Urban Legends

Urban legends are stories that are allegedly true that are spread from person to person either oral or written communication. Stories typically concern outlandish, humiliating, humorous, terrifying, and supernatural events always happening to someone else.

Urban legends get started by reading modern folktales of the story. It is initially passed on by word of mouth that is always nearly on second and third hand. They are quotes that have a surprising climax that is sometimes amusing and pointing towards a moral or a truth.

One of the urban legends for computers is the UPS mail. People who want to hurt your computer with a virus makes you want to think it’s the UPS sending you an email saying you have a package. But you really don’t have a package waiting at UPS. When you open up the email, a virus goes through your computer.

Another urban legend is about a man that loves cigars and insures them against fire then tries to collect them to the insurance company. The story has started in 1996 and was circulated as a “true story” when in fact it’s not.

And my last example on urban legends is from the Titanic. It is said that the ship was sent to a watery grave because it carried a cursed mummy in its hold. The story goes that the Princess of Amen-Ra died 1500 years ago and was buried deep on the banks of the Nile. Four Englishmen dug her up and anyone who came in contact with her had a misfortunate accident and eventually ended up on the Titanic and that is why it sank. Obviously, that’s not true because it’s only a ghost story and a urban legend.

In conclusion, urban legends are entertaining with made-up stories with a little bit of truth. I have learned by going to snopes.com where you can find out what’s true or what’s not true.

New Media

How did the new media affect the number of voters in the 18 to 34 year old range?

I believe MySpace and Facebook helped the turnout of the voters in the age group of 18 to 34 year olds. I've never been on it but I've heard they have a lot of advertisement and YouTube videos to watch.

Media violence

Media violence affects different people in different ways. The study of media violence has made me realize that there is thousands of acts of violence in the world. You can see it
on TV, video games, singing, and everywhere in the world in real life, even imitations of violence on fake cartoons also!