Evolution of Communication

      Communication, the process of exchanging information or news, has developed many changes over the years. It started out with just oral communication and then over time many other sources became available such as writing messages in letters, telegrams, newspapers, radio, talking over the telephone, etc. As years have progressed, technology such as cellphones and the internet, has become the main source of communication amongst the human population.

The Evolution of Communication

     It's incredible to see how many people now days have all kinds of cellphones; even little kids that are 8 years old are walking around with a Blackberry or an iPhone! I remember volunteering at the library for the Reading Buddies program and an 8 year old approached me to ask me about my iPhone. He later told me that he also owns an iPhone and began showing me all the apps he had. I sat there in complete shock knowing that a little 8 year old had the same phone as me. I didn't even care about cellphones until I came to high school! In my opinion, there is absolutely no reason for little kids to be having cellphones. The reason why the demand for cellphones suddenly increased over time is because they are convenient and allow users to contact their family and friends at any time from almost any location. One thing many people enjoy about having a cellphone is that it allows users to talk to others without having to worry about someone listening to your conversation on the other line like with home phones. Another reason why cellphones are a huge appeal to people, especially teenagers, is because of text messaging. Texting allows cellphone users to have short conversations amongst each other. Majority of teenagers my age would prefer to communicate through text messaging instead of directly talking to someone in person or on the phone, which has effected many teenagers' social life. Lastly, text messaging has developed new types of lingo that sometimes results in the message getting lost and becoming unclear to the receiver.

                           
          Aside from cellphones, the internet plays a major role in communication in today's society as well. The internet allows people to communicate their thoughts and also look at other people's point of view as well. There are social networking websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, that allow users to keep in touch with family and friends all around the world, and also meet new people. The internet is a reliable source because people can find out almost anything by just typing it into Google and instantly finding out the answer. However, the internet can result in many problem if people don't use the sources safely. If students are told to do a research assignment, the internet is probably the first source that many people would rely on. But, many students may just find a bunch of sites that have the information and simply copy and paste it and hand it into their teachers; this is known as plagiarism. Many students think it is okay if they just research their task and steal other people's ideas off the internet. Another negative thing about the internet is that people often think they gain some kind of power from sitting behind a computer screen and begin writing hurtful messages to others.

          Overall, long before cellphones and the internet were invented, communication was very difficult amongst people. However, today we have a variety of different ways to contact others without almost any limitations.

What effect do trends have on ME?

       Although most of us do not acknowledge it, we are effected by and participate in a lot of trends. A couple of days ago, Mr. Powles gave everyone in my media class a survey on trends to see how effected we are by trends.  When Mr. Powles compiled the data, he showed us the results in a power point the next day. Once the list of some of the trends that we came up with was displayed on the power point, we came to a conclusion that everyone in the class follows at least one of the trends. I, myself realized that I follow 12 out of the 46 trends on the list, which is about 26%.  Some of the trends I follow are: Nike, iPhones, skinny jeans, YMCMB, Lil Wayne, plaid, cardigans, Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, track pants, high top shoes, and rap music. In my opinion, in order to be considered a “trendy” person you just have to follow at least 5 of the trends. By doing so, it will determine that you are well aware of the latest trends and like to participate in a lot of them, which makes you a trendy person.

      The most important trend that I follow and hold onto tightly is the iPhone because without it, I honestly don’t know what I would be doing. I take my iPhone with me everywhere I go and use it for EVERYTHING. If I can’t see in the dark, I quickly turn on the Flashlight app on my iPhone. If I’m looking for an answer to a question, I go to Google on my iPhone. You get the point; I’m pretty much addicted to my iPhone. In some ways I don’t appreciate the fact that I’m on my phone all the time because I always end up getting  into an argument with my parents for always being on my phone and not doing anything else. Although I do use my phone for school purposes, my parents automatically assume I’m playing a game or just texting. However, regardless of what anyone says about iPhones, my iPhone means a lot to me and I cherish every little thing about it. On the other hand, one trend that I would easily let go is Abercrombie & Fitch because I’m not really a loyal consumer of their products. I only own one shirt from the store and my mom was the one to purchase it for me from one of the locations in New York. At the point in time, I had no clue what the brand was but I liked the look of the shirt, so I convinced my mom to buy me one. However, when I got back everybody at my school started wearing an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt a couple weeks later and soon enough it became a very popular trend.

        The people that influence my sense of taste and style are my older sister, and my favourite celebrities. My older sister, Anum,  is the main person that influences my style more than anyone because as I was growing up I was always interested in doing everything she did. Since we share an entire closet, majority of the trends I follow are influenced by her personal choices. Also, some of my favourite celebrities such as Beyonce, Selena Gomez, Kim Kardashian, and many others influence my style because quite often when I see them on TV at several different events, I enjoy looking at their outfits to give me some ideas to incorporate into my outfits. 

        In conclusion, everybody follows at least one trend whether they meant to be apart of it or not. We can't help it, it's apart of our society. But, that doesn't mean you have to allow trends to decide what you do. As long as you can decide for yourself whether you want to follow a certain trend, there really isn't anything wrong with following trends. 

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