Final Wrap Up!

During our first session of our Communication and Technology class, we were given an important question. What is the difference between new and old media. We discussed new media such as Facebook and Ipods. We distinguished these from  old media such as newspapers and magazines. We discussed that new media has important characteristics. It has immediacy, better availability, and a high entertainment value (Lister, p. 16). But we began to wonder, is new media really new? I began to believe that new media is really just an newer version of an old idea. Both serve the same purpose. Ipods and cassettes  are meant to bring music, just in different ways. It makes me wonder, what will happen when there is no more room for improvement of technology and the media?

Our class also explored the reputation of new media as leading to a utopia or a dystopia. It can have immense positive and negative effects. Before this class, I only focused on the positive effects of technology and new media. During our class discussions, I began to see how much I became blinded by media consumerism. I pay so much attention to commercials promoting media use, that I forgot the other side of the argument. When I was babysitting my little cousins, I began to relate my experience to class. They are so used to playing videogames at a such a fast rate. The screen flashes so fast with images, that my brain can barely process what I’m seeing.  I had trouble playing the game without getting a headache. My hand eye coordination was not fast enough to play. Yet they had no problem. This is due to the fact that they grew up playing these games. Aside from making me feel old, this experience made me worried about them. Is it good for their young  minds to be exposed to these games for hours every day? Is the constant multitasking needed to play bad for their brains? Here is an article that explores the negative effects. We will have to wait and let the future tell us our answer.

The movie I watched for my paper titled Children of Men illustrated the concept of a media dystopia. The film surrounded the downfall of the world. Although they had every technological advancement at their disposal, it could not save them. Female infertility plagued the world and technology had failed to bring peace and happiness. The only joyous moments in the film were caused by real human interaction, not technology. It is a reminder of our over dependence on the media. I also learned about this concept during my media fasting exercise. I ended up having a better spring break because I learned to decrease my new media use. Although it is an important part of my life, it is not the source of my happiness. I think that we all need to step back and remember what is really important in our lives. Here is an article about the effects of technology.

The media is also a tool that we use to show the world who we are. The “Facebook epidemic” as we discussed in class, is one example of this. Facebook gives me an outlet to express my individuality through photos and my profile. I also use it as a communicative device. Everyone puts up material knowing that others will see it. We alter what we say and post to fit our image. This image is how we want others to see us. But if we can fabricate information to make us look better, when does it go too far. Is it deception? I worry about my cousin who is younger and has Myspace. I worry she will meet someone who is presenting a false identity.  There are many unsafe situations where people meet others on the internet that are dangerous. The internet is a wonderful tool that can connect us to anyone around the world. However, this can be a very dangerous thing if not handled properly. I think that more regulation should be paid to the dangers of changing your identity online.

I think that technology is an amazing thing. I learned a lot about the wonderful things it can do in this class. I am not anti technology at all. I just think we need to do some critical thinking about how it effects our society. We need an open mind in order to grasp its negative and positive effects. This will help to eliminate any negative surprises in the future. This class made me ask an important question. If a simple thing like Facebook has changed  our lives, what else will be invented in the future to change our world as we know it?

Lister, M., Dovey, J.,Giddings, S., Grant, I., Kelly,K. (2003). New Media: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

my second life

I had a very interesting experience using Second Life in class today.  I  had never used it and was very unfamiliar with the program. Overall I found it enjoyable but also very frustrating. It was very difficult to find my team because everyone was using fake names. I felt lost and disconnected from people I used to know. It was also very hard to learn how to navigate and talk to people in the local chat.

It was easy to find objects for the hunt because we were given the power to teleport and fly. We could magically be transported to anywhere we wanted. It was also fun to play around with my appearance. I ended up accidentally talking to someone that was not in our class.  It was very interesting to learn to travel and find others in a virtual world. I became curious and started investigating all the interesting places. I went to an animal park and found it to be alot of fun. Overall, although it was frustrating, using Second Life was an enjoyable experience.

New Media and our every day (extra credit blog)

“Cyberspace then, is the disembodied and exhilarating-promising the new: new worlds, new frontiers, new identities. Virtual reality has been seen as a new world in direct opposition to the old world of everyday life” (Lister, 2007 p. 219). As we discussed in class, this quote from last weeks reading  is very accurate in today’s world. It helps to explain the world’s fascination of new media. The growing popularity of each new media product is not mere coincidence. It is more than good marketing tactics that make new media so popular.  New media is popular for one very important reason. It gives us an escape from our everyday lives.  It is an addictive form of entertainment. The chapter explains that our reality can be mundane and boring. Days can get long and repetitive. But for  many, new media can be a place of distraction from our everyday lives. Facebook, Myspace, and other mediums are perfect examples.  People create identities in their profiles and entertain themselves by making a second reality in the virtual world.  I understand the need for new media in our everyday lives. I admit that using Facebook or Itunes is a welcomed break from a hard day. However, this chapter makes me wonder about the issue of new media as an escape from reality. What happens when new media becomes more entertaining or important than our reality?  I think that sometimes new media can be a distraction from our real problems. However, it is not healthy to be engrossed in it forever. At some point we need to realize that our real world comes first. Is an overdependence on new media a sign that we should reexamine our real lives? Here is an article about too much technology, too fast.

The chapter also analyzes our attitudes towards new media. “Computers will be a sweeping yet invisible part of our everyday lives; we’ll live in them,wear them, even eat them” (Negroponte, 1998, p. 223). This quote from Nicholas Negroponte , a columnist for Wired magazine predicts our future with computers.  The chapter explains that this is more than just his opinion. Quotes like this give insight into our society’s attitude towards technology in our everyday lives. Many people view new media as a crucial part of their lives that can only have positive effects. The power and speed of technology puts many of us in awe at its abilities. I think we need to remind ourselves that the future cannot depend only on technology. How do you think technology will shape our lives in the future? Will be become so accustomed to new media that it becomes a part of ourselves? I think that we need to remind ourselves that technology can have negative effects as well. Existenze and Children of Men are movies showing examples of the negative effects of technology. Here is an article that asks an important question. Can technology lead to a  utopia or dystopia? There are positive and negative aspects of living in a networked world.  I’m not saying that every article or movie criticizing technology is  factual, but they do remind us of one very important truth. Technology will not guarantee happiness or prosperity.

Lister, M., Dovey, J.,Giddings, S., Grant, I., Kelly,K. (2003). New Media: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

the fine line between fact and fiction

“The range of possibilities has widened, we are no longer certain of what his reported in the news, and we are much more likely to allow alternative explanations. It is not so much that we do not believe what we read, see and hear in the news as it is that we are inclined to believe that there is more than what we read, see and hear” (178). This is a very profound quote from the chapter that really highlights one of the biggest problems in today’s media. I believe that this generation is becoming much smarter about questioning the reliability and validity of the information they receive. On a daily basis, we can turn on the television and hear tons of new information. But it makes me wonder: Who can we really trust in the new media to give us accurate information? In most situations, we don’t hear both sides of the story. New media has given the average person various ways to gain information or news from the public. Blackberries, Iphones, websites, and electronic newspapers are a few examples. But with all this new media bursting onto the scene, it makes people begin to ask questions. How can we possibly regulate all of the new information coming out every second of every day? Information is being updated and spread around the world by websites and other forms of media so quickly that it can’t be monitored correctly.

How can be sure we are not being manipulated by the media? I know that there have been instances where our society has been manipulated in order to hide the truth. Many argue that one example of this is the War on Terror.  I know everyone has their own opinions on this controversial topic. But there have been many strong arguments that support the claim that Americans were not given the right facts. If you are interested in this topic, the movie “Outfoxed” is a worthwhile film to see. We have to be aware that there is bias in the media. For example , you can rely soley on Fox news to get your opinions. I think we have to learn to listen to a wide array of opinions and not trust the media completely. Here is a link that has more information about  mass media deception

I don’t mean to focus only on the negative side of the media. I think that it is really great that people can express their opinions openly on the internet. I recently went to see a Loyola panel discussion held by Phil Ponce. It was about the positive and negative aspects of political blogging. I was able to hear the top bloggers in Chicago speak about their opinions. They all agreed that we have to be aware of the line between fact and opinion. This will prevent people from misleading others.  They had similar opinions as Lister about the internet.  It reminded me of a quote in the chapter. The internet “revives  the participatory nature of the idealized public sphere” (177).  The internet provides and arena for people to voice their opinions to people around the world. They can discuss important topics with people they are physically unable to meet. I think the best part of this aspect of the internet is that it gets people talking. Even if something controversial occurs which causes an argument, at least people are discussing it. Here is an interesting article from BBC news  with more information on blogging I think the media has the potential to provide information rich content to the world. However, we always need to think critically about the source of our information.

References:

Lister, M., Dovey, J.,Giddings, S., Grant, I., Kelly,K. (2003). New Media: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

Correcting Wikipedia

For today’s class, I edited a wikipedia page about health. I am really interested in health issues such as dieting and nutrition.  So upon reading about the benefits of exericise, I noticed that one important point was left out. They didn’t mention the benefits of exercise on your hormone levels. I recently used exercise to help me with my own problems with high hormone levels. I blogged about how exercise lowers a damaging hormone called cortisol. I knew alot about this because I was diagnosed with high levels of cortisol a few years ago. I thought this would be one more reason for people to want to exercise if it was included in the article. Here is the link :

cortisol levels

The Facebook Revolution

“At the primary level of our own experience, we know that different forms of computer based communication will reflect how we present ourselves and therefore how we experience ourselves.” This quote from chapter 3 in Lister’s text describes social networking sites and other forms of new media and its impact on our lives. The text discusses the phenomenon of our changing identity. It is not fixed or permanent. Technology gives us the power to alter our identity. I think it is a power we take for granted.
One example is social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace. One topic discussed in our class was the ability to change your image. Every aspect of our profile is made knowing that anyone can see it. This causes us to alter the information to control how others see us. This is very similar to the idea of the Cooley’s “Looking glass self.” We see ourselves in part through the eyes of others. We might even change ourselves to be accepted by our friends. More information on this concept can be found at: http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/DSS/Cooley/COOLWRK.HTML People may view their profile and compare it to their friends. They update their status and photos to show everyone who they are and what they stand for. I know I have done this in my own life. My profile picture is usually a photo of me and my little cousins. I want everyone to know how important family is in my life. I noticed among my little sister’s friends, they alter their profiles to be cool and to impress their friends. They post pictures of them at parties in order to fit in.
Facebook and other sites change how we experience ourselves and the world. It has become a primary means of communication among young people. I constantly write on my friend’s walls so that we can keep in touch. During class we talked about friend requests from people  we haven’t seen in years. Without Facebook, we wouldn’t be able to contact them. I found a website that explored these positive effects: www.facebookEffect.com I wonder how much the use of social networking sites will expand in the future. Will everyone in the world soon have a Facebook account? Is it healthy that this is becoming a primary means of communication? Although I admit I love Facebook, I wonder about its negative effects. An interesting website with more detail on Facebook can be found atwww.thefacebookproject.com
As we discussed in class, social networking sites can be very useful, entertaining, but also very dangerous. We need to be very careful of the image we present on the internet. I learned in “small group communication” that many students lose jobs because of  inappropriate pictures that they post on their profiles. Companies are beginning to search for names to find out more about their possible employers.
This made me wonder how many people are using these sites to lie and deceive. A few years ago, there was a news story about a young girl that was abducted by someone who faked his identity on the internet. The young girl was told that she was talking to another girl her age. When the man convinced her to meet him, she agreed and was later abducted. This made me wonder: Can prevent people from abusing the internet for their own gain? Where the fine line between innocent fun and altering our identity to become  destructive and deceitful?
References:
Lister, M., Dovey, J.,Giddings, S., Grant, I., Kelly,K. (2003). New Media: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

Blog post #3

My blog for this week relates to our third class session to Scott McCloud’s book Understanding Comics. In class I was a member of the debate team that opposed the idea that social networks are new media that have changed our society and culture. We have discussed this question in class. I partially agree and disagree with this statement, but McCloud’s book would have helped my team’s argument. It relates to the idea we discussed that new media is just an addition to older technologies. It is a new way to accomplish the very same task. McCloud’s book helps to prove this point using the example of comics. “However, you might say that before it’s projected, film is just a very, very, very, very slow comic” (McCloud, 1993. p. 8). This claim supports our class discussion over the past few weeks. Film accomplishes the same goal as a comic, only in different ways. It is almost like a very advanced flipbook of images projected on a large screen. It serves some of the same entertainment purposes of a comic strip. Before this class, I never realized how similar old and new technologies are. They all connect with each other. New technology would not exist without the framework of older inventions. I see technology more as an ongoing process, not an unrelated set of inventions.

This book allowed me to see comics in a whole new way. I was never very interested in them before reading it. I also never understood why so many people become addicted to comic books. I began to better understand the popularity of comics because the author allowed me to view them in a new way. “Comics welcome any artist or writer to step into its world, a world as close as a pen or pencil and paper” (McCloud, 1993, p.197). This reminded me of our discussion about Facebook and other social networking websites. They offer the same benefits. When people log on to Facebook, they step into another world. They can become someone they are not by deceiving others with false profile information. They are in a virtual world where they interact with others but are not physically seen. These sites are worlds filled with entertainment where you can meet and talk to anyone. This is similar to the benefits that comic books offer to readers. They read and are immersed in a fantasy world where they live the character’s lives. It is an escape from reality. I believe that this can lead to an obsession with technology and detach us from reality. However, I could be wrong. It seems that we will not know the full negative effects until years from now.

This is a link to an interesting article by Arianna Huffington about new and old media and how they are joining together. I thought this would be a good article because she spoke at Loyola last semester. http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4AR3FM20081128

McCloud, Scott(1993). “Understanding Comics”: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Perennial.

Discussion questions:

1. Is our society taking the fantasy of virtual reality to a dangerous level?

2. Are we living too much of our lives connected to cell phones or lap tops?

3. Do networking sites encourage people to present false images of themselves?

http://www.democracynow.org/2004/7/16/outfoxed_new_documentary_charges_fox_news

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My comment focuses mainly on Lister, because the material was something I really related to in my own life. The chapter discusses mass society and its fear of growing technological changes. People began thinking about the possible negative consequences associated with our new forms of technology. I can understand why the masses had these fears because of my own life experiences. One of these fears is the “erosion of high cultural traditions, those of art and literature (p. 69).” I think technology has affected our use of traditions such as art and literature. For example, the internet enables people to do research for work or school from the comfort of their own home. It has extremely decreased our dependence on library books. I know that I rarely research at the library because of the internet. I surf the web quickly instead of browsing through books. This has prevented me from discovering and enjoying the literature there. Also, I think students are reluctant to see plays or read books because of technology. Movies, videos on the internet, and interactive videogames are all things that take up their time and interest. With these new forms of entertainment, I think old forms are much less popular. Is this technology preventing a younger generation from experiencing the benefits of art and literature?

Another fear is the manipulation of the masses through these forms of technology. This fear greatly relates to today’s society. There are many websites about politics and the media that serve to brainwash the public. These websites and videos were meant to persuade the public to support things such as war, or a particular candidate. Often, the information was incorrect or bias. However, many people were not reluctant to trust these sources. One example is the media’s tactics was during the Bush campaign. The information given by media stations such as Fox News, was seen later as coming from untrustworthy sources. In later elections, will the media leave the public victim to the same manipulation? These situations are a call for younger generations to be smarter about who they believe and what they read or hear. They need to question their sources. How can the public become more informed and educated in order to prevent further manipulation? The movie “Outfoxed” is a good movie to watch if your interested in media manipulation.

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I related to some of the textbook’s points about technology on page 38 which we also discussed in class. First, they relate new technology to old forms of it. It talks about how the public can be manipulated into thinking something is new, when it is not. It is only a new version of an old form of technology. The textbook states that many technological advancements are in the same category as the ones before them. I began thinking of some examples of this in today’s society. For example, the Chicago Sun times has its own website where you can instantly get news online. This is a new version of newspapers. Also, television is just a newer form of radio in many ways. Families used to gather around the radio to be entertained much like televisions today. Ipods are improving every year. Each version is better than the rest; they have color screens and more battery power. This makes me wonder, what will eventually replace podcasts and ipods?

The chapter goes on to discuss that we become so accustomed to technology, that we are desensitized by it. We are so used to media that gives us fast results that we don’t question the effect it has on our lives. We multitask during many parts of our day. I know I am on my cell phone while typing or listening to music. I am so used to it; I often take this technology for granted. I can’t imagine my life without my laptop or ipod. IT makes every life so much easier. However, I never really thought about the negative effects. I read about the negative effects of multitasking on the brain. The link I provided explores how our brains cannot handle the information and technology overload. This brings up some important questions. How will both information and multitasking overload effect our minds in the future? Should more research be done concerning our desire to multitask and its negative effect on our thought processes? The chapter comments that we have a failure to ask these questions. This is because we have become so accustomed to technology,that we forget it can have negative consequences.

here is a link with more info on information overload: http://www.gdrc.org/icts/i-overload/infoload.html

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