COVID 19 and New York

The coronavirus death toll continues to climb at an alarming rate. It has now overwhelmed heath care officials, politicians, cemeteries, and families."To date, the state has recorded more than 24,000 deaths, most of them in New York City." Americans' largest city does not. have the room to store bodies. Funeral homes are no longer accepting bodies because there is no room. 

That leaves friends and families to wonder, "What will I do with my family members' body." It is said that cremations are scheduled to start in mid-May but that date could later change. Burials are also backed up in New York. 

A funeral home in New York ran out of space for bodies. A funeral home was pictured storing bodies in hot trucks. A source says that the funeral home was limited on refrigeration so they continued to lay bodies on ice bags. 

During a time when families are grieving and love ones are in confusion, the U.S government should help to relieve some of the pain and stress. Funeral homes should now be monitored to ensure that the inappropriate behavior of bodies does not happen to other families. 




https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-funerals-bodies/index.html

EOTO

According to Merriam Websters, "Propaganda is defined as the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person."

Propaganda was first introduced by Pope Gregory XV and The Congregation for Propagation of Faith. This congregation was made up of a group of cardinals, tasked with spreading the faith and monitoring churches in areas that were not a part of widely held religions. The Congregation for Propagation of Faith was insistent on converting individuals without using violence or “without the sword”. When propaganda was initially utilized, it did not carry the negative connotations that it manages to come along with today. During World War One, propaganda began to be used more regularly as a weapon of war, especially when being used to elicit fear within the common man.

Another specific aspect of communication it attempts to explain is the differences between propaganda and persuasion. Though persuasion is also focused on influencing people, it does so on a rather smaller scale in comparison to propaganda, which reaches a much larger audience.

 

Propaganda is used in everyday life whether it is obvious to the human eye or not. An example of propaganda is advertising. One strategy that a company may use to advertise their product is by portraying how their product/brand is better than a specific competitor’s. Verizon has launched multiple commercial advertisements on why people should switch to them and stray away from AT&T. One of their claims was how Verizon has 5 times more 3G coverage than AT&T and this was presented to consumers by showing a side by side map of the United States comparing both companies' 3G coverage.

 

It can affect different groups due to what the message focuses on. Many times women are more likely to fall for influence so propaganda can target them heavier and persuade them to do something. Also, if a rich person sees a Bently commercial they might go and get the car. But, a poor person does not have the luxury of going to get that car. So propaganda with a luxury car commercial for the poor would not work.

Propaganda involves the distribution of specific ideas that can help cause someone else harm. This theory has been tied to negative connotations, however, it is a tool that is very beneficial.

https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundt able-series/pamphlets/em-2-what-is-propaganda-(1944)/the-story-of-propaganda

Self Audit

Looking back on my old social media made me cringe. Looking at my 14-year-old self made me laugh but also made me realize how much I have grown. I do not believe I have a big online footprint now. The only social media platforms I have are Instagram and Facebook. I mostly upload photos of me and my family.  Also, I do not have a personal website but I know some college students do. 

If someone was to look at my social media they would learn that I attend High Point University. I have two puppies and I am in a relationship. Indirectly they could see that I do not hang around a lot of friends and take pictures with them. Also, I do not post often thus signifying that I am not always on Instagram. 

I have never given out my phone number on social media because people can be crazy. Also, something I would never do is give my address to strangers on social media due to privacy. 


The Atlantic wrote that Facebook can be possibly making us lonely. Within the mist of social media, it can be a feeling of loneliness. I do believe that social media can make us more distant. We will be hanging out with friends and spend more time with our noses in our phones than hanging out with that person. Also, some teens report that social media has caused them isolation. 

In conclusion, I believe my online presence is presentable for social media. I do not post pictures that could be used against me and could slander my reputation. 


https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/

Final Exam Prompt

Technology has taken over and we are utterly consumed. Society is constantly on their phones,
tablets, and any other device. Also, amidst the Covid-19 epidemic, more and more people have turned to technology such as TikTok.( https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/05/data-shows-that-us-consumers-are-loving-the-tiktok-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.html). TikTok is taking leaps to
try and connect with society.

But, this leaves me to ponder, "How do I interact with technology". I believe my relationship with
technology is healthy. I do not excessively use social media. The main platforms I use are Instagram and Youtube. Both are great to help me stay connected to the world and also gives me the opportunity to learn. When social media is the thing you eat and sleep then that means that it is taking up too much of your life. Technology for me is not taking up to much time. I am on social media about two hours a day which I believe is common.

During this crazy time when we do not know what is going to happen to us and our livelihoods, social media can be misleading but also informative. One of the ways it has been informative was that I was able to gain knowledge about how to create my own mask and also how to make my own hand sanitizers. But, it can be misleading because some things are fake news. Many times we are not able to tell what is real news and what is fake news.

One tool I have been using is CNN. CNN has been great to gain daily knowledge. I feel as if I am able to get my daily dose of news. They also make it easy to know the important news stories for the day. They have a summary of the important news that takes about 5-7 minutes to read. This is great for people who are on the go but they want to be informed, citizens. 

In conclusion, technology has been one of the greatest human advancements. It has helped us save lives, grow in knowledge, and even more. I have a healthy relationship with technology and social media and know the boundaries of social media.