Chapter 4

Chapter 4Growing Trends in Canadian Society

Trends and Society The way we think and behave are influenced by

constant reinforcement of social ideas and ideals. Technology Economics Health Politics Media

Technology

Technological advancements have both negative AND positive effects on society.

Technology today is present in every aspect of life: Learning, education Gaming, TV, social activities Smart-phones, tablets, computers Social networking via internet Medicine and health Transportation, infrastructure

Task In 2 groups, discuss and debate the pros and cons

of technology

Group A: Pro Group B: Con

Brainstorm the positive and negative ways that technology has affected STUDENTS and SCHOOLS, specifically. We will discuss each group’s ideas through a formal debate.

Economy Understanding economy is a way of understanding

human behaviour; why we work, how we spend money, etc.

The Canadian economy is affected in a number of different ways: Employment/Unemployment trends Migration/Immigration Debt vs Income

Employment The Employment Standards Act:

Workers cannot work more than 5 hours in a row w/out 30 min. break

Employers cannot assign more than 8 hours of work per day

A work week cannot exceed 44 hours

Young workers have the same rights as others listed under the ESA.

Student Employment As per Ontario’s Ministry of Labour:

A person must be at least 14 years of age in order to work.

The student minimum wage, applicable to anyone under the age of 18, is $9.60/hr, whereas the general minimum wage is 10.25/hr

How Does This Affect You? Studies show that students who worked MORE than

15-20 hours/wk and lower chances of academic success: Sleep patterns

Later bedtimes Shorter sleeps Falling asleep in school; lack of concentration,

participation Missing school due to sleep

Unemployment Challenges of finding a job [especially for young

workers] can lead to short-term or long-term unemployment

Recessions/Depressions can cause large numbers of unemployment Competition for jobs Future earning power Mental/physical stress Change in living dynamics of family/society

Migration/Immigration Unemployment is primary motivator

People [most young people] will migrate to find work and earn a living

Influx in immigration patterns changes job availability and increase job competition More immigration, most often means, less jobs

Debt vs Income Ratio of debt to income of Canadian households has

risen 150 % in last decade: For every $1, earned; $1.51 is owed.

Debt affects a country’s financial system as a whole Makes household vulnerable and creates risks

Older Canadians (30-35 yrs) more likely to have debt from mortgages, lines of credits

Younger Canadians (18-29 yrs) more likely to have debt from student loans, credit cards

What Can We Know From One’s Debt vs Income levels?

The way people spend money can reveal a great deal about their behaviour and personality

Ex: a budget tracks spending and reveals pattern in one’s behaviour [also money managing skills]

Work & Identity Employment and unemployment, both are

significant factors in defining an individual, as well as the role they play in family, society etc.

People often define themselves through their occupations

Motivations for choosing certain occupations tells a lot about someone’s personality

“I’ and “Me” Theorized by George Herbert Mead

Mind defined through set of mental processes “Me”= social self

Understanding of we observe through reflection of situations

“I” = true self Person’s actions/reactions, which can be in reaction to

situation or self-initiated People are aware of themselves in social situation

The Looking-Glass Self Theorized by Charles Cooley (1902)

Identity and personality created through social interaction, called looking-glass self How we ENVISION we appear to other people How we envision the judgment of that appearance Sense of self that develops through this interaction

Behaviour is learned when other people provide feedback: take social cues from reactions of others and create person we are

How are these theories relative to the understanding of Canadian

economy? Through employment, unemployment and/or migration,

immigration, a person understands him/herself in a specific context/environment (workplace)

Person’s actions within this context, become a part of who they are.

A person without work, looks for social reactions of people in his/her environment that in turn, modify his/her behaviour

To understand someone and their behaviour patterns, it is essential to understand his/her environment

Media Has ability to entertain, create, influence, motivate

and clarify.

Has infiltrated almost every part of human life, especially a teen’s life

Increased forms of media = constant flow of information

Media Consumption in Canada On average Canadians watched average of 22

hrs/wk of TV (StatsCan 2006)

Teens average 13hrs/wk of TV NOT including video games

Time teenagers spend consuming media is equal to a workweek for many adults

Average of 19hrs/wk spent on the internet

How Does This Affect You? Often, media consumption happens simultaneously

Internet surfing while watching TV

Access to different forms of media, changes consumption rates For Canadians: increased consumption rates b/c of

increased access, available in hotels, restaurants, schools, etc.

Due to this, teenagers have ability to perform higher-order thought processes HOWEVER…

How Does This Affect You? [Cont.]

…impact of constant information through different media outlets allow messages to become common and normalized, to the point where they are not registered in the brain

Media and Culture Media is not only source of information but also

reinforces behaviour Transmitting culture

TV has taken over task of passing on history, stories we value, often filtered through lenses of corporations looking to sell ideas/images

Canadian cultural stories [seen on TV] influenced by American values b/c Canadian shows, movies remain unknown outside of Canada due to lower budgets and less marketing exposure.

Influence of Media Figures Movie stars, stage actors, athletes and other TV icons send

messages about how to act, what to buy, what we should want and what changes we need to make in ourselves.

Ex. Oprah Winfrey: strong media presence and possess ability to motivate and make social change on grand scale

Negative actions: celebrities well known for gregarious behaviour need for attention; through changing romantic partners, alcohol and drug abuse etc, celebs promote idea that dangerous behaviour is normal and expected

Violence in Media Since more time is spent watching TV than in class,

average American child will view more than 200 000 acts of violence before age 18

Average TV program displaying 812 acts of violence per hour

Canadian stats very similar, since much of our TV is from American sources

“The Medium is the Message” What does this mean?

Coined by Marshal McLuhan (1964) Message presented by medium is only part of what

is communicated; the medium itself influences how message is perceived

Focuses on looking beyond obvious to see changes or effects enabled, enhanced, extended o accelerated by medium providing the message

Desensitization to Violence Because violence has become more commonplace

in TV shows, video games, news etc, teenagers today, show greater desensitization of violence through popular media

To maintain rating and audience attention, TV pushes what is considered “extreme” to new levels Years ago shows promoted family values; adult

problems were kept hidden Full House and The Cosby Show

Desensitization to Violence [cont.]

Today, TV shows include more graphic description, detail, reflecting today’s households. Intimate topics, situations between adults and graphic details of deaths are depicted more explicitly.

Video games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto not only who graphic portrayal of violence, but also ask players to commit violence To complete goals, characters must have attitude

that there is nothing wrong with inflicting pain or death of other characters

How Does This Affect You? These media outlets have power to not only create

foundation for desensitization to violence but also influence behaviours of people.

The normalization of such behaviour in turn changes societal values

Task Complete the Media Assignment on creating your

own advertisement.

This is a one-page assignment. The questions asked should be addressed on the back on your advertisement.

This is DUE NEXT CLASS : THURSDAY!

Politics By definition, politics are the activities associated

with the governance of a country.

Canada is a democracy; that means that Canadians citizens (18 and older) have the right to vote in municipal, provincial and federal elections. Citizens vote on the system of government through

elected representatives

Political Participation In Canada, any citizen over the age of 18 is allowed

to vote.

However, many citizens do not take advantage of this right and participation in voting declines each year. Please see figure 4.19 on page 142 for further

understanding Highest voter turnout was 79.4% in 1958

How Does This Affect You? Decline in votes from young people; higher number

of senior voters.

Twice as many seniors over 55 years of age than population of young people from ages 18-24; seniors therefore, decide the outcome of elections.

Seniors and their elected candidates then decide the policies and rules that will inevitably effect Canadian economy, that young people will grow up according to.

What Can Politicians Do? In the 2011 National Youth Survey, the most

common barrier or reason for young people not voting was that they feel their input is unimportant

Resolution?

Canadian government trying to encourage young people to vote Politicians use social media: YouTube, Facebook,

Twitter etc

Education as a Factor it is found that the more education a person has,

the more likely he/she is to vote

Idea of social responsibility is encourage through popular media and the classroom

Classes that deal with voting processes and civic responsibility are included in curriculum and are mandatory to achieve high school diploma

Making an Informed Vote Education about political process and how it affects

citizens both on individual level and communal level helps citizens, especially young citizens on making an informed vote

Being informed thus, changes the attitudes and behaviours of people and also effects what activities they take part in

Task Write an opinion piece approx 2 pages about: i)

how well Canada’s system of government meets the needs of a large, diverse country; ii) what ideas, principles, and responsibilities are most important in governing ourselves; iii) why it is important to be active citizen in Canadian democracy; or iv) what should motivate someone to run for election as a Member of Parliament.

Health and Beauty Essential questions:

What shapes the health care system? How does it change? How does Canadian culture value define beauty? Why do people think and act the way they do, based

on these values?

How health and how we think about health changes our behaviours.

Promoting Health Behaviours In past, health was defined by absence of disease

Today, the focus is on adopting healthy lifestyles to reduce likelihood of disease or becoming sick

To combat high obesity rates, Canadian health has been focused on promoting awareness of nutrition, healthy eating and physical activity

In Canada, about 25% of adults are obese and childhood obesity rates have almost tripled in last 25 years Obesity leads to development of diabetes and high blood

pressure

Reducing Harmful Behaviour Federal and provincial government have been

focused on reducing harmful behaviours, such as smoking Campaigns highlighting harmful effects Laws establishing smoke-free areas

Combination of knowledge and awareness of risks, changes beliefs and perceptions and in turn, changes laws, alters social norms and promotes particular behaviours

Barriers to Health Care Though Canada has a public healthcare system,

over 25% of health care services are paid for through private sources Out of own pocket Through private insurance

Access to healthcare Those living in rural areas (in comparison to urban

areas) are more likely to have HBP, be obese and higher rate of clinical depression

Culture and Beauty Definition of beauty has varied over time

In ancient China, 10-cm ‘lotus foot’ considered sign of beauty; caused severe pain, imbalance, and osteoporosis

During Elizabethan era, women with high forehead were considered beautiful; women plucked their hairs and covered their skin with lead-based paints

Corseting was popular during late 18th-19th century; women suffered from shallow breathing and restricted veins

Beauty and Identity Self-identity or how one sees him/herself

influenced by a number of things: Family Peers Popular media

Teens specifically vulnerable to outside influence regarding body image Image of people who have desirable body defined by

society in popular media, TV, magazines etc

Body Image According to CMHA, 70% of women and 35% are

dieting 10-20% of extreme dieters die from complications

associated with stress of dieting on body

Undergoing extreme weight loss or weight gain influences how teenagers view their surroundings Self-reflection is component of who we are

Large group of Canadian girls unhappy woth their body shape

Body Image (cont.) Men also being influences by images seen in

popular media Wanting to be more muscular; defined biceps,

pectoral muscles, chiselled abdominal musclles etc

Same psychological characteristics as women Developing eating disorders Taking steroids Low self-esteem, need to be accepted, inability to

cope with social pressures