TED Videos

We Are All Cyborgs
This video basically talked about how humans are adapting themselves to technology. We have modified our lives so much by the use of cell phones and the internet. An example that she used was that you could put anything you want into a cellphone or a laptop and it won't get heavier. We have became these so called cyborgs because we use technology to enhance our mental selves. She also talked about something called a second self. This is the person you are when you go on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. People are interacting with your page on the internet, not you directly, hence the second self. One thing that I found interesting was the technosocial wormhole. Technosocial wormhole is a term that describes how someone can say something in one part of the world and through technology it can be heard in another part.

Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders:
This video talked about how women aren't really at the top of any profession. I already knew that women struggled to hold powerful positions, but her statistic that only 15-16% of women hold cooperate jobs in the world was startling. She said that one of the causes for this is because many women drop out of the work force to care for children. She also said that women doubt themselves way more than men do. They don't push for higher positions because they don't think they would excel at them. Women don't have the confidence to push for what they deserve. Only 7% of women who were starting their first job out of college negotiated their pay with their employer. 56% of men did. Women need to realize they have just as much of a right to a high power position as a man does. They just need to have confidence in themselves.

Social Media And The End Of Gender
This video seemed a little too far fetched for me, but I still found it interesting. It was about how old media groups put people in demographics, or categories, based on age, income, and gender. However, with social media, it is difficult to find out a person's age, income and gender, so media companies are forced to group us together by our shared interests. This, in a sense, is getting rid of gender in social media. Also, she talked about how women dominated social media. She brought up the idea that our media landscape may become a feminist landscape, but then quickly shot down that idea. She said that many women involved with social media will help break down stereotypes.

MS Magazine Essay

The MS moment I chose was "Why Women Don't Like Their Bodies"

More women now than ever are uncomfortable with their bodies. Television and magazines portray the ideal women as super skinny and flawless. The images of these women are manipulated and photoshopped, but most women today still try to imitate what they see. These images are unrealistic to say the least and women are haunted by them everywhere they go; They appear on magazines in the grocery store, billboards on the highways, on the television, and all over the internet. We live in a time where getting plastic surgery is just as common as going to the grocery store. It is no longer just for the rich and famous. Many women harm their bodies with things like plastic surgery and eating disorders in hopes to become just like the women portrayed in the media. Instead of viewing things like acne, wrinkles, weight, and other imperfections in a negative insight, we should strive to view them as positive things that set us apart from everyone else.