Facebook Now Allowing Users to Post if they are Organ Donors

Organ Donation Status Through Facebook 

Social media is changing the world we live in today. It is replacing our forms of communication by implementing chat, news feeds, and walls to receive information faster about people and the most recent news in today’s society. Social media sites such as Facebook are adding new features to make their social media site better than the rest. Being a member of Facebook, I have been able to see new features coming and going, but nothing compared to this. Have you ever had a friend or family member that has needed an organ donation? As of May 2012, Facebook has added a new edition to their social media site, organ donation. This might sound crazy why users of Facebook would want to post their organ donation status, but if they are capable of sharing their birth date, photos, and personal information, what’s one more personal fact?

100,000 Users Declaring Their Organ Donation Status 

 7,000 people in the United States die each year while waiting for an organ transplant. The goal is for Facebook to lower this death rate with the 161 million members. Facebook is a major form of advertising and marketing for companies, so why not encourage users to advertise their donor status to save a life. There are currently 114,000 people waiting for organ transplants. Researchers from Loyola University Medical Center examined 91 Facebook pages and found that 12% of the pages were receiving kidney transplant and 30% reported potential matches for organ donation. When Facebook released the new feature to their site in May 2012, 100,000 users declared themselves organ donors. These donors came from Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.

How to Sign Up and is the Program Working? 

On your Timeline there is a life event option where you enter status updates. Click on that, and then Health and Wellness, there should be an organ donation option. Select this option and then there will be a pop up that allows you to select your state, when you became an organ donor, and a personal story about why you became an organ donor. Then you can select who can see this information either public, friends, or custom, then select save. Can Facebook Solve the organ donor crisis? The answer is yet to be made because this is such a new feature for the website. It’s fascinating how a social media site that was designed to keep users in touch with family members and friends has become a place to save the lives of others throughout society. Some might think this is too invasive, but people already put too much information out there about themselves. Mark Zuckerberg said, “We believe by simply telling people you’re an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role.” Mark Zuckerberg is right. Throughout our society your organ donation status is printed on your license but this is hidden in your wallet and tucked away. In this technologically changing world, why not use our resources and make it public? Make it known that you want to save a life. 

9 Million Viewers Tune in to Wednesday Night TV, but Are They Actually Watching?

          According to TVbythenumbers.com, Fox is the number one network for adults aged between 18-49, but CBS still has the most amount of total viewers. On Wednesday nights starting at 8:00 pm Fox premiers, the X Factor. People ages between 18-49 rate the show a 3.3 and the share is a 9. A rating is the estimated percentage of the universe of TV households tuned into a program in the average minute. A share is the percent of households using a television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area in time.  This means that 3.3 people tune in to this program in the average minute and 9% of households tune into this program of those with a TV. The X factors rating has gone down three tenths from last week (in September) 3.6. On Wednesday there are 13 different shows from ABC to NBC, but The X Factor is on from 8:00-10:00 and is the start of the series.
      Half of users who own a cell phone use it while their watching TV. This is because cell phones have become a diversion for people while watching TV. The Pew Research Center interviewed 88% of American adults who own cell phones and asked them if they use their phone to engage in activities while watching TV. The results came back as follows, 38% use their cell phones during commercial breaks, 22% check things they they see on TV or about the show they are watching, and 6% vote while watching a reality show. It's interesting that cell phone owners living in households making more than $50,000 a year are more likely to participate in interactive television experiences than those in lower income. From experience, my mom is an addict of the home shopping network. She sits there in her bed as she watches with her phone in one hand and credit card in the other. After watching all of the details about a product, she calls in once the woman says "this object is up for purchase." It's clear that being raised in a middle-class family my mom is an example of having interactive experiences with the TV while on her phone. She is not trying to pass time during commercials, but is keeping herself addicted by calling in to buy. There is an equal percentage of men and women who own cell phones and from the ages of 18-24, 81% of people have cell phones. Today, there are more smartphone owners than any other phone, but they use them during their viewing experience to check if something was true or not on the television.
      I have an iPhone and I am a part time Nanny, as I watch TV with the kids there are a lot of cartoons and I will sit there wondering whose voice is the character I am watching. I end up using google.com to find the answer and then once I find out my anxiety decreases. Cell phones are the reason why certain TV shows loose viewers because of cell phones. If they cannot reach their viewers and keep them in-tuned to their show, then their ratings will continue to decrease. I suggest creating apps that are related to the TV show that will allow viewers to comment, tweet, and maybe play a game while the show is on, but is this maybe too much?