Social Pentration Theory in Our Lives

In my Theories of Communication class, we learn and discuss various theories in communication with their approaches and assumptions.  One theory that has caught my eye is the Social Penetration Theory. It examines relational closeness within people.
This theory interests me because it explores the different stages all of us as humans go through in relationships. The textbook definition for the Social Penetration Theory is it's a process of relationship bonding whereby individuals move from superficial communication to more intimate communication. It may not be a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, it could be a mother/child or brother/sister relationship that could be explored. The number of relationships we could explore are endless.
It's interesting to find out how things change in a relationship as it goes from the initial orientation stage, where you reveal some information about yourself to another person to stable exchange, when there's an establishment of a personal system or connection of communication. There's an increase in the level of intimacy as a relationship goes through each stage.
I've been thinking about this theory and decided I should do my final paper on it. We may not know it, but the social penetration theory plays into our lives in some way. One important aspect of it is the reward/cost ratio. This is the balance between positive and negative relationship experiences. Think about past relationships, friendship, a boyfriend or girlfriend. Was it beneficial or did it cost you in some type of fashion? When you think about that question, if you're in a relationship where the costs outweigh the rewards, would you stay in that relationship?
Social Penetration Theory is important when it comes to us and our way of evaluating relationships. Hopefully, we're all in relationships where we continue to be rewarded and to us, it would seem priceless.

Cyberstalking

Years ago, I don't think we would be doing all of the things we're capable of doing on the internet. By having a computer, or at least having access to one allows me to be in touch with so many people and keep me up to date with all that's going on. At the same time, some of the innovative things on the web is quite scary if you think about it. 

One thing that's frightening is the access that many people may have in our lives. Actually it's up to us to see how far someone would go with the information they learn about you on the internet. With social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Hi5, a profile is a glimpse into the lives of individuals. It may show their birthdays, hometowns, current cities,relationship status, occupations, political and religious views. Photos and videos are ways of observing each other and what may be our daily lives. Even when you go out to an event and you thought you didn't take pictures for the night, just check the next day to see if you've been "tagged" in any. We have to be extra careful when it comes to photos because you don't want to be caught in a compromising situation in anyplace. 

Twitter is another type of social network where you have a chance to share your opinions, events, ideas or whatever within 140 characters. At first, I wasn't a fan of Twitter because I felt it was a website just made for status updates, which it is. Now that I'm using it for my blog, I find it quite hilarious to read other friends' tweets. The one thing that scary about twitter is when you tweet from a mobile device. Depending on what type of twitter application you use, you're able to see the location of where a tweet was made. Plus, with the time available, you could pinpoint the location of somebody. I don't want others to know where I am. 

With pinpointing location by using Twitter, Google has been amazing with their map, especially their global maps. The other day I was playing around with Google Maps and I was able to see the buildings and smaller homes in St. Lucia, W.I. (where my family's from). I tried to do that a few years back and wasn't able to. Now you see the names of all of the streets and highways, which was pretty cool. Now, they took it to the next level with the street view of addresses. I could see the convenience with that especially if you're going to a place you've never been before, but it's scary if some random person found your address from somewhere and decide to look up the address. I'm not saying it happening, but I can't say it doesn't. 

With this world we live in full of technology and innovation, we have to be careful with the information we put out there. It's nice to be connected to others even though you may not be geographically close. At the same time, that may cause some dangers that we must be aware of. So, set your privacy settings and be careful. 

What's Happening With the Money?

New York Governor David Paterson proposed last month a budget that would cut 5% from school aid and add $1 billion in new taxes and fees. According to analysts, they view this plan to be appropriate during hard times that the state is facing.
I'm a student who's very passionate about education and the system that's suppose to support and uplift our youth. So, when I first heard about the various cuts that was proposed, I was appalled. The budget is $134 billion and this addresses a $7.4 billion deficit. It shows a $1.1 billion cut in school aid, plus a $1 billion cut from health care spending. This aid would go towards hospitals and nursing homes.
It's sad to see money is going to be taken away from people that would really need it in New York State. As I sit and think about it, there were a lot of programs when I was attending public school in Brooklyn, NY that no longer exist. For example, the after-school Beacon program, a program that parents used to send their kids to get involve in different activities and receive additional help in school work. I used to complain about why I had to go to some of those programs, but I truly benefited from going. When we would go over a topic the next day in class, I knew what to do. Plus, it was a good way to utilize young kids' time instead of being outside on the street when most of our parents were still at work.
Health care spending is really important as well because a lot of citizens, especially senior citizens who are living in nursing homes or have a lot of hospitals visits, will be affected. We already have problems with insurance companies and dirty deals with HMOs.
I understand that the State of New York is facing hard times and taking extreme measures to cut this huge deficit. However, taking money away from children's education and health care is not the best step. I feel by doing that, New York is taking away their investment in the future and the future of the people.