Singsank's Sociology Blog

Friday, February 14, 2014

Reading Test: Speed Reading, This Test Will Tell You How Fast You Read Compared to the Rest of the U.S.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/02/12/this-test-will-tell-you-how-fast-you-read-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-u-s/

THE FEMINIZATION OF LOVE AND MASCULINIZATION OF SEX

by Lisa Wade, PhD from the Sociological Images

What comes to mind when you think of romance, love, and Valentine’s Day? Probably things like sunsets, flowers, chocolates, candles, poetry, and bubble baths. You know,girl stuff.

Francesca Cancian, who writes on love, calls this the feminization of love. It makes love seem like its for women and girls only. This is a problem for at least two reasons. First, because men are supposed to avoid girly things in our culture, they are pressured to pretend like they’re not into love and love-related things. That’s why men are offered the alternative Steak and a Blow Job Day.

Second, it makes other ways of expressing love less visible. Maybe he shows love by always changing the oil in the car or making sure the computer is updated with anti-virus software. These can be mis-recognized as not about love because they aren’t the proper socially constructed symbols. So, if he doesn’t also show up with flowers or candy once in a while, maybe she doesn’t feel loved.

The flip side of this is the masculinization of sex. The rather new idea that what men are really interested in is sex and that this is secondary or, even, obligatory for women.

The feminization of love and masculinization of sex manifests itself in a myriad of ways across our culture, causing all sorts of problems. In the case of Valentine’s Day, it makes it seem as if the (assumed heterosexual) holiday is for women but, if he does it right, he’ll get sex as a reward. How romantic.

Study: Young People Love to Tweet From the Toilet

By Kate Knibbs

For older social media users, figuring out how to edit a Facebook comment or post the right photo to Instagram requires one’s full attention. But for the younger set, using social media is intuitive, so they can DM while they BM.

According to a report by Nielson, 40 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds admitted to using social media in the washroom, compared with 21 percent of respondents on average. Younglings are ‘liking’ from the loo with less shame than older social media users. And if that’s the number of people who admit to this type of behavior, imagine how many people are actually doing it.

The report looked at other social media behavior and found that 44 percent of young adults aged 25 to 34 admit to using social media in restaurants, so while the college-aged set presses ‘publish’ while pooping, their older counterparts are doing something worse: Instagramming their food. And 48 percent of mothers with children under 13 admitted that they use social media in the car, just in case you needed another reason to buckle up.

Of all the social media sins one can commit, communicating from the commode is positively benign. Sure, it’s gross to imagine people updating their social media while hunched over on the john, but is it not preferable to overusing hashtags or re-posting tired memes? As long as Toilet Selfiesdon’t catch on.

Yes, College is Worth It!

By Michelle Arrouas @MichelleArrouas

University tuition may be rising steeply, but so is the cost of not getting a college degree.

A new study on higher education in the United States finds that the economic gap between millennials with and without college degrees is the widest it has been in almost 50 years, and that the college educated are doing better on virtually every economic measure.

Among the key findings are that people aged 25-32 with a bachelor’s degree or more have a median annual income of $45,000 and lower unemployment (3.8%), while high school graduates only make $28,000 and 12.2% of them are unemployed. The study also showed that just 5.8% college graduates lived in poverty compared to 21.8% of their lesser-educated peers.

It’s not all about numbers, either: Young people with college degrees are also more likely to be married, less likely to live at their parents’ home and more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, the study finds.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Steve Ramirez and Xu Liu: A mouse. A laser beam. A manipulated memory.

Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud

Are You a Conversation Hog? 8 Tips to Better Conversations.

Are You a Conversation Hog? 8 Tips to Better Conversations

When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say.

— Abraham Lincoln

Do you know people who spend more time talking about what they want to say than caring about what you may want to hear? These types always talk about themselves and what’s happening in their lives, without seeming to care about how your day is going or what’s new in your world.

It’s not hard to be more considerate than that. To brush up on conversation etiquette, here are eight tips to think about and ask yourself each time you are on the telephone or in the company of another person, whether at a business meeting, event, a social party, talking to a friend or neighbor, or at home with family:

1. Begin conversations with a cordial question. Be the first to ask a pleasant question, including “How’s your day going?” “What’s new in your world?” or a question that gets the other person to answer with more than a yes or no. If the other person happens to ask a question first, answer it, but then ask a question in return.

2. Converse in equal time slots. Conversations are not meant to be one sided, where one person talks while the other person listens. There is a delicate balance between how much talking one person should do over the other. It should be relatively equal. If you are not hearing a balance in your conversations, something’s wrong!

3. Listen. It is said, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” Care more about listening to the other person than about what you want to say next. Here are two examples of sticky situations: The person you’re talking with moves to a new subject, and you want to stick to the old one. Or he or she asks a question and you want to continue the conversation that came before it.

In the first example, preface the comment with something like: “Oh, one more comment on the old subject is…” This shows the other person you were listening and paying attention, yet wanted to share your thoughts. In the second example, make every effort to answer questions before moving forward. Even to say, “Oh, let me answer that later,” then continue with your comments is better than ignoring it as though you didn’t hear the question at all.

A great exercise is what I call the “instant replay technique.” In your head, practice repeating what the other person just said. This will take your focus off what you are thinking and turn the focus back toward the other person. In some instances, repeat the comment or question aloud as a sign you heard what they said. This can also help to tie in your next comment. The more you practice the “instant replay technique,” the better listener you will become, able to participate in the flow of conversation at its optimum level.

4. Make sure people are interested in what you have to say. Even though I thoroughly enjoy certain television shows and certain wines and foods, I don’t discuss these subjects with people who have little or no interest in them. Learn what interests other people before going on and on. Ask questions to determine a fit, such as: “Do you have a favorite television show?” “What kind of shows do you watch most often?”

Do not assume just because this person says they like opera or gardening they are into hearing every little detail. Gauge their level of interest first by how well they are hanging on your every word. Be sensitive to whether the person is truly listening and engaged in what you are saying. Be aware, if you notice the person breaking eye contact, shuffling their feet, yawning, or nodding or saying words that don’t sound genuine, you may be boring them to death.

5. After asking a question, care about the answer. Do not be a person who asks questions for the sake of doing so as filler and not caring about the reply. Why ask the question in the first place if you’re not interested? A great conversationalist strives to achieve an evenly balanced conversation where all parties have opportunities to ask questions, answer questions, and then also to respond to answers. A training exercise is to ask at least 3 questions for every five minutes of conversation, and then care enough to remember what the questions and answers were.

6. Recap conversations. Train yourself to recap and debrief conversations. Do it the moment you hang up the telephone or leave the person. Ask yourself: What information did I learn from this conversation? Was the focus or purpose of the conversation met? Did I allow or give equal time in speaking? Did it appear I did more of the talking than the other person? Was the conversation a pleasant experience for me? Did it appear to end well on both sides? Overall, did I enhance the life and my friendship with the other person in a meaningful way?

7. Respect people’s time. Especially when calling or entering someone’s office during business hours, ask the person if it is a good time to talk before getting into the point of the conversation.

8. Show appreciation. End conversations with cordial, uplifting words and phrases, such as: “Great speaking with you,” “Thank you for your time” and “I enjoyed our chat.”

BONUS: Do not take over other people’s conversations. When someone other than you is the primary focus of a conversation, do not take over the conversation by interjecting your own experiences. For instance, Joe says he recently visited Greece on vacation and how beautiful it was. You interject with “Wow! It is a great place. I went there for three weeks last year and it was this and that. We visited six cities, including blah, blah, blah, and yaddi, yaddi, yah.” Instead, allow Joe to discuss his trip to Greece as the focus of the conversation. Add brief comments to support and enhance Joe’s stories and perhaps ask Joe questions about his trip to find commonality or to learn something new. Most importantly, do not steal the conversation away from Joe. Hold your tongue! Only when Joe has said he piece may you continue the conversation by taking the lead.