Class Reflection

When I first signed up for this class, I was honestly dreading it. The word "law" scared me.

The last government class I took was my senior year of high school and it was an advanced placement class which I did not receive college credit for because I was so lost on the final exam that I drew a hand turkey on.  I was extremely intimidated walking into this class.

With that being said, I loved this class. Yes, it was at 7:50 AM and tough to get out of bed to go to the class but I learned so much. I loved learning about our country and about our world. This class has shown me how little I truly know about our court system and that has made me disappointed and sad.

I would get excited when I came back to my dorm and tell my friends about what I learned and, I'm not going to lie, it made me feel better when they didn't know about what I was telling them. However, this is also sad. I believe that every American should have to take a class similar to this. Americans should know how our court system works and should have to sit in an civil environment where they have to listen to other people's opinions about politics. It is the only way people will become tolerant of others' beliefs learn to understand and accept each other.

Thank you, Dr. Smith, for all you have taught us this semester. For opening my eyes to how much I have to learn about what is going on in the world. For helping me become more accepting to others' opinions. And for making the words "law," government," and "politics" become not so scary.

If I were to give people advice going into this class it would be to take advantage of it. Don't view the blog as a chore but rather an opportunity, because it is. It's an opportunity to express yourself and take time out of your week to look and reflect on what is going on in the world. 

Big Brother is Always Watching

After watching the Ted Talks, I'm scared. I thought that America was the land of the free, I thought that freedom meant the right to have a private life. I understand that some times privacy must be breeched for safety reasons however for regular citizens to be tracked everywhere they go. 

The Ted Talk regarding this issue was the most interesting to me. I've always noticed the white cameras but my parents always told me that the cameras were used to track your speed or catch people who run red lights. I never knew that they were really being used to track every American's whereabouts. 

The local and federal governments know where every American drives to and that seems like it is against our rights, it is an invasion of privacy. Most Americans are unaware of this, I was until this video. If the government is going to do this, they should inform citizens that they are being tracked and monitored. 

There are trackers everywhere: streets, cop cars, neighborhoods. The government knows your daily routine. If this doesn't alert you then think about the fact that each person you care about, friends, family, and loved ones, are being tracked to. Nothing in this country is private anymore, just remember that Big Brother is always watching..

Private Instagram Life

Instagram is testing hiding like counts on photos and view counts on videos on their Instagram feed or profiles. The company is hoping that this will change users focus to the content rather than the post's engagements.

Personally, I love this idea. Instagram users have gone as far as to buy likes and follows from apps which have created fake accounts that will like and follow your account. People are also using social networks to make money. Celebrities like Selena Gomez and Kendall Jenner make thousands of dollars just for posting one picture wearing or using a brand.

Social media platforms like Instagram were created to be a fun way to express yourself and update family and friends on your life. Today, social media platforms feel more like a popularity contest.

I get on social media every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep. I love checking to see what my friends are doing, things going on around me, finding new music or ideas or inspiration through what others post. I, along with others, am tired of seeing advertisement and meaningless posts to gain likes and followers on social media.

The company is testing this concept in Canada and based off of that test period it may become a new Instagram feature world wide. This is something that could change how people use Instagram forever.

To find out more, click here!

Theories

The group presentation I enjoyed the most was group 4 about theories. They spoke about illusory truth effect, confirmed bias, gatekeeping, agenda setting, overton window, and spiral of silence.

Illusory truth effect basically means the more your read or see something, the more you believe it.
because the more you’re surrounded by something the more comfortable you are with is. for
example, in politics the politicians will repeat the same points over and over so voters will feel
more comfortable with their platforms and believe in them. This is similar to cognitive ease,
which is when your brain gets used to the information you hear a lot.

Confirmation bias is information that confirms your beliefs or used to confirm your beliefs.

Gatekeeping is when one individual or one company or organization controls all the power of
providing news sources. An example of this is Disney who owns most television stations.

Agenda setting is news stations determine which stories they air

Overton window is the range of ideas the public is willing to accept and consider from political
leaders, this shifts and changes overtime. This can change depending on current events and the
current generations ability to accept.

The spiral of silence is the theory that is people have different opinions than the people who
surround them then people may fear separation or isolation from the dominant public view,
causing them to stay silent and keep their opinions and beliefs to themselves. This can happen
when talking about simple beliefs such as favorite sports teams or it can be.

These theories can affect everyone with an opinion about anything. They affect the information you recieve, the way you receive this information, and the way you choose to or not choose to share information.

My Online Presence

My online footprint is something I've never thought about before. I've had social media since I was in 6th grade and set up an Instagram account behind my parents' backs on my iPod touch. I have it all: Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, VSCO, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, I even have a finsta profile that only my close friends follow. A finsta is a separate Instagram account where I post pictures that I wouldn't post on my real account but are funny or just update my friends on my life. I also have a personal website that I had to create for class, but I wouldn't really count that because I'm inactive on it. My followings range from a few hundred to a few thousand people, whether or not all of them see or pay attention to my posts is something I don't care to know. 

If someone were to visit any of my social media sites they would find out the basics about me: who my friends are, where I go to school, my age, where I'm from, and if they were to visit my Twitter then they would get a glimpse of my type of humor. 

Each of my social media account have my email and a few have my phone number, like Facebook and Instagram. The email addresses are mandatory to create an account and I gave some sites my phone number to receive notifications on my phone. 

Depending on how you use social media it can make you feel one of two ways: lonely or together. If you are only following influencers and celebrities or people living extravegant lives then yes, it can make you feel alone. It makes you feel like everyone is living a life that's better than you, more successful than you, and have more friends than you.

However, if you're like me, then you follow you're friends, family, and relatable people. You follow people who aren't pros at photoshop and filters. You follow people who post their flaws, who post inspiring and uplifting quotes and pictures. You follow people who's posts make you happy and not people who you feel like you need to compare yourself to. When I get on social media I feel closer to people, so many of the people I care about are hours away from me and when I see them happy or having fun or just enjoying a drink on social media then it makes me genuinely happy. 

Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalism refers to the reporting of news events by members of the public using the Internet to spread the information. It is all forms of public reporting carried out online by private individuals who don’t report or write for an organization or company.

This can include local blogs cover small events, social media outlets like Twitter, or online posts of citizens in countries where the national media is government controlled.

Since the general public has 24/7 access to technology, citizens are often the first on-scene for breaking news, getting these stories out more quickly than traditional media reporters. However, unlike professional journalists, citizen journalists may not have conducted the same background research and source verification, which can make these leads less reliable.

Social media has played a vital role in revolutionizing news. Many citizens are the
first to report on breaking stories, with eye-witness videos, first-hand accounts, and
real-time information, all using social media. Even news outlets will share breaking
stories on social media before traditional means, but they have to still follow up with
larger stories quickly or risk being outdated with their material in this fast-paced news
environment.

Social media also stands as a source for professional journalists to identify the stories they need to cover. A 2016 study indicated that more than 50% of professional journalists used social media, including citizen journalism, to find and build stories.

Although citizen journalism has a large impact on our daily news it does have flaws.

The biggest concern is the reliability of news, including fact-checking and the risk of
incorrect information being disseminated.

To find out more, click here!

Confidential Sources

True anonymous sources can be people who call in tips to an organization, leave
comments, or contact an organization through social media or other outlets.
Usually sources wish to remain anonymous when speaking negatively about a subject,
organization, etc. that they may represent.

These are sources who provide journalists with information to journalists or other
writers with the agreement that their identities will not be revealing when reporting
the details that they have provided.

Journalists often call these news sources “anonymous sources.”

Most journalist are hesitant to use information from anonymous sources because it can
weaken an organization’s credibility.

While information from confidential sources can be valuable, nothing should ever be
published from a confidential source without first being verified as true and reliable.

An ex of a confidential sources gone wrong is after the Boston bombing in 2013 the
journalist glenn beck published that a Saudi Arabian student, Abdulrahman Alharbi,
was behind the bombings after getting his information from 2 confidential source who
were employed by U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Abdulrahman Alharbi sued
Beck, his firms The Blaze and Mercury Radio Arts, as well as distributor Premiere
Networks for defamation in federal court in Boston over his assertions that Alharbi—
who was injured in the attack—served as "the money man" for the operation.

Generally, any person who is asked or ordered to testify at a legal proceeding must comply. If the person doesn’t, he or she’s subject to a contempt finding, which means a judge could put the person in jail, or fine her, or both to extract compliance. However, there are exceptions called privileges.

Many confidential sources feel comfortable supplying information to reporters because of reporter’s privilege.

The idea behind reporter’s privilege is that journalist have a limited First Amendment right not to reveal information or confidential news sources in court.

Roughly 30 states have passed statutes, called shield laws, which allow journalists to refuse to disclose or testify about disclosed information, including the identity of sources. The statues significantly vary from state to state in the scope of their protections.

The first state shield law was enacted in Maryland on April 2, 1896, in response to the imprisonment of a Baltimore Sun reporter for refusing to reveal a confidential source to a grand jury.

To find out more, click here!