An Interview of Self image

Interview
My friend Bella and I interview some kids at our school. The questions we asked them were about self-image and questions that would help us figure out what teens of today are going through. We asked seniors through freshmen
Questions
1. What does self-image mean to you?
2. Do you feel pressured to dress and act like your friends and/or people around you?
3. What do you think of people completely different than you?
4. Have you notice others being influenced by society? And in what ways?
Let me tell you readers, that we got a lot of good answers that made me think about things I never really thought about, and will as well make you think.
The first person we interviewed was
Kaila (senior): who when we asked if we could interview her she got excited and said” of course!” but when asked the first question: what does self image mean to her, she automatically said “ aw dang this sucks.” As you can see the first reaction to self images is negative. The rest of her answer to the first question was “self-image means to me, the way that someone carries themselves, and the way that another sees them..swagggg.” when we asked her if she ever feels pressured to dress and act like her friends and/or others around her, she answered “ No, because I feel that everyone should have individuality” which I totally agree with. I believe that everyone should never or should seek out the same pleasure, or happiness. When we asked her what she thought about other people completely different from herself, she looked over at her friend and started laughing, and said “do you want me to be honest?” and of course we said yes. She started off by saying that “she is tolerate of other people different from herself, but at times she miss judges people by their style.” She was speaking in all honesty, it is hard for someone to tell others that they think that, or believe in that, and she said it. Many people are like this, at time I could be that way. When we asked her the final question if she noticed others being influenced by society, and in what ways, she said “yea, I feel that there are a lot of people who take things from magazines and television and use that towards their self-image.” Which is true, you look around and you see others trying to dress like others in movies, televisions, and trying to make that their self-image.
When we asked a freshmen boy what he thought about other people completely different than him, he said he thought that they were, “irritating”, why do you think he thought this? Now I’m not trying to put down what he said, but why would he think that people who dress, act, and look different than him are “irritating”? They are human, in a way they are kind of like him, right? Also when we asked him what he thought self-image meant, he said that it meant “looking good and making sure people see you for who you are.” do you really think that self images is all about looks? I think it is, so many people of today believe that self-image is all about looks, which is true. But should it only be that? What about what is in the inside, how someone presents oneself, but not by looks, but by attitude and personality.
We asked another senior but this time a boy. When we asked him what self image meant to him, he said “The vibration determined by ones attitude and personality.” Which is definitely true, not only does media change the way one dresses, but it also changes the way one acts, and ones personality. He is one who also does not care what others are wearing, he is going to be and dress the way that he wants to be. When we asked him if he has noticed others being influenced by society, he commented, “certainly, it’s the way that girls put on their make-up, the way that I put on my socks, they way that that one kid is holding his sweater, its everywhere, and it hypnotizes everyone around us.”
This interview that my friend Bella and I did, really helped us, and made us think outside and really get the feeling of what others think, since everyone has their own thoughts, and they should!!!!

Power Of Persuasion

Every ruler, leader, and holy person this world has ever known has harnessed the power of persuasion in one way or another. Humans are so easily lured into different ideas and beliefs, with almost no effort. Since the beginning of time man has been lead by another, another who managed to influence and persuade his or her follows to "travel south", or "stay away from red plants" etc. The world has always wanted you to follow its desired path, for you to conform to its will along with everyone else.

Religion, I believe it to be the single most destructive Mental force man has ever invented and ever will invent. Religion divides people, fills them with lies, and tortures the one that don't comply with the other. It also completely controls people and how they live, Religion tells people what is a good life, by saying you need children and a house wife to take care of them. Also, if you have ever noticed, there seems to be an entire separate race of for example, Christian people. Their the ones that live in those big housing communities, they all look the same and have usually three or so kids, slowly drifting down the river of life, except this one is total conformity. Its a vast empire of robots that still think their human. Well I say, Get a life! A real one! But then again if they like pretending someone will save them (from what, themselves?) what should I care.

Conformity can be an important way to "fit in" with friends and the people around you. My father does not drink but when he goes to party's he is expected to at least take one sip of wine, and he does it, but feels sick after. This just an example of how people are obliged to conform to others around them. Peer pressure is a proses in which someone is trying to convert another to conform to their life style. And peer presser happens all of the time. Its strange how people are so shore that conforming to everyone else is something that needs to happen, like its a good thing.

Unique?

There are around 360 million people in the United States. In 2000 there were about 6 billion people in the world, last year the number of people was estimated at 6,602,224,175. The world is so full of human populations, its over populated. There are so many things for people to do or say and so many people to do them. It almost seems like everything has been done before. So if I am writing this and someone on the other side of the planet has already written these same words (witch is possible), does that make me a conformist? How can any idea be new? Are even the most wacky people conformists because, with so many people, so many minds and ideas, the chances are there is a couple of people who act just like them? So what is unique in our giant little world, how can one be unique? I have seen many artists who have "their own" ways of doing things, but then I'll walk down Venice beach, look over and, OH! Haven't I seen that before? Imagine back in the 17th century when someone could actually think of something new and get away with it, become rich and famous and be remembered throughout time. Nowadays you come up with a great idea for an invention, bring it over to one of those government patenting places only to be told something like "go home kid, try coming up with something else, this ones already in the computer." With nearly everything done before, is there any room left for creativity? What would happen if suddenly there was no more art, music, or even books!? I suppose that we are all conformists just for living, not in a bad way of course, but is there still a way to set yourself apart from the rest of us? Is it worth it?

Previous Quote's Of Da' Day

check responses |
____________ \/

As bad and controlling as conformity is, not so many people are being lured into its sticky shell of social influence. My father is an electric cellist, and in order for him to make any money at all he wears armor, giant boots, and plays crazy music. He constantly has to be the most wild, out of the ordinary entertainer as he can, other wise, as good as his music really is, he might not be hired very much. What I'm saying is, the world is slowly running out of room for people whom conform to others, at least in the entertaining business. No one needs someone who is hardly anyone at all. Nonconformists are some of the most successful people in the world economically. But you could also say nonconformists are the most dangerous, rejecting laws we all conform too. and there are things everyone conforms too like, "when I go to school, I put some clothes on, and when I stink I take a shower, and society thanks me for it." There are so many situations were one can reference conformity to say things like "he's cool and he's not." conformity is usually bad, but not in all contexts.

The Root Of All Evil

Well the obvious root would be the media. The correct root would be infinite. You always here that TV, magazines, stereotypical toys, and advertisements are what cause us to do certain things or think different ways, but the truth is, everything affects us. We change everything we touch and everything we touch changes us. From our friends to family, to Dr. Seuss and Abraham Lincoln, everything changes us, you change everything. But that doesn't mean we are constantly being conformed into different people right? I have know idea, in fact i was just writing all this sort of randomly when i got stomped, not fully knowing where to go. Help me out, are we constantly being conformed by everything around us? making us different at every turn in the road?

Social disturbance: Body

Throughout history, there has always been an ever changing, ever conforming style or shape to our body's that, for the time, is all to necessary to society. Normative influence and Informational influence can both be used when explaining what and why people want to look a certain way. Researchers over the years have uncovered many disturbing facts about our body images and what kind of effects they can do to us. Most* women, ever since I care to remember have been all to much concerned about their weight. This can be explained by Normative influence. In efforts to create what girls themselves decide is the "ideal body", teens and women alike have been known to use dieting to lose weight developing "disturbing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia." So basically just not eating at all, not to healthy. Men also have been given a specific look in witch young men are pressured to live up to. Rather than enduring these eating disorders, since big muscles, six packs, and mature attitudes are the manly image. Men attain their ideal body image through "dieting, steroids, and overworking their bodies." "As early as the 1960’s researchers found that 70% of the high school girls surveyed were unhappy with their bodies and wanted to lose weight (Heunemann, Sharpiro, Hampton, & Mitchel 1966)." That's a huge number! Seven of every ten girls feel uncomfortable with how they look! I hope that's not my fault, being a boy and all. And yes researchers have found that "adolescent and young men report feeling pressure from parents, peers, and media to be more muscular (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2003a).”And that's just half of it.

Informational Social Influence is the physical image of what people are are 'supposed' to look like, its found (for girls) in "articles and advertisements in magazines targeted for teenage girls and adult women as well as female characters on TV shows", and as our world gets more and more technologically advanced, we now get told what to look like on the Internet, by the toys we give to our children, and on the streets were billboards show modules as 'real beauty'. ( Nemeroff, Stein, Diehl & Smilack Stein, Diehl, & Smilack, 1995). Society is worse than ever, treating girls like trash unless they can starve themselves and live up to societies specs. Girls are getting smaller and boys beefy-er, seemingly naturally unless you look close enough. And Even worse, I have herd of many clothing stores that only sell really small outfits expecting costumers to conform to their desired size for girls to be! What the hell?! Can you really tell someone how big or small they need to be? What do you think?

check out my man Bella's blog it covers this issue better than I can.
http://roadtripofmedia.blogspot.com

Social Influence

In the Early years of 1958, Herbert Kelman, A Harvard psychologist had split the entire social influence theory into three main parts:

1. first compliance, witch is a public conformity, while the subjects own beliefs are being kept privet private. So if every one in my class are democrats and I'm a republican, I might say that I'm also a democrat. not that i want to talk about politics or anything.

2. "identification is conforming to someone who is liked and respected, such as a celebrity or a favorite uncle." for example: "I love my dad, I'm going to be just like him when i grow up," the whole role-module deal.

3. "internalization is acceptance of the belief or behavior and conforming both publicly and privately." You are basically allowing all your beliefs and differences to drift away while you completely adopt the beliefs around you.

Kelman's ideas have been highly regarded but current research on social psychology only focuses one two main parts. "These are informational conformity, or informational social influence, and normative conformity or sometimes referred to as "normative social influence" (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2005).YAY!!

Conformity

I believe that no matter how strange someone might act, there is always another side to it. As I have said, people are almost completely sculpted by everything that might come into contact with them. Conformity is a psychological term for this. Conformity asentualy means the process by which peoples beliefs and/or behaviors are influenced by others within a group, or larger, a whole country. By the way I have never heard of our world being all the same. There are three main ways people can be influenced, first by direct and overt or obvious peer pressure. Second with subtle shocks, being quiet, mild hints of gestures or words. third is influence on an unconscious level. "Conformity is a group dynamic. Numerous factors, such as unanimity, cohesion , status, prior commitment and public opinion all help to determine the level of conformity an individual will reflect towards his or her group.(Social Psychology)" Conformity influences the formation and maintenance of social norms.

In The Beginning

It all began n0t so l0ng ag0, maybe 0nly a year 0r s0. Of c0urce it came t0 me from sch00l but I 0nly really n0ticed this ph0n0man0n 0ut side, in the w0rld, 0pening my eyes to disgust and 0ther affects I can n0w see clearly wherever I g0. People always reflect the spitting image of the w0rld ar0und them. Say y0u are g0ing t0 the valley, y0u must have herd the valley-girl stere0-types right? things like h0w they always say like?!?! Well there n0t all that far 0ff fr0m the real thing, n0w l00k at h0w they act, what they d0 in their free time, and of c0urge h0w they dress. All pretty similar right? Well it d0esnt mean they d0 n0t kn0w h0w t0 dress themselves 0r anything, but it d0es p0int 0ut an alm0st perfect example. In truth what they d0 is all they kn0w, all they can c0mprehend as acceptable t0 be seen as t0 their public surr0undings.

Introduction

As niche c0nstruction in ev0luti0n c0ntinues with the gr0wing pr0blem 0f man 0riented gl0bal disasters, humans literaly remain unt0uched and all t0 p0werful 0ver 0ur w0rld. Our p0wer isn't all c0ntr0lled by us as individuals, but an even bigger m0re destructive f0rce, with a nearly unimaginable grasp 0n 0ur unc0nsci0us. It is made up of very few pe0ple, but alm0st every0ne plays a small r0le in guiding its future c0mands. It is 0ur s0ciety, were we live, the streets we walk 0n, and even 0ur friends. F0r thousands of years, millions actually, people living together have been telling each0ther h0w t0 think, and what t0 l00k like. As life m0ves 0n, s0metimes with0ut saying a w0rd, we change 0ur ideas 0n what is s0cially acceptable as well as unacceptable. Humans s0metimes discard their civilizati0ns current practices, when really their just discarding their 0wn, maybe n0t their idea as a individual but as a p0pulation, a race, or s0me 0ther band 0f civilizati0n! Nearly every change in 0ur w0rld has been decided by us, f0r better 0r w0rse the pe0ple as a wh0le are the c0mp0sers of s0ciety.