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Child Online Protection Act Struck Down Again

The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was a law passed in 1998 for the purpose of protecting children from accessing sexual and objectionable content on the internet. Though the law itself was passed, the law never went into affect because the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down the law, deeming it unconstitutional. The court claimed it violates the 1st amendment – the protection of free speech.

On January 21, 2009, the government recently lost its final attempt to revive the law. The United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals effectively killing the bill. The Bush administration had urged the justices to take on the case. However the justices rejected the appeal. Five of the justices who voted against this bill remains on the court.

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Youtube Statistics – The Ultimate Time Suck

YouTube Logo - Statistics Media

YouTube Statistics – Where did my time go?

How many times have you gone to YouTube to watch some video you’ve heard about, then 7 videos later you wonder where the time has gone? or perhaps 15 videos later… 30 videos…

Well you are not alone. 77% of users coming to YouTube come intending to watch 1 video but end up watching several.

YouTube has become a time sucker and a place people have gone to alleviate their boredom. But first a quick summary of some Internet & YouTube statistics.

Internet Usage

  • Adults spend 15+ hours on Internet a Week
  • Expected 217 MM US internet Users by 2012 (71% Penetration)
  • 55% broadband access, will grow to 90% by 2012
  • Online video viewing increased 35% year over year
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Are Superbowl Ads Not Good for Kids?

“…I wasn’t too happy with ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs popping up every 15 minutes whenever I watched a football game with my daughters in the room.” ––Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope, 2006

NFL Commercial Superbowl LogoCommon Sense Media released a study on the content of TV ads & commercials shown during NFL game broadcasts. They studyed nearly 60 games covering 180 hours of game time coverage. Within that period there were nearly 6,000 commercials and the easy conclusion was that it is impossible to watch a single game without visually taking in messages of sex, violence or Viagra.

The CEO of Common Sense Media, James Steyer said “Nearly 5.3 million kids watch football each week, yet one in six of the ads shown during the broadcasts features content that’s wildly inappropriate for kids — that’s every other commercial break…”

“The game of football is great fun for families, but it can be really awkward for parents when they have to explain erectile dysfunction on a Sunday afternoon, or have to dive for the remote during violent promos for network shows. I know we speak for millions of football fans and parents everywhere when we say this situation is really getting ridiculous.“ — James Steyer CEO of Common Sense Media

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Creativity: Superbowl TV Commercials

It’s that time of the year again. Superbowl! Though most people don’t care too much about who wins the big game, everyone wants a reason to get together and enjoy some good food and good company.

Another tradition of the Superbowl is the million dollar TV commercials in between the coverage. Advertisers spend several million dollars and pour hundreds of man hours try to capitalize on the large Superbowl viewer base. Due to the expensive nature of these TV Commercials, these TV advertisements get critiqued and scrutinized on how creative and effective each spot is. Hundreds of articles and top ten lists discuss how good or bad each Superbowl TV Commercial was. Hundreds of sites will take polls and stream every Superbowl TV ad to be viewed again and again long after the game is done. But what about the cleanliness of the ad? How about ethics?

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Online Gamers in China must Register with Real Names

Soon, all online gamers in China must register with real names rather than made up game alias. This is a mandatory program that will be implemented for anti gaming addiction monitoring purposes.

Is online gaming addictive? Numerous studies and tests seem to support this case as massive online multiplayer games are becoming more popular both for children, teens and adults alike. Not only are more people playing, but many are spending countless waking hours building up their online characters.

Game addiction has become a serious problem all over the world. The Chinese government has concluded that this problem has become severe enough that they will soon require those playing massive multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing games must register with their real names when creating new accounts. Users will registers their names along with government issued ID cards. Zhang Yijun, the director of General Administration of Press and Publication’s technology and digital publication department, said personal information would become a requirement for those register for online games.

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Should Government Legislate Morality? Is Adultery a Crime?

Ok So-ri Jailed for Adultery
Ok So-ri Jailed for Adultery
  • What is the Government’s Role in upholding Morality?
  • It is a Criminal Offense to Murder, to Steal, how about Adultery?
  • Is it impeding on personal freedoms or should the Government have the right to govern it’s people’s moral conduct to maintain social order?

In 2008, South Korea’s highest court upheld an adultery law that sends adulterers to jail for having an extra-martial affair. Since 1989, four appeals have made it to the highest court but all four have been shot down. The most recent appeal was overturned this past October regarding a popular korean actress, Ok So-ri also known as Ok Bo-kyung, who was charged for an affair with a well-known opera singer. She blamed it on a loveless marriage. In January, she had entered into divorce proceedings with her husband Park Chul. Ok So-ri was sentence to eight months for adultery. Her lover was also sentenced to six months.

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Health Warning Labels for Video Games – Congressman

California Congressman Baca
California Congressman Baca

California Congressman Joe Baca has brought forth a bill which would require video games to have a health warning. This warning would warn the consumers that playing the game could have adverse and dangerous influence on the user.

All games with an ESRB rating of Teen (T) or higher would be required to carry a label that says “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”

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Movie Review: Seven Pounds starring Will Smith

Seven Pounds Movie Review

Seven Pounds - Will Smith
Seven Pounds - Will Smith

Starring: Will Smith, Woody Harrison, Rosario Dawson
Director: Gabriele Muccino (Pursuit of Happiness)
Length: 2hr 3Min
Released: December 19, 2008
Rated: PG-13

“If you are like most you will have one of two reactions, either leaving with your face covered with tears, or shaking your head.”

Seven Pounds stars Will Smith as IRS agent Ben Thomas. It’s a movie that is mysterious throughout keeping the viewer slightly out of the loop wondering what is going on. It is an emotional journey intended to slowly reveal the plot through subtle hints. Seven Pounds is a very slow paced film, only bearable because of Will Smith’s acting prowess. It is pretty clear that Ben, played by Will Smith, is more than he seems as he actively seeks to carefully analyze then help each person he meets.

The story unfolds as Ben makes visits to various people with different needs. Flashing his IRS badge he asks them both financial related questions as well as personal ones. He seems to be searching for something. As he is helping one of these strangers, the guy asks Ben “Why Me?” and Ben says “Because you’re a good person, even when you think no one is looking.” So he seems to be searching for “good people” to help. Why? It is very clear that Ben has a lot of emotional baggage as Seven Pounds is glittered with flashbacks which at first seem to be in the present. He is held captive by some sort of guilt or sad memory.

Overall the movie was well made, but as the quote above says (taken by a comment by user reviewer), you are either going to leave the theater crying or shaking your head. I happen to be the latter, despite the fact I am known to be very “emotional” when it comes to emphasizing with characters. Mainly because very early on in the movie it became crystal clear what the ending was going to be. It came too fast and too early. But then again I am the analyzer type that figures out plots pretty quickly to begin with. But what made me shake my head was not the plot, but the controversy that is the ending… it is definitely worth discussing from many different levels, especially from a moral standpoint.

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Movie Review: Twilight, Love Conquers All?

Twilight Movie 2008
Twilight Movie 2008

Movie: Twilight
Featuring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke
Director: Catherine Hardwicke

“When you can live forever, what do you live for”

How about the opposite? When you know your life is finite, is anything worth living for?

The movie Twilight is another film aimed at a young audience. In it’s opening weekend it made $70.6 million making it the fourth highest opening film this year. According to exit polls, 55% of the audience were under 25 years old and 75% of the audience was female.

Twilight is a movie adaptation of a very popular book series mostly read by young female teenagers. It is a love story about a male vampire and a normal girl.

On the surface this is a love story between a vampire and a high school girl that seems to carry a pro-abstinence message and so many parents are focusing on this portion claiming that it’s a great story with a good message. However there are many other themes that are often going unnoticed.

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Are you Unhappy? Stop Watching TV! Go Socialize

A study came out of the University of Maryland that concludes that watching television contributes to viewers’ happiness in the short term, but has negative affects in the long run. In other words they found that those who say they are unhappy on average watch more TV while those who are happy spend more time socializing with others and reading. This study analyzes 30 years of national data through a series of attitude surveys.

“TV doesn’t really seem to satisfy people over the long haul the way that social involvement or reading a newspaper does,” says University of Maryland sociologist John P. Robinson, the study co-author and a pioneer in time-use studies. “It’s more passive and may provide escape – especially when the news is as depressing as the economy itself. The data suggest to us that the TV habit may offer short-run pleasure at the expense of long-term malaise.”

In the study, Robinson and fellow sociologist Steven Martin, analyzed two sets of data collected over 30 years from 30,000 adults.

Short Term Gratification, Long Term Harm
They found that people who described themselves as happy were more socially active, attended more religious services, voted more and read more newspapers. By contrast, unhappy people watched significantly more television in their spare time.

The data showed that in the long term it has an adverse affect on happiness. More TV simply meant less time to socialize, make friends, and engage in social activity. The unhappy group were more likely to think they had too much extra time. 51 percent thought they had too much time verses only 19 percent of those who said they were happy.

Living in the Moment
The most fascinating aspect of this study is that “in the moment”, subjects thought highly of watching TV as an activity despite the data clearly showing that the more they watched the more likely they would be unhappy. The respondents wrote time-diaries about their daily activities. This data seems to paint a different picture as in the given moment the respondents rated TV viewing as a something they enjoy and a good daily activity. “What viewers seem to be saying is that ‘While TV in general is a waste of time and not particularly enjoyable, the shows I saw tonight were pretty good,’ ” Robinson says. The data also suggested that part of the reason was because TV viewing was “easy”. It is immediate gratification with a touch of a button. No need to dress up, find a place to go, find people, plan out the day, do any work or expend energy or money. It is no wonder Americans spend more than half their free time watching TV.

TV Viewing like Addiction?
Martin described the TV viewing like an addiction. “Addictive activities produce momentary pleasure but long-term misery and regret,” he says. “People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged. For this kind of person, TV can become a kind of opiate in a way. It’s habitual, and tuning in can be an easy way of tuning out.”

What are your thoughts? Comment Below!

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Study Links Pregnancy with Watching Sexy TV Shows
Influence of TV SNL Satire on Political Identity – Sarah Palin 2008
Just Inappropriate for Kids or Just Inappropriate

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Study Links Pregnancy with Watching Sexy TV Shows

New research found in the November Issue of Pediatrics, suggest that pregnancy rates are far higher in teens who watch a lot of “sexy” TV shows that involve sexual behavior and dialogue. Teens who watched such shows were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years.

This research focused on shows that highlight “positive aspects” of sexual behavior without properly showing the risks involved. Such shows can lead teens to have unprotected sex. This study follows previous research from the same group that have already found that watching a lot of sex on TV can influence teens to have sex at earlier ages.

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