Introduction
The 21st century has seen many ways of communication and interactions evolved. Modern technology has made our lives much easier than it was in the past. Nowadays, it is possible to just sit in the house and do your shopping, chat with friends, watch a movie online, do class work and so on at the click of the button. Evidently, technology has made life much more convenient and cheaper than before. Certainly, technology is a positive aspect of the modern world but it comes along as a huge blow to face-to-face communication. This is caused by the fact that many people prefer sitting in the comfort of their living rooms and chat with friends and strangers alike (Kotter 57). This paper seeks to look extensively into the drawbacks of technology as a medium of communication.
Living an Illusion
One of the greatest hazards of using technology, as a way of communication, is the creation of an illusion in the mind that one has many friends. The problem is that one tends to slow down on physical friends and builds relations with the virtual ones. However, this artificial friendship breaks when one encounters real life problems like sickness or job loss. Virtual friends can hardly help and especially with finances.
Inefficiencies
When it comes to meeting deadlines for clients or customers, nothing is easier than sending a short message or an e-mail to excuse oneself. It is convenient to hide behind a screen and purport not to understand a client’s request just to push the deadline ahead. Since technology warrants a one-way form of communication, it can lead to inefficiencies in work places. It is, therefore, important to foster physical interactions to save money and time (Ewing & Raines 112).
Increased Crime
It is sad that kids today do not have an idea of how to interact face-to-face with each other. Technology has made it easy for kids to communicate among themselves even when they are in the same class or neighborhood. Apparently, people tend to offend others more often, as there is no fear of immediate consequences. Nowadays, most people consider it normal to rip-off or insult people just because they cannot see them. Some of the things people do or say using technology would lead to immediate negative physical interactions were it for face-to-face communication. In other words, kids today have no idea of how to read faces (Posner & Kouzes 61).
Isolation
Just like any other form of addiction, the actual cost for the addicted is isolation from real and quality relationships with others. It is easy to enjoy relationships via social sites like Facebook and Twitter but nothing compares to the thrill of physical human integration. As much as social sites help us get to people we cannot touch, caution should be taken to make sure that we maintain physical interactions with the people around us (Emmanuel 29).
Conclusion
Technology is a positive tool of communication, nonetheless. Even as it makes the world a smaller place for man to interact, it has threatened to kill physical interactions of people who are close to one another. Indeed, just like any other good tool, technology has to be used with caution for humanity to reap maximum benefits. At times, it is better to switch off technological devices and have time for personal interactions. It is time to take a step back and reassess the dangers of overindulgence in electronic communication.
Works Cited
Barry, Posner, and J. Kouzes. The Leadership Challenge, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002. Print.
Emanuel, Randy. “Communication: Humanities’ Core Discipline.” American Communication Journal. 9.2. (2007): 67-70. Acjournal. Web.
Ewing, Lara, and C. Raines. The Art of Connecting: How to Overcome Differences, Build Rapport, and Communicate Effectively with Anyone. New York, NY: AMACOM/American Management Association, 2006. Print.
Kotter, John. Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1996. Print.
Wonder Woman, Panorama And Suicide Squad: Advertisements Assessment
This paper aims to provide personal and technical reasons why I like the discussed advertisements, as well as analyze them from various important perspectives about effective advertisements and campaigns. The first advertisement under analysis is the TV spot of the Wonder Woman 1984 movie that is premiering this year on the big screen (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2020). I loved the first part of the movie released in 2017 and was impressed by the well-made, intriguing advertisement for the upcoming film. The creative visual component of the movie attracts the audience’s attention from the first seconds of the advert. Such an effect is supported by the famous song “Blue Mondays” which renders the vibe of risky, heroic, and even tense nature. Thus, the outstanding graphics, along with the grand background music, set the tone for the advertisement’s effect on the audience.
The advertisement possesses strong rhetoric that persuades the target audience to watch the movie and find out how the story unfolds at the end. The rhetorical triangle consists of three appeals that make up the core of a successful advertisement (Afsheen & Eijaz, 2019). The logical appeal of the advertisement lies in conveying the central message of the movie: love, justice, and a significant purpose can save the world. Moreover, the ethical approach present in the advertisement appeals to the audience’s love and appreciation of Marvel studios. Such a strong message, combined with the credibility of the Marvell universe, is especially attractive to comic fans, who appreciate the rival between good and evil. Thus, it will make them want to watch the new movie even more. Finally, the emotional appeal to the audience works by showing a strong, independent woman that can suffer great losses, fight villains, and save the world with her outstanding abilities. In addition, the advertisement touches upon the romantic feelings of the main character to a man, which always attracts the undivided attention of viewers.
To continue with the comic-book theme in advertising and commercials, I chose the advertisement for the sales in a Panorama shopping mall in Los Angeles for analysis. When I first saw it, the girl in the center of the poster immediately caught my eye by her resemblance to Margot Robbie, the actress that played the role of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. Thus, the ethical appeal is fulfilled in this advertisement, as many people know and love the DC universe. Moreover, comic book fans, especially young women who like Margot and want to look like her, will be attracted to go shopping at the advertised mall. They would be subconsciously convinced that they will find the items that will make them as strong, beautiful, and charismatic as Margot’s character in the movie. Thus, emotional appeal is successfully achieved.
Moreover, I like this poster for its intense, deep colors and minimalistic background. It makes the audience concentrate their attention on its main character and the message it conveys. The logical appeal lies in the advertisement’s promise of sales up to fifty percent, which makes the people already attracted by the visual design and the character’s image visit Panorama even more. In addition, the image of the girl shows physical strength and attractive stamina. This would appeal to the female part of the audience that seeks to be strong and independent, as well as recognized for their power and resilience. Thus, the two commercials under analysis depict how the combination of rhetoric constituents, strong graphical design, and well-thought promotional purpose work together to create a good advertisement. As a big fan of comic books and superhero stories, I can state that the mentioned strategies do constitute a convincing and intriguing effect on the audience.
References
Afsheen, S., & Eijaz, A. (2019). What makes an educational advertisement campaign successful: A case study of Zara Sochiye. Journal of Media Studies, 32(2).
Warner Bros. Pictures. (2020). Wonder Woman 1984 [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Appendix
Bullying And Parenting Styles
Introduction
Bullying is usually associated with aggression and abuse of power. It can occur regardless of social status or income; however, there is a direct connection between bullying incidents and poor parenting. A significant number of these incidents occur within educational establishments. Bullying takes many forms, such as physical, verbal, relational aggression, cyberbullying, and prejudicial harassment. A properly chosen parenting style, either authoritative, or permissive, or uninvolved, or authoritarian, can produce effective defensive tools for children to stay protected against bullying. Parents should educate their children to create their own safe environment for healthy development, both physical and mental, guaranteeing the absence of abusive behavior or victimization. Using recent studies and opinions, this paper aims at proving that there is a relationship between parenting styles and bullying with both direct and indirect impacts.
The Concept of Bullying
Bullying is an essential concern for society and education establishments. Every fifth student is being bullied at school, and every third student experienced cyberbullying (Bullying Statistics, 2020). The consequences of this problem can be psychological and physiological (Rajendran et al., 2016). They may also be immediate, like an injury, or revealed several years later. Bullying triggers a feeling of insecurity in children, when they develop a distrust of people, including the family, and depression caused by isolation from society (Moore et al., 2017). Some physical consequences of bullying, such as bruises, traumas, and pain, are usually noticed at once (Rajendran et al., 2016). At the same time, parents are responsible for psychological control, and the identification of psychological effects, such as stress, headache, and insomnia, that happen later, cannot be ignored (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2019). These outcomes include depression, anxiety, self-harming, aggression, and victimization and are characterized by a significant negative impact on the quality of life (Moore et al., 2017). The connection between bullying and parenting is a critical issue that influences a child’s future social life, provokes multiple emotions, and determines socializing abilities that are revealed with time.
Parenting Styles
The choice of an appropriate parenting style usually contributes to the child’s mental and physical self-defense and behaviors. Parents perform role models, and it is crucial for them to demonstrate the best examples for their children (Njagi et al., 2018). However, the styles parents choose to cooperate with their children depend on a variety of factors, including available resources, emotional well-being in a family, or the influence of other illnesses or disorders (Rajendran et al., 2016). Within the frames of this research, four main types of parenting styles have to be identified: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.
There is a relationship between different parenting styles and associated bullying, which means that even the most professional approaches could cause problems and support bullying behaviors. For example, an authoritarian style is based on the intention of parents to control and assess children as per an absolute set of standards, with high demandingness and low responsiveness (Gómez-Ortiz et al., 2016; Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2019). As a result, children are raised weak, with limited powers, and observe violence regularly, which rouses bullying (Wernert, 2016). Permissive parents demonstrate their love, warmth, and desire to become children’s best friends (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2019). Wernert (2016) explains bullying possibility in this case as an outcome of the lack of respect, rules, and control when children are allowed to do everything they want. An uninvolved parenting style means that parents do not want to control their children, as well as do not find it necessary to share their love and warmth (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2019). Children of such parents know nothing about self-worth and care, which makes them easy targets for bullying at schools or other establishments.
There is also an authoritative style of parenting that becomes a frequent topic for modern evaluations. Wernert (2016) calls it an ideal style that is hardly associated with bullying because children are raised in a democratic fashion and receive enough attention and love to set priorities. Kuppens and Ceulemans (2019) discover that the authoritative style is the one with the most favored outcomes. According to Rajendran et al. (2016), such parents offer support to their children’s autonomy. Children learn how to behave, solve problems, and establish fair relationships with different people under various conditions.
Bullying and Parenting
Sometimes, it is hard for parents to understand what style they prefer in the development of their relationships with children. However, Nocentini et al. (2019) underline that people who grow up in healthy family environments are bullied less often. This is related to the appropriate parenting philosophies, ethical values, and personal life experiences that are shared with the purpose of demonstrating appropriate lessons. When children experience bullying inside the family (when one or both parents show inappropriate action with abusive behavior), the chances to suffer from bullying in other establishments raise (Rajendran et al., 2016). Therefore, one should remember that parenting could cause extreme deterioration and affect physical and mental development in the future.
Bullying, Parenting, and the Modern Environment
In modern society, bullying is no longer a problem of educational facilities only. It also extends to every aspect of life, and the role of parents in controlling bullying triggers and outcomes cannot be neglected. Bullying exists in various forms today, including physical bullying, verbal bullying, relational aggression, cyberbullying, and prejudicial bullying (Rajendran et al., 2016). Physical bullying may be demonstrated by parents (kicking, beating, or slapping) and shape the future behaviors of children (Rajendran et al., 2016). Verbal bullying, when parents use verbal insults or threats to punish or control a child, increases the child’s vulnerability to humiliation and offense at other places (Rajendran et al., 2016). Relational aggression is negatively affecting other people’s relationships by manipulating them, and parents (especially divorced and remarried) find it normal to manipulate children for their own benefits (Rajendran et al., 2016). Cyberbullying is another outcome of poor parenting because of the impossibility of controlling the impact of social media (Rajendran et al., 2016). Finally, prejudicial bullying considers racial, cultural, or gender stereotypes as a reason for bullying. It usually occurs in traditional and deeply religious communities.
Effective Parental Styles for Protecting Children
Appropriate parenting is the key to children’s healthy development and prevents them from being bullied. It is essential to communicate with them so that children can learn how to detect the problem and solve it without any interference from the family (Nocentini et al., 2019). Parents also must remember that even overprotection can result in more bullying. The most effective way to teach kids how to resist bullies is a parental example in different social situations. If parents are bullied by other people, there is a higher chance that their children would be bullied as well. Therefore, the most appropriate parenting style would be teaching in a natural environment. Parental interventions, such as nurturing, discipline, teaching, monitoring, managing, should be implemented appropriately and only if necessary, to establish trust between parents and children (Rajendran et al., 2016). Too strict or too lenient parental styles must be controlled to avoid the production of oppressors and oppresses. Unequal application of these styles has the potential to harm the parent-child connection (Nocentini et al., 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to teach and monitor children but let them have some freedom.
Conclusion
The issue of childhood bullying and its direct connection to the parenting style creates many discussions and provokes new positions and attitudes. Parents should teach their children how to identify and avoid bullies with minimum damage, but most importantly, they must appropriately show the example that produces favored results. There are several types of parents in modern society, including authoritative, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritarian, and each of them has its benefits and impact on bullying behaviors. It is essential to develop trustful relationships in a family so children can rely on their parents’ help and understanding of bullying. Parents, in their turn, must ensure their children’s ability to deal with bullying if it happens to them, which proves the connection between chosen concepts.
References
Bullying statistics. (2020). Web.
Gómez-Ortiz, O., Romera, E. M., & Ortega-Ruiz, R. (2016). Parenting styles and bullying. The mediating role of parental psychological aggression and physical punishment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 132–143. Web.
Kuppens, S., & Ceulemans, E. (2019). Parenting styles: A closer look at a well-known concept. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(1), 168-181. Web.
Moore, S. E., Norman, R. E., Suetani, S., Thomas, H. J., Sly, P. D., & Scott, J. G. (2017). Consequences of bullying victimization in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. World Journal of Psychiatry, 7(1), 60-76. Web.
Njagi, S. N., Mwania, J. M., & Manyasi, B. (2018). The role of parenting styles on violence among students in secondary schools in Embu County, Kenya. Asian Journal of Contemporary Education, 2(1), 8-18. Web.
Nocentini, A., Fiorentini, G., Paola, L. D., & Menesini, E. (2019). Parents, family characteristics and bullying behavior: A systematic review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 45, 41–50. Web.
Rajendran, K., Kruszewski, E., &Halperin, J. (2016). Parenting style influences bullying: A longitudinal study comparing children with and without behavioural problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(2), 188-195. Web.
Wernert, S. (2016). The connection between parenting styles and bullying behaviors. Oregon City Schools Anti-Bullying Site. Web.