us with memorizing elements, and teach us how to dance. Viral videos are like a virus or a tool for success and through the internet today makes either of these possible.