Social media as a distraction for African students Essay Example for Free

Social media as a distraction for African students Essay Social media as a distraction for African students social media has formed a massive part of our lives whether we embrace the concept or discard it. Social media is all around us; on all continents and in most countries. It can be likened to death, regarding its inevitable nature. Social media can be defined as the relationship that exists between networks of people. (Walter Riviera, 2004). We as individuals cannot imagine a world without social media, not to talk about the internet. The income or the earnings of some individuals actually come from social media as a result of the advertisement. One can confidently say that social media has been of immense benefit to the general public. It has helped to reduce communication barriers, it has helped us relate better with our friends and relatives, and it has created avenues for business opportunities, but like every natural phenomenon, it has a flip side as well. Social media has been and is still a major distraction for students in Africa and as young adults or students, we are mostly caught up in this web on countless occasions. This paper will talk about how social media has been and is still a distraction for students. Like stated earlier on, social media has been lauded for its benefits to the world. It has helped in terms of socialization, in that, it helps us rewire our relationship with our long-lost friends, it helps people to advertise their products which actually turns their business into a very lucrative one, it also creates avenues for business opportunities and so forth. We could sit and devote our time to describing how social media has been a blessing to this generation but as the saying goes every yin has its yang. Social media like every natural thing has its cons as well. It has become a major distraction for students in almost every country in Africa. According to a report by common sense media, 75% of African teenagers presently have profiles on social networking sites, of which 68% of them use Facebook as their main social networking tool. According to Sephora, a digital marketing website, studies have shown that 50% of 18-24-year-olds go on Facebook when they wake up (Noyes, 200 2). Most students in this modern era, cannot go a day without visiting social media websites, not to even talk about their phones. One major effect of social media on students is that there is no privacy in their lives. The figure below shows the kind of information people put on social media. Students of today find nothing wrong in sharing their personal information on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook because they see it to be the â€Å"new thing† trending or they try to stick to the status quo. Some students deliberately turn a blind eye to the consequences or the effects of putting such information out there, thinking that there are no harmful people in the world or thinking that it’s the status quo. All these information put out there can actually bring harm to the students because there are people out there who have bad intentions or who have the mindset of getting the information of people and blackmailing them. According to daily graphic, a 21 year old girl who always used to put her photos or what is going on in her life on social media was one time blackmailed by one criminal because she put an explicit picture of herself there thinking no one would see and was asked to pay a ransom of GHS100, 000 for the picture not to be leaked. She then h ad to appeal for funds just to be able to redeem herself. It sometimes would not be this easy to come out of blackmailing, so it’s better to avoid all these problems, as the saying goes â€Å"prevention is indeed better than cure†. In the same vein, social media is seen as the cause for the low grades some students get during the exams they take or the assignments they get from school. Most students when in class do not pay attention but rather use their phones with the excuse of â€Å"checking what new song Justin Bieber has released† or â€Å"what dress Serena Williams wore to her recent wedding†. Although it’s good to be up-to-date on the things happening around us, there is time for everything. Time magazine US edition, an article called Wired for distraction, conducted a research and realized that students who are seriously involved in social media have what we call â€Å"continuous partial attention†, which was said by Linda Stone, a Microsoft executive. This means, their attention to focus on one thing or person at a time is nearly impossible. Most students find it very difficult to pay attention in class because they are distracted by the least thing or noise they hear. The c onstant distraction of social media tends to affect how the students learn and absorb information. Students who try to multitask by using their phones to text and surf social networks while listening to the lecturer teach end up not using their brains to its full potential or capacity. According to the University of California, Los Angeles, there are two kinds of learning segments in the brain. The â€Å"focused learner† is one that pays attention and is not distracted by their phones, friends or their laptops. These people use the â€Å"hippocampus† region of the brain, the part of the brain used in long-term memory. And we have the multitaskers; these people try and perform one or more tasks at the same time. They use the part of the brain called the striatum; this part, on the other hand, is normally for those who try and study patterns or habits. Students of today are easily distracted and must learn to pay full attention in class in order to turn their dreams into reality. Social media takes a lot of time from students. Students normally have the intention of checking Facebook or Instagram for a specific amount of time. They plan on spending 5 minutes on social media but before they can say jack, they spend over 3 hours on it. In 2010, the Kaiser family foundation came out with a report that children between the ages of eight (8) to eighteen (18) use over 7 or more hours on social media sites. One research study done by Phil Smith was that once an hour, 9 out of 10 students are distracted by Facebook or Twitter. (Smith, 2011). References Noyes, D. (n.d.). Digital Marketing Consultants top 20 valuable facebook statistics 2017.https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/Sterling, G. (2014, July 22). Pew: 94% Of Teenagers Use Facebook, Have 425 Facebook Friends, But Twitter Instagram Adoption Way Up. https://marketingland.com/pew-the-average-teenager-has-425-4-facebook-friends-44847 Conley, D. (2011, 19 May). Wired for Distraction: Kids and Social Media. Time Magazine U.S. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article

Colonization Across the Globe Essay -- Colonies World History Economy

Colonization Across the Globe After Christopher Columbus landed in the West Indies in 1492, Spain and Portugal started disputing areas of influence on the South American continent. The dispute was eventually settled by the Pope (Alexander VI), who in 1493, drew up defined areas of influence for the two nations with the idea of spreading Christianity to the natives in those territories. In time the Portuguese territory became known as Brazil, hence the working language of that country to this day is Portuguese, while most of the rest of the continent speaks Spanish. On 1 August 1498, during his third voyage, Columbus finally sighted the South American mainland for the first time. The next white explorer to reach the continent was the Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral, who anchored off the coast of present day Brazil in April 1500 - a territory which he then claimed for Portugal. However, the claim was ignored for more than 30 years by Portugal itself, whose sailors had in the interim sailed round Africa to India. During this time of Portuguese indifference, the Spanish seized the initiative in Central America and the West Indies. In 1519, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, then employed by the Spaniards, first sailed up the Rio de la Plata River. He then proceeded south and in November 1520, first sailed round the southernmost part of South America and sighted the Pacific Ocean. 1. Spain In 1519, Cortes with about 600 men set sail for South America with a few cannon and horses. A last minute dispute with the Spanish governor saw Cortes' expedition being officially cancelled, but Cortes continued, later bringing back gold and other riches to the Spanish crown as justification for his expedition. The army sailed west along the Gulf Coast, engaging in a major battle against a local tribe. It was at this first battle that Cortes realized the technological advantage the Europeans possessed: steel armour, guns, cannons and even horses were completely unknown to the people of Central America, and many tribesmen fled at the very sight of a powerful charge horse. These advantages were pressed home remorselessly, and all the native tribes in Central and South America were to pay dearly for being technologically so far behind the Europeans. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Central America, the Aztecs had created an empire which... ...ess Cixi. The terrorist activities of the Boxer society gradually increased during 1899, with Boxer bands attacking all whites on sight. When these bands entered the Chinese capital, Peking, the whites powers sent a small armed column to the Chinese capital to protect the few whites in the city. On 16 June 1900, the Empress Cixi ordered Chinese troops to attack the whites army which was still outside Peking. Then on 18 June 1900, the Empress Cixi publicly called on the Chinese to kill all the whites they could find. Many whites were then murdered: large numbers fled into the fortified foreign embassies in the city. There they were besieged by Chinese. Finally, a combined army consisting of British, French, Russian, German, American and Japanese troops entered Peking on 14 August 1900, relieving the besieged foreign embassies. Peking was then occupied by the whites powers for a year until September 1901, when the Chinese signed a peace treaty in terms of which they had to pay a large indemnity and grant the whites powers the right to station troops in Peking to safeguard the embassies. This situation remained unaltered right up until the early part of the 20th century.

Case Study: Jollibee Foods Corporation Essay

Problem Statement: The newly appointed head of International division Mr Manolo .P. Tingzon is pondering into three key opportunities that the firm Jollibee Food Corporation facing whether to enter the small PNG(Papua New Guinea) market where it will be a first mover, to expand into Hong Kong where is an existing base but the local people doesn’t like Jollibee’s Philippines-based fast food model, and a proposal to share the huge benefit in U.S. market by establishing an operation in California. Objectives: 1. Keep the original business model: franchising 2. Maintaining Marketing investment in building image (symbolization) 3. Local market penetration with strong local brands 4. Highly customer responsiveness 5. Maintain customer value and loyalty 6. Establishing the commercial spots in foreign countries Alternatives: 1. Market entry strategies such as Franchising, Alliances, Joint ventures, Wholly owned subsidiaries 2. Substantive growth strategies: Horizontal and vertical integration strategies 3. Limited growth strategies: Do nothing, Market penetration strategies 4. Retrenchment strategies: Retrenchment, Turnaround strategies Consequences of Alternatives: When analyzing the case study it is clear that Jollibee Inc. has higher pressure to respond to local wishes in Philippines due to the entry of global giants like McDonalds. This is due to the fact that Jollibee had a strong presence in Philippines but at the same it should tackle the adaptation pressure from McDonalds. This is also supported by the fact that Jollibee was franchising their brand to foreign countries on very strict terms which do not allow any changes to the menu. And we can use the goals including Keep the original business model: franchising, Maintaining Marketing investment in building image (symbolization), Local market penetration with strong local brands, Highly customer responsiveness, Maintain customer value and loyalty and Establishing the commercial spots in foreign countries with the four strategy (Market entry strategies, Substantive growth strategies, Limited growth strategies and Retrenchment strategies to established the table 1. Tradeoffs/ Analysis of Alternatives: Tingzon’s decision can based on the table 2 shows below, it can be seen clearly that the Substantive growth strategies (Horizontal and vertical integration strategies) has the highly scores. Because Jollibee entering the markets without any clear cut idea, since Mr. Kitchner strongly believe in gaining the first mover advantage, Jollibee is expanding into the markets where the competitors little are no presence, to â€Å"plant the flag† without any long term perspectives. The company’s strategy can be more identified with the international strategy where the locus of power lies with the parent company in the Philippines. With much of happening in the international arena too. After Kitchners got hired, he encouraged localization by separating international business completely from the domestic ones. Recommendations: Papua New Guinea As evident from the data given in the case, it is quite evident that the company is having immense opportunities in Papua New Guinea. As the market there is untapped and the only competitor there is an unorganized and unprofessional local company, Jollibee can literally get a first mover advantage, therefore JFC must choose the Horizontal and vertical integration strategy. Hong Kong Currently all the three stores established in Hong Kong are facing lot of management issues as mentioned in the problem statement hence it is required that first this management issues must be sorted out rather than putting additional resources in expansion plans California The company has to start with focusing on both the Filipinos as well as local people and design the menu that would help maintaining the brand identity along with catering to the local interests. To put it simple and straight, Company needs to adapt a trans-national strategy.

Do Not Weep Maiden, for War Is Kind

â€Å"Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War is Kind,† was written by the poet Stephen Crane. The poem is a bitter and emotional protest of the horrors of war. It gets much of its strength from using simple but highly descriptive words in contrast with innocence, and also through the use of repetition and sarcasm. The poet portrays bitterness and innocence in the first stanza. It is strongly shown in the lines â€Å"Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind, because your lover threw wild hands towards the sky† (1-2). The maiden is obviously a grieving woman who has received the terrible news of the loss of her lover. It is however the sense of description in the second line which is evoked from the word â€Å"wild† that really describes the awful, vivid moment of death. Constant repetition throughout the poem is also utilized for maximum effect, in particular the deeply sarcastic phrase â€Å"war is kind† and the line â€Å"do not weep† which works well to emphasize the objective of the poem by discouraging the passions of war. The machine of war marches on like a great â€Å"Battle-God† but it is the poor souls who are left behind who suffer. It is the mourning wives, girlfriends and children who are left with nothing but memories of the brave soldiers who have given their lives to the killer machine. The flashiness of war is ridiculed in this poem. Words and phrases such as† booming drums of regiment† (6) and the â€Å"Swift blazing flag of the regiment, eagle with crest of red and gold† (18-19) have a strong, orderly and official glory which is deeply contrasted to that of suffering displayed throughout the poem. The moving tragedy of the story draws to a rapid conclusion with the mother whose humble labor has now produced nothing but a shroud for her son to lie in, along with the other thousand corpses. To further push the point home Crane uses the pronoun of â€Å"your† to directly relate to the reader. In many ways this type of poetry is a type of silent protest of war. It is an expression that has the ability to really get to the heart of the situation as much as a vocal protest. Even if war is an ever present aspect of society, works such as these ensure that its true horrors never fade. By reading such poetry we ensure that even if the brave fallen are gone, they are not forgotten.

Being A Residence Assistant essays

Being A Residence Assistant essays The college lifestyle brings many amazing opportunities to any student that is willing to take advantage of what Curry College has to offer. Along with these new chances also comes some rather difficult obstacles that can be easily over come with the help of a friend or the guidance of a leader. In most cases that leader is the person right down the hall, the Residence Assistant. As I have learned from my personal experience that entering college, as a freshman can be a very scary experience for many reasons. First of all there is a major shift from the home centered family lifestyle to dorm based communal living. This can pose a problem for new students because it takes quite a bit of adjusting to get used to their new surroundings and ways of living. There is also the challenge of getting used to living with a complete stranger in cramped room with not much personal space. The academic pressures and demands in college are also different than they are in high school and even the most scholarly students must find themselves in a state of confusion at some point. Students at Curry College must get to know new teachers and new methods of learning while taking classes that they might have had no previous background in. Finding a quiet comfortable place to study is quite a challenge, never mind having the self-discipline to get oneself there and actually be productive. Finally, finding time for a healthy social life is of critical importance to Penn State students. Making friends, having relationships and involvement in outside the classroom activities is a great way to relax and have fun but it doesnt come without problems. Many students are faced with the issue of finding friends who the actually like and want to spend their time with. Getting involved is a great way to do this but too much extra activities can often lead to a great deal of stress. This stress can create many problems and sometimes students tend to look to th...

U.S. National Intelligence Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. National Intelligence Services - Essay Example All their responsibilities revolve around one thing: â€Å"To maintain peace and prosperity in United States and to eradicate all the evils from the society which are causing disruptions†. Some of its top-most responsibilities are to protect United States from terrorism, intelligence threats, high technology crimes, cyber-based attacks, civil rights etc. It has the duty perform which includes combating and eradicating public corruption at all levels, white collar and violent crime etc. Protecting civil liberties is one of the main aims of FBI in which FBI is responsible to collect all the required information and provided to the foreign intelligence collection agencies. It has to perform its duty in accordance to United States constitutional system. FBI also trains special agents so that they can have an insight, how to carry on civil rights protections programs in the country. This extensive Civil Law instruction greatly helps in maintaining law and order in the country. Responsibilities of FBI have been re-stated and improvised after the social and political impact of the events of 9/11. Its Motto says it all: ‘Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity’. FBI needs should make such an organizational structure which clearly defines the responsibilities of the supervisors and other employees to increase efficiency. Improving internal security systems and managerial systems will directly improve the management of this agency. Being an individual United States civil agency, CIA has to follow a proper framework of responsibilities set in accordance with Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 2004 mainly. Conducting counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities is the main responsibility of CIA. Taking care of the special national security matters is what the main duty of CIA is. All these responsibilities can only be carried efficiently and effectively only in one case which is,

Darwin, The Final Nail In the Coffin For Newtonian Religion Essay

Darwin, The Final Nail In the Coffin For Newtonian Religion - Essay Example eligion is likewise wrong in its assumption of passive matter needing the Will of God to set it in motion, that gravity is the ultimate proof of the supernatural act of God, and that the design of the solar system warrants a â€Å"providential God† (Olson, 2004, pp. 123-124). My argument, which favors Mechanism instead of Creation and Design, will further be supported by the weakness of William Paley’s watchmaker argument (Bendz, 1996). The publication of Charles Darwin’s writing The Origin of Species in 1859, wherein he proposed his Evolution Theory and evidences that support his findings, sparked the ancient debate between scientists and the religious (ONeil, 1996). Even before Darwin’s controversial publication, Boucher de Perthes has already put forth archaeologocal artifacts that support the Evolution Theory (ONeil, 1996). However, it was dismissed by scientists and the clergy as they go against what has generally been taught and believed—that God was responsible for all Creation (ONeil, 1996). Thus, Darwin had reopened the age-old debate between science and religion—something that was thought to be reconciled once upon a time through the practice of natural theology, wherein Sir Isaac Newton was a proponent and believer. Natural theology is the process of â€Å"moving from the observable and created to the unobservable and uncreated† as a way of establishing the existence of God (Hart, 2002). Until now, there is still a standing discussion among atheists and the religious, with the scientists being caught in the middle—as the religious aims to use scientific findings as a proof of the existence of God and the atheists, likewise, using science and logic to disprove the notion of a Deity. Scientists who have a firm belief in God have been torn between these two separate schools of thought. Hence, there is a need to look back and trace where the argument came from in order to come to a conclusion on whether science and religion can coalesce and form