Influence of Internet on Family Communication About Sexuality

The Influence of the Internet in Family Communication about Sexuality Christo Jose Central New Mexico Community College ABSTRACT The mass media are an increasingly accessible way for people to learn about and see sexual behavior. Out of all the mass media today, adolescents use the television and the internet more than any other media resource. The use of internet has risen exponentially in the last few years and within a year, it is estimated that 90% of all families with children will have access to the internet. The word sex is the most popular search term used on the Internet today. The Internet may have both positive and negative effects on sexual health. Internet bombards the minds of the teens these days with images of sex almost every single day. Aside from the daily dose of sexuality and eroticism provided by the mainstream media, 50% of all adolescents have said that they have encountered unwanted pornographic material on the internet. Many studies have been conducted to determine the extent of communication between adolescents and parents about sexuality. It has often been shown that students are more likely to turn to friends and the media before discussing this topic with their parents. The availability of a large and wide scale of information on the internet and the freedom from the embarrassment of confrontation has compelled many adolescents in this path. Because of this, fewer families discuss sex and abstinence in their families. One study has found that the patterns of sexuality communication in a family are also dependent on the gender of the parents as well as the child. Preadolescents who have communicated with their parents about sexuality have been shown to go to their parents for more advice when they are older. The internet does play a very important role in children communicating with their parents about sexuality. The internet provides a wide array of information that can lead or mislead children based on where they look for information. Some studies show that the use of internet in families have reduced the family communication and has led to less and less time spent with the family. This leads to a strain in communication between the children and the parents and this lack of communication makes it uneasy on the children to go to their parents when in need of information about their sexuality. The mainstream mass media (movies, music, T. V. , magazines and the internet) provide frequent and sometimes explicit images of sexuality. Available studies show that the media do have an impact because the media keep sexual behavior on public and personal agendas, media portrayals reinforce a relatively consistent set of sexual and relationship norms, and the media rarely depict sexually responsible models. In the Unites States, children spent about a third of their time a day exposed to some form of mass media. Patterns of media use vary greatly based on age, gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic level. Thus, one can never be sure that a message sent out through any form of media is interpreted as the same by the various people exposed to them. The internet being a bottomless pit of information can never be fully trusted. Though the internet provides more explicit material on sex than any other media, most of these are along the lines of pornography and do more harm than good. The internet, being a product of normal people, isn’t always accurate and can provide information that are biased and may not always prove to be useful. The personal opinions and tips expressed in many websites aren’t usually based on any scientific or medical facts and can thus mislead children looking for information. In a study conducted in 1993, adolescents (aged 15-17) put their friends first, then parents and then the media for sources to acquire information about sexuality. Today, the media has risen in rank and leads as the main source of information for adolescents. Among the various forms of media, internet maintains the top spot. The anonymity provided by the internet is one of the main reasons for the children of these days turning to it for information. The risk of embarrassment and confrontation is negated behind the blinds of the computer screen. The extreme nature of some of the sexual content available causes students to misinterpret many things they see online and mislead them into thinking about the prevalence of some activities in real life. The media as a whole provides a picture that is far detached from the problems of real life and it has been shown that many teenagers strive to achieve that level of unnaturalness in their lives. Patterns of Sexuality Communication Between Preadolescents and Their Mothers and Fathers This was a study conducted to examine the extent of communication and the patterns of communication in various families between preadolescents and their parents. Each member of the triad completed a 10-item measure of communication about risk factors for sexual activity, sexual communication, and sexual risk prevention. A majority of parents and their preadolescents reported communication had occurred about most topics. Mothers and fathers were equally likely to communicate with sons whereas mothers were more likely to communicate with daughters than were fathers. Based on the study results, preadolescence may be the optimal time for parents to provide sexual risk prevention messages to their children before sexual behaviors are initiated. Parents and other family members play critical roles in shaping adolescent sexual behavior through their parenting practices, sexuality communications, and modeling of risk reduction strategies. Greater parental monitoring and less parental permissiveness are consistently related to later sexual initiation, less frequent sexual intercourse, less risky sexual behavior, fewer sexual partners, less pregnancy, and increased condom use among teens. The study found that overall, most preadolescents and their parents report that they have talked about risk factors, sexuality education and sexual risk prevention topics. The parents and the children were more prone to discuss topics like drug abuse and alcohol with their children than other sexual topics. Discussion about condoms and abstinence were least reported. Looking at the study gender-wise, we see that boys have discussed their sexuality with both the parents to the same level and have reported doing so. In the case of daughters, the patterns show that they tend to go to their mothers more for information about sexuality. Dad-daughter pairs rarely reported discussing sexuality, menstruation and puberty. Preadolescents are the time of their lives when they internalize the messages they get from their parents. Children who have been educated at this time tend to not be affected peer relationships and the media as much as those who have not been. Children whose families communicate with each other abstain from risky behaviors and have more tendencies to be less influenced by the outside media. Thus parents need to be encouraged to communicate with their children about sexuality rather than letting them search for information outside the family circle. It is better to communicate with children at the age when they are more receptive to family communication. Family Relations and the Internet: Exploring a Family Boundaries Approach Introduction of internet into the family environment can influence and change the way of life in a family. The increase in the use of internet in families has prompted many researchers to see how it can influence everyday life. Connection to the internet opens a window of information to families about parenting, child’s education and family health. Many studies have also stated that the frequent use of the internet by family members have cut into the time spent as a family. This results in a lack of communication among the family members which can cause the children to go after various other media to fulfill their curiosities and the need for information. Most parents view the internet as a positive force in the life of their children and buy them computers and connect them to the internet to help them better at school, to do more research and to learn new things. Teens don’t always use the internet to match their parent’s expectations and in these conditions the positive force can turn into a source of conflict in the families. Conflict, if not handled well, can lead to a lack of communication or miscommunication among the family members. This can lead to a lot of assumptions and misconceptions that can surface from a child’s limited view of the internet. Another argument against the use of internet is the large hole it cuts into the child’s available time. Internet use is time consuming and it has been found that internet use in high frequency is directly responsible for the negative effects on family communication and closeness. All this studies are based on the conception that the communication between the family members is a closed system and that the internet cuts a hole in this closed fence. Communication in a family isn’t always related to the use of internet in every family. Many other factors play into this scenario. The schedules of the whole family are important and should be considered when something like this is examined. Dysfunctional families do not need the internet as a hindrance for the lack of communication among its members. Before the advent of the internet, there did exist many families who did not communicate properly within. Even with these arguments in favor of the internet, its effect on the family can not be withheld. It has been shown that frequent internet visitors go there for social purposes and their personality characteristics are influenced by this and differ from normal. Adolescents who use the internet for social and entertainment purposes seem to have more conflict with their family than those who used it for educational purposes. On the whole, it can be seen that increase in the time spent on the internet has had a negative impact on the family time and a positive impact on the family conflicts. Thus, the internet is directly linked to the decrease in family cohesion due to lack of communication and time spent together. CONCLUSION The three articles come to a conclusion about the nature of the influence the internet provides on family communication. Internet is a very useful resource and source of information and we can never deny its importance in everyday life. But, when we consider its influence on the young minds, we need to think about the advantages and the disadvantages. Depending on the point of view of a person, the internet can be good or bad. From the articles we can see that the families who spend a lot of time on the internet do seem to have more communication dysfunction than those who spend less time. This can be due to two different reasons. Adolescents these days depend on many different sources of information available to them to teach them about their sexuality and sometimes these resources can point them in the wrong direction. Children who don’t have a good communication rapport with their parents at a young age usually don’t develop a good communication bridge with their parents when they get older and the peer relationships are stronger. Some of the messages put across by the internet are factually wrong or morally incorrect and many children accept this as the truth due to lack of communication with parents. This leads to development of wrong set of ideas and can lead to various risky behaviors in the sexual context. The excessive amount of explicit sexual content available on the internet can confuse the minds of teens and younger children alike and can lead to a state of mind in which many of the things depicted may seem natural for them. This again leads to risky sexual behavior. Another way the internet seems to affect the family communication is by cutting into the time spent as a family. This goes hand in hand with the earlier mentioned fact as this leads to lack of communication between the parents and the children leading the children to go elsewhere in search of advice or information. The whole thing works as a circle in which the increased use of internet by children has a negative impact on family communication about sexuality. But it has been shown that parents who communicated with their children at a young age make an impact in their receptive minds and can thus strengthen the bond between the members of the family. This can lead to open communication in a family and thus the children can be educated properly and correctly about the various aspects of sexuality. From this, we can come to the conclusion that early development of a good bond with parents and the control of the use of internet (among many other factors) can help children grow up to be sexually responsible adults. Since I am already an adult, I will use this information I have gained in the future with my family. Making sure to have an open and trustful bond with my children would be my primary objective when bringing them up. I will try to communicate better with my family in that way and can teach my children things that I myself have gone to various places to find. During the time I grew up, my main source of information on this topic was the internet and my peers which have led me to learn through trial and error which was risky and dangerous. I realized from writing this article that one of the causes of this was the internet and I will make sure that my children won’t have to repeat my mistakes. Also, on a broader view, communication is very important in getting any kind of point across to people and it is important to look for accurate information when trying to teach someone something. Depending on the internet is not always accurate and in the right point of view. Another thing that can be learned from this is that it is always important to take time to open communication channels and talk to people. Lack of communication can lead to lack of cohesion and more problems anywhere, be it work, family, friends, etc. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, J. (2002). Mass Media Influences on Sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 39(1), 42-45. {text:bookmark-start} P {text:bookmark-end} Wyckoff, S. , Miller, K. , Forehand, R. , Bau, J. , Fasula, A. , Long, N. , et al. (2008). Patterns of Sexuality Communication Between Preadolescents and Their Mothers and Fathers. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 17(5), 649-662. Mesch, G. (2006). Family Relations and the Internet: Exploring a Family Boundaries Approach. Journal of Family Communication, 6(2), 119-138.

One Sample Hypothesis Test Essay

Earning potential and income of every person is severely different; many factors have a hand in determining the amount of money a person makes and how much his or her earning potential can increase. Some of the factors currently determining the earning potential of people around the United States are; education, marital status, age, union participation, race, age, years of experience, sex, the industry in which the individual works, and the position held by individual. This paper is going to show the correlation between marital status and income, the team has disregarded all other determinants to answer the research question clearly. The research question that the team has developed and the hypothesis was formed from goes as follows; does marital status affect earning potential? Every decade that passes, it seems as though people are waiting longer to get married. Waiting for job security, completion of college and social norms are just a few factors that influence this trend. This is a big change from 50 years ago, when most people would get married straight out of high school. The fact is being single has some advantages when deciding to start a career, it also affects ones earning potential. Being single allows more dedication to the job as well as the mobility to go wherever the job may take an individual. While being single may be good for starting a career, being married will actually increase a person’s earning potential in the long run. The mean salary for the single person is $24,864 per year. The mean income for married individuals is $33,303. This leads us to our null hypothesis (H0) that being married will not improve the earning potential of an individual. Our alternate hypothesis (H1) is that being married will help improve the earning potential of an individual. Numerically it is stated: H0: ÃŽ ¼1 ≠¤ ÃŽ ¼2 H1: ÃŽ ¼2 > ÃŽ ¼2 The five-step hypothesis test starts with stating the null and alternative  hypothesis. The null is H0: ÃŽ ¼1≠¤ÃŽ ¼2 and the alternative hypothesis is H1: ÃŽ ¼1>ÃŽ ¼2. The second step in find the decision rule. The decision rule is reject H0 if ÃŽ ¼1< ÃŽ ¼2< ÃŽ ¼1. Step 3 is to calculate the test statistics. It has come to the mean of the earning potential of those who are married and those who are unmarried. Married couples have a mean salary of $33,303.00 and unmarried individuals have a mean salary of $24,864.00. Step 4 is to compare the test statistics to the critical value. The test results in married couples have a greater income than the salaries of unmarried people. Step 5 is to state the results. In result, married couples have greater earning potential than that of their unmarried counterparts. Therefore, in this case the team has to reject their null hypothesis because they have discovered a greater earning potential for married couples over unmarried individuals. The team’s results provided support to the null hypothesis that a married individual has a higher earning potential than that of a single individual. As previously stated a single individual on average makes $25, 000 while married individuals make on average $34,000 a year. Our research also indicates more working individuals are married over single. Our sample only included 33 single and 67 married individuals. Our study also found non-married men have wages that range from $11,000 to only $27,000 while non-married females wages range from $15,000 to $83,000. Married men have wages that range from $28,000 to $84,000, married women however only have wages that range from $11,000 to $50,000. This shows independent women with one sole income on average make more than men. However, after marriage, the men tend to become the higher wage earner. Education does not appear to play a significant role it ranges from four to 18 years. A married man with 18 years of education can made up to $84,000 while a single man also with 18 years of education only made $27,000. That is in contrast with a single woman with 17 years of education who make $83,000 a year and a married woman with 17 years of education who made $34,000. The maximum wage for a married woman was $50,000 and this was with 12 years of education. We analyzed many different aspects of earning potential and the majority proves a married individual will make more than that of a single individual. With all of the numerical data analyzed, the research question answered, and the hypothesis being correct, the team has been able to state confidently that marital status drastically affects  earning potential. On average, those who are married make nearly $8,500 more than those who are unmarried. Several other factors determine the income potential differences, but without further analyses of data not provided in the data set, the team would just be throwing around assumptions on the matter. References David P. Doane, L. E. (2007). Applied Statistics in Business and Economics. New York: McGraw- Hill.

Should music file servers on the Internet should be shut down?

This assignment is all about persuasive writing, putting a controversial subject in matter and weighing up all the different viewpoints so I can make a final conclusion on the matter. I am going to write about the controversial matter of Napster and any other file sharing programs used over the Internet to swap music between computers. People send songs over the Internet to other people who can hear them for free once downloaded whenever they like with the recording artist and every other benefactor of record sales losing out. Should music file servers on the Internet should be shut down? Introduction Within the last decade computers have become very important to our lives and home computers, PC's, have become commonplace in most households. The internet has also been going from strength to strength, millions upon millions of people all round the world log on everyday to search for information, send e-mails, talk to people in different countries and a whole lot more. But within the last 3 or 4 years, file servers such as Napster, WinMX and Morpheus to name a few have sprung up allowing people to download their favourite songs straight to their computer without having to pay a penny. Record companies have been unhappy with this and are seeking legal action at the moment, while many people are rejoicing at the concept of free music. What I'm trying to do in this assignment is consider all the views and arguments of both sides and write down my viewpoints on the matter. The downfall of the record industry?! Record companies and artists have been in legal battles recently with file sharing servers such as Napster over the past year or two. They feel that these file sharing servers are illegal and should be shut down, firstly because these are copies of their albums and singles which are being spread about all over the Internet, which is piracy therefore illegal. Secondly people downloading these files aren't paying for these songs, so they are not supporting the music business which is having to manufacture and spend millions on making these records. Thirdly they feel that the increasing number of people using these servers will result in the downfall of the music industry altogether. The record companies just want to make sure that they will have a future, the same with artists but by the looks of it even artists losing their recording contracts wont hurt their futures much as the trend of singers and musicians moving into other celebrity occupations is on the rise such as tv presenter and so on. The record business sees this as a major threat to them, even more than radio, which could be taped off but never had such an impact such as the Internet. They are trying their hardest legally to shut down the music file servers. I don't really believe why the record companies are taking it so far, I don't see them losing out so much anyway because it is a billion dollar business after all. Maybe they should just hope it fades away after a while which I think it will do. Money, Money, Money Many people disagree with the record companies when they say its ‘the downfall of the music industry' because they feel that

Emplyment interviews Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emplyment interviews - Essay Example The main disadvantages are high cost and lack of anonymity. Still, this type of interviews is crucial for effective recruitment because it allows certain standardization of description. To effect the standardization and control for which procedures are designed, they are presented in a specific format conveying information for a particular action to be taken (Sammar et al 2009). The second type is a structured interview. During this interview, the action may be only one step in a series of steps or the entire series. Once formalized in this manner, procedures need to be followed explicitly to achieve their objectives. Hence the rigidity of bureaucracy. Sometimes exceptions may be made to a formalized procedure, but in that case the manner of making an exception is also formalized. In a systems context, a procedure is like a hard-wired circuit. It ensures predictability. The main advantages are high reliability and level of control. The main disadvantage is a law level of personal involvement of an interviewer. The third type is behavioral interviews. Much of the workers' knowledge is conscious, obtained in schools, training, and / or on the job. But much of it is also subconscious, a distillation of experience in which personal solutions to problems encountered in the course of the workday may or may not have worked. The main advantages are the possibility to measure attitudes and accurate reflection. The main disadvantage is subjectivity (influenced by age, income level, race, etc.). The forth type is situation interview. The environment created within the focus group is one in which the conscious knowledge of the participants comes together, and insights are expressed that may be new or may have only existed under the surface. As he or she leads the workshop, an emerging pride is evidenced by the participants in the interview analysis they use to do their jobs to the standards required for quality performance. The advantages of this type are low variation in answers, a possibility to find a right candidate at the short period of time, and it is easy to come up with questions about specific situations. The main disadvantages are that it does not ensure further development of skills and knowledge of a candidate. Also, it is easy for a person to predict and find the right answer for all questions asked during the interview. The panel interview reflects an increasingly common phenomenon, management willingness to go beyond descriptions to achieve greater efficiency and higher productivity. The main advantage is effective tool for measuring communication skills and ability to socialize. The main disadvantage is that the interview can be confusing and a candidate can be taken aback. The computer interview will help companies to save time and analyze data with the help of computer programs. The main disadvantage is lack of personal interaction and communication. The video interview proposes great opportunities to save time and resources of the organization, thus it can be stressful and very subjective. The notion that every little thing that needs doing in order to get work done must appear in a job description is, of course, quite impractical and ultimately can destroy initiative (Sammar et al 2009). The best type

Perceptions of the self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Perceptions of the self - Essay Example According to Kant (2007), the main experience of the world is not only in terms of a spoilt stream of sensations, but see and experience a world full of relationships, ideas, objects living within a stable framework of both time and design. At times, the discreet and also randomly similar sensations, rule peoples experience; for example when a strong fever generates funny hallucinations. Nevertheless, we stay in a stable and precise, orderly world where the different sensations become built together in a framework that is familiar to us. In Kant’s (2007) view, the problem Hume had was not on his starting point, but solely on the reason that he refused to move from the starting point to the next level of experience. Though we know that knowledge starts with experience, it does not mean that everything comes from experience. It can even be from the empirical knowledge that consists of what we get from the knowledge faculty and also through impressions. According to Kant (2007), human minds sort, organize, relate and then synthesize the pieces of information that the organs of sense absorb. As an example, imagine a person dumps an enormous pile of pieces of the puzzle on a desk. At first glance, they would look like a random collection of different items that are not related and have no meaning. This is just like the sensations of an immediate unreflective experience. Nevertheless, when the person starts to assemble the pieces, they start forming an image that would be significant. In Kant’s (2007) view, this construction activity is what peoples brains are doing every time, taking that raw experience data, and actively assembling it to more familiar, meaningful environment that we live in . Human minds have organized rules or principles built in them. These principles order, arrange, organize and then synthesize the sense data in a more familiar way of peoples lives. The organizing rules precede the

Alice in Wonderland is a book that appeals to children and adults Essay

Alice in Wonderland is a book that appeals to children and adults alike - Essay Example The first element that will appeal to children is the fact that the main character in the book is a child. Children appreciate being told stories in which a girl or boy of their age-group are the protagonist. Also, while few children today will completely understand the situation of a Victorian school-girl, they will appreciate and perhaps even empathize with feeling bored when there is nothing else to do. Every child would love for the games they play within their imagination to magically come to life as they do when she hears a rabbit say "oh dear, oh dear, I shall be late" and then its action in taking "a watch out of its waistcoat pocket" (Carroll, 1992). There is an immediacy and vivid nature to the Carroll's descriptions of both animals and events within the story that appeals to children. While what occurs in the story can seem quite complicated at times, especially compared to many more modern children's stories, they are also recounted in a concrete and memorable manner. The various animals that appear in the pool of tears, the Cheshire Cat, the animals at the tea-party and the various creatures in the game of cards are all described in a way that will appeal to children. ... Thus the shrinking and enlarging that she undergoes, together with her various other adventures, introduce the children to the constant changes that occur in the book In many ways the children may be attracted to the story because it reflects their own experiences while dreaming and day-dreaming. The manner in which the story develops with the insane croquet game and the rather violent Queen who wants to execute all and sundry for the smallest of supposed transgressions appeals to children because they appreciate stories that may disturb them if not outright frighten them. Children do not appreciate being talked down to, or being presented with a sugar-coated view of the world that is not realistic. Carroll does neither. He presents a strange and exotic fantasy-world in which Alice can play croquet (or at least try to) with a flamingo and a hedgehog. This is a "fun" idea which nevertheless presents a rather bizarre view of the world. One of the most remarkable features of this world is the manner in which there is apparently no sense of morality within the book. The Queen states "off with his head" at the slightest provocation, even to the Cheshire Cat who is, of course, only a head when he appears at the croquet game. Carroll does not fall into the tendency of many children's books to moralize, he rather presents an amoral world in which things occur at random. The Cheshire Cat appears and disappears for no apparent reason, and refuses to play into the supposed social order of this world. So when the King says "it may kiss my hand, if it likes", the Cheshire Cat replies "I'd rather not" (Carroll, 1992). This exchange might be seen as a microcosm of

Integrating Interactive Multimedia and Web Applications in Teaching Essay

Integrating Interactive Multimedia and Web Applications in Teaching - Essay Example The significance of investigating this integration remains, however, considering that listening now is the cornerstone of language acquisition (Krashen et al., 1994) and a fundamental activity in L2 acquisition process (Dunkel, 1991a; Krashen, 1982; Rost, 1993). Likewise, studies indicate that the social dynamics of listening have gained more significance in the study and use of LC for L2 (Lynch, 1988; Rost, 1990; Rubin, 1994). Increasingly, more emphasis is now being given to the processes of interaction and meaning-negotiation while focus shifts away from listening as a mental process internal to the listener (Doughty, 1991; Dunkel, 1991b; Pica, Young, & Doughty, 1987; Robinson, 1991). Researchers are also refining their understanding of the key differences and similarities between reading and listening (Canale, 1984; Hoven, 1991; Lund, 1991; Swaffar & Bacon, 1993). For all the above reasons and more, a model designed to facilitate such integration process is being proposed. In a nutshell, the model suggests an integration process based upon theoretical, pedagogical, and technical grounds accompanied by a user-centered approach for software design. It is argued that this model might lead to a successful integration of interactive Web applications for teaching listening comprehension. The model components will be discussed respectively. Toward a Constructivist Approach Two contradictory views of the most common theoretical frameworks of contemporary CALL exist. Felix (2002) claims that a quick look at the literature in language learning and technology will reveal that there is a move away from the static transmission models of knowledge and skill acquisition, which are instructivist vs. constructivist, tending towards more contextualized, authentic, and meaningful tasks in language learning. These three characteristics are underscored in three recent approaches in language learning and technology: the collaborative learning approach, the problem solving approach, and the constructivist approach. This study will adopt the definition of constructivism which believes that human knowledge is constructed and learners construct their own experience and understanding through assimilating current experience with previous internalized knowledge. Moreover, learning is seen as a collaborative, autonomous, socially negotiated process, which takes place when su pported by a rich environment (Ruschoff & Ritter, 2001). Pachler (2002), however, claims that traditional behaviorist modes, which I believe depends partly on transmission models (i.e., repetition in listening/speaking), are still very common in the world of CALL. The breaking of learning tasks into small manageable steps to drill and