Active AimA Journey and Destination

There is no doubt that the internet has a big influence on us. This is because we can use this medium to shop for items online, conduct research and stay in

touch with people even if they are half way around the world.

Before the internet was available, we had to go out when we wanted to shop for things, go to the library to do some research or get on the phone to get in

touch with someone. During that time, whatever we wanted was not available on our fingertips which is something our parents never had when they were young.

But has this made us stay in the house more often than going out? The answer is no because some of the items you find online are much cheaper when you go to

the store. People still travel and go places even if they used the internet to make a reservation or book a flight.

This means that people are aware of the limits of what the Internet can do. After all, it is much better to see the sights for real and experience what it is

like to be there rather than just looking at a picture or trying to see it using a virtual reality realm.

If people are not able to travel, the internet enables users to see each other live so they chat as long as they have a microphone and camera. The best part

is that it is free thanks to such programs offered by Skype or Yahoo Messenger so you don’t have to pay a cent compared to the old method of talking to

someone on the phone.

But of the different things that the internet provides us today, people will remember this medium for its quick ability to spread information.

When an event happens anywhere in the world, a blogger or a news service will post this online so you can see it from different points of view and you can

even react to it.

You can write a blog or post a fictional story and if people like it, you will get more hits than you expected and your fans will encourage you to write

more.

For those doing research, you will get up to date information about the topic much faster than the writer publishing the book and buying it from the store.

To keep the internet keep up with the times, the people who make the hardware that make up our computers also have to do their share to keep up with the

times. Each year, companies like Cisco and Siemens come up with faster processors while other companies make smaller and smaller laptops and notebooks so we

can have access to this medium regardless of where we are in the world.

We owe a lot to the internet which is why we can’t deny the fact that it has an influence on who we are. Without it, we won’t be able to trade with other

countries since there are no business to business portals, auctions can’t be done and you will have to visit the local store even if a similar item can be

purchased and delivered from somewhere else. But to make this all work, you must have a computer or access to one.

Society and education are two inseparable elements in our world.  It has always been in talks how education influences the society.  The things we are taught

and what we learn through our schooling affects the kind of person we are and consequently influences the society as a whole.  But seldom do we tackle on

society’s influence on education.

In definition, society is an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization.  The building blocks of society are we human

beings.  How people interact creates the pattern of relationships between individuals and thus characterizes the society according to the systems of customs,

values, and laws.

Education, understanding it from a general perspective, is any learning that we obtain from different media.  Education does not start on our first day of

formal schooling.  Nor is it bound by the four walls of the room where an educator imparts his knowledge.  It starts from the first forms of interaction as

human being.  It continues even as we leave the classrooms.  We learn from anything we do, hear, see—that is, we gain knowledge from our surroundings.

With this in mind, how the society is greatly affects the education of its constituents.  If the society believes in a set of norms and values, it is but

natural for these individuals to inculcate to others their principles.  What a society upholds will be reflected in the way the people interact with others. 

And these interactions provide learning to both parties.  This is what is called non-formal education from the society.

Society plays a significant role in education.  It can influence it both ways, positively and negatively.  The values, morals, and principles of a society

will create an education system that upholds the same values, morals, and principles.  A social group that believes in righteous acts and decent interactions

will hone its individuals to teach the same to other people.

However, there are certain inequalities in the society that creates a negative effect on education.  There are societies that deny women’s right to

education.  There are discriminations against the women wanting to enter certain fields of study.  Conversely, men are also discriminated against penetrating

certain fields of study that women dominate.

Moreover, there are societies that force children to work denying them of the formal education.  This exposes them to an unhealthy environment that halts

their growth and development.  What they are learning while working at such a young age is not the expected learning had they been allowed to study and

exposed to healthy surroundings.

The social status also dictates the kind of education people can obtain.  The cost of education can be correlated with the social system—that is, as you go

up the social classes, so is your capability to get education.  In gist, you can get the best education if you can afford it.

Conquering these inequalities is a challenge to everyone.  There is no question regarding society’s influence on education but it is up to us if we will

allow society to have a negative impact not just on the education system alone but also on the overall development of an individual.  We have to be mindful

and vigilant in correcting unlawful and unjust ways so we can slowly mold the society into becoming a good effect on education.

The youth of today is exposed to different media that illustrates a different standard of beauty by associating the term with underweight movie stars, models

and musicians.  It has come to a point that if the question were asked if media promotes anorexia, it won’t be surprising to get a resounding affirmation. 

The truth is children are exposed to images in television, magazines, newspapers, radio and other media forms, all of which give out the same message that

the perfect beauty is skinny.  It is no wonder that media influences society, in particular the youth, so that there is an increase of children suffering

from eating disorders.

Although eating disorders for a child isn’t all because of the negative influence of the media.  Some children are just more likely to develop anorexia and

some might be at risk of developing other types of eating disorders without the negative effect of media.

Sending False Messages

Today’s media is obsessed with physical appearances or a person’s external beauty.  The media landscape in the generation of Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth

promoted a different type of beauty, one that isn’t skinny or scrawny.  The standard of beauty has since evolved over the years in which beautiful means

wearing a size zero and no more than that.  Otherwise, you are labeled as fat.

An example of such phenomenon is when after bearing two children Britney Spears shows up in a skimpy outfit and was mocked by the media because of how much

she’s gone fat.  Despite giving birth to two children, she isn’t even close to ‘fat’ but the media was overly critical by being offended by how the pop star

had the guts to wear such an outfit with a figure like that.

With such an example, it is no longer surprising that the youth of today has such a distorted view of what the ideal beauty is about.

Perfect isn’t Perfect

Today’s youth oriented television shows and magazines use personalities that are rarely overweight or even have normal weight which further sends out the

wrong message that perfect beauty is thin.  From the time a child gets into their pre-teen years until their middle-teen years they are constantly exposed to

what so-called perfect beauty is and the need to look just absolutely perfect.

Imagine if Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth were alive today, they would be considered fat, which is quite a shock.  This shows how much the standard of

perfection and beauty has really evolved.  Isn’t it surprising to realize that these iconic symbols of beauty, health and sex are now deemed flawed? The idea

seems unreal.

Getting it Right
Media influences society, in particular children, with continuous messages of what today’s society consider as ideal and a very negative of idea of what is

perfect.  In order to limit a child or a teenager’s exposure to these negative influences is by limiting their exposure to shows that promote harmful ways of

altering one’s body image and the same goes for magazines.

It’s important to teach children of what a healthy body image is by encouraging them to stay fit in body and mind instead of focusing on looks and beauty. 

Also, it’s important to keep track of your child’s self esteem issues and their body image.

The extent of media influence on children has always been the topic of organizations advocating effective parenting.  Ever since the media took on full swing

and reached everyone far and wide with its coverage, the talks on its influence on children has been in full swing as well.

Statistics has it that by the time a child turns 18, he must have seen around 200,000 acts of violence on television.  Moreover, all these electronic media

such as television, video games, movies, and computer had been tagged to have profound effects on young children.  Such is the case of video games that

depict violent acts.  Because of the power of media to set examples for children to follow, the correlation between exposure to violence on television and

the consequent development of aggressive behavior is still in question.

Furthermore, this boom in the electronic media creates a change in the society.  It highly influences people and how they think.  It has developed the power

to set cultural norms because of its increasing prevalence in society.

As experts say, children naturally copy.  For instance, there is a study showing that 14-month-old infants tend to copy actions they see on the television

set.  Another observation is that children develop heroes as they increase their liking towards a character or personality.  For example, children idolize

certain professional athletes that they tend to copy how their idols talk, dress, and behave. They enjoy emulating their heroes in hopes that they will

become like them.

In the world of electronic media, violence is a dominant theme because it garners attention thus creating business opportunity for many.  The more demand it

generates, the number of opportunists increases.  With this trend, children receive a constant dose of media violence and as a result develop more aggressive

behavior.

This alone should be a cause of concern for parents who automatically send off their children to watch whatever they want while they are busy with their

chores.  Parents need to know what their children are watching because electronic media provides too many bad examples for children.  Not all cartoons and

animated shows are violent-free.  It does not follow that pleasant-looking characters automatically offer wholesome viewing.

Because of this cause-and-effect dynamics, it follows that the more electronic media exposed to children, the more violent acts they would get to see. 

Hence, experts emphasize the need to limit the exposure and they advise parents and guardians to monitor the amount and content of exposure to television as

well as to computer.

It is recommended that children under three years old be exposed to only two hours per week of electronic media activity, while children between three and

eight years old should only be allowed 10 hours per week.  This way, they can get enough interaction with other people, hence developing their social skills.

Because of the strong media influence on children, a child who is constantly exposed to television and other electronic media minimizes his chance of knowing

how it is to interact with other children and family members.  In a growing child, it is important for him to communicate and socialize effectively with

other people because these ways will be carried over when he gets older.

The basics of everything we do as an adult can be traced back to our childhood.

In a lot of ways homeschooling a shy child in developing self esteem can be beneficial both emotionally and intellectually.  Although there is truth that a child needs to learn how to socialize because they will need it as they go through life, thrusting a child into the crowded hallways of school can be quite overwhelming for them and they may end up having social anxiety attacks they may not be able to get over with which will only be counterproductive for them.  With the help of homeschooling a child can feel more comfortable and confident in social settings by letting them learn social skills at their own pace.

Learning to Socialize and Getting the Smarts

The biggest concern of most parents in placing their child through homeschooling is that their children won’t be able to learn to socialize with others.  But what most parents don’t know is that exposing their child through a classroom setting is not the only way a child could learn how to socialize and neither is it the best way to learn social skills.

It is true that a shy child will have difficulties adjusting to a classroom environment especially when it comes to fitting in and getting along with their sociable classmates.  These kids are usually quiet, nervous or inept in a social environment which makes it hard for them to make friends in a classroom environment and end up feeling more alone and unconfident.  Aside from this, these children end up being victims of bullying since they become targets of those who like to pick on others who stand out.  In this case these kids standout because of their shyness.

These are just some of the issues that a shy child can go through in a classroom environment and more often than not is what causes the problem.  If a child is placed under homeschooling they can learn to socialize at their own pace, develop self esteem and gain confidence without being victims of cruel judgment by other children.

Another reason to consider homeschooling is that a child finds it difficult to learn in a stressful environment.  A child can get stressed out if they get anxious thinking about what’s in store for them in school which can cause them lose concentration in class. They end up not participating in class and not asking questions to their teachers because they don’t want to get noticed.  And if they find themselves in a big class, teachers don’t even notice them so they can give them due attention.  Through homeschooling a child is able to learn in a comfortable and nurturing environment.

It’s Time to get Homeschooled

Shy children need a lot of encouragement to conquer their shyness but getting them all stressed out will not help them.  You need to find the right balance for your child.  For instance, if a child is uncomfortable in a large crowd but thrives on a one-on-one environment you can schedule play dates with them that involve one and eventually more children as they continue to build their confidence.

Another way you can help your shy child in developing self esteem while they go through homeschooling is through group classes like music, art or hobby classes where they can make friends with other children of the same interest which in turn makes them feel accepted.  Allowing your child to join such groups gives them the confidence they need in a social setting.