Tech Friday #3

 We wanted to gather information on how social media affects teens in our English class. The first thing we asked was what forms of social media does a person use most? The three most common we believe are Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We also included an other button to see if there were other forms of social media used. We discovered that Instagram is the most popular form of social media. Twitter comes in a close second and nobody chose Facebook. I believe that Instagram is the most common because it is easy to use and it is simple. I believe that Facebook is not used because it has become too crowded. Another thing that I found really interesting in our results was the fact that 70% of the kids in our class log into social media once or twice a day. That means they are taking time away from their day to check photos and posts from other teens almost constantly. This would be an interesting research project because we could study how social media affects time. Most of the other answers were not surprising; however, one thing that stood out to me was the question about cyber bullying. 60% of people said they see cyber bullying online. I used to think that SRVHS rarely had cyber bullying, but now I think differently.

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Social Media Survey

Discussion #3

Analyze a theme that has emerged in this section and explain how this theme has affected Blair.

Blair

In the book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar, a theme that has emerged is dreams. Dreams have made Blair become very selfish and stressed. Blair has a made up life in her head about a utopia. This utopia is instantly crushed when Serena returns to New York. Blair's dream life includes money, perfect grades, the best clothes, and New York's hottest guy, Nate Archibald. She also wants to be at the top of the social ladder. She suddenly feels like a part of her life is taken away from her when Serena comes back to school. Serena is unusual when compared with the typical teenage girl living in the Upper East side. Serena has a flawless face with unique features such as long and thick blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She is also always wearing eccentric outfits and is a role model for younger girls. Blair's insecurity immediately comes out in Serena's presence. The big event that crushes Blair's dreams isn't Serena's social life and perfection, but how Serena steals Nate, Blair's favorite possesion. Nate is secretly in love with Serena while he is dating Blair. Nate decides to tell Blair his past with Serena and feelings. After this, Blair is devestated, but "her head was still full of the movie she was working on...Everyone would call her Saint Blair, and she would win awards for her golden heart" (139). Blair was living her dream life until this very moment when she feels hopeless. She has lost Nate and reality is suddenly hitting her that her life is not perfect. This reality is what crushes her dreams. Blair is stressed, yet she still hopeful that her life will eventually be perfect. Her dream ends up being what hurts her the most in this section. Her dream has one major obstacle and that obstacle is Serena. Dreams have caused Blair to be hopeful, but also constantly stressed about achieving them. This theme has come up many times in this novel. It relates to not only Blair, but the rest of the Upper East Side. These kids have dreams and aspirations to be something and are working hard to achieve them. Dreams have good effects on these characters such as work ethic, hope, and motivation. Dreams; however, can make a person learn the ultimate lesson of failure. 

Serena van der Woodsen

Nate Archibald

     

The Upper East Side is sometimes known for changing or making people behave a certain way. Analyze and carefully discuss how this environment has affected Vanessa Abrams.

                                                                                                                    Constance High School

In the book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar, Vanessa is affected by the Upper East Side because she is basing her decisions and actions on her own selfish desires. She is also beginning to manipulate situations in order to get her way. Vanessa is a Brooklyn girl living in a luxurious world. She symbolizes an outsider. She dresses, talks, looks, and acts differently than the other girls, such as Blair and Serena. She is very involved in her video class at Constance High School and she is working on a new project. While she is working on her project, she chooses Dan, a boy from the all boys school, St. Judes, to be the leading man in her play. Vanessa begins to have very strong feelings for Dan, which comes into play later. She sets up auditions to find a girl who can play the the role of Dan's lover. One of the girls who comes to audition is Serena van der Woodsen. It becomes obvious that Serena is the perfect fit for this role; however, Vanessa lets her feelings get in the way of picking Serena. She decides to choose another girl for the part even though both Dan and she believe that Serena deserved it the most. Dan, confused about this final decision, questions Vanessa about it. Vanessa then begins to make up excuses about her decisions by talking about Serena in a very negative way. She starts to tell Dan every single bad story she has heard about Serena, whether she knows them to be true or not. Dan starts to analyze the situation and begins to wonder why Vanessa didn't choose Serena and wonders why "Vanessa, queen of the alterna-rebel scene, had actually stooped to spreading rumors about a girl she barely knew. Maybe Constance was finally rubbing off on her" (111).  Vanessa has gone from ignoring the Upper East Side drama to allowing it to control her decision-making process. She wants Dan all to herself and when Serena comes around she gets concerned and extremely jealous. She is worried that Dan will fall for Serena and not her. Her way to stop this from happening is by giving the main lead in the play to another girl who does not deserve it. Vanessa has always been known as a hard working girl who puts her education and work before anything else and these actions are very unlike her.  This makes Dan suspicious of what is truly going on. Vanessa is normally the girl who does not pay attention to any stupid rumors and now she is using them as excuses! The Upper East side can be a very dangerous place for young teens. The majority of the teens put themselves before any one else and they are vindictive towards each other. It is a difficult environment to grow up because kids are constantly feeling judged and pressured to be perfect. Vanessa, surprisingly, is just another kid letting the worst of the Upper East Side get to her. Letting the worst aspects of being in the Upper East side take over the best qualities of who she truly is.

Vanessa Abrams

Tech Friday #2

Critique the personalities of Blair and Serena. Then based on this information compare and contrast them, while explaning the effects of the Upper East Side environment.

Gossip Girl Cast

In the book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar, Blair is selfish, insecure, anal and a perfectionist; while Serena is careless, wild, self-centered, and intruding. The Upper East side contributes to the selfishness personalities of these rich kids because every one who grew up here is affected by the wealthy and perfect neighborhood. These personalities result in common themes of betrayal and appearence. Blair and Serena need to grow out of their immature behaviour in order to be friends again. They are both selfish, except Serena is care free and Blair is uptight and careful. Serena and Blair see each other the first time in a year at a party and their personalities immediately are shown. Serena has just returned from a crazy year at boarding school and comes home to her old best friend's house, Blair, expecting everything to be the same as when she left. Serena does not recognize Blair's unhappiness and continues to talk about her life and how she has done so much in the past year. Blair immediately feels annoyed and tries to avoid Serena and her stories. When they are alone and talking,"The corners of Blair's mouth curled up. Serena obviously wanted her to ask her why, why was she tired of boys? But Blair wasn't going to give her that satisfaction. She tugged her sweater down and glanced at her reflection one more time" (36).

Upper East Side in Manhattan

 Every detail of this simple conversation perfectly shows and enhances the personalities of the girls. Serena has so many stories about her crazy life away that she does not recognize Blair's feelings of hurt and betrayal. Serena is so wrapped up in her own world, she is not accepting the reality of her friendship. She needs to be more aware and considerate of others before she starts talking about herself. She is very careless and is not easily worried, unlike Blair who is constantly stressed with her appearence. Blair is insecure and probably the character who is most obsessed with keeping up her "perfect" life. She is always judging her looks in the mirror. She cares more about her outside appearance than her inside feelings. These actions are making her stressed and extremely insecure. She needs to focus in on her emotions, which should matter more. She; however, is also very hardworking and will never show weakness, which is very impressive. Even though it seems as if Serena is always careless, she can also be very loving. She truly does miss Blair, but she has trouble expressing her feelings.

Blair and Serena

The Upper East Side creates an environment where the teens feel the need to be perfect and better than everyone around them. This leads to harmful consequences and feelings the people share with each other. Blair and Serena are perfect examples of how a simple environment can be so effective. Blair is troubled because she feels the need to be the best all the time. Serena has always been handed everything which leads her to be selfish. The two girls need to accept reality and grow up in order to finally find peace between them.