Autobiography

I am Marie Ribourg.  I was born in a small village of Torbeck in the southern part of Haiti.  I have a large family five sisters and seven brothers.  My mom passed away in August 2016.  I love reading and I have passion for science.  Back in my country, I worked at a large hospital as a Medical Laboratory Technician.  When I was in High school in Haiti, I was not interested in learning English.  My father told me all the time, you will need English try to learn it, and practice it! When I came to the United States in January 2017, I realized my father was right.  I started learning English by myself on the Duolingo web site and American English conversation phone app.  In South Carolina, where I lived for a few months, I did not socialize with anyone   who speaks my native language. Everyone in my surroundings was either English or Spanish spoken person.  I really needed to speak English! In September 2017, I moved from South Carolina to Massachusetts. In January 2018, I started as a student at an Adult Learning Center. It was a fast-track way to learn English.  I had a good instructor who made me feel comfortable learning language.  Just a year later, I was able to transfer into a college transition program at Massasoit Community College.  My goal is to be a Clinical Lab Scientist.  I am a single mother of two boys, fourteen and nine years old; and I am a full-time employee at Amazon. In other words, I am a very busy lady.

Cover Letter

Professor Holly Pappas

English 101: Composition I College Writing

May 12, 2020

Members of the Portfolio Committee,

My name is Marie Ribourg.  I am a forty plus year old woman, a proud mother of two sons, and a full-time employee at the warehouse of a popular company.  My plate is always filled, as I am constantly jiggling family affair with work and school.  Back in Haiti, prior to coming to the US, I completed an associate of science degree in Clinical Laboratory Science.  I worked in the field as a clinical laboratory technician for a period of five years. My goal is to complete the same education program at Bristol in order to return in the field as a professional.  I am a transfer from Massasoit Community College – Brockton, MA, where completed a year of college prep courses.  The English 101 class has been a real challenge for reasons that are not necessarily foreseeable.  Covid-19 led to online class format, instead of in-person meeting; remote schooling for both of my boys; and a rigid regiment of masking and social distancing at work and in the community.  Consequently, everything new or extra, like Eng. 101, as an online class is nothing fun.  Due to my work schedule and some other factors, I was behind schedule with most assignments.  I did not have the extra time to devote to seeking help from tutorial sessions.  But throughout the semester, I relied on Professor Papas’ solid guidance and instructions to complete the assignments.  And then when I received her ever-helpful feedback, I used them to better my writing.  I am incredibly grateful to Prof. Papas for all her hard work with us.

My memoir piece, “My Arrival in America” is a personal perspective.  It is about my first impression upon my coming to America.  We all foreigners have a preconceived view of this country based on what we have seen on TV and heard from others.  But upon arrival here in the States, I had to reconcile my preconceived view of America with the real picture as I was making out of the Kennedy airport, NY to South Carolina, my destination.

The text wrestling essay, “Digital Revolution” is about comparison of the industrial revolution at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century with the digital/computer technology era in terms of jobs creation.  Research for this essay led to some findings that suggesting that the digital revolution takes significant number jobs away, and lags on creating new ones. Some suggestions to help reverse to that fact is to promote more technological innovation in education, healthcare, and more integration of technology in the fight against global warming with more use of renewable energy.

Finally, my argument essay, “Internet Addiction Among Teenagers and Young Adults” is about the use particularly of social media among that age group.  Research on this topic reveals the potential issues that arise from using excess use of the Internet by adolescents and young adults; and suggests vigilant awareness from parents to protect their children from being victimized by the lack of boundary on the information superhighway.

These three essays form the core of my journey in this English Composition 1 course.  I have learned a lot from Prof Papas’ instructions and feedbacks. I hope these three pieces reflect positively on my continued evolution in the English learning process.       

My Arrival in America

Like many people in the third world, my aspiration from an early age was to come to America for better opportunities in life.  It is customary for someone to start having a particular perception of the United States before ever setting foot here.  I was not exempt to that.  Everything about America, in my opinion, was better, bigger, more special.  I perceived America as a country where everything was in perfect order; very much like they present the country on television.  The buildings were all in glass skyscrapers.  The streets were well designed and beautifully paved.  The snow fall was more ornaments along the roads and the roof tops.  Work was fun and well paid for.  That picture perfect perception would soon change, once I stepped out of the immigration corner of the Kennedy Airport in New York City.  As soon as I stepped out, the reality was very much one to remember.  I had just left a tropical country where the average temperature was 75 degrees.  But as soon as walked out, the winter reality hit me right on my face at much less than 32-degree temperature.  The light jackets my five-year old son, and I were wearing were definitely not adequate.  The atmosphere outside was one to remember. I had never seen so many cars in one place with drivers trying to outmaneuver one and other. It was hard to make sense out of all the loud talking as I did not understand English.

Throughout the crowd, my cousin managed us; and with diligent speed, we got the luggage in the car.  In route from the airport, my cousin was asking about myself, other relatives left behind.  But my attention was more on the road as I was trading what I was seeing with the perceived images of America prior to my arrival here.  The tremendous traffic delay was never part of my imagination.  The countless brick buildings were replacing the glass skyscrapers that I long thought to be only type of housing construction here.  The routes much larger than I was used to along a lot more connecting means to different directions.  I was amazed by such a huge territory, but also disappointed with so much traffic delays, old looking cars, and potholes.  

However, my ride from the airport to the NY Port Authority was only beginning of my journey as my final destination was South Carolina.  We made across the bridge to Manhattan where I was going to board a bus to continue.  The line to the ticket counter was a long one.  Therefore, while standing by for the purchase of the tickets, I was getting acclimated to the New York City fast pace and head spine atmosphere.  To my surprise, a young man approached us and said something.  I had no clue as to what he was saying.  All I could mumble back was “sorry, I did not speak English”.  He walked away while giving us an unkindly stare.  That was one more thing that hit me by surprise.  I did not expect to see anyone begging for money on the street in America.  It is hard to tell what the unkindly stare was for.  Maybe it was because I did not give him any money, did not speak English, or both.  Either way, I am innocent, I could not understand a word he said at that time.   That bus ride was not an express one.  Therefore, we had multiple stops at which people got off and came on board.  Every stop came with some loud announcement from the bus driver.  But I could only hear what was said, not understand.  Some people, sitting nearby, tried to engage me in some small conversation.  I could only smile due to the language barrier.   At some point, the bus was stopped by the Police.  All passengers were ordered off while they searched everywhere.  Needless say, that scene to me felt like I was watching a movie.  There was plenty of talking among the agents and with the bus driver. Suddenly, everyone was getting off to stand on the sidewalk, which was well surrounded by government agents.  Since I saw everyone moving, I sensed that I had to get off too.  Then, everyone was ordered to show Id when reboarding the bus.  Finally, they identified the suspect placed him under arrest; and we were on our way.  As well instructed by my cousin, I was supposed to pay close attention to the driver’s announcement.  Columbia, South Carolina, said the driver, when we finally reached there the next day in the afternoon. 

In some, transitioning from an urban city like Port-au-Prince, Haiti to South Carolina, US was like leaving one world to come to another one.  One very sharp difference for my then five-year old son and me, unlike where we came from, Columbia, South Carolina was clean, quiet, and more importantly safe.  The adjustment to the new environment was interesting.  I was not able to just hope on public transportation and go about my business with worry about direction or language.  I was no longer one of the well-known ladies in the neighborhood.  Yet, everyone I met was kind enough to understand I had a language barrier, which caused me to be reclusive and less social.  People were very nice and generous.  I remember being offered rides by total strangers when they saw my son and me walking the streets.  The distance did not matter to them; they just wanted help us get to our destination quicker than it would take to get there by walking.  The only real issue was the language barrier, which also held me from being myself, comfortable.  There is not a Haitian community in Columbia.  As such, for seven months, I was too far from everyone I know, or everything familiar that I could get involved in.  My move to Brockton, Massachusetts was going to open new doors, and here I am today being myself, and making the best out of every opportunity that comes my way.

      

Digital Revolution

In general, when people talk about the state of the US economy, they are referring to productivity, consumerism, growth of jobs creation.  Each of the different eras, such as the machinery time, the industrial revolution period, the computer age, come with new worrisome issues the traditional labor market.  However, despite all the uncertainties that come with the beginning of those new times, all sectors always end up benefiting from what they bring as higher productivity, helpful innovation, and economic growth.  On the other hand, the digital era has yet to follow suit like those earlier periods of change.

In “The Digital Revolution That Wasn’t”, Jeff Maddock referred to a lasting anxiety about new inventions taking jobs away from laborers.  The author establishes comparisons of different eras, such as the earlier industrial revolution followed by other technological innovations to roll into the digital revolution in terms of job growth and economic expansion.  The writer points out that earlier Eras brought substantial innovation that also came with significant increase in jobs and better wages.  However, the digital era, even at its peak time, does not bring significant economic growth to promote large enough expansion.  The invention of machinery, steam engine, the railroad, and automobile created wealth and substantial economic growth to benefit a lot of people.  In other words, the factor, driving profits during that economic period, did not slow down job growth, wages as a contributing element to take away wages and benefits from workers.  What has been true those eras has not been the case for the digital age.  

The computer Era has been stagnant in jobs creation and long-term economic increase.  In the early days of the industrial revolution, people were anxious about introduction of machinery, automation in the work force.  Because laborers thought machines would have replaced men, said the author.  Contrary to those thoughts, those innovations ended up creating more jobs with better wages, work conditions, more benefits, which in turn brought an expansion to the middle class, added the author.  To date unfortunately, by all accounts, the digital era has brought prosperity to much smaller number of people.  Jobs eliminated by latest technological innovations have not been replaced by better ones.  Instead, it shrinks the work force causing higher unemployment rate, displacement of workers, and a struggling middle class.  The information age has created some growth in the financial industry.  But the author suggested the numbers are not dominant, and it is not a lasting occurrence.  The information age has made it easier to export jobs to cheaper market, causing a decrease in job opportunity in the US.

One of the ways the government could help in this sluggish phenomenon is to promote technological innovation in the healthcare and education delivery systems.  That way, we could be healthier and thus more productive, the author added.  “We need greater efforts to deliver health care to all — not just for the sake of fairness but also for that of our economy: jobs in the industry are difficult to move offshore, and a population that stays healthier longer is a major boon to productivity.” The same idea is suggested for the education system with better pay for educators, making higher education more affordable to free up the new generation of workers “from the burden of debt”. author finished the article by essentially comparing century old innovation with the digital era in terms of transformation in our lives.  But we have yet to see comparable prosperity from the earlier era in the information age.

The government has an incentive to promote such growth in all possible domains at its disposal.  Tax reviews is directly proportional with economic growth.  The people work, the more tax review collected.  But even those two fields, healthcare and education are large enough to bring about change in terms of method of delivery to promote jobs growth, government’s economic policy must address some other causes of losses in the work force.  There must be ways to encourage corporations to stay home, instead of going overseas in pursuit of cheaper wages with less employment benefits.  The tax codes are to be reformed to reward those companies that truly create better paying jobs with good benefits and discourage corporations from exporting their production to cheap labor markets.

One of major industries yet to be fully explored using the digital revolution is the energy production.  This field could bring about real transformation in our lifetime.  But we will have to give up on some old habits before we can fully take the giant step.  Fossil fuel based versus clean energy has been topic of interests for many years.  But the energy sector have yet to embrace a real strategy of transition into clean energy production, which would at once help address the environment decline.  One can only imagine the potential of an economic boom that could come from a real commitment to clean energy production coupled with environmental rehabilitation campaign.  Innovations arisen from the digital revolution could be pivotal in such undertaking.

One can argue that the digital revolution has yet to be fully integrated or taken advantage of in certain field.  Therefore, we can be hopeful for more prosperous time when the healthcare, education, energy industries, along with big ticket items like infrastructure and fight against global warming.  Those initiative, private or public can be long-term projects with good paying jobs and better work conditions and benefits.  Additionally, those types of projects would more likely create jobs that cannot be exported, as they will pertain to real needs in proximate localities.  It has been reported that climate change can be addressed efficiently thanks to digital age innovation: “Thanks to our new capabilities in this digital age, we have a shot at driving the kind of unprecedented societal transformations needed to address the climate crisis.” With respect to energy distribution, it has been reported that digitalization is evolving as an instrumental factor in the renewable energy sector – “There is no doubt that digitalization will take the energy transition to an entirely new level,” says Robert Spanh “There is no doubt that digitalization will take the energy transition to an entirely new level,” says Robert Spanheimer, energy expert at digital industry association bitkom eimer, energy expert at digital industry association bitkom.”

By many accounts, the digital era has not yet run course.  More integrations are underway in different fields of production.  As such, one can continue to hope that the real economic boom is coming for this age started four decades ago.  The government needs to adopt healthcare and education delivery with innovative means and methods offer by the digital age to promote jobs growth.  The campaign against global warming can use digital technologies to slow down climate change.  The energy sector can also expand itself and be more efficient using digitalized instrumentation.  All of these are potential jobs growth and economic expansion in the digital age.  One cannot yet draw conclusion on this era as more avenues are to be explored for productivity.  

https://harpers.org/archive/2014/01/the-digital-revolution-that-wasnt/

“The Digital Revolution That Wasn’t”

Jeff Madrick

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/key-climate-progress-digital-age

“The Key to Climate Progress in The Digital Age”

By Shana Rappaport, March 5, 2020

https://www.cleanenergywire.org/dossiers/digitalisation-energiewende

“Digitalization Ignites New Phase in Energy Transition”

Clean Energy Wire

Internet Addition Among Teenagers and Young Adults

In today’s world, almost everyone has some form of use of the Internet, either for serious purposes or for fun, entertainment, leisure time.  The use of social media among teenagers and young adults tends to be the most common use of communication among adolescents and young adults. While the Internet remains the most innovative connection among human being, it is also a source of addiction and consequential disturbance for young minds.  It is the most common way youngsters relate to one another.  Social media is a helpful and modernized way to keep in
touch with friends and loved ones.  However, the use of social media has also been a catalyst of a real mental health problem such as depression and anxiety among adolescents and young adults.  Excessive use of the Internet has been a problem among children.  Some of the ways to address this issue are parental control in the form of family quality time; community-based activities; and professional help.

Is social media good for the world? On one hand, the answer is a resounding yes. Social movements, political awareness, common concerns, free speech platforms can all be easily coordinated today at a large scale, thanks to the Internet/social media In today’s world, youngsters are always connected with people via social media.  These people can be family members (close or distant), school friends, or other friends met randomly on the Internet. 

While this appears to be a positive experience, unfortunately sometimes it can become a problem.  Because the Internet has no frontier or police, it has become a challenge to really know who is behind a posting.  As a result, a lot of incidents also happen on social media without the knowledge of parents or authority.  A youngster could fall under pressure to fit in with a crowd. A child could be facing cyberbullying with no knowledge from his or her parents. These harmful issues sometime lead to confusing situation, anxiety, and even depression for youngsters. According to Marketing 91 – a marketing research center on the Internet, excessive use of social media may lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. It is also true that a young mind may have some unrealistic expectations from using too much of social media.

 Faced with such a challenge arising from social, how can parents help protect their children from the negative effects of social media?

While the Internet and social media have some positive aspects, parents must find ways to protect their children from the unhealthy consequences. First, it is very important for parents to reassure their children that no matter what the issue is, or what the problem is, their real source of love and support comes from home. Parents must find ways to keep a positive communication Channel open with their children.  In-door and out-door activities among family member, like table-top games and going to the park or the beach, are good ways to spend quality time with children.  That way, in moment of confusion, the child would not turn on social media to find help or seek unrealistic expectations. If a child feels loved at home, it is less likely that he or she will turn to social media for help in moments of distress.  That way, an outsider on social media would not have opportunity to negatively influence that child.

Youngsters always feel a sense of belonging if they are socially involved at their school or in the community. As such, Parents should also find ways to offer alternate activities to their children.  Young men or women involved in Church activities such as Bible study, prayer group, and community services, usually have better opportunity to interact with people in more positive ways.  Parents should encourage their children to sign up for sporting activities both at school and in the community where they live. Those kinds of social involvement bring about more positive than negative in any young life. Even if something goes wrong, there is usually more chance to have positive intervention and a real solution to the problem.

Parents don’t always have all the answers to their children’s problems.  It is sometimes very difficult for parents to understand what’s happening in a child’s life, and to come up with solution.  It is sometime critical to seek professional help in other to have a better understanding of what is happening in the child’s life. Social media is a great invention.  However, it can also put a young life in danger.  Because of that, it is essential to consult with a mental health professional if a parent notices unusual behavior in a child due to social media activities.  While some effects of social media may be temporary on youngsters’ state of mind, prolonged effects of
cyberbullying or some other improper influence can be a problem in a young man or woman life. As such, it is important to seek professional help for any sign of continued distress in a child’s life because of too much exposure to media.

According to different data and research, social media is a great invention that bring
people around the world much closer.  The Internet promotes social involvement with people from anywhere in the world.  Young people use it constantly to stay connected, to feel that they belong, and to promote themselves.  However, it also has the potential of influencing young minds.  Considering the result of many research, social media can also lead to anxiety and depression among younger people.  Considering the evidence of the potential danger in excessive use of social media, parents must continue to remain vigilant in monitoring how much exposure
their children have to social media.  It is particularly important for parents to not only keep it positive at home but find ways to promote alternate activities to their children.  Literatures on this topic suggest that quality time among family members is good way to keep youngsters away from the Internet.  By spending more quality time with teenagers, parents have a better chance to understand them and relate to them.  That way, youngsters would not turn to social media for every need in their life.  From examining the findings, youngsters should have limited exposure
to social media while given alternate activities to balance their life.

Work Cited

By Katie Hafner,  “To Deal With Obsession, Some Defriend Facebook”, The New York
Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/technology/internet/21facebook.html?auth=login- google1tap&login=google1tap&searchResultPosition=14, December 20, 2009
 
Hitesh Bhasin, “Impact of Social Media on Youth: Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media” Marketing 91, https://www.marketing91.com, October 18, 2019
 
Monica Anderson and Jingjjng Jiang, “Teens’ Social Media Habits and Experiences”
Pew Research Center – Internet & Technology, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-social-media-habits-and- experiences/

Photo Essay #4

The Digital Revolution

In general, when people talk about the state of the US economy, they are referring to productivity, consumerism, growth of jobs creation.  Each of the different eras, such as the machinery time, the industrial revolution period, the computer age, come with new worrisome issues the traditional labor market.  However, despite all the uncertainties that come with the beginning of those new times, all sectors always end up benefiting from what they bring as higher productivity, helpful innovation, and economic growth.  On the other hand, the digital era has yet to follow suit like those earlier periods of change.

In “The Digital Revolution That Wasn’t”, Jeff Maddock referred to a lasting anxiety about new inventions taking jobs away from laborers.  The author establishes comparisons of different eras, such as the earlier industrial revolution followed by other technological innovations to roll into the digital revolution in terms of job growth and economic expansion.  The writer points out that earlier Eras brought substantial innovation that also came with significant increase in jobs and better wages.  However, the digital era, even at its peak time, does not bring significant economic growth to promote large enough expansion.  The invention of machinery, steam engine, the railroad, and automobile created wealth and substantial economic growth to benefit a lot of people.  In other words, the factor, driving profits during that economic period, did not slow down job growth, wages as a contributing element to take away wages and benefits from workers.  What has been true those eras has not been the case for the digital age.  

The computer Era has been stagnant in jobs creation and long-term economic increase.  In the early days of the industrial revolution, people were anxious about introduction of machinery, automation in the work force.  Because laborers thought machines would have replaced men, said the author.  Contrary to those thoughts, those innovations ended up creating more jobs with better wages, work conditions, more benefits, which in turn brought an expansion to the middle class, added the author.  To date unfortunately, by all accounts, the digital era has brought prosperity to much smaller number of people.  Jobs eliminated by latest technological innovations have not been replaced by better ones.  Instead, it shrinks the work force causing higher unemployment rate, displacement of workers, and a struggling middle class.  The information age has created some growth in the financial industry.  But the author suggested the numbers are not dominant, and it is not a lasting occurrence.  The information age has made it easier to export jobs to cheaper market, causing a decrease in job opportunity in the US.  The digital era has brought speed, precision, incredible corporate prosperity, but much less job growth. 


One of the ways the government could help in this sluggish phenomenon is to promote technological innovation in the healthcare and education delivery systems.  That way, we could be healthier and thus more productive, the author added.  “We need greater efforts to deliver health care to all — not just for the sake of fairness but also for that of our economy: jobs in the industry are difficult to move offshore, and a population that stays healthier longer is a major boon to productivity.” The same idea is suggested for the education system with better pay for educators, making higher education more affordable to free up the new generation of workers “from the burden of debt”. author finished the article by essentially comparing century old innovation with the digital era in terms of transformation in our lives.  But we have yet to see comparable prosperity from the earlier era in the information age.

The government has an incentive to promote such growth in all possible domains at its disposal.  Tax reviews is directly proportional with economic growth.  The people work, the more tax review collected.  But even those two fields, healthcare and education are large enough to bring about change in terms of method of delivery to promote jobs growth, government’s economic policy must address some other causes of losses in the work force.  There must be ways to encourage corporations to stay home, instead of going overseas in pursuit of cheaper wages with less employment benefits.  The tax codes are to be reformed to reward those companies that truly create better paying jobs with good benefits and discourage corporations from exporting their production to cheap labor markets.


One of major industries yet to be fully explored using the digital revolution is the energy production.  This field could bring about real transformation in our lifetime.  But we will have to give up on some old habits before we can fully take the giant step.  Fossil fuel based versus clean energy has been topic of interests for many years.  But the energy sector have yet to embrace a real strategy of transition into clean energy production, which would at once help address the environment decline.  One can only imagine the potential of an economic boom that could come from a real commitment to clean energy production coupled with environmental rehabilitation campaign.  Innovations arisen from the digital revolution could be pivotal in such undertaking.



One can argue that the digital revolution has yet to be fully integrated or taken advantage of in certain field.  Therefore, we can be hopeful for more prosperous time when the healthcare, education, energy industries, along with big ticket items like infrastructure and fight against global warming.  Those initiative, private or public can be long-term projects with good paying jobs and better work conditions and benefits.  Additionally, those types of projects would more likely create jobs that cannot be exported, as they will pertain to real needs in proximate localities.  It has been reported that climate change can be addressed efficiently thanks to digital age innovation: “Thanks to our new capabilities in this digital age, we have a shot at driving the kind of unprecedented societal transformations needed to address the climate crisis.” With respect to energy distribution, it has been reported that digitalization is evolving as an instrumental factor in the renewable energy sector – “There is no doubt that digitalization will take the energy transition to an entirely new level,” says Robert Spanh “There is no doubt that digitalization will take the energy transition to an entirely new level,” says Robert Spanheimer, energy expert at digital industry association bitkom eimer, energy expert at digital industry association bitkom.”


By many accounts, the digital era has not yet run course.  More integrations are underway in different fields of production.  As such, one can continue to hope that the real economic boom is coming for this age started four decades ago.  The government needs to adopt healthcare and education delivery with innovative means and methods offer by the digital age to promote jobs growth.  The campaign against global warming can use digital technologies to slow down climate change.  The energy sector can also expand itself and be more efficient using digitalized instrumentation.  All of these are potential jobs growth and economic expansion in the digital age.  One cannot yet draw conclusion on this era as more avenues are to be explored for productivity.  

Final Draft of Essay 3

Internet Addiction Among Teenage and Young Adults

In today’s world, almost everyone has some form of use of the Internet, either for serious purposes or for fun, entertainment, leisure time.  The use of social media among teenagers and young adults tends to be the most common use of communication among adolescents and young adults.  While the Internet remains the most innovative connection among human being, it is also a source of addiction and consequential disturbance for young minds.  It is the most common way youngsters relate to one another.  Social media is a helpful and modernized way to keep in touch with friends and loved ones.  However, the use of social media has also been a catalyst of a real mental health problem such as depression and anxiety among adolescents and young adults.  Excessive use of the Internet has been a problem among children.  Some of the ways to address this issue are parental control in the form of family quality time; community-based activities; and professional help.

Is social media good for the world?  On one hand, the answer is a resounding yes.  Social movements, political awareness, common concerns, free speech platforms can all be easily coordinated today at a large scale, thanks to the Internet/social media In today’s world, youngsters are always connected with people via social media.  These people can be family members (close or distant), school friends, or other friends met randomly on the Internet.     While this appears to be a positive experience, unfortunately sometimes it can become a problem.  Because the Internet has no frontier or police, it has become a challenge to really know who is behind a posting.  As a result, a lot of incidents also happen on social media without the knowledge of parents or authority.  A youngster could fall under pressure to fit in with a crowd.  A child could be facing cyberbullying with no knowledge from his or her parents.  These harmful issues sometime lead to confusing situation, anxiety, and even depression for youngsters. According to Marketing 91 – a marketing research center on the Internet, excessive use of social media may lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. It is also true that a young mind may have some unrealistic expectations from using too much of social media.

 Faced with such a challenge arising from social, how can parents help protect their children from the negative effects of social media?

While the Internet and social media have some positive aspects, parents must find ways to protect their children from the unhealthy consequences.  First, it is very important for parents to reassure their children that no matter what the issue is, or what the problem is, their real source of love and support comes from home.  Parents must find ways to keep a positive communication Channel open with their children.  In-door and out-door activities among family member, like table-top games and going to the park or the beach, are good ways to spend quality time with children.  That way, in moment of confusion, the child would not turn on social media to find help or seek unrealistic expectations.  If a child feels loved at home, it is less likely that he or she will turn to social media for help in moments of distress.  That way, an outsider on social media would not have opportunity to negatively influence that child.

             Youngsters always feel a sense of belonging if they are socially involved at their school or in the community.  As such, Parents should also find ways to offer alternate activities to their children.  Young men or women involved in Church activities such as Bible study, prayer group, and community services, usually have better opportunity to interact with people in more positive ways.  Parents should encourage their children to sign up for sporting activities both at school and in the community where they live.  Those kinds of social involvement bring about more positive than negative in any young life.  Even if something goes wrong, there is usually more chance to have positive intervention and a real solution to the problem.

                Parents don’t always have all the answers to their children’s problems.  It is sometimes very difficult for parents to understand what’s happening in a child’s life, and to come up with solution.  It is sometime critical to seek professional help in other to have a better understanding of what is happening in the child’s life.  Social media is a great invention.  However, it can also put a young life in danger.  Because of that, it is essential to consult with a mental health professional if a parent notices unusual behavior in a child due to social media activities.  While some effects of social media may be temporary on youngsters’ state of mind, prolonged effects of cyberbullying or some other improper influence can be a problem in a young man or woman life.  As such, it is important to seek professional help for any sign of continued distress in a child’s life because of too much exposure to media.

According to different data and research, social media is a great invention that bring people around the world much closer.  The Internet promotes social involvement with people from anywhere in the world.  Young people use it constantly to stay connected, to feel that they belong, and to promote themselves.  However, it also has the potential of influencing young minds.  Considering the result of many research, social media can also lead to anxiety and depression among younger people.  Considering the evidence of the potential danger in excessive use of social media, parents must continue to remain vigilant in monitoring how much exposure their children have to social media.  It is particularly important for parents to not only keep it positive at home but find ways to promote alternate activities to their children.  Literatures on this topic suggest that quality time among family members is good way to keep youngsters away from the Internet.  By spending more quality time with teenagers, parents have a better chance to understand them and relate to them.  That way, youngsters would not turn to social media for every need in their life.  From examining the findings, youngsters should have limited exposure to social media while given alternate activities to balance their life.

Work Cited

By Katie Hafner,  “To Deal With Obsession, Some Defriend Facebook”, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/technology/internet/21facebook.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap&searchResultPosition=14, December 20, 2009

Hitesh Bhasin, “Impact of Social Media on Youth: Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media” Marketing 91, https://www.marketing91.com, October 18, 2019

Monica Anderson and Jingjjng Jiang, “Teens’ Social Media Habits and Experiences”

Pew Research Center – Internet & Technology, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-social-media-habits-and-experiences/

First Draft Essay 3

 

Internet Addition Among Teenagers and Young Adults

Positive – According to different data and research, social media is a great invention that bring people around the world much closer. 

Help to keep in touch with friends and loved ones.

Negative – While the Internet and social media have some positive aspects, parents must find ways to protect their children from the unhealthy consequences.

According to a marketing research center on the internet, excessive use of social media may lead to mental heath to mental health issues such as anxiety disorder and depression.

Face with such a challenge advising from social.

Parents Intervention – How can parents help protect their children from the negative effects of the potential danger in excessive use of social media?

It is essential to consult with a mental health professional if a parent notices different behavior in a child due to social media activities. 

Alternative – Teenagers and young adults occupied by real time activities such as, Church, sports, theater, and community sponsored events have less time to devote to the Internet and social media.

By Katie Hafner,  “To Deal With Obsession, Some Defriend Facebook”, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/technology/internet/21facebook.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap&searchResultPosition=14, December 20, 2009

Hitesh Bhasin, “Impact of Social Media on Youth: Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media” Marketing 91, https://www.marketing91.com, October 18, 2019

Monica Anderson and Jingjjng Jiang, “Teens’ Social Media Habits and Experiences”

Pew Research Center – Internet & Technology, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-social-media-habits-and-experiences/

November 28, 2018

First Draft of Essay Two

In terms of technological invention and innovation, we have a point of no return.  It has about forty since the digital age has started. When think we have seen it all?   New inventions and innovations always come by to prove all wrong.  Technological developments continue to transform everything, not just in the work force, but also in our way of life. Unlike, the industrial revolution, were innovation led to job growth, increased productivity, and expansion of prosperity to all.  The digital era has brought speed, precision, incredible corporate prosperity, but less job growth.

“Harnessing automation for a future that works” is the title of a report published on the web site of McKenney & Company. The report gives an idea love the progression of automation in the workforce.  Do we port points out that almost every field in the workforce is under verge of a degree of automation? One can only imagine dad when it is all said and done automation well be the majority in terms of how many people being employed to do certain work as opposed to how many robots equipped with artificial intelligence will be side by side with every human being. I went to a stop and shop the other day and observe some sort of robot roving the floor going isle to isle. That robot is the replacement for a security personnel. Call centers Call centers nowadays everything customers I have two categories oh responders: automated responders and AI responders with human responders standing by. This type of innovations certainly add more precision and more speed to the customer service field. However, the mall they introduce automation in call centers the less likely the one employ more people.  These introductions of innovation come along with one objective: become as effective as possible while keeping costs down.  As a result, profit margin will expand while the rate of employment of human beings shrinks.  That same report suggests a potential increase in automation by 50% as opposed to reducing $15 trillion in wages.  There’s a clear pattern in terms of what is gaining popularity in the workforce and what is losing ground.  While the technology error continues to dominate in God activity precision and speed, human workers oh increasingly being marginalize times yes service it’s becoming absolute. The digital era has brought Great invention call my innovation, inconvenience to this world pinion but on the other hand, Job growth oh not the same as before. Because the digital era does create enough leeway to reduce the workforce wow what activity continues to substitute in place of human beings. There are calls 2 keep human being including with in coexistence with automation.  However, it is well known and well observed that automation will ultimately replace most Individuals as a result of brother development in artificial intelligence. Individuals who are lucky enough 2 remain in the workforce, will have to retrain in other areas of knowledge to stay competitive

The Digital Revolution That Wasn’t

This article was written by Jeff Maddock and published online in the January 2014 edition of Harper’s Magazine. The article establishes a parallel between the earlier industrial technological developments and the latest digital revolution in terms of job growth and economic expansion. The author points out that earlier Era brought substantial innovation that also came with significant increase in jobs and better
wages. However, the digital era, even at its peak time, does not bring significant economic growth to promote large enough expansion. The invention of machinery, steam engine, the rail road, and automobile created wealth and substantial economic growth to benefit a lot of people. The computer Era has stagnant in jobs creation and long term economic increase. In the early days of the industrial revolution, people were anxious about introduction of machinery, automation in the work force.
Because laborers thought machines would have replaced men, said the author. Contrary to those thoughts, innovation created more jobs with better wages, work conditions, more benefits, which in turn brought an expansion to the middle class, added the author. To date, by all accounts, unfortunately the digital era has brought prosperity to much less number of people. Jobs eliminated by latest technological innovation have not been replaced by more better ones. Instead, it shrinks the
work force causing higher unemployment rate, displacement of workers, and struggling middle class. The information age has created some growth in the financial industry. But the author suggested the numbers are not dominant. Information age has made it easier to export jobs to cheaper market, causing a decrease in job opportunity in the US. The author finished the article by essentially comparing century old innovation with the digital era in terms of transformation in our lives. But we have yet to see comparable prosperity from the earlier era in the information age.

My Final Memoir Essay

My Arrival in American

Like many people in the third world, my aspiration from an early age was to come to America for better opportunities in life.  It is customary for someone to start having a particular perception of the United States before ever setting foot here.  I was not exempt to that.  Everything about America, in my opinion, was better, bigger, more special.  I perceived America as a country where everything was in perfect order; very much like they present the country on television.  The buildings were all in glass skyscrapers.  The streets were well designed and beautifully paved.  The snow fall was more ornaments along the roads and the roof tops.  Work was fun and well paid for.  That picture perfect perception would soon change, once I stepped out of the immigration corner of the Kennedy Airport in New York City.  As soon as I stepped out, the reality was very much one to remember.  I had just left a tropical country where the average temperature was 75 degrees.  But as soon as walked out, the winter reality hit me right on my face at much less than 32-degree temperature.  The light jackets my five-year old son, and I were wearing were definitely not adequate.  The atmosphere outside was one to remember. I had never seen so many cars in one place with drivers trying to outmaneuver one and other. It was hard to make sense out of all the loud talking as I did not understand English.

Throughout the crowd, my cousin managed us; and with diligent speed, we got the luggage in the car.  In route from the airport, my cousin was asking about myself, other relatives left behind.  But my attention was more on the road as I was trading what I was seeing with the perceived images of America prior to my arrival here.  The tremendous traffic delay was never part of my imagination.  The countless brick buildings were replacing the glass skyscrapers that I long thought to be only type of housing construction here.  The routes much larger than I was used to along a lot more connecting means to different directions.  I was amazed by such a huge territory, but also disappointed with so much traffic delays, old looking cars, and potholes.  

However, my ride from the airport to the NY Port Authority was only beginning of my journey as my final destination was South Carolina.  We made across the bridge to Manhattan where I was going to board a bus to continue.  The line to the ticket counter was a long one.  Therefore, while standing by for the purchase of the tickets, I was getting acclimated to the New York City fast pace and head spine atmosphere.  To my surprise, a young man approached us and said something.  I had no clue as to what he was saying.  All I could mumble back was “sorry, I did not speak English”.  He walked away while giving us an unkindly stare.  That was one more thing that hit me by surprise.  I did not expect to see anyone begging for money on the street in America.  It is hard to tell what the unkindly stare was for.  Maybe it was because I did not give him any money, did not speak English, or both.  Either way, I am innocent, I could not understand a word he said at that time.   That bus ride was not an express one.  Therefore, we had multiple stops at which people got off and came on board.  Every stop came with some loud announcement from the bus driver.  But I could only hear what was said, not understand.  Some people, sitting nearby, tried to engage me in some small conversation.  I could only smile due to the language barrier.   At some point, the bus was stopped by the Police.  All passengers were ordered off while they searched everywhere.  Needless say, that scene to me felt like I was watching a movie.  There was plenty of talking among the agents and with the bus driver. Suddenly, everyone was getting off to stand on the sidewalk, which was well surrounded by government agents.  Since I saw everyone moving, I sensed that I had to get off too.  Then, everyone was ordered to show Id when reboarding the bus.  Finally, they identified the suspect placed him under arrest; and we were on our way.  As well instructed by my cousin, I was supposed to pay close attention to the driver’s announcement.  Columbia, South Carolina, said the driver, when we finally reached there the next day in the afternoon. 

In some, transitioning from an urban city like Port-au-Prince, Haiti to South Carolina, US was like leaving one world to come to another one.  One very sharp difference for my then five-year old son and me, unlike where we came from, Columbia, South Carolina was clean, quiet, and more importantly safe.  The adjustment to the new environment was interesting.  I was not able to just hope on public transportation and go about my business with worry about direction or language.  I was no longer one of the well-known ladies in the neighborhood.  Yet, everyone I met was kind enough to understand I had a language barrier, which caused me to be reclusive and less social.  People were very nice and generous.  I remember being offered rides by total strangers when they saw my son and me walking the streets.  The distance did not matter to them; they just wanted help us get to our destination quicker than it would take to get there by walking.  The only real issue was the language barrier, which also held me from being myself, comfortable.  There is not a Haitian community in Columbia.  As such, for seven months, I was too far from everyone I know, or everything familiar that I could get involved in.  My move to Brockton, Massachusetts was going to open new doors, and here I am today being myself, and making the best out of every opportunity that comes my way.        

The Microphones That May Be Hidden in Your Home“

This article was published in the Atlantic on February 23, 2019 in the Technology section.  “The microphones That may be Hidden in Your Home” is the title of this piece.  Google had to apologize to its customers due to a controversial feature that is part of the tech giant’s home-security devices, the “Nest Guard”.  Users of this system were surprised to find out that the device comes with a built-in microphone, capable of voice recording.  Such a feature is not listed in any document for specification or description of the product.  Google claims to mean no secrecy; but rather the omission was an error.  Similarly, American Airlines had some explaining to do to passengers when it was discovered that the in-flight entertainment set at the seats on some planes comes with a built-in camera.  The airline never informed passengers on those airplanes.  American Airlines, responding to BuzzFeed on the controversy, contends that the cameras were never turned on; and it is not their intention to use them in the future. 

Advocacy groups on privacy voice concerns about technological gadgets such as home surveillance systems and other ones that come with hidden microphones or cameras.  Because consumers of those products may unintentionally bring home devices that will invade their privacy. 

Technology-based services like the Internet, mobile communication devices, home security systems, are all convenient for our modernized life.  However, all these innovations come with a price that we must be mindful of these facts: the more we make use of electronics, the more we need connectivity, which comes with the prolonged use of Internet-based systems.  We must be aware of this trade-off, more convenience, less privacy. 

The Truth about Online Shopping“

In this article, the author rightfully points out the negative impacts of online shopping on both, the environment and community cohesiveness. Moderate online shoppers might lessen carbon footprints by choosing slower shipping methods, which involve larger goods hauling, therefore diminishing the frequency of mini trucks on the roads, said the author. However, frequent and savvy shoppers do cause more harm with carbon footprints, as they hope in their cars and go window shopping for price  comparisons; and then turn to the Internet for cheaper and faster delivery.  Such shopping habits put more trucks and cargo planes in service, which in turn cause harm on the environment, added the author. Inefficient packaging also adds its toll of more waste in landfills. The author also points out the lack of human/social interactions among residents of a whole region because everyone chose to stay home.
I can appreciate those impacts mentioned in the article, as I bear witness to the volume of online shopping at my job. It is no longer a holiday season affair. It is our new way of life. We can also see the impacts on our neighborhoods with closed many announcements of closure of department stores, and even shopping malls.  Young teenagers are having less free hangout places because of that.  I am not an expert in environmental impact. But on a weekly basis, we see more pile of cardboard boxes and other packaging residues on our side walks awaiting for trash pickup. 
Despite all, more and more department stores are turning to the online shopping business model.  The pandemic has made it even worse, as now social distancing is more of a way life for many.  On can only hope it is just a phase.  But I am afraid online shopping turning more into a way of life.