The Football Head Injury Controversy is having a Major Impact on the Future of the Sport in America

The National Football League is in deep water because of increased criticism from the public about the lack of head injury awareness. The frequency of injuries have not increased, but acknowledgment of injuries occurring has heavily increased over the last few years. The NFL has improved safety procedures by changing rules and keeping injured players off the field. However, these positive steps have also brought environmental changes in the league and throughout the American culture. The NFL has taken a conservative approach in the media towards speaking out about the dangers of their sport. Past players are filing class-action lawsuits, many towns and schools are banning the sport and the positive image of the league deteriorating. For many years, the NFL’s medial staff denied the long-term repercussions of head injuries and are now paying the price financially, paying millions in disability benefits and lawsuit payments to thousands of players. The league has built its image around a “Warrior” mentality in which injuring another player was deemed to be a success. This mentality has caused a ripple effect which has spread through the college, high school and youth football ranks.


Changing the NFL’s “Warrior” culture is key in improving player safety and the league’s image.

 In an article about the NFL concussion problem, Sharon Chirban, a sports psychologist at Children's Hospital in Boston, says “the culture of football rewards acts of toughness and bravery over a player's health.” The foundations of the NFL “Warrior” culture ideal is that a player must sacrifice his body in order to be successful. If injuring another or themselves is an outcome then so be it. This ideal is rooted in the league’s history and has resulted in hundreds of athletes being crippled with various brain injuries. The NFL has implemented policies for combating this issue. Various rules have been changed, kickoffs start further up the field to prevent players vicious hits at high speeds, a situation which has historically caused many injuries. Players now have to be evaluated by team officials when noticing any “concussion-like” symptoms and keep them off the field longer. Also, new technologies have been developed, such as new helmets, which help reduce the blow of a defender.

However, University of South Carolina trainer Rod Walters has a different view on the actual benefits of the new technologies. "Football helmets prevent cranial fractures -- not concussions. That is not the purpose of helmets. I cringe when I see someone say they are wearing a 'concussion-proof' helmet. There is no such animal." Rather than developing solutions behind the scenes, the NFL could be taking a direct approach in speaking to the public about the dangers of its sport and strategies to promote safety, which could in-tern help lessen their “Warrior” culture. In an interview with Stephen R. McDaniel, Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, he says the NFL does have a direct obligation to directly inform youth football players about the dangers of the sport. Policy and rule changes have created an opposite ripple effect as stated before, which will lead to a better culture of safety through various levels of football. However, McDaniel says due to the dangerous nature of the sport, there is not a way to completely avoid many of these injuries.

 

The NFL is now being forced to change because of class-action lawsuits.

The NFL is now paying the price from their silence and falsified research on head injuries. NFL’s top medial experts denied any link between play on the field and long-term brain injury including cognitive decline. An article by Joseph M. Hanna, partner at Goldberg Segalla LLP, where he leads the firm’s Sports and Entertainment Practice Group, details the science behind clinical evidence of NFL’s failure to acknowledge fault.  The article also details various legal actions taken by former players. Since 2005, over 2,400 alumni took legal action against the league. New plaintiffs continue to file lawsuits which have cost the league millions of dollars and have dampened the image of the NFL who has tried to improve its image. But, nothing can lessen the damage done to the players who now live with serious brain diseases and some which have lead to deaths. Here is a video by ESPN Outside the Lines expanding on the NFL’s mixed messages and its future impact.

The public is making their voice heard about the controversial issue

South Park's "Sarcastaball"

The public is divided on the issue of concussions. One side favors the tough nature of the NFL and thinks the sport is inherently dangerous. Players are paid millions of dollars in the risk of being injured. Their stance in simple terms is, “If you don’t want to be injured then don’t play”.This opinion is represented in a South Park episode called “Sarcastaball”. In the episode, the NFL changes safety procedures so drastically that it totally changes the face of the league where game is not noticeable. It is a dramatic example of what people feel is happening to the league. The other side is against the dangerous football culture and wants change. Because of the immense risk towards youths, many leagues in the junior ranks are considering ending tackle football. Dr. Robert Cantu, a researcher at Boston University, says in a Tampa news article ,“because kids' brains aren't fully coated with myelin, an insulation that protects neurons, their brains are particularly susceptible to any kind of hit to the head. Repetitive hits, such as heading the ball in soccer or banging helmets on the football field, can add up to real damage.” There are also discussions about ending High School football in some areas of the country.

No matter which side is taken, it is important that progress is made to improve player safety in this dangerous sport. NFL’s tough nature is rooted in its history, but larger voices needs to step-up awareness about the dangers to protect its future and the safety of football players across the country.

Here is a non-experts view on what the NFL could do to increase head injury awareness in the media:

listen to ‘Sunhwa Interview 2: What Could The NFL Do to Increase Head Injury Awareness?’ on Audioboo

Football Head Injuries and its Impact on the NFL Spectacle, American Culture and the Future of the Sport.

Head injuries not only changing NFL games but the league's pockets

Longer term affects of these head injuries begin to surface

America’s culture change in the media

Impact on the future of the NFL spectacle

For the start of the post:
     I will dive into the background of the current issue of head injuries in the NFL. The amount of injuries hasn't increased but the recognition of what is happening has heavily increased over the last few years. Rules have been changed and players are protected by new rules and safety priorities. However, these positive steps have also brought changes in the environment of the league, American culture and silence from the NFL in the media about the dangers of their sport. Past players are beginning to bring class-action lawsuits, many towns and schools are banning the sport and the positive image of the league is coming into question. While in the midst of this issue, I will look into what may come about in the future and how these injuries are affecting culture around us and the number one sporting spectacle in the country.
        After the background I will go into the specific changes to the face of the NFL and the gameplay differences. Also, I will show the current lawsuits and fines the NFL are facing from current and past injuries to the players. Also, I will tell the lack of information coming from the NFL itself about the injuries.
        Next, I will look into what new research has been done on football head injuries and why the sport is detremental to athletes, especially youth players. Also, source accounts of long-term damage to players.
       A very important part of the article will come next, which will dive into the broader media impact on the NFL head injuries. Various shows on television, such as South Park, have had episodes about the issue, head injury news is constantly in the news, football companies market new safer football materials and football violence is in full display every week on national television. 
       The last section will go into the future impact on the NFL game and its business. How the injuries will affect its long-term dominance of American sports and will the spectacle catch on with the next generation.

listen to ‘Is the NFL raising enough awareness, through the media, about football head injuries?’ on Audioboo

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listen to ‘Sunhwa Interview 2: What Could The NFL Do to Increase Head Injury Awareness?’ on Audioboo

Sunhwa Interview 2: What Could The NFL Do to Increase Head Injury Awareness?

listen to ‘Sunhwa Interview 2: What Could The NFL Do to Increase Head Injury Awareness?’ on Audioboo

Sunhwa Interview: Is the NFL Raising Enough Awareness, Through the Media, About Football Head Injuries?

listen to ‘Is the NFL raising enough awareness, through the media, about football head injuries?’ on Audioboo

The Negative Effects of Facebook and Its Impact on Future Generations

Facebook has become one of the fundamental social networking services that has changed the course of social interactions on a individual and global scale. The social media site, created by a college student Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates, contains over a billion users worldwide which provides connections to families, friends, schools, organizations, businesses and more. It is still a growing force that has become apart of the growing process of the youth across the nation and the world. Facebook has created a link between the virtual and real worlds in peoples lives and gives the actions committed on Facebook real life value. This gives way to new problems that have developed with the rising usage of the site which is depression and obsession. Younger generations are growing up with social media juggernauts such as Facebook and greatly impact their psychological growth and socialization skills.

Facebook studies reveal negative psychological effects.

According to a study by Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University, “excessive indulgence in social media portals–especially Facebook–leads to increased antisocial behavior and hampering psychological disorders”. In Rosen’s study, students who frequently used Facebook during studying resulted in worse grades than those students who didn’t use it. Also, it cause “sleeping problems” and increased “anxiety and depression”. Younger generations are exposed early to social media sites and are on these sites for long periods of time. Social interactions in-person are replaced by those online interactions that impact the self-esteem and communication patterns of the younger users. How you are viewed online affects your self-image and those interactions online, such as likes and comments, effect how you view your self-worth. A video from an ABC affiliate details the experiences of students and adults and the negative impact it can have on their lives including depression and overall emotion.

 Facebook linked to depression rise

The negative impacts are clear but the key need for Facebook can not be ignored.

Dr. George Gates explains that the new social media frontier is challenging to define and deal with because it is being used by so many so fast. Personal negative effects cannot be ignored but usage is the key to prevent these issues. Facebook helps connect and create mass amounts of information that is needed for the growth of our society. The internet is key for educational and social development as well. It is up the people to know their limits within using this new technology so it helps their lives rather than create new problems. Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines, agrees that benefits should not be overlooked in this MSNBC article. “Benefits of kids using social media sites like Facebook shouldn't be overlooked, however, such as connecting with friends and family, sharing pictures and exchanging ideas. A lot of what's happening is actually very healthy, but it can go too far." Awareness needs to be made to identify these problems and teach old and new users of social networks how to properly use these sites so they can benefit rather than hinder.

Facebook has personally affected my emotional and informational ties.

It may be easy to dust off the effects stated above. Some may say, “These are just extreme cases, they don’t pertain to me.” I disagree. The number of friends you have, the number of likes and comments directly impacts your self-esteem and self-worth. If I lost friends on Facebook, whether they are “real” friends or not, I would feel less connected to the world and less important than before when I had that large friend counter on my profile. It provides a comfort knowing that you are known and loved. The point of posting a “status” in the first place is to receive feedback and attention from others that you could not get in your personal lives. Whether we like it or not Facebook and other social networks have a direct impact on our personal lives and our psychological state. It is a phenomena that has been entrenched into our globalized society and it is our duty to use this as a tool for the better rather than an addiction or obsession. Too much of anything is never a good thing.

The Television Revolution: Ratings vs. Sharing and the Impact of New Technologies on Programming Views

Ratings vs. Shares

Television viewing is measured within the Nielson Cross-Platform scale that measures who is watching T.V. and on what device. The program used single source measurement data to produce ratings and shares of what programs are being watched at a given period of time. Ratings and share percentages differ mainly on the amount of televisions included in the measurement. Ratings how the size of a viewing audience to a specific program over all of the televisions in households, either on or off. However, shares only incorporate televisions that are currently turned on during the program. So, it is the percentage of audience members to the show over the total televisions in use at that time. The graphic to the right further shows the difference between the two.

NFL Sports Dominate Sunday Night Programming

You can see the differences in ratings and shares in shows based on the time of day they are shown. In comparing the CBS overrun football game and Sunday Night Football to the rest of the programs, Football heavily dominates the ratings and shares. The NFL overrun into 7pm destroyed the ratings of the Emmy's Red Carpet live by over 5 points. The statistics also show that ratings of these programs increase in overall audience after 8pm to 9pm.

Television Sparks the Rise of Multi-Screen Interactivity

According to Pew internet, new trends have emerged from viewers of these programs. They call this the rise of the "Connected Viewer". According to the site, 52% of viewers use a mobile device while they watch programming. These are used during breaks, even during the program, to check factual claims, social media sites and other apps. A question could be raised is if new multi-media devices such as phones are taking over the place of TV's, which are less stimulating devices. An interesting note from the study was that 81% of people from 18-24 used mobile devices during programs. Could this mean a decrease in ratings and shares in programs or a new form of interactivity with the TV shows. This article expands on the argument that TV is becoming an irrelevant medium.

New Technologies Labled “Digital Rights Management” On the Hunt For Piraters of Media Content.

Digital Rights Management, also called “DRM”, is a general term used to describe technologies used by copyright holders of media to prevent the onslaught of piracy. These new technologies came about with the creation of CD’s, which were disks that were easily “ripable” onto computers and sharing sites. Full songs and albums were copied onto people’s personal computers and then were allowed to share them with unlimited amounts of people. They are able to share this media through client/server websites such as Limewire and Peer-to-peer(P2P) sites. These sites have cause illegal downloads of media to skyrocket in the past few years and which as effectively caused the creators of the content to try to prevent the spread of their work legally.

    DRM works to change the ownership of the content from people to computer software of the copyright holders. People are allowed to own the media but with restrictions. DRM creates a model that creates obligations, rights and restrictions of the media content. You have to pay for the right to own the content but are restricted to a certain amount of downloads, uses or sharing options. Companies that use this restricted content are owners of ebooks, movies and music. DRM limits copies that can be made of the media or can restrict copies being made period. It also limits multiple downloads and confuses ripping software and other piracy software used to copy the material and distribute it online. Companies can also use encrypted files for subscription services too. You can pay for unlimited listens but are unlimited to downloads which are only available to one user profile or computer based on their identification number. 

    Digital Rights Management will change the landscape of downloading media content and will negatively change my experience. I am a user who uses P2P services to find new music and artists that I would otherwise never discover because the music industries hold on which music is presented to the masses. I buy the music in which I am emotionally attached to from gaining a taste of their music. Now, I’ll be unable to reach materials and in-tern buy less music in the long run.  An article on DefectiveByDesign.org continues the topic and introduces the argument that DRM “is creating a dangerous situation for freedom, privacy and censorship.” Recently it has become impossible to find new music online through downloads because of this technology and I have only bought content of older artists I have come to love from downloading past releases of their music. Only time will tell if DRM will help these copyright holders or inadvertently hurt themselves.