HALEY HARBUCK WRITES — “We are running out of time,” said Dr. Andrew Rohm, LMU’s Professor of Marketing. Rohm was explaining what happens when we get carried away with our dependence on technology. As a professor, he has noticed America’s millennials’ growing use of technology that, in their minds, seems…
Full Article LOS ANGELES: PROF ROHM ON HOW TECH STEALS YOUR TIME AND FEEDS BAD HABITS
TOMMY SUTJIPTO WRITES – Although heavily censored, social networking sites in China continue to grow, develop, and attract hundreds of new users daily. Indeed, marketing analysts say the country is experiencing a social boom, with users drawn by innovative digital services and slick marketing efforts. According to Benjamin Duvall at…
Full Article CHINA: CENSORSHIP SYSTEM LEADS TO A NEW DE-POLITICIZED SOCIAL MEDIA AGE
KATE BARKLEY WRITES – Pens, apples, and pineapples were ordinary items until they came to comprise a PPAP or Pen Pineapple Apple Pen in DJ Kosaka Daimaou’s viral video. Posted almost over a month ago on August 25th, Japanese comedian/DJ Kosaka Daimaou sings about combining fruits with pens in a…
Full Article JAPAN: FUNNY ASIAN MEN TAKE OVER THE INTERNET
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – There doesn’t seem to be a lot of options when it comes to making a music video teaser. Single-takes have been done. Multi-parts are a thing of the past. So what can K-Pop groups do to rope in a wider audience for their tracks? Seven-member boy…
Full Article K-POP KORNER: “Reality” Goes Virtual with Infinite’s 360VR Teaser
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – English-speaking K-Pop fans no longer need to experience one-sided love from their idols and favorite groups from behind their computer screens. After School Club (ASC), produced by Arirang, is a web-talk show that allows international fans (fans not domestic to South Korea) to live video chat…
Full Article K-POP KORNER: “Hangout” at Arirang’s After School Club
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – After almost a year away and the departure of two members, boy group sensation EXO is officially back on the K-Pop scene. The now ten-membered group began releasing teasers for their new album “Exodus” on March 18th through the YouTube page of their entertainment company, SM…
Full Article K-POP KORNER: Crack the Code with EXO’s Pathcode Teasers
YVONNE EPPS WRITES — Let’s face it; as someone who falls in the 13-25 age range, some of the only ways I stay informed about world events is through the Facebook trending tags and reblogs on Tumblr. A Vietnamese news venue has taken notice and approached the problem with a…
Full Article VIETNAM: The News Rap Battle of the Century!AMBER VERNETTI WRITES – Abu Dhabi University’s status was updated to “feeling social” last week after Facebook data revealed that the institution accounts for 80% of all social media involvement among other universities in the surrounding area. In respect to this extensive usage, the 2013 Arab Social Media Report recognized Arabic as social…
Full Article UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: ADU ‘Likes’ Its Status As Leader in Social Media UsageNICOLE SABA WRITES – Imagine watching the evening news. With no warning and no disclaimer, a video of a woman committing suicide is aired. In a span of less than three minutes, you see a woman threatening to kill herself, while her husband, who is filming it all, pants and…
Full Article LEBANON: Suicide on Film, Have They Crossed the Line?AUSTIN SZABO WRITES: You can’t trust your kids once the sun goes down. At least that’s what Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) officials say. The News reports that the Pakistani government has demanded wireless companies stop selling late-night cellphone packages to teenagers, claiming such deals will ultimately destroy the country’s culture. Their logic? Discount…
Full Article PAKISTAN: At Prices This Low, Teens Can’t Afford Not to be ImmoralJEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – Sex often sells, but not when it’s mixed with the stark insensitivity of misogyny and racism. Los Angeles based band Day Above Ground provoked a torrent of controversy earlier this month following the release of a music video for their song “Asian Girlz.” The video featured…
Full Article LOS ANGELES: Raunchy, Racist Music Video Goes ViralBRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Men are surprisingly alarmed to learn that they too can be victims of sexual assault. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education released a video three years ago entitled, If I Knew Boys Could Be Sexually Assaulted as Well. Uploaded to the internet about a month ago, the video…
Full Article TAIWAN: Yes, Young Man, You Could Be a Rape Victim, TooRYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It seems that some foreigners are growing tired of the international community’s casting of North Korea as the outcast on the block. Hoping to change its undesirable reputation, a group called the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) has been running a YouTube channel focused on portraying the…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: It’s A Very Hard SellYVONNE EPPS WRITES – It’s been banned, but can you really keep it under wraps if it’s already been leaked onto the web? Earlier this summer, the National Cinema Department (NCD) instrumented a hasty campaign to ban Bui Doi Cho Lon (Life in Chinatown) directed by Vietnamese-American Charlie Nguyen, but…
Full Article VIETNAM: Officially Banned, Unofficially a Smash HitSTEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES – Temper tantrums are only socially acceptable during childhood. After that, they tend to draw police involvement and viral disapproval. A YouTube video posted May 17 of a supervisor physically abusing an intern sparked a media frenzy over the weekend, ultimately compelling the 29-year-old victim to come…
Full Article SINGAPORE: Supervisor’s Temper Tantrum Goes ViralJEREMIAH FARJADO WRITES- Will the Japanese government ever learn? Once again, Japanese tension with the Chinese and South Koreans have flared up due to a recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by over 150 Japanese politicians, including members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet. As Bloomberg and Kotaku, a…
Full Article JAPAN: From Shrines to Tanks, Abe’s Cabinet Faces Criticism