Does the “unambiguously crass behavior” we encounter daily in popular media necessarily lead to a worse society, as some have suggested? In this October 2013 essay in Time magazine, Libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie suggests that it doesn’t-—and what’s more, that as a society we’re getting better! Read it here: Gillespie, "Society is coarser but better” …
Continue reading The benefits of “skankitude”: Nick Gillespie on popular culture and social trends
As we spend more and more time with our noses pressed to a screen, we may be more engaged with one another, but we’re not having real conversations. In this December 2013 article, Atlantic staff writer and media expert Megan Garber relates a recent conversation on the subject of conversation with tech author Sherry Turkle. …
Continue reading Not boring, not at all: Megan Garber converses with Sherry Turkle
Should the things we tweet always be true? Or can Twitter be an appropriate medium for writing fictional dramas? For Elan Gale, of Thanksgiving 2013 tweeting fame, the medium is perfect for “reality” programming. Los Angeles Times journalist Meghan Daum takes a critical approach in this December 2013 column. Read it here: Daum, “Elan Gale’s inglorious Twitter …
Continue reading “Reality tweets”: Meghan Daum on Elan Gale’s Twitter drama
Are print media becoming obsolete? Many people think so, with tablets and phones and e-readers all vying for our attention nowadays. Best-selling technology writer Nicholas Carr weighs in on the topic in this August 2013 article from Nautilus. Read it here: Carr, "Paper versus Pixel" With his title, Carr frames a two-sided conflict: paper vs. …
Continue reading Paper versus Pixel: Nicholas Carr on the Technologies of Reading
James Atlas admits to binge watching “Breaking Bad” and wrestles with his own ambivalence about doing so. This New York Times essay appeared during Season 5—that is, in May 2013. Read it here: Atlas, “Get a life? No, thanks. Just pass the remote.” As Atlas notes, the show’s use of suspense is a key factor of …
Continue reading Bingeing on “Bad”: James Atlas on TV and Life
Have you ever been catfished? Has the Internet opened up your social life, or has it enclosed you in a tight circle of people you already know? Adrian Chen examines social life and social media in this February 2013 essay from New Inquiry. Read it here: Chen, "Don't Be a Stranger" Chen mentions the ideas of …
Continue reading Friended and Poked: Adrian Chen on Social Media
Apply for an MBA program with a tweet-sized essay? Sounds easy! But don’t get too excited. University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Management initiated that innovative idea two years ago—and they’ve already abandoned it. Alison Damast filed this report in Bloomberg BusinessWeek in November 2012. Read it here: Damast, "Tippie’s Twitter Essay: An MBA Admissions Experiment …
What’s the best part of the Super Bowl? The game or the ads? Stephen Marche argues for the ads, and he wants them to get more respect. This column, from Esquire magazine, appeared just before the Super Bowl in February 2012. Read it here: Marche, "A Short Prayer for Advertising” Marche makes an ironic observation …
Continue reading Commercials R Us: Stephen Marche in Praise of Advertising
Unless you’ve been living in a kingdom far, far away from any media, you are probably aware that this month marks the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. In this April 2012 article from The New Yorker, author and critic Daniel Mendelsohn attempts to explain why …
“We’ll be right back after these weddings, er, messages, from our sponsors.” Have you ever noticed that love and marriage-related themes appear in commercials for tires or cat food, or other seemingly mundane items? Bella DePaulo has, and posits a theory as to why. A professor of psychology and blogger, DePaulo has studied and written …
Continue reading Walk Down the Aisle, Top Shelf on Your Left: DePaulo on Weddings and Advertising
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