The Impact Of Media On Social Media - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2242 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Social Media Essay Did you like this example? Many years ago I broke my foot. When the hospital sent me home, they provided me with a crutch that I had to use in order to get around. It was the most frustrating experience trying to hobble around everywhere navigating with this tool that was supposed to be helpful but really seemed more like a huge hindrance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Impact Of Media On Social Media" essay for you Create order In many ways, modern technology is like that crutch, provided to us and meant as a helpful tool, but with some negative consequences. As this new extension of ourselves, smartphones and computers have become a social crutch, this thing we can not seem to go anywhere without, but hindering us as we struggle to interact and relate to each other. Many people see social media as helping them be more social but instead, it seems to actually be preventing us from making meaningful connections. There are numerous ways in which people disconnect due to social media and technology use, and it has a dramatic effect on our ability to be social. In this modern world of constant digital connection, we are more disconnected than ever. The proliferation of social media has diminished peoples social skills, impacted the ability to feel empathy, and is causing mental health issues. Social media can impact our social skills in several ways. One problem is that social media encourages people to form and cherish artificial bonds in place of actual friendships. Sociologist Maryanne Gaitho indicates in her article What Is the Real Impact of Social Media? that the term friend as used on social media lacks the intimacy identified with conventional friendships, where people actually know each other, want to talk and have an intimate bond by interacting face to face. In other words, when people do spend time together, they are just staring at their smartphones and missing out on true social moments. This is preventing real connections with one another. People have become less interested in meeting others in person and more fixated on their phones and affects our ability to have a deep and meaningful conversation. As such, we can see how social media is significantly impacting our communication skills. The extensive use of social media platforms can also cause the loss o f language. As discussed by Allison Graham in her TEDxTalk, How Social Media Makes Us Unsocial, messaging and texting has become our primary means of communication, and people often use shortened versions of words in order to type and deliver their messages as quickly as possible. Ms. Graham explains, In texting things like OMG, WTF, LOL people are unconsciously losing the nuance of words, and with it the ability to be fully communicative and be interactive in conversation. Simply put, people need to engage in authentic communication in order to truly connect. According to Susan Tardanico, CEO of the Authentic Leadership Alliance, a leadership and communications consultancy, in her article Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?, Studies show that only 7% of communication is based on the written or verbal word, with a whopping 93% based on nonverbal body language. In other words, it is only when we can hear a tone of voice or look into someones eyes that we are really able to know how someone is truly feeling and forge connections. There are many ways that we can correct the decline of social and communication skills, and the impact it has on our relationships. One very helpful way can be through practicing mindfulness. As discussed by authors Daphne Davis and Jeffrey Hayes in the APA Journal of Psychotherapy article entitled What Are the Benefits of Mindfulness? A Practice Review of Psychotherapy-Related Research, in being more mindful, we are m ore aware of the world around us and how we interact with others. Basically, being mindful gives us the skill to recognize when we are allowing ourselves to be distracted and not living in the moment. Creating a gratitude journal can also be a good way in developing mindfulness. This helps us recognize moments and people we appreciate, which in turn can inspire us to initiate more meaningful interactions as well. In the Journal of Personality and Social Psychologys article Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-being in Daily Life, authors Emmons and McCullough discuss that experiences and expressions of gratitude have been treated as both basic and desirable aspects of human personality and social lifeand deeper, more satisfying personal relationships. We can also strive to take time away from our phones and develop hobbies and activities which involve spending time with people and cultivating closer relationships. Finally, and most importantly, turn off your phone at certain times of the day. When you are in a meeting, at the gym, or having dinner, use that time to engage and interact with people. By putting the phone away when at restaurants, you are sending the message that you are there to listen and to be heard, developing deeper bonds with friends and family. You can also create sacred spaces in your home that are device-free, and when you have visitors make these locations a place for conversation instead. Another major negative effect Social Media can have on people is the way it impacts empathy. People tend to disconnect/detach from emotions when they are provided with too much information. In a TedTalk by Jacquelyn Quinones, an expert in technological communication, she discusses the issue of how technology detrimentally impacts empathy in people. She states that a 2011 survey showed that 3 out of 4 college students are 50% less empathetic today than they were 30 years ago, linking this decline of empathy to around 2001, it is correlated with the period of the creation and usage of social media. With the increase of technology use fueled by the rise of Social Media in our lives, there is a digital information overload resulting in the phenomena of screen disconnect. In other words, people become statistically numb as the overload of images and information freezes their emotions and blocks the ability to feel empathy. Psychology Today author Tim Elmore explains in an article titled How Our Screens Diminish Our Empathy, Screens separate us from real pain. We watch murders and robberies on TVsee criticism take place on Twitterwatch catastrophic fails on Youtube. Somehow, seeing so many tragedies numbs us to the reality of the pain. The screen distances usour mind doesnt know the difference between a real experience and an imagined one. Its like a show. Basically, this lack of empathy divides us by shutting us off from emotions, causing what is referred to as an empathy gap. Social Media drives and perpetuates this empathy gap and the outcome can result in cyberbullying. The stu dy featured in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Empathy Gaps for Social Pain: Why People Underestimate the Pain of Social Suffering suggests that people have difficulty appreciating the full severity of social suffering unless they themselves experience it. The findings show that an understanding of this empathy gap, especially in the case of bullying, is crucial because it has implications for how outsiders react to socially distressing events and the degree of punitive measures that are taken in support of victims (Nordgren et al). Simply put, because empathy is dulled through overstimulation, people are losing the ability to truly empathize with the suffering of others. This is especially prevalent in cyberbullying. Michael Hamm, a researcher from the University of Alberta conducted a study that showed the effects of social media on bullying. It concluded 23 percent of teens report being targeted and 15 percent said they had bullied someone on social media. Teenagers can misuse social media platforms to spread rumors, share videos aimed at destroying reputations, and blackmail others. In other words, the empathy gap has an extreme effect on the increase of cyberbullying and those doing the bullying do not comprehend the damage they are inflicting on someone elses mental health. Furthermore, outsiders are also lacking the ability to relate to the victims of these instances because of their empathy gap. It is possible to shift our use of social media in order to help everyone become more empathetic through self- awareness. The following are some ways to minimize screen disconnect and combat the empathy gap and cyberbullying. According to Nordgren et al: improved counseling for bullied students or simulating self-induced mild states of social pain to heighten understanding of others pain could help fix the gap as a means to correct distorted judgments of social painOur perception of social pain matters as much as our understanding of physical pain. Not only do estimates of social pain govern how we empathize with socially traumatic events, but they guide our approach to how well we advocate on a victims behalf. One example of this would be involving schools and having young students participate in role-reversal workshops to experience bullying and teach empathy. Additionally, a way to address the issue of diminishing screen disconnect, is being aware of avoiding or blocking sites that are too intense or traumatic. One should take caution in the viewing too many videos that highlight real violence for fun. We also need to be conscious of how much time we are spending on social media, being aware that it can prevent us from having meaningful connections, and affects our ability to truly connect and feel empathy for others. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote about the high importance of the art of not reading. He spoke on how excessive reading could lead clever minds to become the playground of others thoughts. With so much to read, he feared that people would read themselves stupid. How poignant his thoughts are now in this modern age, where we deal with a similar issue due to social media. Instead of a sabbatical from reading books, we need one from screens and reading too much social media, breeding disconnection our own thoug hts and feelings and those of others. In the modern era and proliferation of social media, we need to remember to check in with our emotions and be aware of our actions and reactions to what we are viewing. It is within our power to combat the empathy gap and screen disconnect through self-awareness. Probably the most important issue to address regarding the effect social media is its effect on the increase in mental health issues. Researchers have shown that high social media correlates to depression, anxiety, and stress. In her article Health officials: Social Media Affects Students Mental Health, Karenna Meredith interviewed clinical psychologist Stephen Thayer and Utah-based licensed social worker Clair Mellenthin who both agree that social media can affect the mental health of young adults. Thayer said when it comes to social media the poison is in the dosage. When we stay in our private, online, social worlds we miss out on the social crucible of face-to-face interaction that forges emotional resilience and character. Pandering for likes on Facebook or Instagram does little more than feed an addiction to validation. Additionally, according to Mellenthin, This perceived validation can manifest itself in a certain number of likes or feedback a person receives on a post, which has a direct correlation to a persons level of anxiety or depression. In doing so, we are allowing others to attribute value to our self-concept. Social media is also changing our sense of identity as people try to up their se lf-worth in relation to what others think about us through our posts. Furthermore, according to social media expert Bailey Parnell, in her Tedx Talk, another detrimental stressor is exposure to what can be called The Highlight-Reel everyones best and brightest moments posted on social media. This can cause people to struggle with insecurity because of comparing their behind-the-scenes lives with everyone elses best moments, leading people to feel their lives are inferior. There is also a third stressor known as FOMO (the fear of missing out). This is a real social anxiety when one feels they may be missing a potential connection, event, or opportunity. The need to engage in social media eventually becomes an addiction, not unlike substance abuse. People get dopamine spikes attention through social currency and start to need and crave it. Then when it falls short of expectations, it leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression. In ways of improving social medias effect on mental health, the same simple solution can be used; to simply give yourself perm ission to check and putting the phone down, Mellenthin said. Another suggestion is to only post things you truly care about and that are important to you; and not things that you are seeking out approval or attention from other people. If you feel you are experiencing these negative symptoms from social media use, you can work to create a better online experience for yourself. One way is to unfollow brands, celebrities, or friends from your timeline that you find are making you feel bad. Another key thing to remember is to model good behavior online just as you would offline. Lastly, be mindful and take breaks from too much internet use. Although social media has had had an effect on peoples social skills, empathy, and mental health, it does not have to continue to be the case. Social media does not have to be detrimental. It can cheer you up, make you laugh, inspire positive social change and actions, and connect people. We just have to be mindful of how much control we give it over our daily lives.

Myths of Aging - 1021 Words

Myths of Aging Leslie L. Sanderford GRO320 Instructor Peggy Allen June 13, 2011 Largest among the growing populations is the age group 65 and older. This course required us to complete Dr. Woolf’s myths of aging quiz. This quiz has 25 questions all about aging issues. In our textbook, â€Å"Adult Development and Aging,† Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2011) state, â€Å"Everyone does not grow old in the same way. Whereas most people tend to show usual patterns of aging that reflect the typical, or normative, changes with age, other people show highly successful aging in which few signs of change occur† (p. 16). An analysis of Dr. Woolf’s myths of aging quiz will show several different areas to consider in regards to the†¦show more content†¦They are both extremely mentally sharp as well as physically healthy. On the flip side of these wonderful, and healthy individuals who are a part of my personal life I have to make note of the elderly and disabled people who are accurate in regards to the questions on the quiz . These are the people that I work for on a daily basis at my job. The 62 year old man who has mental and physical impairments, continuing to decline with a lack of funds and resources available to him. The 55 year old woman who is on disability and who has aged 20 years since her accident despite her chronological age. I do feel that some of the â€Å"myths† of aging are accurate, it simply depends on the individual we are addressing. The aspect of old age that I believe I will find the most rewarding is when my children are grown and on their own, and hopefully are self sufficient and building families. I don’t want to wish my years away but I really hope I will be able to be a part of my children’s lives when they are adults; just like my parents have been a part of my life! The most challenging part of aging I think for me will be the many years that I know I will need to continue working in order to provide for my family. This is one of the major rea sons why I am back at school finishing this degree, to hopefully make myself more marketable and increase my earning potential. Also challenging for me is worrying about mine and my husband’s health as we age and how to pay for healthShow MoreRelatedMyth on Aging Essay1593 Words   |  7 PagesThere are many misconceptions when we talk about sex especially to old age generation. During the first day of class in HS 107, we talked about myths on aging. According to many people, they believed that â€Å"Majority of old people have no interest in, nor capacity for, sexual relations† (Facts on Aging Quiz). In our society, many people believe that older adults do not have sex when they reach the certain old age. Many argue that as you grow older your body becomes frail, thus, decreasing and diminishingRead MoreThe Myth And Its Impact On Development And Aging1805 Words   |  8 Pages退éˆ  ÃªÅ¾ ªere have been different myths developed with regards to development an d aging. The first myth relates to the brain. The myth that people only utilize 10 percent of their brain is an attractive spectacle among psychology scholars and academic aspirants. There have been numerous studies that speculate to the truth concerning the utility of brainpower. Most of the studies have concluded that 10 percent was the appropriate amount. The majority claim is contrasted by a survey that indicates peopleRead MoreDiscrimination And Prejudice Against The Elderly877 Words   |  4 PagesNational Institute on Aging. According to Doctor Butler, the three primary prejudicial attitudes seem to be: (1) old age, and the aging process; (2) discriminatory practices against older people; and (3) institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people. Much of what passes for knowledge and understanding of aging are myths, misleading information, or just bad information. Our youth oriented culture has developed a fear and prejudice against aging persons and unquestionablyRead MoreAging : An Inevitable Part Of Aging Essay1300 Words   |  6 PagesWhy are we so afraid of aging? Aging is a normal process of life; the only ones that do not age are the dead ones and Tina Turner’s legs. If the only way not to get old is to die, so why do we get so upset when we find the first white hair? It is probably because there are so many myths out there about old age. So, before we start crying because of that one (or one hundred) white hair in our head, let bust some of those myths and understand what we can do to age well. †¢ Myth #1: o Dementia is an inevitableRead MoreChallenging Aging Stereotypes : Strategies For Creating A More Active Society Essay1548 Words   |  7 PagesIn Dr. Marcia Ory’s article titled Challenging Aging Stereotypes: Strategies for Creating a More Active Society, many common misconceptions about the elderly are presented and disputed, while also addressing the effect these stereotypes have on the elderly’s view of themselves and how it affects their physical wellbeing. Solutions to getting the older population active and engaged while taking care of their bodies are also presented. This assessment provides a comprehensive breakdown of these topicsRead MoreHow Can I Live?1274 Words   |  6 PagesBuettner gives a presentation that attempts to answer this question. In the presentation, he explains a few myths about longevity before discussing three Blue Zones that exist in the world, where living to be over one hundred years old is most common. This information was gathered t hrough research by National Geographic and the National Institute on Aging in which they discovered many facts about aging and longevity that many people never knew to be true. As Buettner says, Our approach to finding longevityRead MoreStereotype About Old People, And Aging People And The Society1601 Words   |  7 Pages Kevens Louis Dr. Harvey Research Paper Stereotype About Old People, And Aging People And The Society Usually when people talk about stereotypes, first thing that pop up in someone mind are gender and racial. There are more than gender and racial in stereotypes category. Like age-based stereotype when someone talk about old people they always come up with those: they drive slow, drink decaf coffee ,can t see , are health freaks, love children and many more. As people live longer, the populationRead MoreSubstance Abuse And Alcohol Abuse1477 Words   |  6 Pagesimportant because it has helped many aging adults who are unable to work stay above the poverty line when it comes to income. B. As adults emerge into older adults I think that there are many myths and misconnections that come along with getting older. I think that the biggest myth is that all older adults will develop dementia at some point in time. I think that dementia is a medical condition, it is not a normal part of aging. I have worked with older aging adults for a few years now and I haveRead MoreCommon Fat And Weight Loss Myths1272 Words   |  6 Pages8 Most Common Fat and Weight Loss Myths By Gizewski Bogumil Jul 29, 2011 Today in North America, people are bombarded daily with mixed messages about fat and weight loss. All of this information, much of which is contradictory, has confused the general public about fat and weight loss more than ever before. In this article, I will set the record straight about some of the common fat and weight loss myths. Hopefully, after reading this you will be able to separate fact from fiction when it comes toRead MoreSummary of Proud Family Show886 Words   |  4 Pages and even the bullies in her life. This show shows a lot of stereotypes among all races. For example: The shapes of the females that were not Caucasian had more curvature at the hips and a smaller waists. Over Turning the Feminine Mystique This myth states that women are the weaker sex, should be the nurturers of the family, and that they do not belong in the work place. The women in the proud family are mothers, but they are very strong and intelligent women. Many of the women in the Proud Family

Amy Tan free essay sample

Although the daughters know some Chinese words and the mothers speak some English, communication often becomes a matter of translation, of words whose intended meaning and accepted meaning are in fact quite separate, leading to subtle misunderstandings. †¢The first mention of this difficulty with translation occurs when Jing-mei relates the story of her mother’s founding of the Joy Luck Club. After attempting to explain the significance of the club’s name, Jing-mei recognizes that the concept is not something that can be translated. She points out that the daughters think their mothers are stupid because of their fractured English, while the mothers are impatient with their daughters who don’t understand the cultural nuances of their language and who do not intend to pass along their Chinese heritage to their own children. Throughout the book, characters bring up one Chinese concept after another, only to accept the frustrating fact that an understanding of Chinese culture is a prerequisite to understanding its meaning. †¢The Power of Storytelling Because the barriers between the Chinese and the American cultures are exacerbated by imperfect translation of language, the mothers use storytelling to circumvent these barriers and communicate with their daughters. The stories they tell are often educational, warning against certain mistakes or giving advice based on past successes. For instance, Ying-ying’s decision to tell Lena about her past is motivated by her desire to warn Lena against the passivity and fatalism that Ying-ying suffered. Storytelling is also employed to communicate messages of love and pride, and to illumine one’s inner self for others. †¢Another use of storytelling concerns historical legacy. By telling their daughters about their family histories, the mothers ensure that their lives are remembered and understood by subsequent generations, so that the characters who acted in the story never die away completely. In telling their stories to their daughters, the mothers try to instill them with respect for their Chinese ancestors and their Chinese pasts. Suyuan hopes that by finding her long-lost daughters and telling them her story, she can assure them of her love, despite her apparent abandonment of them. When Jing-mei sets out to tell her half-sisters Suyuan’s story, she also has this goal in mind, as well as her own goal of letting the twins know who their mother was and what she was like. †¢Storytelling is also used as a way of controlling one’s own fate. In many ways, the original purpose of the Joy Luck Club was to create a place to exchange stories. Faced with pain and hardship, Suyuan decided to take control of the plot of her life. The Joy Luck Club did not simply serve as a distraction; it also enabled transformation—of community, of love and support, of circumstance. Stories work to encourage a certain sense of independence. They are a way of forging one’s own identity and gaining autonomy. Waverly understands this: while Lindo believes that her daughter’s crooked nose means that she is ill-fated, Waverly dismisses this passive interpretation and changes her identity and her fate by reinventing the story that is told about a crooked nose. †¢The Problem of Immigrant Identity At some point in the novel, each of the major characters expresses anxiety over her inability to reconcile her Chinese heritage with her American surroundings. Indeed, this reconciliation is the very aim of Jing-mei’s journey to China. While the daughters in the novel are genetically Chinese (except for Lena, who is half Chinese) and have been raised in mostly Chinese households, they also identify with and feel at home in modern American culture. Waverly, Rose, and Lena all have white boyfriends or husbands, and they regard many of their mothers’ customs and tastes as old-fashioned or even ridiculous. Most of them have spent their childhoods trying to escape their Chinese identities: Lena would walk around the house with her eyes opened as far as possible so as to make them look European. Jing-mei denied during adolescence that she had any internal Chinese aspects, insisting that her Chinese identity was limited only to her external features. Lindo meditates that Waverly would have clapped her hands for joy during her teen years if her mother had told her that she did not look Chinese. As they mature, the daughters begin to sense that their identities are incomplete and become interested in their Chinese heritage. Waverly speaks wishfully about blending in too well in China and becomes angry when Lindo notes that she will be recognized instantly as a tourist. One of Jing-mei’s greatest fears about her trip to China is not that others will recognize her as American, but that she herself will fail to recognize any Chinese elements within herself. †¢Of the four mothers, L indo expresses the most anxiety over her cultural identity. Having been spotted as a tourist during her recent trip to China, she wonders how America has changed her. She has always believed in her ability to shift between her true self and her public self, but she begins to wonder whether her â€Å"true† self is not, in fact, her American one. Even while a young girl in China, Lindo showed that she did not completely agree with Chinese custom. She agonized over how to extricate herself from a miserable marriage without dishonoring her parents’ promise to her husband’s family. While her concern for her parents shows that Lindo did not wish to openly rebel against her tradition, Lindo made a secret promise to herself to remain true to her own desires. This promise shows the value she places on autonomy and personal happiness—two qualities that Lindo associates with American culture. †¢Jing-mei’s experience in China at the end of the book certainly seems to support the possibility of a richly mixed identity rather than an identity of warring opposites. She comes to see that China itself contains American aspects, just as the part of America she grew up in—San Francisco’s Chinatown—containe †¢ Storytelling – Narrative Style, Symbolism, Figurative Language †¢She uses storytelling to in order for the different characters to understand each others struggles as well as the reader to understand the lives and emotions of both the mother and the daughters †¢The stories they tell are often educational, warning against certain mistakes or giving advice based on past successes. For instance, Ying-ying’s decision to tell Lena about her past is motivated by her desire to warn Lena against the passivity and fatalism that Ying-ying suffered. Storytelling is also employed to communicate messages of love and pride, and to illumine one’s inner self for others. †¢Another use of storytelling concerns historical legacy. By telling their daughters about their family histories, the mothers ensure that their lives are remembered and understood by subsequent generations, so that the characters who acted in the story never die away completely. In telling their stories to their daughters, the mothers try to instill them with respect for their Chinese ancestors and their Chinese pasts. Suyuan hopes that by finding her long-lost daughters and telling them her story, she can assure them of her love, despite her apparent abandonment of them. When Jing-mei sets out to tell her half-sisters Suyuan’s story, she also has this goal in mind, as well as her own goal of letting the twins know who their mother was and what she was like. †¢Storytelling is also used as a way of controlling one’s own fate. In many ways, the original purpose of the Joy Luck Club was to create a place to exchange stories. Faced with pain and hardship, Suyuan decided to take control of the plot of her life. The Joy Luck Club did not simply serve as a distraction; it also enabled transformation—of community, of love and support, of circumstance. Stories work to encourage a certain sense of independence. They are a way of forging one’s own identity and gaining autonomy. Waverly understands this: while Lindo believes that her daughter’s crooked nose means that she is ill-fated, Waverly dismisses this passive interpretation and changes her identity and her fate by reinventing the story that is told about a crooked nose. †¢ All the stories in her books are interlocking personal narrative in different voices. The narrators appear as characters in each other’s stories as well as tell their own stories, Tan does not have to fully develop the narrator’s voice in each story. While American daughters like Jing-mei employ personal narrative as a way of telling stories, the ’’ Because this indirect means is the only way Jing-mei’s mother c an interpret and express her experiences, she is shocked into silence when her daughter speaks directly about the daughters she abandoned in China years earlier. Point of View †¢In â€Å"Two Kinds† the perspective moves back and forth between the adult and then child. In this way, Tan tells the story through the child’s innocent view and the adult’s experienced eyes. This allows reader to make judgments of their own, to add their own interpretations of the mother daughter struggle. Figurative Language †¢This literary device also invites readers to think about the way memory itself functions, how we use events in the past to help make sense of our present. Literary critic Ben Xu explains that ‘‘it is not just that we have ‘images,’ ‘pictures,’ and ‘views’ of ourselves in memory, but that we also have ‘stories’ and narratives to tell about the past which both shape and convey our sense of self. Our sense of what has happened to us is entailed not in actual happening but in meaningful happenings, and the meanings of our past experience . . . are constr ucts produced in much the same way that narrative is produced. ’’ †¢In other words memory is a two-way street; it shapes the story as much as the story makes the memory. In Xu’s words, ‘‘memory is not just a narrative, even though it does have to take a narrative form; it is more importantly an experiential relation between the past and the present, projecting a future as well. ’’ Tan’s style is mainly composed of storytelling as a way for her characters to share their history and retell the significant events of their lives. The Chinese mothers find it exceptionally difficult to talk about their lives due to the language barrier; therefore Tan uses a strategy that is borrowed from Chinese folk tradition called talk story (Brent). E. D. Huntley defines talk story as ‘‘a narrative strategy for those characters whose ties to Chinese tradition remain strong. ’’ It allows these characters to ‘‘draw on traditional oral forms to shape their stories and to disguise the urgency and seriousness with which they are attempting to transmit to their daughters the remnants of a culture that is fading even from their own lives. ’’ This means that the mothers, ‘‘who have been socialized into silence for most of their lives,’’ learn to ‘‘reconfigure the events of hese lives into acceptable public utterances: painful experiences are recast in the language of folk tale; cautionary reminders become gnomic phrases; real life takes on the contours of myth (Huntley). † Story telling serves many different functions in the novel. Primarily, the mother’s use storytelling to communicate with their daughters about their past and better relate to their daughters. In Kitchen God’s Wife, Winnie and Pearl have a hard time understanding each other’s situation as they have had a disconnect since Pearl was a teenager. However, after Winnie tells Pearl the stories of the hardships she had to face living with her abusive husband in China and how that has made her the hard person she is today, Pearl is able to connect better with her mother and understand where she is coming from. Another purpose of storytelling is so the mother’s can teach their daughters important life lessons that can help them be happy as many of the daughters are struggling with their marriages. Thus, she knows that the only way to save her daughter is to tell her story, the story of how her submission to fate and other people’s wills led to discontent and even agony. In her novels, Amy Tan allows her characters to employ storytelling as a device for shaping their histories and making coherent sense of the significant events of their lives. For these characters, storytelling is a means of keeping the past alive and building a bridge between it and the present, of transmitting cultural codes and rituals, of subtly educating their daughters, and finally of somehow imprinting the essence of their selves on the next generation. Tan is especially gifted at weaving multiple stories with a variety of narrators into the intricate fabric of each book. Tan herself has recognized her own ability to construct distinctive and memorable narratives, commenting that her storytelling gifts are responsible in large measure for the ongoing popularity-with readers and critics alike-of her work. She has said that her childhood exposure to Bible stories as well as tons of fairy tales, both Grimm and Chinese (Wang) has made stories a significant element in her writing, and she credits her parents with both instilling in her the impulse to tell stories and providing her with models for unforgettable. In an interview with Gretchen Giles, Amy Tan reveals that she learned the craft of story construction from her father, a very busy Baptist minister who managed to spend quality time with his children by reading his sermons to them and then asking for their opinions on content and language. Citations Xu, Ben. ‘‘Memory and the Ethnic Self: Reading Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club,’’ in MELUS, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 3-16. Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Brent, Liz. ‘‘Amy Tan Criticism Overview. ’’ Short Stories for Students. Ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 19–20: 288.

Microsoft Essays (1587 words) - Microsoft Litigation, Microsoft

Microsoft MICROSOFT Briarcliffe College Microsoft Corporation, leading American computer software company. Microsoft develops and sells a wide variety of computer software products in more than fifty countries. Microsoft's Windows operating systems for personal computers are the most widely use operating systems in the world. Microsoft had revenues of $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ending June 1998, and employs more than 27,000 people in 60 countries. Microsoft has it's headquaters in Redmond Washington. Microsoft's other well known products include, Word, a word processor; Excel, a spreadsheet program; Access, a database program; and PowerPoint, a program used for making business presentations. These products are sold separately from Windows as a part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft also makes Back Office, an integrated set of server products for businesses. Microsoft's Internet Explorer allows users to browse the World Wide Web. Among Microsoft's other products are reference applications; games; finical software; programming languages for software developers (eg; Visual Basic) ; input devices, such as pointing devices and keyboards; and computer related books. Microsoft operates The Microsoft Network (MSN), a collection of news, travel, financial, entertainment, and information Web sites. Microsoft and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) jointly operate MSNBC, a twenty four hour news, talk, and information cable television channel and companion Web site. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by William H. Gates III and Paul Allen. The pair had teamed up in high school via their hobby of programming on the original PDP-10 computer from the Digital Equipment Corporation. In 1975 Popular Electronics magazine featured a cover story about the Altiar 8800, the first personal computer. The article inspired Gates and Allen to develop the first version of the BASIC programming language for the Altiar. They licensed the software to Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the Altiar's manufacturer, and formed Microsoft (originally Micro-soft) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop versions of BASIC for other computer companies. Microsoft's early customers included fledgling hardware firms such as Apple Computer, maker of the Apple II computer; Commodore, maker of the PET computer; and Tandy Corporation; maker of the Radio Shack TRS-80 computer. In 1977 Microsoft shipped it's second language product, Microsoft FORTRAN, and it soon released v ersions of BASIC for the 8080 and the 8086 microprocessors. In 1979 Gates and Allen moved the company to Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of their hometown Seattle. ( Microsoft moved to it's current headquaters in Redmond in 1986.) In 1980 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) chose Microsoft to write the operating system for the IBM PC personal computer, to be introduced the following year. Under time and pressure, Microsoft purchased QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) from Seattle programmer Tim Paterson for $50.000 and renamed it MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). As part of it's contract with IBM, Microsoft was permitted to license the operating system to other companies. By 1984 Microsoft had licensed MS-DOS to 200 personal computer manufacturers, making MS-DOS the standard operating system for personal computers and driving Microsoft's enormous growth in the 1980's. As sales of MS-DOS took off, Microsoft began to develop business applications for personal computers. In 1982 Microsoft released Multiplan, a spreadsheet program, and the following year, it released a word processing program, Microsoft Word. In 1984 Microsoft was one of the few established software companies that to develop application software for the Macintosh, a personal computer developed by Apple Computer. Microsoft's early support for the Macintosh resulted in tremendous success for it's Macintosh Application software, including Word, Excel, and Works (an integrated software suite). Multiplan for MS-DOS, however, faltered against the popular Lotus Development Corporation. In 1985 Microsoft released Windows, an operating system that extended the features of MS-DOS and employed a graphical user interface. Windows 2.0 released in 1987, improved performance and offered a new visual appearance, In 1990 Microsoft released a more powerful version, Windows 3.0, which was followed by Windows 3.1 and 3.11. These versions which came preinstalled on most personal computers, rapidly became the most widely used operating systems. In 1990 Microsoft became the first personal computer software company to record $1 billion in annual sales. As Microsoft's dominance grew in the market for personal computer operating systems, the company was accused of monopolistic business practices. In 1990 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began investigating Microsoft for alleged