How Clothes Influence Society

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/pajamas-in-public-should-they-be-banned/2012/01/18/gIQAtmVE8P_blog.html

"If one Louisiana parish commissioner has his way, comfort-lovers won’t be hanging out in their PJs at the mall. Caddo Parish Commissioner Michael Williams has proposed a ban on wearing pajamas — especially the pants -- in public after he was appalled by the attire of his constitutents during a recent shopping trip, according to KTAL/NBC.
Don’t wear these outside your home in Caddo Parish, La. (J. Crew)

“The moral fiber in our community is dwindling,” Williams said. “If not now, when? Because its pajama pants today, next it will be underwear tomorrow.”'

Crazy? I think so. 

Here's one thing I think people excessively and in this case, harshly judge people, pajamas, and overall, the way people dress. I'm from New York City, and everyday people dress like they are going to a fashion show. Coming to Penn State is a nice change because I don't feel like I'm being ridiculed in the eyes of other people if I walk around wearing a hoodie and sweatpants and a pair of sneakers, instead of back home where I would wake up really early, do my hair to perfection, put on a blazer, jeans, and army boots and some jewelry and makeup. Here and there, I'm still the same person; it's just the fact that I look and dress differently. 

Judging someone for wearing pajamas is like basing your whole perception of the person on the time they woke up that day. Say someone woke up at 8:30 AM and someone else woke up at 3PM that day. People would automatically assume that the person who woke up early is more ambitious, hardworking, and more vibrant of a person, while the other is lazy and probably doesn't do that much work. See, what if that person who woke up in the afternoon pulled an all nighter doing a bunch of homework because they have six classes and papers and tests and their sleep cycle simply shifted. They still only get around 8 or 9 hours of sleep, they just sleep at different times. Yet, no one seems to consider ideas like that, even though they're most often very plausible. No, people insist on judging others for what they do and wear. Why do we wear pajamas? For comfort. Why are they inside our homes or dorms, but walking outside with them is considered so heinous that there would be a law considering banning them from the public (but let's remember...it is Louisiana). Why do we have to put up a front for the public when at home it's perfectly acceptable to be comfortable. We're the same people outside or inside our own homes. Society just makes everyone into this dichotomy of our private vs. public selves. 

That saying 'behind closed doors,' nobody asked for that. We're pressured into not being ourselves to 'outsiders' and that in turn forms a cycle of keeping people 'outsiders'. It's forced upon us, and frankly, it's a little ridiculous.

How Cell Phones Influence How We Interact With People

This clip depicts Goffman's Levels of Engagement (fully focused, partially focused, and not focused). That theory basically demonstrates one way cell phones influence our society, by taking away our attention from the activities we otherwise normally would be fully present in. Cell phones let us be partially engaged in other activities and with other people while we are with someone else or doing something else. In the video, the guy is on a date with someone, and instead of focusing on his interaction with the date, he is multitasking. Occasionally, he asks his date a question about herself, but for most of the time, he is fiddling with his cell phones, which he has two. He is partially engaged in his activity, the date, and partially engaged with his cellular communication. In the video, he sends texts, and makes and receives phone calls, so much that it is frustrating to the viewer, because he is in a restaurant and the social acceptability of cell phone use in a restaurant is low, as compared to another place, like a sidewalk.Cell phones are great because they increase the fluidity of our lives. I mean, think about it, how many times do you make solid plans to meet up with someone? Like, "Let's meet up next to the columns in front of the library at exactly 3:39 PM on Tuesday". Mobile communication increases our social bonds with people, but all the while, excessive use of them is unhealthy for trying to live in the present. What life really consists of is the here and now, and all I can say is, try to be as present as you can.

New York Times vs. Cracked

I read Cracked.com on a regular basis. It is a website that sometimes allows readers to write articles as well and send them in. Most of the pieces are humorous and meant for people who have a good sense of humor. They are often lists on random sometimes even arbitrary subjects, like movie characters, or places nobody likes going to. The thing about cracked.com is that they make these topics extremely interesting and colorful, and put a lot of humor into it and allow people to see these ordinary things in a new light they can relate to. It's for younger adults who enjoy sarcasm and satire, and almost every one of their articles is very easy to relate to. The New York Times is a newspaper written for sophisticated people who lean towards the left. It's a
liberal newspaper and not at all an easy read. It's meant for older adults in search of serious information and has a very formal tone. They often write about global crises or problems within the country. The newspaper has an extensive science and political section.