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This week in class we talked about socialization. We also watched a movie made by Frontline about "growing up online." This movie pointed out many true and false points about teenagers and internet activity. While it is true that teenagers are addicted to the internet (mainly facebook and other such sites), we are not telling the whole world exactly where we live. We're not stupid like the video made it seem at first.

To prove my point that teens are addicted to facebook, I tried to keep myself off of my facebook until I finished this blog post. Sadly I caved shortly after starting. As I am writing this, I only make it a couple sentences before I check to see if anything has changed at all. My efforts are useless because there's no way something could have changed in the 30 seconds I wasn't looking. I incessantly press the home button to refresh my news feed. Nothing. Not even a new status.

The internet is where many kids feel most comfortable. The movie spoke about many kids who said they were 100% themselves online. They weren't comfortable being completely themselves in real life around their peers. They feel that they won't be judged at all when they're online. The internet is so "easy." The parents in the video were overly concerned in my opinion. Speaking from experience, I know what I should and should not share online. I know that if someone I don't know asks me personal information I should not tell them. These "rules" have been drilled into my head ever since elementary school when we first started using computers.

This week's honors article was all about self. More specifically, the looking-glass self and mirror self-recognition. The article states that, "In his Tree of Knowledge System, Henriques states that the human ego or 'self' has evolved because human beings are the only animals that have had to justify their behavior to others." One theory is the mirror self-recognition paradigm. This paradigm says that "animals are given the opportunity to see their reflection in a mirror. If the animal shows signs of recognizing the image in the mirror as its own, this ability suggests that the animal possesses a rudimentary ability to take itself as the object of its own cognition." Showing this ability does not necessarily mean that the species has reached the human level of self-awareness, and not showing that ability does not mean that the animal lacks the ability of self-awareness.

Do you speak Amurican?

The past couple days we have been watching the documentary "Do You Speak American?" The host traveled all around the country talking with different people about where "correct" English is spoken. Many people surveyed on a train believed that the most correct English is spoken in the Midwest. Our accent is believed to be the most neutral. When new culture is introduced, the native tongue begins to adapt to the changes in dialect. One example of this is Chicano English vs. Spanglish. Spanglish is a mixture of Spanish and English. The Spanish words used do have a meaning in the sentence whereas in Chicano English, the Spanish words thrown in are usually slang and don't add much meaning to the sentence. Chicano English is mainly slang.

Warning: contains language unsuitable for young children.

This weeks article was all about how language shapes how we think. Research has revealed that when we are taught our native language, we acquire habits of thought that shape our experiences. Some common mistakes people make are assuming that if a language doesn't have a word for something, those people don't understand the concept. This is not true. There is no evidence that proves this. What a language must convey and what it may convey are two different things.

In English, we don't have to specify if the person we are talking about is a man or a woman. In other languages such as French or German, it is necessary to specify the gender of the person or even object of which you are speaking. Though in English, it is necessary to specify the time events occur. In languages such as Chinese, time doesn't really matter because the verb tense does not change from present to past or future. These differences in language force us to consider what information or details are really important.

Language has many influences on society. The big one in America is whether or not Spanish will someday become our second or even first language. Are the Spaniards taking over? Tune in next time to find out. (Or just wait a couple years)

Euthanasia does not equal Youth in Asia...

This week in class, we discussed euthanasia. We were divided up in to two groups to debate the two stances. Group A was pro-euthanasia, and group B was anti-euthanasia. Our deliberation question was whether our democracy should permit doctors to assist in a patients suicide or not. Group A's most powerful statement was that the guidelines for euthanasia are extremely strict so it is rather difficult to actually get euthanized. Group B's most powerful statements were that euthanasia causes an emotional detachment from death and that euthanasia goes against the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath is as follows; "I will neither give a deadly drug to anyone if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect." Doctors recite this oath before receiving their doctors license. I believe the most interesting facts from the reading we were given were that there are specific guidelines for doctors to follow when they grant euthanasia and they're very strict; in the Netherlands, 10,000 requests for euthanasia are granted, 1/3 of them are actually granted; and patients have the right to refuse medical treatment. America values having the choice when it comes to one's final days.

Another thing America values is food. Food is a major part of our culture. The way you eat can determine who you are, or even who you want to be. Starchy carbs like potatoes, macaroni, and rice are great comfort foods because they metabolize slowly and have a calming effect. Sweet foods do the opposite. They metabolize quickly and leave a hyper feeling. Our food habits reflect our anxieties, aspirations, and ways of relating to others. Like fingerprints, these habits are unique. Researchers suggest that food preference starts at birth. A study was done where a group of new mothers were given either a garlic or a vanilla flavored capsule. They ingested this capsule and soon their breast milk showed signs of these flavors. The babies responded by drinking more of the flavored milk than non flavored milk. Another study was done with mothers to prove that we associate certain foods with positive or negative feelings, and that these can be conditioned. A group of mothers were given red bibs to wear when breast feeding. After time, their babies recognized the red bibs and associated them with feeding time. Overall, food has major control over our lives.