In this video they talk about social media. With social media they bring up how it has had a global social change on humans. It explains how seven-in-ten Americans have at least one social media network account, and about 2.34 billion people accessing social media regularly. This is very interesting and makes since, because the Internet is such a big part of peoples lives now a days. From this information it explains that we have information at the tips of our fingers and we can use this in positive ways. We can bring awareness to any problem and turn it into a global issue within minutes of a post on one of the social media networks. Many of the social media networks are where our social problems are being developed and dealt with. They bring people together on subjects that they are passionate about and believe in. They bring average people together with common passions to make a change. This is amazing because all this can happen and not cost anything for the word to be spread because of social media. With social media bringing awareness to these issues, it can bring those people together not just on social media, but also together in physically present movements.

            In class and in the book we learned about social change. We learned that social change is a transformation that happens over a period of time. From this we learned that social change could happen planned or not planned. With the topic of social media I believe that the Internet was planned, but the way that social media has effected our lives this much was unplanned. Social media would be an innovation to social change, just like the wheel and discovery of fires. With social media it connects to lots of the terms we discussed in lecture. One of the terms would be collective behavior, which is a group of people coming together to take action on a shared goal. This is what was brought up in the YouTube video about bringing people together.  Another thing we learned in class was fads in mass behavior. In social media fads are presented all the time and only last a short while, for example challenges like the cinnamon challenge, and the floss challenge. Another example of fads is with clothing and flexing their styles, like air pods, and new shoes. With this topic in class and discussing it with other people, it is very interesting the social changes that have affected us now and how accessible we can connect to people.

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            In this YouTube video they talk about the topic of population. They bring up that today the population is the biggest it has even been recorded. This population growth also happened at a very high pace. This has very high concerns on how it will affect us in the future. Will we have to go through over crowded places, deal with crazy diseases, lack of food, mass killings, and stuff that have happened before when population became to big. The video then explains that there is a four-step process to population growth. They bring up time when population growth first increased. It was back when medicine was bad, people were poor, bad diets, bad sanitation and death rates where high. People had lots of babies because the chance of death was high among little kids, so not all the babies would make it to adult hood. This made the population pretty balanced. Than we hit a point where people started to get industrialized and move into factories.  This allowed new technologies, science, medicine, and better roles for woman in the work force. This allowed for classes to be more developed and having a bigger middle class.  This was the second step for population.  The second step created more population because the kids where not dying because medicine and food advanced.  This caused the third step where people stopped having as many kids because they where not dying allowing the fourth step to start and the population growth evened back out. Now that today people are having fewer children the population growth will start slowing down.

            In class and in the book we learned about population growth. With population growth it has changed drastically over time. We learned that in the beginning of human existence, when they started recording births and deaths that the population was very steady. This is because there were many births, but lots of deaths to keep the population at a steady rate. Now people are worried about our population getting out of hand and the earth not able to hold all these people. The people that believe that are called NEO-Malthusians, they believe our recourses will go away and people will go crazy causing a catastrophe. The other people and the more popular opinion to this issue are Anti-Malthusians. They believe that with controlling family sizes, this fast pace in growth population will slow down. This makes since because in class we brought up the generation of baby boomers. As they are now getting older death rates will slowly start increasing more than births. This is because the baby boomers are a very high percent of the population while not as much babies are being born. This is why we learned human population will start decreasing before we go over 10 billion people on earth.

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            In this video they show the product of social media. Social media is a very new concept of communication. From it being so new it has had a lot of influence on people. The influence can be positive and it can also be very negative. They first start the video off with a woman waking up and getting ready. The only thing is she does not get fully ready. She gets back into bed to take a picture as if she just woke up. This woman has started her day off as a lie. As soon as she posts a picture of herself other people start to question their life styles and decide to also post a picture lying about their lives. They do this so their lives look more interesting than they actually are. For example they lie about activities they have done, how healthy they are, and how organized they are. For this it only shows the best parts of peoples lives, instead of the real parts. Instead of people actually enjoying these activities they fake them to get likes on their posts. This is very sad because they are not enjoy what actually could come out of these events all they care about are people seeing them to get jealous, to get likes, and to not be happy with their own lives.

            In class lectures we learned about social media. We learned that the media has grown very big and at a very fast rate. In the media we have all sorts of things because people are allowed to post and share whatever they would like. From this it is making it very powerful and important in the social institutions. This means it is getting so big in social institutions it has been connected to our leisure time.  Back a couple years ago leisure was associated with going out in public and making our own fun. For examples boating, hiking, and golfing. Now our leisure is associated with being by ourselves and paying for things. For an example of leisure now days it is staying at home and watching Netflix, or being in bed and scrolling through Instagram. The Internet has gotten so big that the government is trying to pass laws on regulating the Internet and what we can do. Just how cable has different plans on different channels you can watch, they are trying to do that with the Internet. This is so we have to pay for different plans and then we will be limited with what we can access. The government is trying to do this because they now we are so connected to social media that we would pay ridiculous prices to keep it that way.  Social media is a great new technology, but it has so much control over our lives.

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            In this YouTube video they talk about education.            Within education they talk about the different levels and how there is an education gap. He mentions testing in different schools. Back a couple decades ago they compared the richest schools test scores against the poorest schools test scores. Between the two schools there was a 90-question difference. This shows that the richer schools have better access to better education, tutors, and teachers. They also have better class sizes. There are more teachers so they are closer to the students and are able to have fewer kids in the classes. This helps with learning and applying because it is easier to ask questions and make sure the entire students question are answered. They also have better meals prepared at lunch, and with food it impacts your learning ability. With the poorer schools they lack these resources. They do not have small class sizes, good tutoring, and healthy lunches. Usually they are packed into the school, not a lot of teachers, and very old materials like books. Recently they conducted the test again to see the question difference and the gap has gone up more. Instead of the points being 90, it went up to 125 questions. This affects our ranking in education worldwide. It makes the United States one of the worst educated due to such the big difference between the rich and the poor.

            During lecture we brought up the topic of the education gap. With the education gap we also watched a video. In the video it showed two males, both the same age, have the same race, and have the same grades, but go to different schools. Through this they show the difference of accessibility. The first guy goes to a school that has good funding. This is because it is in a nicer area and with that the property taxes are higher. With the taxes being hiring the school get more money. The second guy does not have great funding at his school, and has metal detectors because they are not in the best place. We talked about how in the video it showed them both learning. The class noticed that the first guy had more interaction with his teacher and making him broaden his view on the topics. The second guy did not have great connection with the teacher and he had to do a lot of stuff on his own, especially when he was preparing to apply for college. This topic is very sad because people have advantages in life and others do not. With those advantages and disadvantage they can affect your future.

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            In this YouTube video they explain how people are allowed to dress however they want. They explain that no one should tell you what you are supposed to wear because you should be able to wear whatever you enjoy the most. They show that girls are usually identified with wearing dresses and pink things. In the video they explain that they do not have to wear dresses if the do not want to. Girls are allowed to wear pants if they are more comfortable that way. They explain that boys usually are identified with blue and t-shits and pants. Then they explain that they do not have to only wear sport jerseys; they can also wear nice sweaters and nice pants. After this they explain that if boys want to dress like a girl they can, and if girls want to dress like boys they can. They show that anyone can wear anything and express him or herself however they want. They say that when boys or girls decide that their gender is not right for them they are allowed to change their gender to how they identify themselves with. This may take people time to adjust to it, but if they love you they will accept you for whoever you are.

            In class lectures and in the book a big concept that we talked about was the difference between sex and gender. This was very exciting for me because I am very interested about all the different concepts to this topic. This is because I have not been very informed on different genders besides male and female. Sex is defined as the physical parts that you have or were born with, either a vagina or a penis. Gender is defined as personality traits and behavior that is considered normal for a male or female. So for example someone’s sex could be male, but they identify as a female and that would be a trans-woman. This concept can go both ways, and some people can decide to go against gender and not claim one at all. By learning this it does not make the concept easy to understand. In class we had many questions trying to clarify things so everyone knew more information on these topics. After discussing and asking many questions I feel I have a better understanding of gender. The biggest part is being accepting of every single person no matter race, sex, or gender. Every one is unique in their own ways and they should be able to express themselves however makes them feel their best.   

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            In this video they tested to see if people could guess other peoples ethnicity based on their appearances. This was the true test to put stereotypes to the test and base them off of the difference between race and ethnicity. The producers gathered four people who have all different backgrounds of ethnicity. The people also have no background or professional experience with ethnicity or race. These people than had to guess who is white out of a random group of people. The people who were evaluating all went at separate times, so they had to use their own opinions to guess who is white. First they lined up all of the people who are getting evaluated and then the evaluator went down the line person by person. When they evaluate the people to guess if they are white or not they asked them questions or ask them to preform something for them. The four people who were evaluating the line felt very awkward asking and assuming every ones ethnicity. They brought up that it is very taboo and rude to assuming peoples ethnicities. Through out the process they had to ask questions to get background on them. The questions they asked mostly dealt with stereotypes like, shoe size, hair type and color, and if they have an accent. By the end they actually found out who was white and who was not. The results were very surprising.

            In class we discussed the difference between race and ethnicity. For some people they get these two terms mixed up, or at least for me I did not know the correct definitions for them. Race is physical features that you cannot hide for example your skin color, and ethnicity is your cultural family history. Most people look at a person and assume their ethnicity based off of their features. When people do this then they start to assume things about their background instead of asking politely. We also brought up the idea of how to politely ask someone their ethnic history and how to ask the wrong way. The best way to ask is to ask about their ethnic background and the wrong way is to ask what are they or where they are from. This is where people can get their feeling hurt and is also were stereotypes become a huge issue. Stereotypes are based on specific ethnic groups and are usually bad. So next time when you are in that situation be careful how you word things and be respectful to that person.  You do not know that person just because of stereotypes.

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            In this YouTube video about Caste Systems they described it in a way that made it simpler. In the video they made it into a comedy. They described how in India they have a Caste System. Brahmins is the highest and they are the priestly and academic class, Kshatriyas being the rulers and warriors, Vaishyas are farmers and merchants, Shudras do manual labor, and the lowest is Dalits who are street cleaners. In ancient India they created this system and once you are assigned into your level of Caste you are there for life and your future generations are too. Within the Caste system you are only allowed to talk to people who are in the same Caste as you. This also is with Marriage, when you are going to marry someone in India they first have to meet all the requirements and one of the requirements is that they have to be in the same Caste system that you are in because you are not allowed to move up or down in that system. The video than brings up the idea of people connecting in America and in America we do not have a Caste system. In America we are still divided but not because there are rules that we have to be divided. We are allowed to marry or be friends with who ever we want.

            In lecture and from the book we talked about Caste systems. With Caste systems we learned that people are divided into groups of higher more ruler like people to lower living very broke people. We learned that within the system you are not allowed to move up or down in the system. We also brought up the idea of America and if we have a system. We do not have a Caste system but we do have social classes. In a social class it is similar to a caste system by the wealthy are on the top and the poor are on the bottom. The only thing with America is we are allowed to talk to others who are not in the same social class as us, and we can also move up or down in our social class. When it comes to marriage you can marry whoever you want no matter how much or how little money they make or what social class they are in. You are also allowed to go to college if you can afford it to be able to move up in your social class. Social class is similar to Caste systems by how they rank them, but in America you have to choice to move and be with whoever you want.

            In this video, about the movie Mean Girls, they evaluate the concept of conflict theory. They explain that conflict theory is the process of the one who is in power and has the ultimate control. They use this power to get all the things they want. For example the lead girl, Regina, makes all the rules for the group. Her rules are extravagant and unnecessary, but she makes them that way so no one else can be like her. She explains how to dress, act, look, behave, and what boys they can and cannot date. With the boys they can only date popular boys to up their power in the school. When a new girl came Regina thought her power was being threatened she is so concerned that her power might be taken away that she will go to extremes to keep that power. When she noticed a new girl that could potentially take her power she adds her to her group so she can over power her. She does this so the boys will not pay attention to the new girl and the focus is still on the power group. When the lower person learns she is being controlled she decided to revolt and take her status.  This causes lots of conflict within the school. They explain that the conflict part is when multiple people are trying to take power.

            In class when we talked about conflict theory we also brought up the idea of deviance. Deviance has different ranges, super extreme or little things that are bad. Deviance is things that get you in trouble. When conflict theory is introduced the deviance part is the rules and thing to get on top and have all the power. Conflict theory is when power is being tested and there are people trying to take over the power by creating their own rules. Conflict theory is also when inequality is being pushed. Conflict theory is all around if you think about it. It is being pushed a lot lately with inequality with race and gender. Inequality is something us human race need to focus on. As a society we are getting better and being more open minded, we are being able to express our true self more freely. The real thing is creating equality amongst all, so we can try to prevent conflict theory all together.

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            In this video they address the topic and issues of gender roles in society. They gathered a group of young children and asked them a series of questions. The questions ranged from what they were taught, how others might feel, and what they believe. The kids answered that usually girls have long hair and wear dresses, while boys have short hair and play rough. The people asked what they would think if a boy wore a dress to school, and all answered that he would be laughed at even though they know it would make him sad. By the end the kids agreed that everyone should be treated the same because we are all human. In the second part of the video they asked parents what they thought about and believed in gender roles. They asked about a boy wearing a dress to school. One woman added that she would let him play dress up at home, but would be too afraid that he would get bullied at school for wearing it. The parents said we have come along way with gender roles, but definitely have some work to do.

            In the textbook and lectures in class they address the concept of gender roles. When mentioning gender roles in lecture classmates brought up gender reveal parties and how pink means girl and blue means boy. The book mentions that gender roles are started at a very young age and if you think about it they happen before the baby is even born. Usually when little girls are young they get a cooking set to play with and that is causing the girls to believe that they have to be the one cooking for the family as they develop into an adult. Boy get exposed with tools and cars showing that they have to be handy and able to fit things in the house. These roles are influenced young and bring up false expectations for the kids. The girls should not have to cook and the boys do not have to use their hands, they should be allowed to enjoy whatever they want. This exposure to the child is very influential and can very much affect their views later in life. It is important to be more aware what we are teaching the younger generations and being open to change. Giving this opportunity for boys and girls to be treated the same in society lets them be more expressive and not judging what others enjoy.

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            In this video they show an experiment dealing with sociology. In the experiment they are testing to see how easily one person will start to copy habits that they are seeing happen over and over again. The experiment deals with a group of people, and they are supposed to stand up when they hear a beep. The group knows they are supposed to do that except for the one person, to see if she will copy what everyone else is doing. She does and keeps doing it even when everyone there has left. She continues doing it with people who are also not part of the experiment, making the experimenters wonder if the people will also copy. The others also joined in, proving that people will copy each other’s habits under pressure to fit in.

            In the textbook they talk about experiments. When the book mentions social experiments they also add that the person being tested will not participate until there are three or more people doing the same thing. Which connects back to the video she started doing it after the third time, and because multiple people were engaging in the activity also. This connects to habits that people have developed. They developed those habits because they were taught them. The book mentions that people learn from what they have been taught which makes sense because kids learn from example, and this experiment proves that it is true from the sociological point of view. So keep in mind what you are doing or what others are doing because you could be under peer pressure or putting peer pressure on someone else whether it is good or bad.

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