Parasocial Relationship with Beyonce

Gaming and Reality

Video games are a hobby that most people have and enjoy. There are so many games and consoles out there that there is bound to be a game for everyone to enjoy. One thing that ties all these different games together is that they are all pretty addicting. Even the most basic games on your smartphone can occupy hours of your time. Just like with TV personalities, movie stars, and athletes, people often develop parasocial relationships with video game characters. Or worse, they believe that they are actually the main character of the game. When how you view video games crosses the line from a hobby to your reality, that is a problem. Video games are a great source of entertainment but when your real life becomes the virtual world of a video games you need to take a step back. I know some people that live for video games. The virtual world is their world. That is dangerous because a video game will only have so many levels then its over (until the next version comes out). By occupying all your time in the virtual world, you are forgetting that it isn't real, and there are actually things that need to be done outside of the game. Binging on a video game can have the same consequences as binging on a TV series. It makes you lose sight about what really matters. It can affect your job, school work, and relationships with REAL people like your family and friends.  On that note, I need to play some 2048.

What is with all the Bachelor/ Bachelorette hype?

Two summers ago the highlight of every Monday night back home was watching and listening to my sister and mom watch the bachelor. Those two love that show. Everything about it. To this day I cannot comprehend why. Every Monday night my dad and I knew to stay away from the family room unless we wanted to be fully immersed into the "reality" show. It was like they were at a sporting event, analyzing every move made by the participants. They would choose their favorite person on the show and adopt that person as their "favorite team." Anytime that person made advances in winning the show I would hear cheering coming from the family room. Every time something unfavorable happened to that person all I would hear would be yelling and complaining. These women were fully immersed in the show, almost acting like they were the ones in the show. I know that it is very entertaining (not from personally watching it but my mom and sister have definitely told me), but how is it possible to be so into something labeled as "reality," when almost everyone knows it is scripted? In my opinion, love is not something that can be found through a nationally televised competition, but yet so many people believe that these people are finding true love. Maybe some people have found true love through the show, but they are in the minority. It is just very confusing to me that people "compete" for their husband or wife. Regardless, my little rant on here will not change the opinions of millions of women that have parasocial relationships with the show's characters, but I'm glad I was able to share my opinion on the show.

Draft Day

With the NFL draft under a month away, fans are eager to see who their favorite teams draft, and prospects are more than eager to see where the next step of their journey will begin. Over the years, the draft has become more and more of a media spectacle, marking the unofficial start of football season. The multiple day event is highlighted on the first day when college football's best and brightest talents are usually taken. The first and second rounds include the cream of the crop, athletes who have been working their whole lives towards attaining their goals of playing professionally. They have endured years of practice and conditioning in hopes that one day all their hard work would pay off, and they would be making it big in the league. With the media becoming more and more a part of this process, prospects have been put under the microscope. Not only are their athletic abilities being analyzed and broken down, but even their personal lives have been thrown under the media microscope.

The most recognizable member of this year's draft class, Johnny Manziel aka Johnny Football, has experienced the media microscope more than most other prospects. Ever since he became the first freshman to win the prestigious Heisman Memorial Trophy two seasons ago, Johnny has been constantly followed and even harassed by the media. All aspects of his life were covered, from who he hung out with, to which parties he was attending. For what felt like years, every time I turned on ESPN there would be some story regarding Manziel's off the field life, oftentimes scrutinizing it. This got me thinking, is it right for the media to follow around amateur athletes and pick apart their personal lives? In my opinion, no this is not right. As college students, how would you feel if everything that you did was being recorded or watched? I certainly would not like it at all. I understand that by making the commitment to attend a major university to play a sport entails some media coverage, but when the media is constantly probing to catch you slipping, they have crossed the line. The media needs to know when they have taken coverage too far, and let people live their lives without the fear of always being watched. Report something that actual matters, not what a college student chooses to do with his free time.

Culture of Binge

Ever since I came to college, I have been introduced and made extremely aware of society's acceptance of binging. From drinking to watching a TV series, I've learned that if you are going to do it, you might as well do it big. Why only have 5 beers when you can 15? Why only watch one episode of Pokemon Indigo League when you can watch the whole season? These are questions that I have found myself asking almost on a daily basis. Society has made it acceptable to overdo it. Now I'm not trying to chastise anyone that participates in any type of binging, because I am certainly guilty of it, but I just want to bring up the question of how productive and effective it really is to overdo it. When binging gets in the way of what's important- family, school, work, etc. it becomes a major vice. Is it really worth it to miss all your classes in order to catch the next episode of your favorite show? In some instances, yes. We all have those days where all we want to do is bum it on the couch and catch up on our favorite show with mountains of food. That is great every once in a while, but when it becomes a habit, that's where you need to be careful. One binge leads to another binge, which leads to another binge, and before you know it you're life is falling apart. Don't let your life fall apart.

Framing

Whether we are aware of it or not, framing surrounds us in our everyday lives. Framing transcends from traditional media sources, like TV and newspapers, and seeps into everyday interactions with other people. The definition we received in class today tells us that framing "sees how an event is named and defined and how that naming shapes public opinion." Frames are ideologies and everyone has their own set of ideologies. Whenever we interact with someone else, that other person is passing off their personal ideologies to us. The media has their frames, and many people are very aware of what kind of ideologies media outlets have. For example, the common belief is that Fox News is a very conservative, right wing news source; while CNN caters more to the liberal left wing. When we watch news stories on either of those networks we already have somewhat of an idea of how that station is going to present or frame the story. These preconceived notions often dissuade people from watching a certain news channel. Now back to personal framing. Until we get to know a person, being able to put a firm grasp on what their personal ideologies are is tough. Whenever we interact with someone about a current event, that person attempts to frame the story to fit their ideology, and in turn, pass off their ideas to us. Whether we like it or not, we ourselves have our own personal frames that we have developed over the years. The factors that build our frames include how we were raised, the beliefs of our families, and the areas were raised in. Becoming more aware of your personal frame, as well as how others frame events that occur, can be very beneficial in better interpreting current events.