Pre AND Post 1900 Comparative Essay Example Essay Example

Pre AND Post 1900 Comparative Essay Example Paper Pre AND Post 1900 Comparative Essay Introduction In this essay, I have chosen to compare and contrast the following two poems – ‘Even Tho’ by Grace Nichols and ‘To his Coy Mistress’ by Andrew Marvell. These two poems were roughly written three centuries apart, and so the social factors and religious beliefs as well as other things were different. Therefore different ideas would be portrayed in the poems.In the 17th century when ‘To his Cot Mistress’ was written, women were not known for writing poems about love let alone sex, as women’s opinions weren’t respected. If a woman was sent a poem like the one that Andrew Marvell wrote, then she would probably go weak at the knees and do whatever was asked of her. However, in the late 20th century, when ‘Even Tho’ was written, women’s opinions and rights were respected in society and more and more female poets emerged with some ideas that were once thought unacceptable for women.One other main factor that affe cted the ideas portrayed in these poems is partly to do with religion and partly to do with what used to be thought of as socially acceptable and what is thought as socially acceptable now. At the time ‘To his Coy Mistress’ was written, women were expected to keep their virginity until they were married. This is why the poem is set out as an argument, trying to persuade his lover to have sex with him. This is different to the time when ‘Even Tho’ was written because women were not expected to stay a virgin.I will now discuss the similarities and differences between the content of the first poem, ‘To his Coy Mistress’ and the second poem ‘Even Tho.’ The first poem ‘To his Coy Mistress’ is unusual for the time as it has an untraditional structure. It has no verses but it has three sections each with a different number of lines. The fact that it has no verses suggests that the subject of the poem never really changes, onl y the perspective of the poet. This is so, that the poet can present an effective argument. In the poem, some of the sentences carry on to the next line – this is to increase the pace and build up a good argument. Another reason for why it is unusual for its time is because of the purpose. At the time that the poem was written, women were expected to keep their virginity until they were married, but the poet is asking his lover to lose her virginity, although they aren’t married.The three different sections separate the different parts of the argument that he is putting across. In the first section, we see the poet describing what he would do if he could spend eternity with his lover, A hundred years should go to praise thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.’ In the second section, he is saying that although it would be nice to do the things which he said in paragraph one, he can’t because he wont live forever and she will eventually die with her ‘qu aint honour.’ A quote to show this would be, ‘Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound my echoing song: then worms shall try that long preserved virginity.’ The final section concludes the argument by saying what they should do in order that his mistress does not die having never ‘expressed her love’ towards her lover.I think, that from the perspective of the poet’s mistress, the poem is quite successful. This is because the poet uses some very effective methods to persuade his lover. In the first section, he sweet-talks his lover before scaring her into bed with thoughts of death in the second section. This is why the structure is very good as in my opinion, it allows the poet to separate the poem into three separate parts, creating an effective argument.The second poem, ‘Even Tho’ by Grace Nichols is in many ways very different. Her ideas would have been seen as very controversial if they were expressed at the same time as ‘T o his Coy Mistress’ was written. We can see this from the purpose of the poem, the intention being to inform her lover that she wants sex without the commitment. This is unlike the woman in ‘To his Coty Mistress’ as she has to be heavily persuaded to do such a thing. At the time ‘Even Tho’ was written, women were far more in control of their own lives and didn’t succumb to obsequiousness as easily.A way that these two poems are similar is that they both have an untraditional structure. ‘Even Tho,’ is very much a free verse poem, in that it doesn’t have a set number of lines per verse or a set number of words per line. It also has very little punctuation. This enables it to highlight the untraditional ideas it contains. This is similar to the reasoning behind an unconventional structure in ‘To his Coy Mistress.’ Both of these poems are written in the first person, this means that both of the poets can reinforce their emotions by making the poem more personal. Again, ‘Even Tho’ and ‘To his Coy Mistress’ are partly similar in purpose; they both express emotion and give the poets view on their relationship.The manner in which the poets express their emotions are quite different. In ‘Even Tho,’ the poet uses a positive and light-hearted tone to put across her feelings, whereas in ‘To his Coy Mistress,’ Grace Nichols uses more traditional ideas of love as well as his unorthodox views on his relationship with his lover.In my opinion, both poems may well be seen as relatively offensive because they are very biased as they only take into account their own opinions. What about the other person in the relationship? They may desire something different! ‘To his Coy Mistress’ is especially offensive because the poet’s requirements are just sexual pleasure.As is to be expected, the language of these two poems is very different in ma ny ways. The vocabulary in ‘To his Coy Mistress’ is very dated as the poem was written in the mid 17th century. Unfamiliar words like ‘thou’ and ‘thine’ are used, which could be difficult to comprehend for the majority of people in this day and age.There is a lot of imagery used in this poem to create a picture in our minds of the poet’s lover and the relationship that they share. The poet uses metaphors such as ‘Times winged chariot’ and ‘Iron gates of life.’ He also uses similes, for example, ‘the youthful hue, sits on thy skin like morning dew.’ In addition to this simile, this sentence shows us another technique, which is called personification. All of these techniques, plus some very elaborate descriptions build up some very apparent images.The poem rhymes all the way through in couplets and this is one of the only regularities in this poem. This means that when you read the poem, as well as pi cking up the untraditional ideas, you also sense the regularity, which makes the poem easier to identify with. It also has the same alliteration in it, for example: ‘long love’ and ‘love at lower rate.’ These are both to be found in the first section, along with some assonance that gives similar sounds, for example: ‘should’st rubies find.’ These are all soft, sumptuous and loving sounds which comply with the messages in the first section. As you would think, the second section contains more hard sounds, for example: ‘turn to dust’ and the third section contains dramatic and indicative ideas and so uses sounds to back these up, for example: ‘instant fires’ and ‘rough strife.’The poem appeals to a couple of the senses, mainly sight because of all the imagery used and sound because of the descriptions used associated to sound. The beat of the poem is also regular, as it has approximately 8 – 10 syllables per line; this suggests that it flows when read.The vocabulary of ‘Even Tho’ is very different to that of ‘To his Coy Mistress,’ mainly because it was written much later, round about the 1970’s or 1980’s. This meant that the language was much more up to date. The time that it was written also means that it was possible for the poem to be written with a Caribbean dialect. An example of this is, ‘Keep to de motion,’ and ‘leh we go.’It was very unusual to see a poem written in a Caribbean dialect from the period in which ‘To his Coy Mistress’ was composed, so this highlights a difference between the two poems. The dialect allows the poet to bring in some of her ethnicity and culture to her work.A connection between the two poems is that they both use ample amounts of imagery. In ‘Even Tho’ metaphors are used, for example: ‘I’m all watermelon and star apple and plum when y ou touch me.’ This metaphor shows us what the poet is feeling. Grace Nichols uses juicy, soft fruits to describe it because that’s how she feels. The poem is very short, and due to this, we don’t find any similes or personification, but the poem does have some very interesting descriptions to create images, such as, ‘you be banana, I be avocado,’ which describes the male and female sex organs – the banana symbolizes the penis as it is very hard and long, whereas the avocado denotes a vagina as it is very warm, soft and in particularly red! This type of imagery is somewhat different to that used in ‘To his Coy Mistress’ as it is more intimate, light-hearted and humorous, unlike the romantic and sometimes frightening imagery of ‘To his Coy Mistress.’ The sounds to the poem are one of the keys to its success. Assonance such as ‘watermelon, strar apple and plum’ gives juicy and sumptuous sounds that appeal v ery much to the reader’s sense of taste and touch. The imagery used when talking about the male and female sex organs, ‘banana and avocado’ is quite amusing, and so appeals to the reader’s sense of sight.Besides the poem being outwardly funny, it has a relatively fundamental underlying message about the poet’s relationship, which is shown in the poet’s choice of repetition. The reiteration of ‘Even Tho’ and ‘leh we break free,’ is what tells the poet’s lover exactly what she wants from their relationship. She wants to be an individual ‘even tho’ she enjoys having fun and spending time with her lover.In my opinion, the poem is similar to ‘To his Coy Mistress’ when it comes to pace and rhythm as they are both irregular and so stressing their equally unorthodox messages.In conclusion, I would say that these poems aren’t completely unrelated, and the main thing that influences thei r differences is the time in which they were written. They both have similar purposes, only the perspective changes. It is largely male in ‘To his Coy Mistress,’ but incredibly female in ‘Even Tho. Another way that time has made the poems more different is the way that they are presented. ‘To his Coy Mistress’ is presented as an argument that is trying to persuade the poet’s lover to give in to her passion for the poet and lose her virginity.However, ‘Even Tho’ is more of a story than an argument. This is because she doesn’t feel that she needs to persuade men to do what she wants them to do, only tell them how she feels. Andrew Marvell felt that he needed to persuade his lover, as simply making a suggestion would not be enough. These are just a few examples of the ways that they are different, and of course, there are many more, but we must remember the simple similarities. Both poems are about sexual relationships, they ar e both written in the first person and to conclude, they both express emotions!My particular favourite out of the two poems has to be ‘Even Tho.’ The reason being, it is so simple, but yet has so many layers of meaning and tone. It is also comical as the imagery is fairly explicit as it talks about ‘bananas’ and ‘avocados’ representing the sexual organs on a human’s body. The poem ‘Even Tho’ also has a far more informal style of writing than ‘To his Coy Mistress’ and communicates to more than just the poet’s lover. All of this is why ‘Even Tho’ is my favourite poem out of the two. Pre AND Post 1900 Comparative Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

Charlie Chaplin Essays (1379 words) - American Comedy Films

Charlie Chaplin Essays (1379 words) - American Comedy Films Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin stars in the movie City Lights, a silent, black and white film, made in the 1930's. Chaplin, who portrays the character of a tramp, is the comic hero throughout the movie. It is odd that the film casts a tramp as the comic hero. Usually, no one laughs at a poor tramp; people tend to have pity and sympathy for a tramp or not even associate with one. Many of Chaplin's actions are common everyday routines for him, but his actions and gestures provide humor and comic relief in the film making him the comic hero. Henri Bergson discusses the comic in "Laughter". Bergson writes about the comic by breaking it down into different parts such as the comic in general, the comic in character and the expansive force of the comic. The Webster's Dictionary only goes as far as defining the comic as "an amusing person." Bergson, however, chooses to stay away from giving the comic a distinct, dictionary-like definition; instead he describes it, gives examples and dives deeper into the comic's meaning and purpose (62). Through diverse roles and Charlie Chaplin's simpleness, many aspects of humor grow out of accidental happenings and coincidence. Bergson provides reason and understanding to back up what people think is funny. The first part of the comic, which is the comic in general, kind of describes itself; this information is general to all comics. Comedy can be expressed in many ways, but laughter always accompanies it (71). Laughter always happens in a group or originates in a group because it is easier to laugh in a group (62). Since laughter is a social event, it acts as a form of social correction (71). While comedy can be demonstrated on purpose, comedy can also occur at unexpected times or during normal times. Bergson suggests that comedy is accidental (67). As in Chaplin's case, his normal actions are funny to onlookers but not for himself. For example, when he is in the restaurant with the rich man, he is walking across the dance floor and he can't manage to keep his feet under him. Laughter comes from people watching the film, but Chaplin is not laughing he is just trying to cross the dance floor to get to his table. The more normal the action, the more comic the action is to others (68). Comedy "aims at the general" because it will be more humorous if people can understand it with little or no thought involved (157). The comic in character is another part of the comic that takes in a wide range of elements. Mostly, the comic is always in character. Charlie Chaplin is the comic in the film and the character is himself, which isn't supposed to be funny. Only his actions are funny. Bergson says, comedy "begins, in fact with what might be called a growing callousness to social life" (147). This is true in Chaplin's role because he is a tramp. He does not have to worry about what people think of him. He can pretend to be blind to the ways of the world. For example, Charlie Chaplin wakes up on a new city statue on the day of its unveiling. He never thought to himself, "what effects will this have on my social status?" Chaplin was not concerned with the impressions he would make. Chaplin could be a gentleman though, even though he couldn't afford it. He certainly was kind to people he met, the rich man and the blind woman. Charles Spencer Chaplin was born into a poor London family of music hall entertainers called Hannah Chaplin and Charles Chaplin SR. Even as a child he found success as a performer, making his stage debut in 1894. Biographer David Robinson has gone so far as to say that Chaplin's life was the ultimate rags to riches tale. His early years were spent with his mother, who had no means of income, and brother in Kennington. Their father provided no support for his children causing Chaplin to be sent to the workhouse at the age of seven. Chaplin spent his childhood going in and out of the workhouse as well as being educated by a range of charitable schools. In 1898, his mother was committed to a mental asylum due to a psychosis caused by syphilis and malnutrition. She remained in care until her death in 1928, leaving the young Charles and his brother Sydney to look

Gerrymandering - Congressional Districts on Census Data

Gerrymandering - Congressional Districts on Census Data Every decade, following the decennial census, the state legislatures of the United States are told how many representatives their state will send to the United States House of Representatives. Representation in the House is based on state population and there are a total of 435 representatives, so some states may gain representatives while others lose them. It is the responsibility of each state legislature to redistrict their state into the appropriate numbers of congressional districts. Since a single party usually controls each state legislature, it is in the best interest of the party in power to redistrict their state so that their party will have more seats in the House than the opposition party. This manipulation of electoral districts is known as gerrymandering. Although illegal, gerrymandering is the process of modifying congressional districts to benefit the party in power. A Little History The term gerrymandering is derived from Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), the governor of Massachusetts from 1810 to 1812. In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill into law that redistricted his state to overwhelmingly benefit his party, the Democratic-Republican Party. The opposition party, the Federalists, were quite upset. One of the congressional districts was shaped very strangely and, as the story goes, one Federalist remarked that the district looked like a salamander. No, said another Federalist, its a gerrymander. The Boston Weekly Messenger brought the term gerrymander into common usage, when it subsequently printed an editorial cartoon that showed the district in question with a monsters head, arms, and tail, and named the creature a gerrymander. Governor Gerry went on to become vice president under James Madison from 1813 until his death a year later. Gerry was the second vice president to die in office. Gerrymandering, which had taken place prior to the coinage of the name and continued for many decades thereafter, has been challenged many times in federal courts and has been legislated against. In 1842, the Reapportionment Act required that congressional districts be contiguous and compact. In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that districts must follow the principle of one man, one vote and have fair borders and an appropriate population mixture. Most recently, the Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that manipulating district borders to give an advantage to one political party was unconstitutional. Three Methods There are three techniques used to gerrymander districts. All involve creating districts that have a goal of encompassing a certain percentage of voters from one political party. The first method is called the excess vote. It is an attempt to concentrate the voting power of the opposition into just a few districts, to dilute the power of the opposition party outside of those districts that contain an overwhelming majority of the oppositions voters.The second method is known as the wasted vote. This method of gerrymandering involves diluting the voting power of the opposition across many districts, preventing the opposition from having a majority vote in as many districts as possible.Finally, the stacked method involves drawing bizarre boundaries to concentrate the power of the majority party by linking distant areas into specific, party-in-power districts. When Its Done The process of reapportionment (to divide the 435 seats in the House of Representatives into the fifty states) takes place soon after every decennial census (the next will be 2020). Since the primary purpose of the census is to count the number of residents of the United States for purposes of representation, the Census Bureaus highest priority is to provide data for redistricting. Basic data must be provided to the states within one year of the Census - April 1, 2021. Computers and GIS were utilized in the 1990, 2000, and 2010 Census by the states to make redistricting as fair as possible. Despite the use of computers, politics does get in the way and many redistricting plans are challenged in the courts, with accusations of racial gerrymandering tossed about. We certainly wont expect accusations of gerrymandering to vanish anytime soon. The U.S. Census Bureaus Redistricting site provides additional information about their program.

My Career Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Career Goals - Essay Example In developing career goals we require two basic types of information i.e. knowledge about self and about career options that are compatible with our interest, values, and skills. Professional acumen, financial obligation, and physical requirements also play a major part in deciding career goals. Being a manager in a public sector Bank, which has already a well-charted career, plans for recruiting manager. Therefore our career goals have already been decided. But the Bank has certain provisions for flexible career growth through internal examinations. So eyeing on those provisions I set my career goal as to reach into the core top management team so that I could be the part of the strategic decision-making process. Changes in the Banking sector are very thick and fast. Adoption to information technology, geographical expansion of business, customer's requirement, new product, and services make it a challenging job. Global exposure and implementation of strict financial norms put our jobs at stake. Technology has changed the complete picture of today's banking. New orientation towards customer's services, facilities of net banking, automation of day-to-day activities of the banks has changed the role of the manager which ultimately results into the change in career goals both short term as well as long term. To accommodate the changes in the short term we have to reorient ourselves through short term training on soft and hard skills. For the long-term perspective, we have to take a comprehensive look at the technological changes, which may occur in the future and analyze our future requirements and then equip ourselves with relevant knowledge and skills. Setting clear cut career goals we have to follow certain well-defined path i.e. state the problems and objectives clearly and define goals, prepare temporary action plan containing every essential step and get ready for several alternatives and choices. Finally, develop a solid action plan to achieve that career goal. We have to be prepared to change the plan midway to suit any changes and setup midterm appraisals to check any deviation so that career goals could be achieved. Â  Accountants who want to catch the latest technology may have found themselves auditing information system, consulting business owners or even be a part of the system software development team. Today's accountants not only understand complex tax laws, accounting principals, business laws and information technologies, but they also have to know how to apply that knowledge in a business environment that is growing and changing rapidly. Â  

Predicting Crime with the Uniform Crime Reporting System Assignment

Predicting Crime with the Uniform Crime Reporting System - Assignment Example It is also possible to tell which states and cities are the most dangerous in terms of prevalence of crime, in particular violent crimes like murder, robbery with violence and forced rape. It must be acknowledged that nowadays data is everything regardless of one’s profession or inclination. The most important attribute of UCR is its richness in terms of data; with this data prediction becomes a walk in the park for public safety officials and law enforcement organizations. UCR also facilitates the presentation of crime rates to the American public since public safety officials and law enforcement organizations have crime information at their fingertips. Whenever it is needed they can retrieve and present it (Lynch & Addington, 2006). Question 2 In this section, I will forecast criminal activity for the country, the state of California and the city of Los Angeles. The Country In order to forecast criminal activity for the nation, I examined tables 1 and 1A. ... This shows that there has been a marked reduction in both statistics. Between 2001 and 2010, for example, the percentage change in the volume of violent crime was -13.4, while the percentage change in the violent crime rate was -20.0. A look at other crimes also shows the same trend. My forecast for the nation is therefore that the volume and rate of criminal activity will continue to reduce in the coming years (U.S Department of Justice & the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004). The State of California Data for criminal activity in California displays similar attributes to that of the country. Between 2009 and 2010, the percentage changes in criminal activity (ranging from violent crime to motor vehicle theft) were negative; this is a pointer to a reduction in criminal activity. As a result of this, I also forecast a continued decline in criminal activity in the state of California as years go by. The City of Los Angeles In 2010, the city of Los Angeles had high volumes and rates of criminal activity compared to other cities in California. The reason for this is that Los Angeles is the largest city in California both by area and population, and therefore statistics like these are expected. However, since the state is showing steady reduction in criminal activity, I predict that the criminal activity rates and volumes in Los Angeles will also keep reducing, even though they might still be considered high. It is worth noting that this is a common attribute in large and populous cities (New York, Chicago, Detroit, etc). Question 3 In 1950, the murder rate in the United States was 4.6 while the volume of murders was 6,932. In 2010, the murder rate was 4.8 while the volume of murders was

The Causes of McCarthyism Essay examples -- Essays Papers

The Causes of McCarthyism As an individual in the middle of Twentieth century Joseph McCarthy had a rather intense effect on society. He started the movement that bears his name. McCarthyism was the movement that caused many changes in the lives of the people of the 1950's. McCarthy headed the charge against communism in the United States after the second World War. Through his actions many people were accused of being communists and hastilly judged to be so because of the general feeling toward communism. What causes such an incredible uprising. What caused so many people to rally behind, in many cases, unfounded accusations that would ruin other peoples lives unjustly? What caused not just a movement but the movement known as McCarthyism? It is historically proven that a simple action can have many complex causes, while a movement can have immeasurable causes underlying its begining and the momentum that keeps it alive. Leaving the little, but not insignificant causes alone, the major causes o f McCarthyism were the attitude of the United States toward communism, the sense of superiority within the United States, and McCarthy's own position. The attitude of the citizens of the United States was a tremendous influence on the development of McCarthyism. The people living in the post World War II United States felt fear and anger because communism was related with Germany, Italy, and Russia who had all at one point been enemies of the United States during the war. If the enemies were communists then, communists were enemies and any communists or even communist sympathizers were a threat to the American way of life. "From the Bolshevik Revolution on, radicals were seen as foreign agents or as those ... ...it was. Fear makes people do things they normally would not. Because of fear people overlook things they normally would notice imediately, especially in the case of something being moral or immoral. McCarthy was described as "paranoid" and for whom "...life was a sereis of conspiracies, the most fiendish of which were directed at him..."(Cook p77). Fear was the greatest underlying cause of the McCarthy movement; fear of communism, fear of the loss of freedom, fear of being accused or fear of what would happen if someone challenged the movement. Works Cited - Rogin, Paul. The Intellectuals and McCarthy: the Radical Speaker. The MIT Press, Clinton, Massachusettes. 1967. - Cook, Fred. The Nightmare Decade. Random House Publishing, New York, New York. 1971. - Theoharis, Athan. Seeds of Repression, Quadrangle Books, Chicago, Illinois. 1971.

Facebook the Negative Effects Essay

Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself after being cyber bullied on MySpace by Josh Evans—not a real boy, it turned out, but a creation of neighbors. According to Oprah.com, Social networking has become a part the daily lives of Americans both young and old. The digital age that America finds itself in has made online social networking a top resource for communication. It is the ultimate test of ego, a new social acceptance, a place of danger, a growing addiction and obsession and over the past six years; social networking sites have become a social and cultural phenomenon. In the words of Noel Sheppard, It creates electronic relationships and makes it easy for a â€Å"friend† to misrepresent themselves under the â€Å"protective umbrella of anonymity†. It places distance between people who could communicate in person but instead choose to communicate online. Although social networking sites are increasing interactions among friends and family, it is decrea sing the quality of human interactions in real life. Social networking has facilitated communication, commerce, and information distribution. However, the downside to the social networking has become the topic of recent studies because of the rise of digital media and the ways the computer has penetrated human society. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, have caused many children to become obsessed and addicted, resulting in being incapable of having real conversations with people, to a larger effect, it is harming their health and work ethic in classrooms and the average teen now spends on average nine hours per week on social networking sites. This accumulates to 18 days out of the 365 days of the year. Those 18 days spent sitting on a chair in front of an artificial communicating device, an average person could walk from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back. Due to social networking sites, young teens are encountering alarming and harmful changes in their brains, and constant exposure to buzzing noises and bright lights, can cause shorter attention spans. Moreover, social networking sites are not only are harming the brains of children but it is resulting in low grades and low self-esteem. Furthermore, teachers are noticing that their student’s work is suffering because they constantly spend time on social networking sites rather than focusing on their homework. According to BBC News, 58% of teachers said that their children’s spelling was becoming worse and worse as  they enter the â€Å"digital age.† Spokeswoman Janie Burt asserts that â€Å"Rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face to face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking sites and this is shaping their attitudes instead.† Online communicating is shaping our society into socialization, depression, and incapability to establish real life relationships. The distinction between genuine friends and acquaintances is becoming blurred. Users are spending time maintaining relationships with people with whom they do not really care. Cyperbullying has become more proliferated through social networking sites than emailing and text messaging. According to Procon.org, statistics show that 17.3% of middle school students have been victims of cyperbullying. Victims, often teens and young children experience lowered grades, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression. Social networking sites reveal personalities that are more â€Å"polished† and â€Å"bolder† thus creating a veiled stranger. Alex Gilbert, a teacher of creative writing, was puzzled that his friend- â€Å"a particularly masculine-type dude†- who is interested in metal bands and motorcycles, posts videos on Facebook of â€Å"uber cuteâ €  kittens (Sheppard 2). Topics discussions like these that are on social networking sites are not subsistent for real life conversations. Social networking also allows passive-aggressive behavior. Virtually anything can be said behind a screen. Furthermore, social networking sites have evolved into a social acceptance, a basic necessity for the common American and you can even be seen as rude or unprofessional to ignore this new evolved media. Because real personal socializing has decreased, people are becoming socially isolated and even parents and couples are spending less time with their loved ones because they use internet social networking as a tool of communication. One 35-year-old woman even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook. Conference organizer Emma Brady was distressed when she read that her marriage was over when her husband updated his status on the site to read: â€Å"Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady. Facebook, the most widely used social networking site has over 90 million users in the United States and over 300 million worldwide. Certainly, social networking sites are increasing interactions among friends and family, but it is decreasing the quality of real personal interactions. Social  networking sites were not developed to help people connect and improve their lives, but rather, so companies can make money by advertising to them. A statistic from procon.org states that advertisers in the U.S. spent almost 1.4 billion dollars to place advertisements on social networking sites in 2008. Social networking sites also have an effect on politics. In the presidential election of 2008, candidates campaigned to voters with many different types of sites. On November 3, 2008, the day before the Election Day, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had 2,379,102 Facebook fans while Republican candidate McCain had 620,359 according to procon.org. This illustrates the effect social networking can have on all aspects of social and even political life. As online communication gradually destroys our society, the problem is not only the tools we use to communicate, but it is what we choose to expose online that can be harming. Based on an article written by Melissa Ridenour, a poorly responsible driver crashed his car and posted on his Facebook wall â€Å"I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunkaholic† which later that very information he posted, was used to prosecute him in court. Sharing your personal information on social networking sites can create higher risks of robbery and invasion of security and privacy. In just recent cases, police, colleges, and schools are supervising MySpace and Facebook pages to obtain personality behaviors and conduct. Due to this, thousands of social network site users have lost their jobs or failed to launch new ones. What we choose to reveal online can be easily seen by predators. Such personal information is all that is needed for your identity to be stolen. According to procon.org, in February 2009, MySpace identified 90,000 sex offenders with profiles on the site. A statistic from the Internet Safety Technical Force says that 43% of online sexual solicitors were under the age eighteen and 30% were between eighteen and twenty, while the other nine percent were over the age 21. Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier’s death was not caused by a real person, but by an artificial world of social networking that creates danger, isolation, and harm to every element in society. Although proponents of social networking argue that online interaction connects people with friends and family around the world, society has turned social networking sites into toxic time carnivores. When balanced on a scale, social networking is  overweighed with negative effects. Like millions of users worldwide, Social networking has become part our daily lives but we cannot let it sink our society into the trap of the digital age.