HW5: Survey Report

       I conducted a survey a few days ago for my research study about the effects of photography technology on youth culture. The survey questionnaire is composed of 10 questions asking on the things which they were all familiar with – photography technology. I have asked them questions according to my parameters which are educational, emotional, social, economical, and psychological aspects.

      I approached some students of Asia Pacific College and the rest are just random. I have come up with 35 respondents coming from random courses with different ages, but mostly from our block also. It took them several minutes to answer because of the question number 10 which is somehow a psychological question. I noticed that most of them have common answers which made me conclude to the following:

It can be inferred that most of the youth at present is fond of taking photographs with a percentage of 82.85% while the rest is 17.15%.

With the self-portrait or people's photographs as the highest in percentage which is 55%, youth likes taking photographs of them or other people than other things. The nature or wildlife photographs and events are just of the same percentage (22%) which they prefer also to take, but not that much. There is 1% who answered others wherein their answers would be food, things, and animals, dog in specific.

The youth prefer to use gadgets or equipments which are accessible, cheaper, and convenient to use which are cell phones (46%). The SLR/DSLR has 17% and seemed to be higher than web cams or laptops because I think they are of the same value, but not in the quality of image and accessibility also. We can bring SLR/DSLR anywhere, but not the web cams or laptops.

Half of the respondents said that taking photographs is just a hobby for them. There are 21% who said that they take photographs because it helps in socializing with other people by uploading it on facebook or other social media sites. The remaining 17% is by learning new knowledge about how to use modern gadgets and equipments while the 10% is for editing photographs. The last 2% is about earning from the downloads of their photographs.

With regard in editing photographs, the most common and used by the youth is Adobe Photoshop (50%). Next is the Photoscape with 29% because of its popularity and free download in the internet. The Instagram with 17% is currently the most well-known photo editing software as well as a social networking site, but not all youth is using this. The Paint.Net and Webcam Toy is both with 4.5% while the least are the Corel Photopaint and Pixlr.com with 2%.

The 80% of the respondents said that their photographs help in socializing people and making friends while the remaining 20% said it does not help.

The majority of the respondents said that they are happy (45%) and satisfied (30%) when taking, editing, and uploading photographs. The 10% said that they are excited when doing these and 15% with no feelings at all.

Most of the youth said that on free time only they do take, edit, and upload photographs having a percentage of 85.7%. There are 5.7% who said they do it everyday and once or twice a week. The least part which is every month is 2.9%. It can be inferred that this as a hobby does not interrupt other important things to do of the youth.

The majority which is 60% said that they do not perform tasks simultaneously while 40% said they do. Therefore, it does not affect their studies much and can focus with their own tasks.

      The last question which tests the mental ability of youth to understand the photograph seemed to be the most difficult part. They have common answers such as hurricane/tornado, abstract thing, confusion, fear, mystery, problems, chaos, scary, worries, and of course a man with a wild imagination. Some answers were unusual but full of meaning. This only means that even if they know it is an edited photograph, their wild imagination has not yet vanished, and their way of thinking is not literal.

      With the results I have discovered, some met my expectations but mostly, the results are positive which is a good thing to know. Photography technology does not greatly affect or harm the youth, but instead help them a lot in many ways. In their education, they can still focus in their studies knowing also that taking photographs is just their hobby. They also learn new knowledge about the different gadgets and equipments used. Their photographs also contribute a lot when it comes to socializing and it made them happy and satisfied. They also build a wider and wilder imagination with their photographs.

HW4: Survey Questionnaire

Survey Questionnaire

Name (optional):__________________________________________

Year Level/ Course: ________________________________________

1. Are you fond of taking photographs?

       ( ) Yes                                                   ( ) No

2. What kind of photographs do you usually take?

( ) Nature or wildlife photographs

( ) Self-portrait or people’s photographs

( ) Events

Others, please specify. __________________________________

3. What gadgets or equipment do you prefer to use when taking photographs?

( ) accessible and easy to use like cell phones

( ) web cams or laptops

( ) high resolution digital cameras

( ) expensive SLRs or DSLRs

4. What are your reasons in taking photographs? Check the reason that is most applicable for you.

( ) to socialize with other people by uploading it on facebook or other social media sites

( ) learning new knowledge about how to use modern gadgets and equipments

( ) editing photographs using different photo editing software

( ) earning from the downloads of your own photographs

( ) just a hobby or leisure

5. What photo editing software do you usually use in editing photographs? Check as many as you want.

( ) Photoscape    ( ) Photo Pos Pro                 ( ) Photobie              ( ) Adobe Photoshop

( ) Irfant view    ( ) GIMP                              ( ) Inkscape               ( ) Instagram

( ) Paint.net       ( ) Fast Stone Image Viewer  ( ) Corel Photopaint

6. Do your photographs help you in socializing people and making friends?

           ( ) Yes                                                         ( ) No

7. What do you feel when you're taking photographs, edit it, and upload in facebook or other social media sites?

( ) excitement        ( ) happy        ( ) satisfied            ( ) sad            ( ) no feelings at all

8. How often do you take photographs, edit it, and upload?

( ) everyday

( ) once or twice every week

( ) every month

( ) on free time only

9. Do you perform tasks simultaneously when editing photographs such as doing homework and projects?

             ( ) Yes                                                            ( ) No

10. What comes into your mind when you see this photograph?

Answer: _______________________________________________

HW3: Cover letter of the Survey

November 28, 2012

Dear Respondent(s):

I am an undergraduate student under the direction of Professor Dustin Edward Celestino in Asia Pacific College, English Department. I am conducting a research study entitled Effects of Photography Technology on Youth Culture. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of photography technology on youth’s education, social, emotional, economical, and psychological life.

Since youth is involve in this survey, people with age of 15 years old up to 24 years old, which are mostly high school and college students, will be asked in the said survey.

Your participation will involve answering the questionnaires that will be given to you and should only take about 5 to 10 minutes in answering it. Your involvement in the study is voluntary, and you may choose not to participate or to stop at any time. The results of the research study may be published, but your name will not be used. Your identity will not be associated with your responses in any published format.

The findings from this project will provide information on the persons concerned and involved with no cost to you other than the time it takes for the survey.

If you have any questions about this research project, please feel free to call me my phone number at (0939) 232-8490 or send an e-mail to stgeroche@apc.edu.ph.

By returning this questionnaire in the envelope provided, you will be agreeing to participate in the above described project.

Thanks for your consideration!

Sincerely,

Sheila Mae T. Geroche

BSA Student, Asia Pacific College

HW1: Background of the Survey

For about seven weeks of gathering information related to my research topic, I still have questions in my mind which have no answers yet. The only thing I know is about the impact of technology on photography. Honestly, there are many articles about photography and technology, but about the effects of it on youth, there are few. Moreover, the questions that I'm going to ask must be answered by professionals in the field of photography and common users of photography technology.
With my materials and methods, I have stated there that a part of the findings and discussions of this study would come from the results taken from the survey I’m going to conduct. Since I have five parameters, I have come up with this question about education: Do you learn new information when you take photographs? I come up with this question in order to know if youth obtain knowledge when using cameras to take photographs, or their purposes in doing this kind of activity. This is also for me to know on how they use or apply what they have learned in their everyday life. For the social aspect, How do you use your photographs in socializing? In terms of social media sites, of course they would upload their photographs but with this question, I may find reasons why they socialize and how they socialize using photographs. The third parameter is about emotional aspect which I intend to ask is What do you feel when you take photographs, edit it, and upload in your facebook or other social media sites? Somehow, youth has different purposes of taking photographs and one of them is in order to express what they feel about their environment, other people and even themselves. This question would be essential to finally identify their common feelings about this. In the economical aspect, Which do you prefer to us when taking photographs? Cell phones, digital cameras, or web cams? Others please specify. This is for me to know how they could attain this type of camera and find reasons why they prefer using this. And last is about psychological or the way youth think nowadays, What kind of photographs do you mostly take?

Youth has different perceptions and point of view about photographs. And with this type of question, I could determine how they think and what behavior they have by knowing the photographs they like to take.
With these type of questions, the people who might know the answers would probably be the common users of social media sites such as facebook, twitter, tumblr, and especially instagram and the youth who often use photo editing software. I may also know some information about these from IT professors or teachers and experts in the fields of photography.

I have already asked some of my friends and teachers about the possible effects of photography technology on youth culture, and it seemed to be that we have common answers. Of course, youth tends to abuse the application of technology on photography. With the software used in editing photographs, they somehow express their own artistic choices, but photography as a form of art is not anymore present. In educational aspect, it may be that at first, they do not know what they have learned, but suddenly realized it in the end as they look at their photographs. Accessibility and affordability may be the answer when it comes to economical aspect. With others, I don’t have yet any idea, but I’m looking forward to get positive answers. I still need to find articles about this and obtain opinions from experts.

HW2: Reasons in Taking Photographs

Have you been to Paris, France? Well if yes, I am sure that the first thing that came into your mind is the Eiffel tower. Paris is the birthplace of art that’s why many people would want to go there. Everyone is dreaming of seeing and visiting that amazing tower, and honestly, I am one of them.

When I was in third year high school, my best friend and I already planned that after we get a job in the future, we will travel around the world, and visit the beautiful places. And our most wanted in the list of places we want to visit is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Aside from it is famous, this tower located on the banks of Seine river seemed to be a symbol of every person’s dream, a sign of hope and prosperity, and a star to be reached. This is the reason why many people want to take a photograph of that with their different personal styles in every angle just to show their artistic choices. Because of this, you would probably find thousands of photographs taken by millions of tourists around the world of that fantastic Eiffel Tower in the internet. But somehow, with the new advances in technology, I’m wondering what could be the other reasons of people in taking photographs granted, they surely often use high-resolution cameras, editing software, and social media sites.

And finding the answers to this question, I have read an article which somehow took away my anxiety about this. The article is entitled Types of Photography. I have listed the following which can be the reasons and purposes of photographers nowadays in taking photographs with the aid of digital technology.

·         Higher levels in freedom and in the variety of choices

·         Greater convenience for publishers and designers

·         Earning from downloads of their digital photographs

·         Lower costs of taking snapshots

·         Better preference of shots to print

·         Bigger satisfaction of their lifestyles, especially with the use of digital cameras in cell phones, web cams and others

·         Higher level of sophistication and automation

I have observed that photographers use technology because of its better accessibility, convenience and affordability unlike in the recent past. They have smarter choices and use this technology namely gadgets, software, and social media sites in the most functional way wherein they can be benefited. They tend to explore new things on what more can they do, and try to fulfill this. And in result, they often abuse the use of technology applied on photography that’s why as an art, it was suddenly not shown in the new generation. We can no more distinguish the real from edited ones.

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

          Photography has already become an authentic memorial thing to the lives of people. This is a method of recording images by the action of light, or related radiation, on a sensitive material. Photography was derived from the Greek words, “photos” which means light, and “graphein” which means to draw. Basically, photography is also an art and now, a vast art form because of its types, features, and techniques used. (http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm)

          Technology, having a relation to photography, made more complications and advancements. Cameras have evolved from a pinhole up to the latest and accessible SLRs and DSLRs. Underwater, disposable, and film and digital cameras were also invented during that period. The increasing knowledge of people to photography and cameras contributed a lot in order to make more innovations through the years. Therefore, taking photographs, recording images and moments, and sharing the art formed became easy and fast. (http://www.photography.com/articles/types-of-photography/types-of-photography/)

          Since computers were invented, taking and storing photographs have improved. Nowadays, storage of countless photographs is not anymore a problem because of the invention of memory cards in which the files can be transferred into the computer. Also, software was made embellishing the photographs taken through editing (e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Photoscape, Instagram). This software has greatly developed a convenient and attainable way in expressing the art styles and techniques that photographers want to achieve with their photographs.

          With the application of technology to photography, this made an impact to the society. According to Roland Barthes, a pre-eminent theorist of photography, photograph is the “sovereign contingency” which means being dependent on something else happening. Photographs seize historical and real life events which help in remembering significant things and happenings. Photography has also contributed to Science in terms of space and underwater explorations, microscopic and wild species of animals and insects, and the changes in the environment itself. Employment also increased with the introduction of new cameras and jobs for photojournalists, reporters, editors, and even in films. And since photography is a form of art, artists find new modes of operation and seismic shifts in art production. (http://www.ehow.com/list_6982192_impact-photography-society.html)

          Above all, photography has greatly influenced the youth. With the use of new gadgets and inventions starting from digital cameras to the current high-resolution cameras in cell phones, iPhones, and laptops, photographer can now be a job of anybody, either amateur or professional. An editor is a free occupation to the ones who are good in editing photographs using software. Moreover, the newest part of a youth’s social life is the social media sites wherein sharing and uploading the photographs taken from their phones and cameras are very swift and comfortable. Youth’s accessibility to computers and other inventions is not doubtful because of the getting smarter generation. But the question is how does photography technology affect the life and culture of the new generation?

          This study is conducted to explain the effects of photography technology on youth culture with regard to their educational, social, economical, emotional, and even psychological aspects of living.

B. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer this question:

1.      What are the effects of photography technology on youth culture?

C. Significance of the Study

Parents. The discussion and findings of this study would greatly benefit the parents. Knowing the effects of photography technology on their children would help them understand their behavior and way of thinking. This will also help the parents to make the necessary actions regarding this issue.

New Generation of Photographers. Everyone knows that age is not a requirement to be a photographer. Anyone who has a camera can be a photographer and so, this study would benefit the new generation of photographers. The awareness about the effects of photography technology on youth culture would inform them about the specific results to a person using this.

Professionals in the Field of Photography. The professionals in the field of photography would also benefit from this study using the gathered information and inferences. Through the outcome of this study, a wider knowledge about the subject, and how it is affected by photography technology will be imparted to them.

Future Researchers. Because of the limitations of this study, and it focuses only on the effects on youth culture, photography technology can still be a good research topic to the future researchers. Other aspects and areas can still be considered and relate to photography technology rather, they could also conduct studies related to youth culture, and expound more on this through the findings from this research study.

D. Scope and Limitations

          This study focuses on the effects of photography technology on youth culture. Youth has been considered since they have more access and knowledge on the new gadgets and software, specifically, on photography. This study will emphasize the effects regarding the youth's educational, social, economical, emotional, and psychological ways of living with the application of technology on photography. This study will no longer discuss about the history of photography and other related areas of photography. Time constraints and inadequate resources also give restrictions to this study. This is due to insufficient related researches about this study, and youth is considered the most users of photography technology.

E. Materials and Methods

         This research uses a descriptive method in which the researcher's goal is the acquisition of factual, accurate and systematic data that can be used in averages, frequencies and similar statistical calculations. According to Alan Valdez, descriptive research is concerned with the description of data and characteristics about a population. And since this study will gather data from the youth, the descriptive method is very much appropriate to use.

         The information used in this study was gathered from the articles and other reference materials from online sources. A survey is going to be conducted for gathering opinions and insights from the youth which mostly come from high school and college students, and also to support the discussions made. The questionnaires will include questions regarding the following parameters which form the youth's way of living: education, social, economical, emotional, and psychological aspects.

F. Definition of Terms

Photograph. A picture produced by photography. (http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/2062)

Photographer. Someone who takes photographs, especially as a profession. It could be said that a good photographer is a combination of an artist, craftsman and scientist, since knowledge and skills from all three professions play a part in good photography. (http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/2062)

Processing. Producing an image (either negative or positive) from exposed film or photographic paper by developing, fixing and washing it. (http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/2062)

Card reader. A digital memory card reader used in transferring data, including image files, to a computer drive. (http://www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/1594)

Camera. It is a device that records images that can be stored directly, transmitted to another location, or both. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera)

Youth. The time of life between childhood and adulthood (maturity). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth)

Culture. The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture)

Photography as an Asteroid

Have you seen a shooting star? According to Fraser Cain, a shooting star is another name for a meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. Most of the shooting stars are known as meteoroids. If they’re larger than a rock, astronomers call them asteroids.

       

How about an asteroid falling from the sky? Well, a shooting star is also an asteroid, but the only difference is the shooting star or meteoroid already burn up as it enters the Earth and it is smaller. With an asteroid, this must be really big that may create an impact to the crust of the Earth just like in the movie Deep Impact.

       

Relating to photography, it is like an asteroid which created an impact to the society. Based from the article I’ve read entitled The Impact of Photography on Society, Dirk Huds mentioned six areas of the society where it had greatly affected.

       

First is about memory. According to Roland Barthes, a theorist of photography, a photograph is the “sovereign contingency” which means being dependent on something else happening. Photographers were used to preserve an event which in the past, it was only stored in our memory. Photography also records significant events in the history. It helps in saving real events happened in the past, for example, the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and EDSA People Power which freed us from dictatorship. Next is employment which gave jobs through the introduction of new cameras and professionals in the fields of film, news casting, editing, and photojournalism. Photography also became accessible because nowadays, anyone could be a photographer with the new gadgets and equipments used in taking photographs. With this, photography seemed to be the most widely used art form. Speaking of art, photography was the reason why artists now had to find new modes of operation and seismic shifts in art production. It has already developed and improved much faster than arts. And last, but not the least is science and other related fields. Photography helps in researches and taking photographs of the things which contribute to the advancement and innovations.

       

                With all these effects on our society, photography is not a small field anymore. As Dirk Huds said, “Photography has changed the way we view the world.” It affects the life of every person it will influence. In every aspect, it has a contribution and often, it creates development and changes that help to further add more information essential in our progress. And as an asteroid, once it landed on Earth, photography will continue to keep burning as it becomes a part of our modern society.