Insights

The implication of consumers being less in control of their privacy can take some people out of their comfort zone. Some people feel violated because their own information isn't just their own anymore. They constantly have to be aware of what to put out and what to keep in. Others, are completely okay with it because their perspective is that if the information you give out willingly is yours , then you understand that it's is no longer yours, no matter if you know what they will do with it or not, when you "give" it away.  After discussing it with others in my class, I was seeing both sides evenly. Before, however, I was completely one-sided and didn't like that I wasn't in control of my own information.  Then, I realized I've been dealing with this in real life. I have secrets and real personal information like my social security number that if I tell my best friend, or a family friend or whomever, it quickly becomes not just my personal information but theirs because they know it.  At the end, you just have to be careful on who to trust and what information is okay to put out in the world to others. If you are super paranoid about it there is options to avoid it, but the chances are still there. How many times do you write your social security number on a paper?  That can land basically anywhere as well.

                The thought of personalized advertisements targeting me because of internet tracking seems just a part of my everyday life. I already advertisements everywhere and some do appeal to me without even trying. Some try to appeal to me and don't catch my eye at all. It's mostly on what is most likely to appeal to someone and a certain time and that's great. Sometimes it actually does work. I also think that advertisements do sell notions of "pleasure" that reflect harm like McDonalds and obesity, but you get to chose if you want to eat it every day or having a 5-hour energy drink on your early mornings. There's been research that those drinks aren't healthy for people. It's like that saying too much of anything can't be good but we can control our decisions. I don't think these trends are harmful if you are aware of what they advertisements are trying to do and if you give in, it can be positive because you can end up satisfied... sometimes.  It's just in the perspective one holds.

Dove Beauty

Advertisements can be really strong and manipulative when you can relate to the situation that the people in the ad are also going through. I am a victim and constant consumer of Dove Soap. I love it and I fell for all the commercials and ads. It's basically the only soap I use. The soap I was using before was making my skin feel really fresh BUT it was drying out extremely. I saw a commercial for Dove about leaving your skin smooth and moisturized and saw that all these different kind of women were trying it, so  I gave in and it worked better than my previous soap for me.

                Dove has many commercial and ads out there because they sell hair products, body soap and wash for men and women. The advertisement I want to focus on is the one with all the different types of women standing next to each other.  There are different shapes, sizes and colors of beautiful women. This gives many women out there like myself to feel connect to one of them because one has to have the same shape, size or color as me. It's easier to compare myself to one of those women than one in a Victoria Secret advertisement.

                The Dove advertisement is trying to sell that everyone has beauty and that beauty doesn't have a strict straight forward definition with women. This makes the consumer feel more pleased, opened and comfortable in their own skin. It's almost as if Dove is giving you a great compliment. It gives the consumer the idea that they are beautiful and so are all those women and every women in the world. The women in the add are very giggly and happy. They are smiling, implying that once you get the soap you will feel the same and a part of their campaign. The advertisement is persuasive because I know when I watched it, it made me feel good and beautiful and in return I wanted to buy their soap.

                In all reality however, soap is soap. Its main purpose it to get you clean that's it. It doesn't have to make you feel moisturized, soft and pretty. For hygienic purposes, however, it is something you need.  A narrative that's embedded in the add is that everyone is beautiful and happy when they have nice, clean and soft skin if you are a women it is almost a must. I don't believe, however, that this belief  is harmful or inconsequential. It's important to stay clean and to see yourself as beautiful everyday!

"The Rise of Popular Culture"

As popular culture emerges constantly as something more profound and different society starts to learn more from it. What was then released in books and music is more easily released now through Facebook pages and Youtube. People then were concerned that television could have the power to corrupt the younger generation which is similar to how the older generation of our current time is concerned with technology ruining the younger generations to come. The dominant, high class, and conservative group seemed to have more power back then on what was open to the public society which is very different to how the system runs now. The middle class and lower class people have increasingly found more ways to let out how " common people" live their lives every day.  My understanding of popular culture has grown enormously from the last few weeks. I use to think that popular culture was just a common thing now but, it has been rising for a while. It has become wilder and bigger starting in the 1960s in the United States with more diversity and perspectives from varies minds. Trends and styles started to get more "sexy" and less conservative kind of how it is seen now according to some of our grandparents. I hadn't realized that you can learn  a lot from history from  learning about how popular culture has been changing and viewed by others before our generation.