Are your Facebook friends replacing your real ones?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/8930/

 

Does Facebook make you lonely?  Does it make you narcisstic?  Does it make you a constant seeker of happiness, and therefore someone who will have a harder time finding it?  Does the loneliness effect depend on your view of Facebook and which functions you use?   (Although this article is a bit long, I think it has some really interesting things to say, so feel free to skim some of it, and zero in on the parts that grab you.)

Away with the Awa

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/22/brazil-rainforest-awa-endangered-tribe

 

In our modern over-populated world, it seems hard to believe that some groups remain isolated and untouched in their original environments.  Can something be done to preserve them from outside influence and protect their natural resources, or is an end to their way of life inevitable?  Who is most to blame for this situation?    (A glance at the comments section may give you some other viewpoints on this situation than those presented in the article.)

Empty pockets, empty wombs

http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/is-teen-pregnancy-affected-by-unemployment

Does it seem likely to you that teens who may get pregnant otherwise would be more procreatively responsible in an economic downturn?  Or do you agree with some of the voices in this article which say that this is more likely because of sex education?  Should sex ed be a part of the Slovak curriculum if it helps bring down teen pregnancy?  Are reality shows about it a good thing as well?

Hitting the road and breaking some brittle bones

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/65-going-on-16-medical-journal-proposes-new-rules-for-elderly-drivers/article2391868/

Is more driving education the solution for making sure elderly drivers are safe drivers?  Or is this, as Dr. Hauser claims, just a sort of discrimination and the result of a misinterpretation of data?  What has been your experience with elderly drivers?

Letting business dictate the curriculum

http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/46069/3/caplovic_sets_new_goals_for_schools.html

This article seems very much in favor of the new education reforms proposed by the recently appointed education minister.  The Spectator has a tendency to be quite pro-business, so this perhaps isn’t too surprising. However, not everyone would be of the same opinion.  Can you think of some downsides to tailoring Slovak education to fit the needs of businesses and the current labour market?  For instance, will students trained to work with the latest machines be able to adapt if the machines do?  What parts of this article are convincing and what are less so?

Are all that most trolls need is a bit of netiquette? 

This is the last entry you can comment on for the scond half of April.

Does the anonymity or brevity of comments on computer forums tend to encourage incivility?  Do you agree with the author that most trolls are well-meaning?  What can be done about those that aren’t?  How should you confront someone who you feel is being insulting or agressive?

Political suicide

Desperate acts such as self-immolation are often hard for others to understand.  This writer makes an attempt, if not to justify these acts, at least to put them in their proper contexts.  How convincing is he?  Can you sympathise with those who would do themselves in under desperate circumstances?  Can such an act make a difference politically?  What do you think about Jan Palach?

Is Lara Croft to blame?

Here is another article on the media and violence, but this one with a feminist twist.  What do you think about the modern tendency of movies and television shows to portray women as fighters?  Does this have a positive or negative effect on their self-image and on society as a whole?  Could this be the reason for an increase in violent crimes committed by women?

Expanding CAS to everyone

What do you think about national volunteer programs and public works projects?  Can experiences like this unite people who would otherwise be divided?  If set up, should they be compulsory or voluntary?  If voluntary, how could people be encouraged to participate?  What benefits would they get out of the experience?  How would a Slovak react to Kennedy’s famous line: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"?

Giving to Greece again?

Should something be done about the fact that many art treasures from poor countries are in the museums of rich ones?  In what circumstances would it be better to return them to their places of origin?  Do you think that the Parthenon marbles are a special case, or would returning them open a Pandora’s box for the British Museum?

Commemorating shameful acts

How can we help young generations to understand unthinkable acts?  Is this train journey a good way to do it?  What about the book?  Why do you think the Holocaust is such a popular theme for books and films?  Or, is there a tendency to gloss the Holocaust over, or at least Slovakia’s part in it?  How can a nation (such as Slovakia, or Germany, or the United States for that matter) come to terms with its past crimes and involvement in shameful acts?

Is television becoming less public?

This is the last entry you can comment on for the first half of April.

This writer makes the interesting claim that the airwaves are something that citizens all own and that when advertisers use them, they have some civic responsibilities to fulfill in return.  Who should be in charge of the airwaves?  Businesses?  The government?  Some other independent body?  What can we do about the enormous influence that money has on the democratic process? Is it possible to rein in the sometimes negative influence of political advertisements?  Would knowing who is buying them help?

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