Average American watches 153 Hours of TV & online 68 Hours per Month

A new report for the Nielsen Company reported that in September 2009, the average U.S. Internet user spent approximately 68 hours online per month. The figure may not seem all that staggering, but consider this: The average American watches 153 hours of television per month (1Q 2009)

2 Hours per day online. 3 Hours per day TV. Just between those two mediums that is 5 hours per day spent in front of a TV or a cruising the internet.

Short Videos & Short Films
All the recent posts have been about heavy topics, so here is a breather both for the artists out there as well as the casual video viewer. I’ve put together links to a few well made (and of course Clean Cut) short videos & short films. I’ve only included ones you may have not seen. So no Pixar shorts!

Top Short Films List
Distraxion – Hilarious, Well Made, Great Story
Signs – Great Short. Characters don’t speak a word.
The Black Hole – Great plot, Interesting Message
Kiwi – Heart-Felt Story yet very sad.
My Name is Lisa – Simple & Interesting

Is Truth Relative? Do we have a “right” to do as we please?

Is abortion wrong because the child is a human being and no one has the right to kill a child? Or should abortion be considered a valid option because it is in the right of the mother to determine whether they can or want the child? How about the right of a person to kill oneself? Do old sickly people have the right to end their own lives? Can other people assist them? Stop them? The debates continue but underlying these discussions is a much deeper battle: the battle in the validity of the sanctity of life.

France: Regulate those Manipulated Pictures!
This is going to create some interesting controversy. French lawmakers have decided to regulate airbrushing photos by requiring disclaimers on photos that are photoshopped or enhanced in any way. This action was taken as a way of fighting against body image issues at the source.

This disclaimer would be needed in newspapers, photos, magazines, political pieces, product packaging, art photography.

Social Media Statistics Viral Video
One of the benefits (and detriments) of YouTube has been the proliferation of information. More than ever, it is easy to transmit and share information through a variety of mediums.

Check out this captivating statistical video about the growth of social media. It asks the question, is social media a fad? Then it follows by bombarding you with the incredible growth and impact of social media on our every day lives.

Did you know the images you see in magazines are touched up and photoshopped to be pleasing to the eye?

I am sure you all said yes. Everything we see today has been digitally enhanced. Every face we see is not only cleaned up, but necks are trimmed, the chins are tucked, and eyes are enlarged. Every blemish from the skin is erased, hair is made more glimmery, all this on top of picking the prettiest of models.

But did you know famous pictures from history were also manipulated long before the existence of photoshop?

Remembering 9/11 – Attack of the World Trade Center
I woke up to the sound of someone talking on the radio. The sun was already beating down through the bedroom window, another beautiful day I thought. I was wondering why my roommate had the radio on. I had planned to sleep in a bit. Then I heard over the air-waves, someone speaking of a plane crashing into a building. For a second I thought I must have misheard. Planes being run into buildings? That’s crazy…

…the burning tower, the people screaming, the people crying. It was as if the world stopped. Are the people out? What about those on the top floors? What in the world happened?

Internet Usage Peaks at 11PM EST for US Web Users

Arbor Networks recently released a large scale study on internet usage utilizing the data from 110 geographically diverse Internet service providers and tens of millions of subscribers. One of the more fascinating points of this study is that internet usage for North American users peaked at 11PM and stayed at a high rate until 3AM in the morning.

What in the world are people doing so late at night?…The article investigates.