"Online pranking videos provide a relatively safe and structured opportunity to explore the ethics of representation"
This is an intriguing idea because we have to take a look at what it means by relatively safe. Does it mean it is physically safe? Does it taking into account the mental safety of the pranker and prankee? Pranks that can seem harmless can cause mental instability for the both parties. The pranker can gain a sense of power that they cannot be touched and this can get them into situations where that is not the case. The prankee can go through an emotional/mental trauma from the prank and be uncomfortable in situations they were once comfortable in. This of course all comes in with the ethics of representation, how the prank is done and what effects are caused to the participants during the prank.
"Self-disclosure is the process by which one person lets his or her inner being, thoughts, and emotions be known to another."
In the book they talked about how self-disclosure can be good and bad in the classroom. It does facilitate discussions and helps them become more real for the students, but it worries me that it will go on too deep of a level and they will reveal things that they shouldn't. Some students can be understanding and not poke fun at the other students when they reveal this personal information, but there are students who relish in the opportunity to abuse this knowledge with social power. I think that it might be good for a one-on-one discussion, but maybe not so appropriate to a group discussion.
"A survey of social-media-using women ages 18-34 shows that 26% get up in the middle of the night to read text messages and 21% check Facebook during the night."
This quote just knocked me off my socks because it just seems absurd. I just can't imagine something being sent to me or on Facebook that I would need to check it in the middle of the night. I am not sure if it is because they wake up and use the bathroom, so they then check it before going back to bed. That situation is a little less surprising, but is still odd that they feel the need to check these media sources. I just wonder how this affects the restfulness of the people checking these media sources. If I had to guess, it probably affects their performance in school and at their work.
I like the quotes that you have chose. Your first quote is one to think about. I like how you added the questions to your response because now I am thinking more about many prank videos that I have been shown or have seen on my own. I feel as a viewer we never really think about the saftey or how the pranker/ prankee feel during this situation. We get a laugh out of it so what else is to think about. Thank you for sharing this. Now i'm sure when I see a prank video I will be thinking of the questions that you have asked in your response.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to your third quote. It is absurd these women are so caught up in social media or their phones, that it occupies their mind when they are supposed to be in a state of rest and recharge. I AM NOT one of those women. Sometimes I go an entire day without giving social media a second thought. I can go days without posting or checking Facebook at all, and I intend for it to stay that way. I like to focus myself on actually living a life, social media is not my life, that's for sure. My phone is not my bff, but I do use it to keep in touch with friends, and check email, etc. I worry about the staggering number of women that "would just die!" without their phones. I could live without mine, no question. I would answer it during the night if I heard it, just to be sure there was no family or such emergency, but not to just see what I was missing out on while I am sleeping. Rediculous!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that goes through my mind when I read on FB that (and it usually is a woman) someone had insomnia the night before is that - if they weren't on FB staring at bright lights on their computer screen their brain would be more likely to kick on the melatonin and they would be able to drift off. Even if I do end up with a bad case of insomnia myself, I make sure I stay away from any light source that may screw up my natural rhythms. The social media "addiction" is rather intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe pranking portion of the text really has me thinking now. I never saw it as a power struggle. My dad was the number 1 prankster while I was growing up. I was terrified of our staircase. It was dark and he'd usually be sitting at the bottom in front of the door I had to open to go downstairs. He liked to pour me apple cider vinegar instead of apple juice. And occasionally he'd give me a mouthful of mayonnaise claiming it was cool whip. I lived through it and I do laugh, I'm not completely scarred. But I saw a video yesterday a friend posted where she had someone hiding in the bushes waiting to scare her kid, all caught on video of course. All I could think about was what I had read from the text. It definitely put my thoughts in a different perspective.