Professional Blog- Social Media and reality

 Social Media has become another "reality" for it users. It has become their "best" reality. Social media has laid out a platform for its users to present the best versions of themselves. What you see on social media may not be an accurate representation of the person's real life. Mostly everything on social media is constructed or contrived to heighten the appeal of someones day to day image. It is both literally and figuratively a filter on a person's life. Social media is everyone's highlight reel.   There was an article on babble addressing the way social media can hinder our perceptions of reality. They shared a YouTube Video that I felt strongly validated their point which is a point this blog post is attempting to reiterate.
 Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y 
 People who use media to present their best selves often forget that the people they follow are doing the same exact thing. The constant comparisons made on social media can be detrimental to young people's mental and physical health and overall affects their sense of self. Recently, a young YouTube and Instagram star, Essena O'neill, came out and openly talked about how social media and her excessive use of it made her depressed and unhappy. The constant need for reassurance through likes made her lose her sense self worth.  She could never get enough likes, or enough attention. She changed captions on various pictures on her Instagram in bikini clad photographs and said "...Stomach sucked in, strategic pose, pushed up boobs."
Here is the article:http://www.buzzfeed.com/beckycatherineharris/instagram-star-reveals-the-truth-behind-her-photos
Social Media and its devoted users are losing sense of their reality.  It is impossible to resist comparing your own life to someone else, especially if their page is filled with glamorous perfectly edited posts.  Social media and it's excessive use by its users is ruining peoples self worth and affecting their mental state.

The Candidates and their Plan

Their are too many issues for me to list for each candidate. Listed below will be their plan for one issue and underneath will be a link to their website to read up on it,. All info comes directly from the candidates website.

Hillary Clinton :
Economic Plan: Hillary believes the defining economic challenge of our time is raising incomes for hardworking Americans.

Too many families are working harder and harder, but still not getting ahead. Our country is standing again, but we’re not yet running the way we should be. From her first day in office to the last, Hillary Clinton will fight for you and for more take-home pay so you can get ahead and stay ahead.

Hillary understands that in order to raise incomes, we need strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth. And she has a plan to get us there.

Website: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

Donald Trump:

Immigration Reform: "When politicians talk about “immigration reform” they mean: amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.

Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first – not wealthy globetrotting donors. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change."

Website: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/

Bernie Sanders: 

College: "In a highly competitive global economy, we need the best-educated workforce in the world. It is insane and counter-productive to the best interests of our country and our future, that hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college, and that millions of others leave school with a mountain of debt that burdens them for decades. That shortsighted path to the future must end.

As President, Bernie Sanders will fight to make sure that every American who studies hard in school can go to college regardless of how much money their parents make and without going deeply into debt."

Website: https://berniesanders.com/issues/

Ben Carson:

2nd Amendment: "It was no accident that our Founding Fathers enshrined the right to own firearms as the 2nd element of the Bill of Rights, immediately after establishing our free speech rights. I cannot and will not support any efforts to weaken The 2nd Amendment.

The 2nd Amendment is a central pillar of our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers added it explicitly in order to protect freedom in the United States of America. It provides our citizens the right to protect themselves from threats foreign or domestic."

Website: https://www.bencarson.com/issues

I know that their are more candidates and more issues but I wanted to give everyone a taste of the candidates leading in the polls. If you would like to read up more on each candidate check out their website. Their is power in knowledge.

Why Don't The Wilpons Spend Money? Academic Blog

The New York Mets are coming off their most successful season in 15 years and the future looks very bright for their young staff and other upcoming prospects.  Now that its the off season the Mets have several areas to address in the offseason.

The big question everyone is thinking are 1)Will the Wilpons and Sandy Alderson give Yoenis Cespedes a 7 year deal? 2) Will Daniel Murphy accept the $15 qualifying offer?

The answer to those questions are most likely no and no.  This offseason you will most likely no and no.  The Mets cannot be handing out big contracts with all the young talent they will have to be locking up in the upcoming years.  Yes, Cespedes was a great pickup for the team in 2015, but giving him 7 years and over $200 million decreases the chance that they will keep all 5 of their young aces.

Daniel Murphy had a phenomenal postseason for the Amazin's and a great 8 year career in New York, but he can get more money elsewhere, so he'll more than likely go elsewhere.  Plus the Mets are high on 22 year old second base prospect Dilson Herrarea.

Now in the following seasons, starting at the end of 2016, the Mets and the Wilpons will have to focus on locking up their young aces.  It will be interesting to see what happens when they get to that point in time.  Even though the Mets play in the biggest market in the country, the Mets had the 21st payroll in the MLB last season.  The Wilpons are very heistant about giving out big contracts.

A big factor in this that no one really talks about, is their role in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.  Its been reported that the Wilpons have lost $700 million as a result of Bernie Madoff.  Many people are saying that the Wilpons are hoarding money because of the payouts they had to do, but its hard to believe that when they are still not one of the highest payrolls in baseball.  It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle the contracts of their young guns in the upcoming years.

The Wilpons Must Spend Some to Keep the Mets a Winning Team

Despite a tough World Series in 2015, it was a great season for the New York Mets and there fans.  For a season that most thought would be a development year for the team, turned into a National League East division title and raising the National League pennant for the first time in 15 years.

Now that the season is over, general manager Sandy Alderson has a lot of decisions to make regarding free agents.  The team has several free agents including Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, Tyler Clippard, and Juan Uribe.  It is unlikely the Mets bring back any of these names next season though.

A lot of these guys are asking for too much money or they just simply won't fit with the team next season, so I can see why Sandy and the Wilpons won't resign them.  What concerns me is locking up the young pitchers.

Many baseball analysis's and former big leagues have said that the Mets young pitching could potentially be the best rotation in major league history.  In order to do this the Wilpons are going to have to open up the checkbook and lock these guys up.  The Mets have 5 aces on their team, so they are going to have to be paid top money like aces.  Over the next couple of seasons their contracts are going to expire starting with Matt Harvey at the end of the 2016 season.

As a Met fan I'm so excited for our pitching, but worried about the future and how the Wilpons will handle this.  Event though the Mets play in the biggest market in the country, the Wilpons are very hesitant about handing out big contracts.  They handle the payroll as if the Mets play in Tampa Bay or San Diego.  The time to win is now and it all starts with signing Harvey, DeGrom, Syndergard, Matz, and Wheeler in the upcoming seasons.  The Mets have something very special that does not happen very often.  Its your move Mr. Wilpon.  Sign these pitchers long term and years from now we'll be talking about the greatest pitching staff in baseball history.

Knowledge on the Candidates

The Presidential Elections come around every 4 years. It is always a big time for the United States. This is the time that we will chose a new leader to run the country for the next four years. Voting is one of the most important ways to let your vote be known. However their is a big chunk of people that chose not to vote. Some people don't vote because of lack of knowledge, forget, no time, etc. I think if people knew of the problems we faced as a country they would care about who took over the White House. I will list a few of the major problem that we need to take care In the United States we have a problem with Mass Incarceration. We have about 5% of the population on the earth but hold about 25% of the incarcerated population in the world. We have a Gun Problem. Where any day of the year their could be a shooting killing multiple people because we care about guns more than we care about human life. We all have our own problems that come to mind when we talk about politics. The process may not be quick but it is necessary to move this country forward. Electing the right official will keep the country moving forward.

The Kardashians and social media short

Whether you love them or hate them you cant deny the Kardashians success on social media. The Family combined has over 100 million followers on Instagram, and close to that on twitter.

They have used social media to hone their "appeal.  Mixing “personal” and brand-driven content on Instagram and Twitter is an ideal way to break out from the “sell, sell, sell” model that can be off-putting to your audience. Move towards a format that includes both, and always make sure that your “sell” posts are visually appealing a key component to the digestibility of the Kardashians’ more brand-heavy posts. Kourtney put this casual dinner shot up on her Instagram:

How the kardashians are dominating social media

Through out the past few years the Kardashians have been gradually expanding more. Between the family actually growing, along with their celebrity status, they have become unavoidable. They have been utilizing social media to its fullest capabilities to share this growth. Whether you fond of this family or not, you can't deny that they've been achieving this. The Kardashian's hit reality show began on the E! channel iin 2007, and has remained there ever since, and expanded with several spin off shows like "Kourtney and Khloe take Miami."Within this time frame, the Kardashians have raked in followers on all of these sites Kim Kardashian has 36.7 million followers on Twitter. That’s more than McDonalds, Starbucks, Walmart, and Coca Cola combined. I’ll just give you a moment to let that sink in.But Kim isn’t the only Kardashian dominating the social media landscape. Sister Kourtney clocks in at 16.5 million followers on Twitter, while Khloe trails at a mere 17 million And there are more Kardashians where they came from with an equally dedicated social media presence. Kendall has 13.3 million, followed by Kylie with 12.2 million. 

Why Education is the Real Solution to the Minimum Wage Debate

The minimum wage is a really tough issue to write on. We all are effected by how much the wage is either directly or indirectly. I would like to take a minute to explain my position on the minimum wage debate, and to offer some ideas and thoughts to think about.

The minimum wage hike can be thought about like this inference:

Coffee drinkers are more likely to have heart disease than those who do not drink coffee.

Well if the stats show this to be true than it must be true.... Right?

Wrong...

This is a common case of what we call in philosophy an Uncaused Correlate

The correlation between those who drink coffee and those who have heart disease is drawing a false connection in order to confuse the public (you and me) as to make you second guess that cup of coffee.

But what about a missing variable? What about something that could cause heart disease, and also have to do with drinking coffee?

The truth is, coffee does not lead to heart disease, Cigarettes do.

And it just so happens that those who drink coffee, are more likely to smoke cigarettes.

Ahh there is the problem.... we didn't have all of the information in order to come to the right conclusion!

It's not that coffee leads to heart disease like this example shows: Coffee >>>>>>> Heart disease

Its actually more like this: Coffee >>>>>> Cigarettes >>>>>>>> Heart disease

AND IT IS HERE THAT WE SEE THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM!!!!!


THE MINIMUM WAGE IS EXACTLY LIKE THIS EXAMPLE.

A lot of people say that raising the minimum will lead more people to have greater economic success.

BUT this is wrong!

In fact, the minimum wage increase will decrease money for many Americans, but will also increase the costs of the products themselves.

It is very foolish to think that Corporations will take a loss and say "Okay America, you can have your money and we will comply."

Ha.... If that would ever happen

Rather,

1. it will lay off thousands of hard working Americans by greedy Corporations
2. decrease job opportunity for small businesses that can no longer afford to pay employees
3. Increase costs of products
4. make it impossible for startup businesses to succeed
5. Promote laziness and undervalue education

The solution then is not to increase the minimum.... but what?

FOCUS ON EDUCATION!!!!!

The only way to re-stabilize the fading middle class is to increase the opportunity of education for the poorest of families and those who cannot afford most colleges.

This will lead to more success and motivation for those who wouldn't have been able to afford education the past.


Then and only then will people have the knowledge and skills to succeed and take back the middle class.

So yes....

It may seem like that cup of coffee is causing your heart disease, or that a higher minimum wage will put more money in the pockets of those who don't have.

But as we have seen

There is always more that meets the eye.

Unite with Blue and White.

Israel is a peace and loving nation and demonstrates its nation in such a way. When you go to Israel, you will grasp the happy, positive, and accepting county that is Israel.

Israel stands for peace.

Israel is the ancestral homeland for the Jewish people and stands for peace. Israel has championed vast advancements in technology, the medical field, and the sciences in order to make the world a better place. Under all of the stressors that are going on in the Middle East, the Israelis make the best of their situation and is always peace oriented. To hate a state that all it is doing is positive things, is insane.
President Obama even visited the state of Israel and agreed that Israel promotes peace. "President Barack Obama’s speech in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center still resonates in the Israeli public arena. The President talked about the overall Israeli experience — its historical sources, the threats to its existence, its struggles and victories. Between his promise to the Israelis that they are “not alone” and his citing of Israel’s rare success, Obama aspired to transmit one simple, lucid message: That peace is possible, necessary and just." This message was delivered but people are still not seeing that Israel gives off a positive, welcoming, and happy vibe.
The state of Israel stands with peace and everyone should be aware.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/from-start-up-nation-to-start-up-peace.html#ixzz3rsoDJ8Ep

Why a Higher Minimum Wage doesn't Solve our Problems

The minimum wage is a really hot issue at the moment and with the wage about to increase at the turn of the new year, here's a couple reasons why this will be bad for our economy:

1. Opportunity: 

While the minimum wage increase seems really nice and would be able to help out a lot of families with lower incomes, this idea is really wrong! All this change in policy would do is make employers have to use robots to do people's work, and/or lay off a lot of workers because small business cannot afford to pay their employees that much.

2. The 1% will not be effected:

There is a lot of buzz going around that this increase will "stick it to the man" and serve as an equalizer to struggling families. This is crazy logic as the people at the top of these big corporations aren't going to take a pay cut, they are just going to use loopholes and tax breaks in order to avoid it. Trying to raise the minimum is the wrong way to approach this problem.

3. EVERYTHING is going to cost more: 

You got that right, everything is going to cost more. Your happy meal, your bag of apples, that cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee that keeps "America going". When companies have to pay their workers more, it's common sense that they will increase the costs of their products in order to not take a loss.

4. The Law of Demand: 

The Law of Demand in economics is a commonly used rule that has never been disproven. The law states that when something costs more to produce, less will be used. This law very clearly shows why an increase in the minimum wage will lead to more workers being laid off and the costs of our products increasing. a Minimum wage increase will inversely correlate will millions of workers being laid off.

5. Internship 

The internship is seen as one of the most valuable assets a student can have when trying to gain experience for a career. In fact, this is seen as such an important task, that most internships are unpaid. This is mutually beneficial for both student and employer as the student gains valuable skills needed for his/her career, and the employer can offer work to those who need experience without having to pay them finances they do not have. If the minimum wage increase goes to 15 dollars per hour, this is completely undermining the value of experience. Why would a student want to go to school when he/she can make more quickly by working at McDonald's? Also, if students are required to have paid internships, there will be not merely as many available and only select students will have the opportunity to actually experience one. This does not seem like a good solution.

6. Inequality Counter-Claim

Lastly, one of the biggest counter claims to my argument would be that a higher minimum is needed because of the racial inequality there is in the job market. I would agree this is a problem, but a higher minimum wage is not a solution. As i have explained, all this does is decrease opportunity and promote laziness to settle for low class jobs. What we need to do is reevaluate our educational programs in order to give minorities and underprivileged children a fair chance at succeeding. In this country, we are capitalists. Capitalism is an unequal system. But, capitalism stresses on the importance of equality of opportunity. It is impossible for everyone to be wealthy and successful. But it is more probable that we can give everyone a fair chance to getting there.

In conclusion, the minimum wage hike is only going to hurt families instead of help them. Unless you want to spend 10 dollars for a dollar menu item at McDonald's, you had better rethink your position on this issue.