Class Stratification Isn't Recession Proof

After playing all the games and reading about all the different classes on the PBS website, I find myself wondering if these are the same classes that existed after the recession hit. Sure we still have different classes but old money is not as prominent as it was in 2001 when the documentary was filmed and the website was created. I played the game where you choose what to put in a room and through those tastes you were put into a class. The choices given didn't seem to reflect the tastes of people today, sure it was less than 10 years ago but a lot has happened to the economy since then. We have been at war in the middle east for 9 years and in the past 2 have had one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, and these choices and this documentary have now been proven to be outdated and not accurate.

From my personal experiences, class stratification does exist but it is nothing like it has ever been before. Instead of the old ranking system of old money, new money, upper middle, middle middle, lower middle, and low there is now a system where the richest rich drop down to upper middle and only the multi-billionaires are able to stay really rich. Everyone is fighting to save money and everyone lost a lot of money. Jobs are not readily available anymore, people are getting cut left and right due to budget cuts, you now have to be the best of the best or you are working minimum wage (if you are lucky). Times are hard and the importance of class is no longer the main focus.

I come from a military family with 2 incomes and both my parents have masters degrees but we are finding ourselves watching where the money goes more than ever. I was set to have my college all paid for before the recession but now my parents need the money they were saving for me so I have to rely on my own money and loans because I am unable to get any government grants. I find it unfair that grant companies assume just because my parents make enough money that they have enough to pay for my college education, the truth is that I barely see any of it and honestly I don't want it.

The recession made it so class stratification had only 3 sides, the mega rich, the middle and the poor; there is barely any in between anymore.

Americans only have friends on Facebook

Do you think Americans today are more isolated due to technology?  Explain why or why not, and whether you think this issue is something we should be concerned about now or in the future.  

How can we be isolated in one of the most populated nations in the world? Honestly, I think that Americans have always been isolated but technology is adding onto that isolation. With the introduction of social networks, cyber gaming, and texting there has been a large decrease in the amount of time people interact with each other in person. Why do you need to meet up with a friend to catch up when you already know what they had for breakfast this morning and that they have dated 3 guys in the last 2 months? What else is there to talk about? I feel that Americans are fond of social networking and similar technology because we are soooo busy that the only time we have to actually meet with people is though the computer when we are doing other work at the same time. We are a nation of multi-taskers and it is getting to the rediculous when people are messaging each other from across the table. We should all fear what is going to happen to the children that are growing up in this cyber age. I have a little sister who is 8 years younger than me who is inside watching TV more often than she is outside exploring and 8 years earlier you couldn't keep me inside. Technology now rules our lives and we need to find a healthy balance or sometime in the near future their might not be any social interaction, the movie "Wale" comes to mind.

 People just sit in chairs and chat with people on screens, no real interaction.

Youth and Crime

The sociological perspective of youth and crime is pretty accurate from my past experiences. I agree that most of the crimes committed are by the youth of the nation because they are rebellious and do not usually see the consequences of their actions. They also most likely not married yet making it easier for them to commit crimes because they "have nothing to loose." There is not much society can do as far as dealing with young criminals because everything that can be done, from lectures to classes featuring anti-crime and anti-drug use, are being done and the outcome is pretty much the same. To change this the government will have to come at it from a different angle such as instead of instilling fear why not give the hard facts and show people exactly what it does instead telling youth DO NOT DO THIS. I mean what is the first thing a kid does when you tell him not to do it, HE DOES IT. Shaming the people that do commit these crimes and do drugs is not the way to go about it because they first do it because they want to find out what is so bad about it then once they are hooked there is no forgiveness making them addicts until someone finally lets them know they will be welcome back into society. The whole system needs to be revamped in order to make it work because the methods they are using now are obviously not working as well as they should be.