Weekly Written Analysis 2

The topic I chose for the week two analyses is medical advice websites. There are rashes of medical advice websites in operation today. These websites can provide medical advice, symptom checker, general information about diseases and conditions, and general health information. These websites are growing in popularity as many people refer to the internet for information. People have started using these websites instead of calling their doctor or a hotline. These websites allow you to enter information and then provide you with a series of steps to follow to treat the condition or symptoms that you are experiencing. These websites can be both good and bad. If one does not convey their symptoms properly they could receive an incorrect diagnosis. Websites such as these can provide good information in dire circumstances but should not be substituted for a medical professional’s opinion.
These websites have also affected doctors business because far less people are seeing the doctor. These people are seeking home treatment instead of making an appointment with the doctor. Most times people are able to treat minor injuries or illnesses with the advice that they receive from these websites. Sometimes things do not go so smoothly. On rare occasions people use the advice from these websites and they make the problem worse. Their doctor or emergency room must then treat the patient’s condition to prevent further complications.
Individuals must realize that these websites were not created to take the place of a doctor but to provide advice for minor problems. According to an article from ABC there are several things that a person should consider before taking advice from one of these internet sites. (Green, 2008) Today’s culture is very technologically savvy and we are always looking for a more efficiently way to do things. Thus the medical advice websites have replaced the medical dictionaries of the past. In many ways the websites of today are able to provide much more specific information than their printed counterparts of the past. Everyone must beware that these websites are not familiar with a patient’s history and therefore cannot predict reactions to medications or potentially fatal problems. These websites should not be used to diagnose or treat any serious or potentially serious conditions.


References
Green, L. (2008, December 30). Finding trustworthy medical advice online. Retrieved May 30, 2009, from abclogal.go.com: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/health_fitness&id=6485853

Icon Analysis

The three contemporary icons that I chose are Hannah Montana, Iron Chef Bobby Flay, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Hannah Montana is a character on a television show for tweens and teens. This show airs on the Disney Channel. Hannah’s character is played by Miley Stewart (previously Cyrus). Hannah is a music star who is constantly being chased by cameras and press. Hannah would prefer to have a normal life when she is not on stage. Bobby Flay is an iron chef. He also stars in Throw down with Bobby Flay and Iron Chef America. Both of these television shows are cooking competition shows. Bobby Flay is an award winning chef. The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a television shows that airs on ABC. This television show is based on a pregnant 15 year old girl and her family. The show describes how the girl got pregnant and the struggles that she encountered as a result.
Hannah Montana is a very important person in the lives of young people today. I have a nine year old son and that is how I learned about Hannah Montana. I chose Hannah because I feel that her show has a lot to offer young people. It shows how other people live their lives and the struggles that they face. I think that it shows children that no matter what type of life that you have there are going to be struggles. I chose Bobby Flay because I really admire him. I would love to be able to cook like him. I think that Bobby offers a whole new meaning to the word cooking. He is very good at what he does and he tries very hard. Lastly, I chose The Secret Life of the American teenager because it demonstrates how much this country has changed in my lifetime. When I was younger people would avoid talking about a pregnant teen. No one would have ever even dreamed of creating a television show. This show can represent some good things or some bad things depending on how you look at it. This makes it very controversial. This controversy is what draws me to the show.
Hannah means several things to me. She represents a teen idol. Every teenage girl has someone that they look up to and for my son’s generation she is the one. This really great because children need a positive role model and I think that they can find that in Hannah Montana. Bobby Flay represents someone that I look up to. I wish that I could cook half as good as he does. Bobby seems to have a real passion for cooking and he does it well. I hope to find something that I can feel that passionate about some day. The Secret Life of the American Teenager shows me that times are changing and that I should do a better job of staying informed. Some parts of this show are pretty strange but for the most part it does what it was intended to. Make young people think.

Hi Michelle,

I also did my first post on American Idol. I was so amazed as I was researching the American Idol website, I could not believe all of the different topics you could search for and all of the blogs dedicated to only American Idol. It is amazing that people put so much time into being fans of a reality television show. I believe that this was the 8th season of American Idol, I wonder how many more years this show will be a top hit?

The internet is a very interesting part of popular culture. The part of the internet that interests me the most is Facebook. This is one aspect of the internet that has become very popular of late. The number of people that are creating Facebook pages and re-establishing lost connections from their past is growing every day. CNN.com states that Facebook is growing by 5 million users per week. (Hempel, 2009) People create Facebook pages by posting their personal information on a website. People can then search this website to locate people. When you post your information to this website your information can be public or private. If your information is private then people can only see your picture and your name. Your information can be private and you can grant access to certain individuals.
Facebook has changed the way that people communicate. Instead of e-mail or texting an event in your life to many different people you can post it on your Facebook and your friends can read about it there. Facebook also allows you to locate people based on interests or locations. This has changed the way that people meet new people. According to CNN.com Facebook reached 175 million users in February 2009. (Hempel, 2009) These changes are not all beneficial.
People must realize that when you post your personal information on the internet it can end up in the wrong hands and probably will. Many hackers use websites such a Facebook to obtain peoples personal information. These hackers can steal your identity or sell your personal information to others. This new found hobby comes with a great deal of responsibility and one should not enter into it lightly. People have been fired from their jobs for things that they posted on their Facebook page. Many companies have started searching Facebook pages when looking for new employees because they can learn a great deal about someone from their Facebook page.
Internet sites such as Facebook have changed the way we communicate permanently. Therefore, Facebook is an excellent example of popular culture. The popularity of these types of websites is growing every day. People must remember to be careful because anything in print on the internet can be read by anyone.














References
Hempel, J. (2009, February 17). How Facebook is taking over our lives. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from cnnMoney.com: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/technology/hempel_facebook.fortune/index.htm

American Idol is a great example of popular culture. Many people are hooked on this show. It can greatly affect a person's life if they do well on the show.