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Although keeping up with the all daily goings-ons in the world may seem impossible, we sure have made changes in the news format to try to do so. From a 24-hour news cycle introduced by CNN to the internet and YouTube, information is something our society demands and often needs to feel connected to the world around them.

For this ever-evolving form of communication the opportunity arises not only to exchange information, but also opinions. I wanted to point out some examples from PSA’s and also a blog that concerns the LGBT community and their allies.

There are two public services announcements I want to focus on that addresses the LGBT community in some way by addressing the use of the phrase “That’s So Gay” and its harmful effects. These commercials are in no way the end-all representation of PSA's nor the best representation of the LGBT community, but are easily accessible on the internet.

GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and Ad Council's newer ad campaign from thinkb4youspeak.com ran a number of ads with celebrities ranging from Hilary Duff to Wanda Sykes. Each of these announcements does a good job showing people take action when they hear something hurtful.

I do have a few suggestions for PSA’s of this nature as I have slight criticisms of each announcement. Both commercials depict realistic scenarios. In the Hilary Duff PSA for example, Duff confronts two girls shopping, but then ends the conversation with saying how much she likes one of the girls' shoes. This allows for the important part of the conversation to be lost as she just walks away. With Wanda Sykes, a similar confrontation occurs, but instead she makes fun of one of the people who said the phrase to prove a point. This seemed dangerous to me because, although it may be an effort to “see how it feels,” it really just perpetuates a cycle of hateful language.

With the current political and social climate as it stands, progress may be far too slow than the LGBT community had hoped for. That is why I believe by continuing to establish strong foundations, opinions and actions with already strong organizations we can further social progress.