NEWS MEDIA

News media has become news that is more opinated than factual. The media reports what they want. It's not always fact. One has to be able to determine fact from opinion when watching the news. When news media reports information relating to African-American people, the news tend to be very bias.

SPENDING HABITS

Spending habits begin early in a person's life. It initially starts by imitating the life of people one is affiliated with like family and friends. Spending habits occur when one wants to feel a sense of self-worth. Spending money makes most people feel good in a sense. Self-image involves spending habits. A person who is going through a depression may find shopping is equivalent to happiness. Money doesn't buy happiness. It only enhances it to the fullness. The key ingredient to consider with spending is self-control.

VIDEO GAMES

There are positive and negative concerns relating to video games. From a positive stand point, video games are an avenue to help people with the stress of the world. Video games can be a benefit if not misused. On a negative stand point, video games can distort a child's mind if the game involves grand theft auto or shows a child the ways of pimping and stealing.
Overall, a parent must be aware of the video games his/her child is playing with. There must also be a balance between playing video games and doing homework.

AMERICAN LANGUAGE

We shouldn't concern ourself with grammatical rules when dealing with friends on the streets. These are people you can be silly with or have fun in their presence with too. I believe people tend to speak one way in front of certain people. For instance, a person may speak one way in the presence of corporate America. Also, a person may speak a whole different way with their fellow classmates or peers.
Text messaging is a new age thing that is short and perhaps inexpensive to use. Text messaging allows thoughts to come across clearly. It informs numerous people about an event.

DO WORDS MATTER?

Words can exaggerate the meaning of a term to be positive or negative. Words do matter because they can cause chaos. Actions tend to speak louder than words in most instances. Words do matter and it carry power. The content of the word reflects its strength. For example, a significant other may state how stupid his/her partner is describes how words can hurt tremendously. A weak minded person can be torn to pieces by such a statement. A personal attack on a person is another way words can cause great harm to another. I believe it is very important to use our words carefully. A comment may affect one person differently than another. Words can be offensive if used inappropriately.

GENDER DIFFERENCES

Men and women being different does not mean that the difference is triggered by genes.
Why are young African American men falling behind so to speak? There is a lack of drive/motivation. Another reason could be a lack of positive male figure. Many young men have no one to look up to in a positive manner.
In spite of men and women learning differently, there shouldn't be a separation in the classroom with male/female students. With separation in the classroom, I feel it could possibly pose problems in terms of relating with each other.

GENETICS

Genetics are the bond that connect us all. Genetics are used for criminal purposes. A lot of genetic identities is what one is taught in today's society.

CULTURAL IDENTITIES

How would I define my cultural heritage? Honestly, I do not know much in regard to my cultural heritage. I do know that there is still bias between light skin vs. dark skin. A dark skin person may feel inferior to someone of light skin due to how society regards such a thing. I have witnessed that type bias myself. I am aware that people tend to act differently when they are around certain individuals. A lot of a person's cultural heritage is influenced by family. My family isn't that close at all.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Facebook has become a popular means of communication for a lot of students. Students feel facebook is a way to connect with other students world-wide. It allows students to talk to former high school classmates. I personally do not engage in communicating with facebook. Therefore, I really do not have much feedback on social networking with facebook. Students have said that facebook can be addictive. One need to have a balance with using facebook and doing school work.

BODY IMAGE

I believe body image is a serious issue. The media portrays a superficial image of what is beautiful. A person with a low self-image may result to starving one's self in order to be thin. Society places so much emphasizes on being thin, curvy, busty, attractive facial exterior, and having a big booty etc... until it's no wonder there are individuals killing themselves to meet certain standards. An individual needs to find contentment with their own true and unique beauty. Beauty isn't always seen on the outside, but it is highly regarded on the inside (heart) of a person. There is so much pressure in today's society to look a certain way. One must have a level of self-confidence in order to not be affected by such pressures to look a certain way.