Growing Social Skills in Adolescents

My Capstone project revolves around gathering a large group of adolescents that range from middle to high school ages. During my middle school and even high school years, I can remember from personal experience being nervous and somewhat apprehensive to attend events that involved a large group of peers. I'd imagine that today kids share these same feelings whether it be a school dance, party, sporting event, or in this case a religious concert. Socializing can be difficult for some adolescents as they attempt to find where and who they fit in with at this stage in life.

"Adolescence is characterized by the psychological changes that effect an individuals sense of identity, their self-consciousness and their relationship with others" -Sarah Jane Blakemore

People come from all different backgrounds with different experiences that are shaped during much their adolescent life. I believe by giving these adolescence the opportunity to celebrate their faith amongst peers in a safe and entertaining environment, such as a christian concert, you are giving them an opportunity to develop social skills that will carry on throughout future socializing opportunities in their lives. In comparison to children, studies show that adolescents,ranging from ages 14-19 are more sociable and form complex peer relationships. These studies also show that adolescents are more sensitive to acceptance and rejection during these years of life. (Blakemore, 2008)  I came across a quote during music research that I feel is a perfect explanation for the Music in the Mountains event.

“Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves: We are the same.” -John Denver

The experience that adolescents should take away from this concert is one that unites people with a common interest of faith, but positively educates one other from different backgrounds.

Symbolic Interactionism

Blog Two

                 George Herbert Mead developed the idea of Symbolic Interactionism. He was a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago as a social psychologist. A couple varieties of symbolic interactionism were developed by two students of different schools including the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa. No matter the favored variety of symbolic interactionism, both varieties believe reality is social and developed in interaction with others.

                “Most symbolic interactionists believe a physical reality does indeed exist independently of the individual’s social definitions, that social definitions do develop, at least in part, in relation to something ‘real’ or physical. Humans do not respond to this reality directly; however, they define the situation as it exists out there” (Burbank & Martins).

                I gained a better understanding after watching this video, which is simplistic yet relatable as it allowed me to apply this theory to my project. A student of Mead’s named Herbert Blumer of the University of Chicago, proposed three ideas that better explain symbolic interactionism.

1.       We act based on the meaning we’ve given something.

By relating this theory to my Capstone project, which is the Catholic concert, I was better able to understand the importance of making the concert successful for not only a majority of the group, but for every single person (if possible). Essentially this first idea is saying that if one of the youth or family members has an amazing time at the concert and relates the concert to happiness, warmth and wholesome fun, they will think about how enjoyable it was and are likely to attend the next one because of that positive experience.

2.       We give meaning to things based on our social interactions

For example, if someone at the concert had a negative experience they’d be less likely to attend the next concert, and may push this idea on others. This negative experience could range from having trouble getting tickets, a rude vendor at a food stand, or even dirty public facilities could turn someone’s experience bad. Just one negative experience could change a person’s entire perception from another’s perception of something.

3.       The meaning we give something is not permanent and it can change due to everyday life.

Blumer’s last idea is that our views and ideas about something can change no matter our positivity towards it before. If the person with a positive experience returns to the concert the following year, and have trouble getting tickets or come across a rude food vendor or uncleanly facility, they make now associate the event negatively. However, this depends on the person, as another may simply disregard these incidents and still view the concert as a positive experience.

This theory explains how people grow and develop their own personal views and opinions throughout life. For example, when a child returns home to his/ her family with views that stray from family beliefs, it is because the child has been exposed to new experiences and developed their own ideas through symbolic interactionism. I like this theory as it relates to my Capstone project, because as someone who is marketing events and reaching out to a large number of people, it is extremely important to make the experience positive for all youth and family. And if someone has a negative experience, I feel it is just as important to quickly respond with positivity to make the rest of the experience as enjoyable as possible.

The Beginning to Music in the Mountains

A Catholic Christian Celebration
Music in the Mountains is a Catholic music fundraising event for the youth in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and the states surrounding.This event is a perfect opportunity to test my public relations skills for my senior capstone project. The featured artist is Matt Mayer, a Christian music artist, songwriter and worship leader who was recently awarded "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards. This event is hosted by St. James Catholic Church in Charles Town, West Virgina. St. James Catholic Church is the largest Catholic Church in the state of West Virginia, which is a great location for their anticipated 450 guests. Music in the Mountains is a fundraising event that will benefit youth mission trips for the upcoming summer. This is the first time the church is holding this event and it will be the largest event they've ever done. They have no social media presence and find difficult to connect with youth besides email and word of mouth. I intend to create multiple platforms for this event to reach out to youth and educate them about Music in the Mountains. This will allow me to attract youth and their families to the event with constant communication and provides the opportunity for engagement between youth and the church. The process of budgeting and scheduling are included as vital parts of my project.

VALS Survey Results

Write & publish a blog post about your results and how you feel they reflect or fail to reflect who you are as a person. 
After taking the VALS Survey, my results read: Your primary VALS type is Experiencer 
                                                                                   Your secondary type is an Achiever 
I believe that my primary result is spot on.  I absolutely consider myself someone who loves to experience new things that are very thrilling and interesting and I love to make things happen. My idea of interesting and exciting experiences that I have done are things such as traveling, doing physical activity, riding roller coasters, free falling, tubing,  tasting new foods, cliff jumping etc... My future exciting plans include skydiving, snorkeling, hang gliding, and more. 
I believe that my secondary type is more of a thinker rather than an achiever. I know that I am someone who really analyzes every possibility of something that I do or will do and how it may affect me later on. I love the feeling of achieving things, however I find that I often over-think things, which is the reason I feel that I am more of a thinker rather than an achiever. 

What have you learned about yourself through this exercise?

Through this exercise I have learned that I know how to distinguish what kind of person I am regardless of what an assessment says that I am. 

  How do you think this information may be used to appeal to you as a consumer?

 I think that this information would appeal to a consumer, because as a professional they would see that I am the type of person that loves taking on new experiences that are challenging and exciting. I really enjoy making and creating things that are useful and successful. Although the test says that I am an achiever, I also think that my thinking skills would be very appealing to a consumer, because I can use this skill to dissect every possibility that would create a successful .

 

Personal Stance on Copyright

Copyright was developed in order to protect an originators creative work, and grants that creator exclusive rights to distribution. Creators of original works are also given the right to receive profit for their work, if they choose. A great benefit from the copyright law is that creator's are able to be protect by these copyright laws for the extent of their lifetime, plus seventy years after their death.


My Stance on Copyright

I believe that copyright is a great law to have, especially for the creators of a work. Creators are able to take credit for their work and gain all of it's benefits. However today, violation of this law happens more often than some would think. For example, when one illegally downloads an artists music, meaning they have not purchased it, they are violating those artists rights. Also, one that edits an artist work and attempt to sell it as their own is a violation of the copyright law. Therefore, anytime a person takes the work of another and attempts to produce it as their own, they are again violating the copyright law. Sites such as Creative Commons allow people to use licensed  pictures to copy, distribute, and make uses of their work as long as the user does not use the content commercially and try to gain profit using the work. The copyright law is a good thing in my opinion, but it is not always honored as there are many violations of the copyright today.

Cultivation Theory: The Mean World Syndrome

George Gerbner offers a very thought-provoking explanation as to how the media impacts the public's views on violence. In The Mean World Syndrome Preview, Gerbner relates today's cultural environment to a fish swimming in water, meaning that the people have become so adapted to watching the violence seen in the media, that they know nothing else. Many that have tried to develop an explanation for today's violence, have blamed the media for creating the idea that violence is common for people to perform and that it is acceptable to practice; however Gerbner states that the media is actually to be blamed for making the people more fearful that this violence will be done to them, rather than actually performing the act of violence. The public see's all of this violence happening in today's media, and they are fearful for themselves and their families that this violence may quite possibly happen to them. An interesting statistic brought forth in this video, is that 2/3 of those who say that crime is a very serious problem in today's society, are actually gaining their news from the television media.



Does violence on the media impact the public in a negative way?

I believe that the majority of violence in the media does have a negative influence on today's public. I also believe that the public is able to choose how they let the media's violence affect them. For example, the public may use the media's violence as pure entertainment and never act upon it, but still leave fear for these possible actions by others. Others may use media violence as a confirmation that this violence is acceptable to reenact. 

Are there ways that you can think consuming media violence could have a positive impact on people?

The only positive impact that I believe that violence could have on the public is that people become more aware of this violence and they are able to protect themselves in different ways; Whether it be self-defense, having safety equipment and plans, or knowing which places are unsafe to enter during certain times. People can never truly predict the actions that others may do, so even being prepared may not always help, however it eases the mind of the public who are negatively exposed to such a violent world. 

Do you agree with Gerbner's explanation for why there is so much violence on television, that the reason isn't simply because that is what the public wants to consume? 

I do agree with Gerbner that the explanation for why there is so much violence on television isn't simply because that is what the public wants to consume, but is because of the major media corporations who specifically target the people to sell. According to The Mean World Syndrome, selling to the public is decided by large private corporations and they control what travels well in the global market, which they use a formula based on what succeeds in the media market. "Put in more action and cut out the complicated solutions" is the formula that the major corporations use because it speaks to every person across the nation. Action and violence needs no translation among different countries, because it is a visual understanding amongst all people. Therefore, the public does not control the amount of violence in the media, what they can control however is how much they choose to watch this violence and what they choose to do with this violent knowledge.