The idea of cool is abstract. There can be many thoughts and ideas said to describe it, many actions and reactions to describe it but what is it actually? And what does this cool do for us?
Many philosophers, psychologists, and social theorists are telling us that this idea of coolness is an attempt to hide the emptiness inside of us. Kind of like a band aid (quoting Andy) that is there to act as a protector for our injury but yet cannot keep us from forgetting that it is there.
So I am here now to talk about the source of this sense of meaningless. How we came about with it and how possibly we can get rid of it if we find the initial problem. I have researched and will talk about the Myth of the Fall, of Freud's theories of separation from the mother, and of Becker's theory of the fear of annihilation in death and then make my hypothesis on the sense of meaningless.
So first we must talk about the Myth of the Fall. This is about Adam and Eve and how the original sin was what disconnected us from God and therefore from ourselves. This disconnection from God gives us this sense of meaningless and until we are connected once again with God we will not be able to fill this emptiness. My opinion is that this could indeed be the source for our sense of meaningless because before the original sin we were meaningful in God’s eyes and we were part of him and the universe forever to be immortal. Now that the original sin has taken place we are one for all and able to choose whether we want to be good or bad without it really meaning anything.
This separation from God brings me to my next topic about the separation from our mothers bringing this sense of meaningless. Freud says that when we are babies we do not realize that we are separate beings from our mother. In fact we think that we are one with our mother and that everything in the universe is connected. It is not until we get older or ignored that we realize we are alone and not connected to our mother’s internal being. To me this seems perfectly normal to think about because I have a younger brother who is 7 months old. I don’t think he has yet to realize that everything is separate and everyone is here for themselves. He still has this loving attitude for his mom that is not to be tampered with at any moment. He searches for her and hugs her and kisses her with so much love and innocence that it almost makes this theory have to be true. Children at this age still do not know that we are not here forever and in life as pawns rather than creators.
Finally with this we reach Becker’s theory of annihilation of death. His theory is that we act “cool” and try to ignore the awareness of death that we have. Because we are aware that eventually we will die however we try to do as much as possible and make our lives as meaningful as possible that we in turn create this emptiness inside of us which we continue trying to fill with doing more things. To me this can also be a source for the sense of meaningless we have because people do try to make a difference in the world because they realize eventually that they are going to die and don’t want to go to waste without being remembered or leaving something that will make them be remembered.
My hypothesis is that the source of meaningless we have inside comes from always following the script that we are given and never really having anything special enough in our lives to make us feel as if we are different. For example, our parents are always telling us how we should be and what we should do. We follow what they want us to do because we want their approval and think that that is the only way to get it because it’s what they want. Like we are always waiting for the next cue in life or the next step and we are constantly waiting for someone to tell us what it is. We go from school to college to marriage to parenthood to retirement. There’s nothing important about what we are doing because someone before us has already done it. Knowing this could create this emptiness because we feel as if no matter what we do, it makes no difference in anyone else’s life and eventually when we die that one decision will have not made a difference because we’re gone.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Merchants Of Cool
Advertising in no way can it be banned. There are too many people profiting from it, too many that enjoy it. For younger children though it can be a problem. Seeing how cool advertisements make things can be overwhelming and make you feel like you have to buy whatever it is for adults so how much does this affect children who have weaker self control. My opinion is not that it should be banned but somehow monitored in order to less exploit the minds of children with consumer needs.
Monitoring can be things such as not playing the commercials for toys at all the hours that kids would be watching television. Making the advertisements that are for kids less about being "cool" or having the latest thing but more about the fun that you can have with the toy or whatever it may be. Parents can also find ways to limit the amount of advertisements their kids actually watch by not saying they have to have whatever it is on the tv. If they want whatever it is maybe they should stay quiet and try not to show their children dependency on it.
Monitoring can be things such as not playing the commercials for toys at all the hours that kids would be watching television. Making the advertisements that are for kids less about being "cool" or having the latest thing but more about the fun that you can have with the toy or whatever it may be. Parents can also find ways to limit the amount of advertisements their kids actually watch by not saying they have to have whatever it is on the tv. If they want whatever it is maybe they should stay quiet and try not to show their children dependency on it.
Monday, December 7, 2009
What Others Say About Cool
Adam, Ferrier. "What Makes People Cool." (2008): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009. .
This blog consists of what characteristics it takes to make a person cool. He says that the 5 most important factors to being cool is Self Belief and Confidence, Defying Convention, Understated Achievement, Caring For Others, and Energy and Sociability. He also then goes on to talk about how masculinity is also a cool concept.
Alfred, Thompson. "Cool is not consistent." (2009): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009..
This article basically talks about how cool isn't consistent because people cahnge what they think. It also says that you can never believe what a person says is cool because what they say and what they do may be different things that are or aren't cool.
Peter, Wild. "Alternative Tuning: Being Cool." (2009): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009.
Peter talks about what was cool during certain stages of his life. Like when he was young doing and liking everything that everyone else was doing was cool. Or when he was in his twenties being cool was knowing what others didn't.
"Softlightes." Web. 7 Dec 2009..
I think what this picture says about being cool is that you don't have to conform and live the way other people think you should in order to be cool or make others happy. You should be yourself and not worry about other's perspectives.
"20 Cool Digital Art People." Web. 7 Dec 2009..
This website is basically pictures of celebrities and how cool they are. The photographers made them look cool by incoorporating characteristics like sexy, bling, seductiveness, beauty, people who inspire others, and well known people. I think this just confirms are idea of what we think cool people are.
P.S. While looking this stuff up I found a fb group that's "Awesome People Being Cool". The picture is some old 90's kids. I don't think that's very cool but I thought the group was kind of funny. They're not really cool just because they joined that group.
This blog consists of what characteristics it takes to make a person cool. He says that the 5 most important factors to being cool is Self Belief and Confidence, Defying Convention, Understated Achievement, Caring For Others, and Energy and Sociability. He also then goes on to talk about how masculinity is also a cool concept.
Alfred, Thompson. "Cool is not consistent." (2009): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009.
This article basically talks about how cool isn't consistent because people cahnge what they think. It also says that you can never believe what a person says is cool because what they say and what they do may be different things that are or aren't cool.
Peter, Wild. "Alternative Tuning: Being Cool." (2009): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009.
Peter talks about what was cool during certain stages of his life. Like when he was young doing and liking everything that everyone else was doing was cool. Or when he was in his twenties being cool was knowing what others didn't.
"Softlightes." Web. 7 Dec 2009.
I think what this picture says about being cool is that you don't have to conform and live the way other people think you should in order to be cool or make others happy. You should be yourself and not worry about other's perspectives.
"20 Cool Digital Art People." Web. 7 Dec 2009.
This website is basically pictures of celebrities and how cool they are. The photographers made them look cool by incoorporating characteristics like sexy, bling, seductiveness, beauty, people who inspire others, and well known people. I think this just confirms are idea of what we think cool people are.
P.S. While looking this stuff up I found a fb group that's "Awesome People Being Cool". The picture is some old 90's kids. I don't think that's very cool but I thought the group was kind of funny. They're not really cool just because they joined that group.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Other People Think Too?!
Anthony aka Dat Dude (corner store guy)
Yazmin: How cool are you and why?
Anthony: Very cool because I'm chill humble, and down to earth.
Yazmin: So what's your style like?
Anthony: Urban, affordable, and modern. Very into fashion. I even have my own fashion website.
urbanfashion.com
Yazmin: Do you get numbers usually?
Anthony: I do actually. Before now I have a gf.
Yazmin: Do you think that because of what your wearing is why you get these numbers?
Anthony: Well it's not all about it but yes because apprearance comes first.
Jessica: How much money would a whole outfit of yours be?
Anthony: About $300-$400.
Jessica: Do you feel like yourself even if you weren't wearing these expensive clothes?
Anthony: I'm always going to be me regardless of the clothes.
Jessica: Do you feel like your clothes make you cool?
Anthony: I think my clothes express me not that they make me cool.
Weird Guy
Chloe: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Weird guy: My boyfriend because he's successful and dresses really nice.
Chloe: What's your favorite fashion trend?
Weird guy: Vintage, Civil War stuff, and fur.
Chloe: Why?
Weird guy: Looks nice and it's practical.
My Padre
Yazmin: Whose cooler Coldplay or Obama?
Padre: Coldplay because their music.
Yazmin: What's a typical cool outfit for you?
Padre: Jacket, jeans, and dressy shirt. With some casual shoes.
Yazmin: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Padre: Bono from U2. All the humanitary services he does and his music is an inspiration.
Yazmin: What do you think being cool is?
Padre: Someone you can get along with, easy going, funny, and who has charisma.
Yazmin: Do you think your cool and why?
Padre: Yes because my daughter thinks I'm cool. = D
Mother May I
Yazmin: Whose cooler Barack or Oprah?
Mother: Obama because he changed history with being the first Black man elected president so obviously the public sees him as cool.
Yazmin: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Mother: Madonna because she as a woman growing up in the era she did, did anything she wanted and broke so may barriers for women. And never let what anyone said bring her down or stop her from what she wanted to accomplish.
Yazmin: What's a cool outfit for you?
Mother: Jeans, nice boots, nice top, and jewelery.
Yazmin: Do you think the clothes you wear attracts people to you?
Mother: Most definitely. How you dress is what you attract.
Yazmin: Do you think your cool? And why?
Mother: No I know I'm cool. Because being cool is a state of mind and that's the state my mind is in.
Yazmin: How cool are you and why?
Anthony: Very cool because I'm chill humble, and down to earth.
Yazmin: So what's your style like?
Anthony: Urban, affordable, and modern. Very into fashion. I even have my own fashion website.
urbanfashion.com
Yazmin: Do you get numbers usually?
Anthony: I do actually. Before now I have a gf.
Yazmin: Do you think that because of what your wearing is why you get these numbers?
Anthony: Well it's not all about it but yes because apprearance comes first.
Jessica: How much money would a whole outfit of yours be?
Anthony: About $300-$400.
Jessica: Do you feel like yourself even if you weren't wearing these expensive clothes?
Anthony: I'm always going to be me regardless of the clothes.
Jessica: Do you feel like your clothes make you cool?
Anthony: I think my clothes express me not that they make me cool.
Weird Guy
Chloe: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Weird guy: My boyfriend because he's successful and dresses really nice.
Chloe: What's your favorite fashion trend?
Weird guy: Vintage, Civil War stuff, and fur.
Chloe: Why?
Weird guy: Looks nice and it's practical.
My Padre
Yazmin: Whose cooler Coldplay or Obama?
Padre: Coldplay because their music.
Yazmin: What's a typical cool outfit for you?
Padre: Jacket, jeans, and dressy shirt. With some casual shoes.
Yazmin: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Padre: Bono from U2. All the humanitary services he does and his music is an inspiration.
Yazmin: What do you think being cool is?
Padre: Someone you can get along with, easy going, funny, and who has charisma.
Yazmin: Do you think your cool and why?
Padre: Yes because my daughter thinks I'm cool. = D
Mother May I
Yazmin: Whose cooler Barack or Oprah?
Mother: Obama because he changed history with being the first Black man elected president so obviously the public sees him as cool.
Yazmin: Whose the coolest person you know and why?
Mother: Madonna because she as a woman growing up in the era she did, did anything she wanted and broke so may barriers for women. And never let what anyone said bring her down or stop her from what she wanted to accomplish.
Yazmin: What's a cool outfit for you?
Mother: Jeans, nice boots, nice top, and jewelery.
Yazmin: Do you think the clothes you wear attracts people to you?
Mother: Most definitely. How you dress is what you attract.
Yazmin: Do you think your cool? And why?
Mother: No I know I'm cool. Because being cool is a state of mind and that's the state my mind is in.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
I admire your style babyyy
KayKay
1. What inspires your style?
My style is inspired by my personal interest. I like what I like and know what matches and doesn’t. Sometimes I mix and match but my style is just a stem of my personality and what looks good on me.
2. Do you follow the latest trends and styles?
Certain styles or trends I like and use as my direction for some outfits but not for my entire wardrobe.
3. Do your friends dress the same as you?
We have similar interests in clothing choices but we don’t all look the same.
4. Do you think the way you dress makes you cool?
I think my personality and confidence in what I dress in makes me cool; but my clothing itself, not so much.
Nisie Digital Bitch
1. What inspires your style?
Everyone. I observe people's stlyes and if I like it, i'll add it to my own and switch it up a little. That's just the way I am. I think what really inpires it is everyone that looks alike. I like to be different at times.
2. Do your friends dress like you?
Well that's an obvious question. I dress way different from the "typical" girl. I do not wear my jean fit it tight up to my waist and my shirt fitting my curves. I like them loose, thank you very much but with guys and girls that do dress like me, I dress a little different. They like to rock common name brands, H&M, Gucci, Prada, Polo, etc. They would have a serious problem going into payless to buy some shoes. For me? If they looking right and fly ima buy.
3. Do you think dressing the way you do makes you seem cool?
Hell yeah but I don't dress to be cool. I dress to dress. In someone elses eyes I may not seem cool cause I might not be wearing the top name brands but in someones else's, I can be cool ass hell.
4. What do you think other's think of you when they see you?
That my style is unversal and I'm cool. That's the responses I get.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Telling People My Thoughts
Yoyoyoyoyoyo Jacaraaaa
Your story to me seems to say that it's cool to be polite to some people but then rude again. I don't know if this is what your trying to portray but this is what I got. I thought that your character was kind of rude which is not like my character who is actually a good person. I did like the beginning where she was nice to the elderly lady rather than taking the seat.
Maxie Pad (I haven't called you that in forever)
I like how you used piercing as the plot of your story. Right now there's a lot of that going on and I enjoy how you make a point to embarrass the person that thinks they're "cool". I think your story is about kids who think it's cool to be bad and such and I like how your calling them out. Good job!
Honey bunch, sugar plum, pumpyumpyunkin...
I like how you start with a fake representation (according to me) of cool and then continue on to an actually cool person (again according to me). Your story enlightens me (= D). I think that this should be how everyone is in real life because well rounded people are better than ones who think they're "cool".
Hi hero,
I liked how you pointed out that this was not your idea of cool because if it was I don't think you would be able to be my hero anymore. I enjoy your story line and the anticipation it built to get to the result. Your story is what most people think is cool I suppose because I know a lot of people that would do that.
Sam
I enjoyed the simplicity of your story and how it ended so nicely and simple. Your protaganist is the perfect example of what people think it's like too be cool.
In all the stories I kind of noticed that people had not really the same idea of being cool but they did have some similiarities. Kind of like it's cool to be a social and to want to be like everyone else. Like for Sam's story the protaginist changes himself to fit in with everyone else. Or in Jessica and Maxi's story the protaginists are social and like to be noticed. I think that this fits in to the characteristics of being cool.
I also noticed some differences like the fact that even though the protaginist in everyone's story have similarities they also have their own kind of personality. Like Sam's protaginist conforms while Jessica's chooses to instead turn away from friends and focus on herself instead. I think this is because everyone thinks different things about what it is to be cool. Which makes you think then that there can be no real "cool" person because even if one person thinks they are cool another can disagree.
Your story to me seems to say that it's cool to be polite to some people but then rude again. I don't know if this is what your trying to portray but this is what I got. I thought that your character was kind of rude which is not like my character who is actually a good person. I did like the beginning where she was nice to the elderly lady rather than taking the seat.
Maxie Pad (I haven't called you that in forever)
I like how you used piercing as the plot of your story. Right now there's a lot of that going on and I enjoy how you make a point to embarrass the person that thinks they're "cool". I think your story is about kids who think it's cool to be bad and such and I like how your calling them out. Good job!
Honey bunch, sugar plum, pumpyumpyunkin...
I like how you start with a fake representation (according to me) of cool and then continue on to an actually cool person (again according to me). Your story enlightens me (= D). I think that this should be how everyone is in real life because well rounded people are better than ones who think they're "cool".
Hi hero,
I liked how you pointed out that this was not your idea of cool because if it was I don't think you would be able to be my hero anymore. I enjoy your story line and the anticipation it built to get to the result. Your story is what most people think is cool I suppose because I know a lot of people that would do that.
Sam
I enjoyed the simplicity of your story and how it ended so nicely and simple. Your protaganist is the perfect example of what people think it's like too be cool.
In all the stories I kind of noticed that people had not really the same idea of being cool but they did have some similiarities. Kind of like it's cool to be a social and to want to be like everyone else. Like for Sam's story the protaginist changes himself to fit in with everyone else. Or in Jessica and Maxi's story the protaginists are social and like to be noticed. I think that this fits in to the characteristics of being cool.
I also noticed some differences like the fact that even though the protaginist in everyone's story have similarities they also have their own kind of personality. Like Sam's protaginist conforms while Jessica's chooses to instead turn away from friends and focus on herself instead. I think this is because everyone thinks different things about what it is to be cool. Which makes you think then that there can be no real "cool" person because even if one person thinks they are cool another can disagree.
OMG You're So Cool
She's hot. There's no denying it. Everything about her makes you want to die of jealousy. She has the best choice in clothes and shoes. Her looks are breathtaking. Her voice amazing. And she's not just one of those people who know they're hot and treat others like less than them. She actually helps her community, does petitions for things she believes in, is in all of the clubs you can possibly think of, and on top of that is a straight A student. She's the picture perfect daughter, an unbelievable role model to her younger siblings, and can pose on Playboy and still look angelic and perfect. She's everything I want to be and yet nothing I can be.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I'm The BOMB, I'm The BOMB, Uh Huhhhh
So what is being cool? Is it wearing nice clothes, or partying til the break of dawn? Is it doing all your homework or being nice to others? What makes others think that a person is cool? What do "cool" people think of being cool? Do they know they are cool? Do they care? Do some people take being cool too far? I think the concept of cool is very vague and undefined. There can be no clear definition because everyone has a different opinion on what cool can be.
Now there is a whole lot of "Oh I don't care what people think of me, I am who I am blah blah" nonsense and I think with some people this may be true to a certain extent but after a while you do begin to care about what people may think or say or do towards you. It's a normal feeling to not want to be an outcast. Though trying to be cool should not change who you are entirely.
I think being cool is also about having certain masks on when different people are around. A straight A student may be a jokester in class but gets all their homework done and does great in class. You wouldn't know because they act like someone different when they are in another kind of environment in this case school. If you can go through wearing a mask and being who everyone wants you to be at certain times then that may define you as cool to some people's standards. Either way it's not who you really are.
P.S. I don't think I'm going to like this unit.
Now there is a whole lot of "Oh I don't care what people think of me, I am who I am blah blah" nonsense and I think with some people this may be true to a certain extent but after a while you do begin to care about what people may think or say or do towards you. It's a normal feeling to not want to be an outcast. Though trying to be cool should not change who you are entirely.
I think being cool is also about having certain masks on when different people are around. A straight A student may be a jokester in class but gets all their homework done and does great in class. You wouldn't know because they act like someone different when they are in another kind of environment in this case school. If you can go through wearing a mask and being who everyone wants you to be at certain times then that may define you as cool to some people's standards. Either way it's not who you really are.
P.S. I don't think I'm going to like this unit.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The World As We Know It (Please let this be the final)
THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
Argument 1:
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality.
All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed.
Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world.
Argument 2:
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics.
I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. From such a young age we are teaching children how exciting new electronics are and how much we need them. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. Things like this affect his development whether we believe it or not. When he gets older and starts to understand what they are we’re going to have even more of a problem trying to get him away from these devices. This has to be true with a lot of American children. I know and I was one of a lot of children I know that got their first cellphones before hitting double digits. Why do we need cellphones at such a young age?
This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Here is an example of companies doing this. Verizon is coming out with their own version of the iphone and just by the advertisement being this interesting I’m sure tons of people are going to go out and buy it. Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec
The commercial is set to make people think that other phones don’t do everything that the “Droid” (name of their phone) does. But in reality who really needs all those things on their phone. We have computers for a reason. People however don’t think about this. They think they need to get this phone because the commercial showed them how much better this phone is then the one they have.
Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in every time they come out with something new. We buy it and then advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. Companies know this so they play off of that.
Argument 3:
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder.
When you think about future generations, at least personally I do not want to think about them with chips in the backs of their heads walking around knowing everything. I’d like to think that they will have at least a little bit of independence in them from electronics. I don’t know whether this is realistic though. Here’s an article I found where the author talks about how dependent we are:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_205232.html
She describes how it started and even gives a brief about how it might be. But she admits that she’s dependent and needs the technology.
If people of right now need it then just imagine those coming. Here’s a book called “The Engineer of 2020” by National Academy of Engineering. They discuss in this book how the world will be in 2020 with technology. Here are the attributes just to give you a summary:
-The pace of technological innovation will continue to be rapid (most likely accelerating).
-The world in which technology will be deployed will be intensely globally interconnected.
-The population of individuals who are involved with or affected by technology (e.g., designers, manufacturers, distributors, users) will be increasingly diverse and multidisciplinary.
-Social, cultural, political, and economic forces will continue to shape and affect the success of technological innovation.
-The presence of technology in our everyday lives will be seamless, transparent, and more significant than ever.
This is the summary of the book and it’s contents. Now I didn’t read the whole book but I skimmed through it and they are saying that the engineers are going to be the same but made more complex because of the impact technology will have.
I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for future generations and how they will be with technology. Hopefully we can save the next couple of generations from technology frenzy by just rearranging out priorities with digital electronics.
Alternatives:
Now there are also those that say technology is the best thing that could have happened to us. It helps us develop our minds and the world. It’s a gift to communication between people. Without it we’d be lost. Things along that line. This website I found tells us the “9 rules for GOOD technology” (whatever that means):
http://www.masternewmedia.org/2004/04/04/nine_rules_for_good_technology.htm
They put things in our head to justify the way we use technology and maybe if we use
them like this we will be ok.
Conclusion:
Now that we have seen some evidence towards are questions why are we so addicted,
who did it to us, and what will it be like for the people to come we can make the
conclusion of whether or not technology is bad for us. This paper probably sounds bias saying that technology is bad for you but I don’t think it really is. I don’t think you need to cut digital things from your life just moderate how you use them or what you impose on others.
Works Cited
-“Feed” by M.T. Anderson
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec
-http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_205232.html
-“The Engineer of 2020” by National Academy of Engineering
-http://www.masternewmedia.org/2004/04/04/nine_rules_for_good_technology.htm
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
Argument 1:
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality.
All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed.
Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world.
Argument 2:
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics.
I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. From such a young age we are teaching children how exciting new electronics are and how much we need them. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. Things like this affect his development whether we believe it or not. When he gets older and starts to understand what they are we’re going to have even more of a problem trying to get him away from these devices. This has to be true with a lot of American children. I know and I was one of a lot of children I know that got their first cellphones before hitting double digits. Why do we need cellphones at such a young age?
This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Here is an example of companies doing this. Verizon is coming out with their own version of the iphone and just by the advertisement being this interesting I’m sure tons of people are going to go out and buy it. Here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec
The commercial is set to make people think that other phones don’t do everything that the “Droid” (name of their phone) does. But in reality who really needs all those things on their phone. We have computers for a reason. People however don’t think about this. They think they need to get this phone because the commercial showed them how much better this phone is then the one they have.
Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in every time they come out with something new. We buy it and then advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. Companies know this so they play off of that.
Argument 3:
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder.
When you think about future generations, at least personally I do not want to think about them with chips in the backs of their heads walking around knowing everything. I’d like to think that they will have at least a little bit of independence in them from electronics. I don’t know whether this is realistic though. Here’s an article I found where the author talks about how dependent we are:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_205232.html
She describes how it started and even gives a brief about how it might be. But she admits that she’s dependent and needs the technology.
If people of right now need it then just imagine those coming. Here’s a book called “The Engineer of 2020” by National Academy of Engineering. They discuss in this book how the world will be in 2020 with technology. Here are the attributes just to give you a summary:
-The pace of technological innovation will continue to be rapid (most likely accelerating).
-The world in which technology will be deployed will be intensely globally interconnected.
-The population of individuals who are involved with or affected by technology (e.g., designers, manufacturers, distributors, users) will be increasingly diverse and multidisciplinary.
-Social, cultural, political, and economic forces will continue to shape and affect the success of technological innovation.
-The presence of technology in our everyday lives will be seamless, transparent, and more significant than ever.
This is the summary of the book and it’s contents. Now I didn’t read the whole book but I skimmed through it and they are saying that the engineers are going to be the same but made more complex because of the impact technology will have.
I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for future generations and how they will be with technology. Hopefully we can save the next couple of generations from technology frenzy by just rearranging out priorities with digital electronics.
Alternatives:
Now there are also those that say technology is the best thing that could have happened to us. It helps us develop our minds and the world. It’s a gift to communication between people. Without it we’d be lost. Things along that line. This website I found tells us the “9 rules for GOOD technology” (whatever that means):
http://www.masternewmedia.org/2004/04/04/nine_rules_for_good_technology.htm
They put things in our head to justify the way we use technology and maybe if we use
them like this we will be ok.
Conclusion:
Now that we have seen some evidence towards are questions why are we so addicted,
who did it to us, and what will it be like for the people to come we can make the
conclusion of whether or not technology is bad for us. This paper probably sounds bias saying that technology is bad for you but I don’t think it really is. I don’t think you need to cut digital things from your life just moderate how you use them or what you impose on others.
Works Cited
-“Feed” by M.T. Anderson
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYM-XTqcec
-http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_205232.html
-“The Engineer of 2020” by National Academy of Engineering
-http://www.masternewmedia.org/2004/04/04/nine_rules_for_good_technology.htm
The World As We Know It (Revised with captions)
THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
Argument 1:
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality.
All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed.
Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughtout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world. To be continued...
Argument 2:
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics.
I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves.
This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine.
Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in everytime they come out with something new. We buy it and than advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. To be continued...
Argument 3:
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
Works Cited
-Feed by M.T. Anderson (so far)
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
Argument 1:
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality.
All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed.
Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughtout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world. To be continued...
Argument 2:
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics.
I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves.
This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine.
Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in everytime they come out with something new. We buy it and than advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. To be continued...
Argument 3:
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
Works Cited
-Feed by M.T. Anderson (so far)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
And Then Fix Your Rough Draft Cuz It's Ugly
Hey Chloe,
Your rough draft is very well written and you show a lot of strong points. I enjoy reading what you think about digitalization and it's affect on our community. I see a lot of strong examples in your paper and I like this. It seems to me your ideas broadened a whole lot within a couple of days. What I do think you should take a second look at is maybe talk about the alternative point of view to the situation such as keeping in touch with friends and family or how digitalization is helping technology grow therefore helping people. Other than that I think your paper is headed in a really good direction and I can't wait to read the final product : )
Hi Conor,
First of thanks for completing your rough draft. I think your thesis is clear and direct. I see your evidence and I know where your getting at but I think in the final paper you are going to need to expand a whole lot more. Using specific quotes may help. My other suggestion would be to communicate it back to what concerns you about our world feeding into this digital frenzy. Again I see where your going with your arguements but I think I need to see some more connecting it back to the world. You should also try analyzing your arguments a little more. Maybe seeking alternatives or sources that support your idea might help. That's all I can say. I'm out
Your rough draft is very well written and you show a lot of strong points. I enjoy reading what you think about digitalization and it's affect on our community. I see a lot of strong examples in your paper and I like this. It seems to me your ideas broadened a whole lot within a couple of days. What I do think you should take a second look at is maybe talk about the alternative point of view to the situation such as keeping in touch with friends and family or how digitalization is helping technology grow therefore helping people. Other than that I think your paper is headed in a really good direction and I can't wait to read the final product : )
Hi Conor,
First of thanks for completing your rough draft. I think your thesis is clear and direct. I see your evidence and I know where your getting at but I think in the final paper you are going to need to expand a whole lot more. Using specific quotes may help. My other suggestion would be to communicate it back to what concerns you about our world feeding into this digital frenzy. Again I see where your going with your arguements but I think I need to see some more connecting it back to the world. You should also try analyzing your arguments a little more. Maybe seeking alternatives or sources that support your idea might help. That's all I can say. I'm out
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The World As We Know It (Rough Draft)
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality. All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed. Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughtout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world. To be continued...
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics. I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in everytime they come out with something new. We buy it and than advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. To be continued...
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality. All of these are good topics to touch on. In the book Feed all of these topics are looked at. Such as boredom. Whenever the kids get bored they start watching stuff on their feed. Or with social status or awkwardness, Violet confesses to Titus that her parents never had feeds when they were younger and how people use to make them feel less of what they really were because they didn't have feeds. They got Violet a feed because they didn't want her to go through the hardships they went through without the feed. The kids being accustomed to the feed is shown when they disconnect them from the feed after the old guy causes them to malfunction. They are so used to it they don't know what to do when they don't have it. And when their friend Loga comes to visit and she still has it they all crowd around her, jealous that she still has her feed. Social acceptance is kind of how Violet's parents get her a feed so that she is not made fun of in school or looked at differently than the rest of the kids. They give into the "feed". The economical status part is when we find out in the book that Violet couldn't afford a feed for a long time. So it shows us that there are still poor people in this world that can't afford the feed. If you do have the feed your obviously up in the financial class and your looked at differently than someone who isn't. The feed is also an escape from reality and they show us that all throughtout the book. Like when Titus is upset and he just starts playing games on the feed to get away from thinking. Or when they are in the hospital and Loga is describing what's happening in that teen soap opera show and they are all so into it. Even the guys who usually don't watch it. They become so involved in the feed world that they don't even focus on what's going on in the real world. To be continued...
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics. I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. We continue to give in everytime they come out with something new. We buy it and than advertise it to our friends and family without ever really thinking about if it's really worth what we spent. We let ourselves be fooled by how good it looks on tv or how "cool" we would look if we had it. To be continued...
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Fix Your Outline NOW
Hey Conor,
I think that the way your outline was made is extremely clear and interesting. It makes me want to read more about what you wrote and think deeper of our thesis. The only suggestion I have is to maybe write a little more professional just in case Andy gives a shit. Other than that I think you on good track. I'll be back to your page soon.
Peace out homie g
My little Asian beauty,
I like the ideas your choosing to analyze in your essay. I like how you used different sources and did not just make up everything you said. I'm going to do this for my paper now because it makes it more professional. Another thing I like about your outline is the way you use real life examples such as yourself playing video games or me texting. It helps connect the reader to your paper. I feel like you should concentrate more on how Feed can be connected to your paper (which your probably going to do). Other than that I think it's a good start and I look forward to reading more.
P.S. Your right next to me = D Ily <3
I think that the way your outline was made is extremely clear and interesting. It makes me want to read more about what you wrote and think deeper of our thesis. The only suggestion I have is to maybe write a little more professional just in case Andy gives a shit. Other than that I think you on good track. I'll be back to your page soon.
Peace out homie g
My little Asian beauty,
I like the ideas your choosing to analyze in your essay. I like how you used different sources and did not just make up everything you said. I'm going to do this for my paper now because it makes it more professional. Another thing I like about your outline is the way you use real life examples such as yourself playing video games or me texting. It helps connect the reader to your paper. I feel like you should concentrate more on how Feed can be connected to your paper (which your probably going to do). Other than that I think it's a good start and I look forward to reading more.
P.S. Your right next to me = D Ily <3
The World As We Know It (Outline)
Cellphones, computers, televisions, and ipods are a big part of our lives. Whether we want to admit or not most of us are addicted to some sort of digital stimulation. Now the real questions are why are we so addicted, who made us this way, and what will it be like for future generations. Throughout this paper we will be looking at evidence to try to gain some insight to these questions.
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality. All of these are good topics to touch on. To be continued...
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics. I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. To be continued...
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
On the train we see people constantly using their ipods. While they are walking down the street, they're texting. When kids get home from school, they turn on the tv to see what's on. People are constantly checking their facebook pages and emails. It's a non stop world of digital interaction out there and people have come to really depend on it. Although I have tried to figure out why we are so addicted before I still don't have every possible reason I think. I have talked about boredom, social status or awkwardness, and even being accustomed. But there might still be possibilities out there such as social acceptance, to show economical status, an escape from reality. All of these are good topics to touch on. To be continued...
Now we can't blame being dependent on anyone really. No one put a gun to our head and said use this cellphone until your brain explodes. But maybe there are people that we should point the finger at. Such as our parents. My parents are always complaining about how much I'm on my cellphone but at the same time they pay for my bill and allow me to use it so what's the problem. Or how they say that we rarely spend any quality time together but when we are together the tv is on. Little things like this affect what I'm going to do with electronics. I think we also put the electronics too much in little kid's faces. For example, my 5 month old brother LOVES cellphones. I don't think he understands what they are but he likes the light and sounds it makes. My family encourages him playing with it by buying him a play phone or flashing their phone in front of him. We also just recently opened his walker and it has a play ipod on it that plays nursery rhymes which he loves. This leads me to my next people I want to blame, the industries that make these things. They push and push their supplies until we fall into their traps. They make us think that the ipod that just came out is better than the one we have even though it works perfectly fine. Last of all, I want to blame ourselves. To be continued...
For the future (if there is one past 2012) what do you think the electronics are going to be like? How much more dependent are we going to be? Will the computers ever crash like they were once suppose to or will robots soon dominate our world? These are all good questions to think about and ponder. To be continued...
Monday, October 26, 2009
Feeding You Numero 2
When talking about Feed you can either look at it in 2 ways. It can be seen as a mirror image of society because it's showing us what we look like in reality. It can slso be a hammmer because it is showing us in an exagerated form (at least I think) what our society is like therefore we may want to change it. Either way you look at it your bound to be write because both points of views can be given evidence from the book to show the perspective. I think that it's a both of them mixed together. Tobin might have been trying to create a mirror/hammer where the reader might want to use the hammer to crack the mirror (I hope you get what I mean).
So first let's talk about how you can see Feed as a mirror. The fact that the book is written about the generation of now is one example. I also think that the way he uses certain language can show how the Feed is about society now. The Feed can be a hammer because even though it is hitting a lot of major points that's wrong with our generations, I also think it was a bit exagerated such as the "feed" being part of their brain (although I do get the allegory saying that we are never to far from technology). This to me is some of the reasons why Feed could be both a mirror and a hammer.
Now the question is can a mirror be a hammer and I think the answer is yes. Feed showed me personally a lot of things about the way our world works nowadays such as detachment from human emotions electronics give us. I know people that can have heart to heart through texting. That to me is you still hiding behind an electronic to cover up emotions. Mirror images such as Titus ignoring Violet when she was malfunctioning compare to me ignoring my friend's text about her pathetic love life in order to not deal with it. These images however give me an insight about our society and where it's headed. Which makes me want to change the way I use or how much technology I use. Therefore making it a hammer by shaping the way I think about the book and electronic devices.
I would want my art to be a mirror and a hammer. I think this way it shows people and can also help them or make them realize some things about life or whatever it is my art may be about.
P.S.I really enjoyed the book Andy. = D
So first let's talk about how you can see Feed as a mirror. The fact that the book is written about the generation of now is one example. I also think that the way he uses certain language can show how the Feed is about society now. The Feed can be a hammer because even though it is hitting a lot of major points that's wrong with our generations, I also think it was a bit exagerated such as the "feed" being part of their brain (although I do get the allegory saying that we are never to far from technology). This to me is some of the reasons why Feed could be both a mirror and a hammer.
Now the question is can a mirror be a hammer and I think the answer is yes. Feed showed me personally a lot of things about the way our world works nowadays such as detachment from human emotions electronics give us. I know people that can have heart to heart through texting. That to me is you still hiding behind an electronic to cover up emotions. Mirror images such as Titus ignoring Violet when she was malfunctioning compare to me ignoring my friend's text about her pathetic love life in order to not deal with it. These images however give me an insight about our society and where it's headed. Which makes me want to change the way I use or how much technology I use. Therefore making it a hammer by shaping the way I think about the book and electronic devices.
I would want my art to be a mirror and a hammer. I think this way it shows people and can also help them or make them realize some things about life or whatever it is my art may be about.
P.S.I really enjoyed the book Andy. = D
Feed Me Numero 1
Do you act like the kids in Feed?
The book was based on teenagers and how much they use electronics in their everyday lives. How kids nowadays are constantly connected to the cyber world. I think this was an allegory of how people all over the world now act. It wasn't just kids that were constantly connected to the cyber world. It was also adults that had the "feed". The book described us as arrogant, self-absorbed, stubborn, and detached human beings. In some cases I think we do seem like that in a sense. We hide behind our phones and ipods from people and the world outside of the computer. Everyone is connected to this 24/7 access to the whole world and fashion and gossip. This is just how it is for us. We hear all the gossip or new trends from the tv or computer. We like to be "up to date" with what's going on. Kids then become so obsessed with things like this that they stop caring about the important things like the environment.
I also think by making Titus seem like such a jerk the author did a good job at showing how kids are so robotic with certain things like feelings. We don't know how to react to certain actions or problems so we run away from them. He ignored Violet when she was going through a crisis and even lied about her memories. It seems so realistic though because even I will admit to having ignored someone's text message and than lying about receiving it. We block off people and than blame it on electronics. I also can compare to Quendy following the "lesion" trend. Sometimes there are outrageous trends that people come up with and everyone follows it to stay "hip" and fit in. But even when she pays someone to cut her up she still doesn't get what she wants. i think this would be an allegory of how far we are willing to go in order to get something we want.
Showing that the adults also have feeds is an allegory of how everyone is dependent on technology. Even the old people that say the younger generation are too dependent don't notice that they use it as well. The language that the adults use is also an allegory of how they are conforming into teenagers. By using our words and iming each other. Another allegory that the adults show is how ignorant the father was about how important trees are to the world. He completely shutted out the idea of trees being important. I think this whole book is an allegory of our world.
The book was based on teenagers and how much they use electronics in their everyday lives. How kids nowadays are constantly connected to the cyber world. I think this was an allegory of how people all over the world now act. It wasn't just kids that were constantly connected to the cyber world. It was also adults that had the "feed". The book described us as arrogant, self-absorbed, stubborn, and detached human beings. In some cases I think we do seem like that in a sense. We hide behind our phones and ipods from people and the world outside of the computer. Everyone is connected to this 24/7 access to the whole world and fashion and gossip. This is just how it is for us. We hear all the gossip or new trends from the tv or computer. We like to be "up to date" with what's going on. Kids then become so obsessed with things like this that they stop caring about the important things like the environment.
I also think by making Titus seem like such a jerk the author did a good job at showing how kids are so robotic with certain things like feelings. We don't know how to react to certain actions or problems so we run away from them. He ignored Violet when she was going through a crisis and even lied about her memories. It seems so realistic though because even I will admit to having ignored someone's text message and than lying about receiving it. We block off people and than blame it on electronics. I also can compare to Quendy following the "lesion" trend. Sometimes there are outrageous trends that people come up with and everyone follows it to stay "hip" and fit in. But even when she pays someone to cut her up she still doesn't get what she wants. i think this would be an allegory of how far we are willing to go in order to get something we want.
Showing that the adults also have feeds is an allegory of how everyone is dependent on technology. Even the old people that say the younger generation are too dependent don't notice that they use it as well. The language that the adults use is also an allegory of how they are conforming into teenagers. By using our words and iming each other. Another allegory that the adults show is how ignorant the father was about how important trees are to the world. He completely shutted out the idea of trees being important. I think this whole book is an allegory of our world.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Read or listen to music??!! This may be a life-threatening decision people..
So for my expirement I decided to try and choosing between reading and music instead of doing both. So for example when I'm on the train I have my headphones in but I'm reading. I pay attention to the book more than the ipod but at the same time it's more digital stimulation than I need. So I decided that I would do only one at a time. This made it both awkward and better for me. It was better in the sense that I remembered more things from the book and I didn't pause to listen to a certain part of the song while reading. This was also good because instead of just skipping parts in the book I didn't understand I now decided to go back and reread it to understand. It was more awkward because when I picked my ipod over the book, I found myself looking at people on the train. Or trying to entertain myself by reading the signs which didn't really work. This expirement in the end, ended up being less painful than I would have thought. This is kind of an awkward post so I'll stop while I'm ahead.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Hey you, yeah you (Respond to comments)
CHLOEEEEE
Rawrrrrr
I had to start the comment like that for some reason. Anyways, thanks Chloe for taking the time out of your day to comment and have the comment actually be wroth something. The fact that it all didn't fit into one comment thingy shows that you really took your time and thought about what you would write. Thanks again for this. Your comment was thoughtful and helpful.
Thank you for helping me develop my writing. I'll admit that I didn't really try on the writing because I was trying to do it fast but thanks for reading it anyways. You asking me all those questions really got me thinking about how I could have furthered my writing. It also made me think about the future for my siblings with all the use of their digital stimulation. I wouldn't want them to zone out the way I do or maybe even not be able to communicate socially because they are too dependent on electronics. I do agree with you about my brother focusing on the tv at such a young age. Even though he doesn't know what it is he enjoys watching it for short periods of time and by sitting him in front of the tv we are encouraging it. I'm going to try to get him out of that habit at least while I'm at home because my parents don't see it being a problem.
I see that we both are addicted to digital stimulation. You, more so the passive digital interaction rather than me with interactive digital stimulation. Both however tend to distract us from the more important things that need to be taken care of.
So I see that we are both wondering about our (I'm going to use your word) digital pacifier. I can see how it can be a comfort to you because I feel the same way but I'm not sure why we feel like this. Or why anyone in general feels the need for digital stimulation. It seems to me it's just because we are so accustomed to it.
So peace out honey bunches of oats. Thanks again for doing your work. It's greatly appreciated.
Rawrrrrr
I had to start the comment like that for some reason. Anyways, thanks Chloe for taking the time out of your day to comment and have the comment actually be wroth something. The fact that it all didn't fit into one comment thingy shows that you really took your time and thought about what you would write. Thanks again for this. Your comment was thoughtful and helpful.
Thank you for helping me develop my writing. I'll admit that I didn't really try on the writing because I was trying to do it fast but thanks for reading it anyways. You asking me all those questions really got me thinking about how I could have furthered my writing. It also made me think about the future for my siblings with all the use of their digital stimulation. I wouldn't want them to zone out the way I do or maybe even not be able to communicate socially because they are too dependent on electronics. I do agree with you about my brother focusing on the tv at such a young age. Even though he doesn't know what it is he enjoys watching it for short periods of time and by sitting him in front of the tv we are encouraging it. I'm going to try to get him out of that habit at least while I'm at home because my parents don't see it being a problem.
I see that we both are addicted to digital stimulation. You, more so the passive digital interaction rather than me with interactive digital stimulation. Both however tend to distract us from the more important things that need to be taken care of.
So I see that we are both wondering about our (I'm going to use your word) digital pacifier. I can see how it can be a comfort to you because I feel the same way but I'm not sure why we feel like this. Or why anyone in general feels the need for digital stimulation. It seems to me it's just because we are so accustomed to it.
So peace out honey bunches of oats. Thanks again for doing your work. It's greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
These are my obsessions
Untitled from jenise l on Vimeo.
While watching my video Jenise pointed out that I started with texting and ended with texting. I find that texting takes up most of my day so this is a good way to represent that. I also realized how little I watch tv in reality. Tv bores me and when I do watch it only these little cartoons capture my attention. While it's true that I have a small attention span I still find it interesting that this is the least of my digital stimulation. I also saw how into the telephone I really was. All my attention goes into what I'm texting about and I notice so little about my surroundings. I even admit that when I didn't hear my mother telling me the food was hot because I was so into my text message. This strikes me as amazing because i never realized this before. With the computer my attention seems to waver and I can focus on 2 things at once when I'm checking my mail and such but when I got on facebook you could see the change in my face as I focused only on that.
I see that my little sister is like me in the ways of being addicted to digital stimulation. She's a very outgoing child however, so I don't really think this messes with her socially but in fact makes her more incline to go out because she makes plans with her friends. I do think that we both spend a lot more time than we should with digital stimulation. For example, me with texting and her with AIM but at this point what can we really do.
Your video blew my mind = D
My loverly Chloe,
Hey honey. Just want to start off by saying how much I enjoyed your video. I thought that they by having someone else film you it shows how you really look in other people's eyes. I love that you include your boyfriend playing video games and how you have to wait for him. I see by the computer screen that while you waited for him you were also spending time on facebook. Nonetheless your video was good and I appreciate that you had it up by the time you were suppose to. (Sorry for the delay in mine).
So by the look of your video and sound of the follow up answers I see that while making this video you noticed how digital stimulation is a safe zone away from human interaction for you. For example, train with an ipod in. I think most of America is like this as well and we don't realize it. I also like how you acknowledged that all these things you use on a daily basis and aren't willing to change.
You blocking yourself out from human interaction is similar to what I do when I'm on my ipod or going on facebook to get away from my family. I feel that my video is a lot like yours in the sense that I find my phone and ipod my safe outlet. A lot of America is similar to us in this sense I think because we don't want to socialize with strangers or sometimes even each other so we use items that will distract us and make us seem busy.
I like how you make some connections to how digital stimulation makes you avoid talking to people but what are some alternative views on this (Oh yeaah I'm bringing Kinory's class into this). For example, what would happen if you did talk to a stranger for a couple of stops on the train? How bad would that actually be?
When you talk about avoiding awkward situations or conversations with people I can understand what you mean. I was on the bus the other day and this lady just kept going on and on about something or another and I didn't want to be rude but it was just so weird. I didn't have my ipod on me like a douche so I spent 10 minutes listening to her babble. You saying that makes me know that I'm not the only horrible teenager out there.
Thanks again for completing your video and questions. I hope to see more from you (I definitely will actually). Hopefully we'll learn more about this stuff soon so that we can both further explore other views.
Love you <33333
Hey Conor,
I appreciate how you first show us what your electronic devices are. It's easier that way to know what your doing and what your about.
I don't really know what your thesis would be because you didn't answer the follow up questions but I think your just showing us about how you have them in case you want to use them and they are their for your use.
I have a tv in my room that I rarely use. My cellphone is always dying in the middle of the day because I'm constantly using it. And when I'm grounded I also turn to the tv for more entertainment.
In order to receive more feedback or suggestions try to do the project the way Andy said. I can't really help you develop anything except that you should do it the right way next time.
Your video did make me think about what I have in my room and in my room and we have a lot of electronics everywhere as well.
Thanks for putting up your video. See you in school
Hey honey. Just want to start off by saying how much I enjoyed your video. I thought that they by having someone else film you it shows how you really look in other people's eyes. I love that you include your boyfriend playing video games and how you have to wait for him. I see by the computer screen that while you waited for him you were also spending time on facebook. Nonetheless your video was good and I appreciate that you had it up by the time you were suppose to. (Sorry for the delay in mine).
So by the look of your video and sound of the follow up answers I see that while making this video you noticed how digital stimulation is a safe zone away from human interaction for you. For example, train with an ipod in. I think most of America is like this as well and we don't realize it. I also like how you acknowledged that all these things you use on a daily basis and aren't willing to change.
You blocking yourself out from human interaction is similar to what I do when I'm on my ipod or going on facebook to get away from my family. I feel that my video is a lot like yours in the sense that I find my phone and ipod my safe outlet. A lot of America is similar to us in this sense I think because we don't want to socialize with strangers or sometimes even each other so we use items that will distract us and make us seem busy.
I like how you make some connections to how digital stimulation makes you avoid talking to people but what are some alternative views on this (Oh yeaah I'm bringing Kinory's class into this). For example, what would happen if you did talk to a stranger for a couple of stops on the train? How bad would that actually be?
When you talk about avoiding awkward situations or conversations with people I can understand what you mean. I was on the bus the other day and this lady just kept going on and on about something or another and I didn't want to be rude but it was just so weird. I didn't have my ipod on me like a douche so I spent 10 minutes listening to her babble. You saying that makes me know that I'm not the only horrible teenager out there.
Thanks again for completing your video and questions. I hope to see more from you (I definitely will actually). Hopefully we'll learn more about this stuff soon so that we can both further explore other views.
Love you <33333
Hey Conor,
I appreciate how you first show us what your electronic devices are. It's easier that way to know what your doing and what your about.
I don't really know what your thesis would be because you didn't answer the follow up questions but I think your just showing us about how you have them in case you want to use them and they are their for your use.
I have a tv in my room that I rarely use. My cellphone is always dying in the middle of the day because I'm constantly using it. And when I'm grounded I also turn to the tv for more entertainment.
In order to receive more feedback or suggestions try to do the project the way Andy said. I can't really help you develop anything except that you should do it the right way next time.
Your video did make me think about what I have in my room and in my room and we have a lot of electronics everywhere as well.
Thanks for putting up your video. See you in school
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
So what up lil sis, strangers, and bestie Kay
I decided to ask my 10 year old sister just to see how her thoughts would differ or compare to ours. Note this interview was taken while she was watching the Tinkerbell movie.
Yazmin- In what ways does digital media affect your life?
Tati- Helos me communicate with my friends through phone and computer. Tv entertains me. Cameras help me remember good times.
Yazmin- And what would you do if it wasn't there?
Tati- (Shocked, scared face, pause, thinking) I think I would be very bored all the time. Maybe I'd play a bored game?
Yazmin- Do you spend more time with interactive digital media or passive digital media?
Tati- Interactive definitely.
Yazmin- What are the postives of digital stimulation?
Tati- You can communicate with people, it's entertainment at times, and it makes life a lot easier.
Yazmin- What are some negatives of digital stimulation?
Tati- Viruses on computers suck. Your brain starts to get mushy. The oil and power we use for all these things is messing up our earth.
Yazmin- What are the three main forms of digital/electonic stimulations you use?
Tati- Computer, phone, and tv.
Yazmin- How many hours per week are you on the computer?
Tati- 21+ hours
Yazmin- Do you think that digital stimulations are going to be better or worse for the future generations to come?
Tati- I think it'll be worse for them because every year we get smarter and develop new forms of technology.
Yazmin- What do you think we should do about our dependency on these instruments?
Tati- Limit the time we spend using them and worry about our future and the earths'.
Yazmin- How are you doing any of these things if you use the computer 21+ hours?
Tati- Smiles and turns face.
Yazmin- Interview over.
While at the park I interviewed different strangers but received similar answers.
Middle-aged, white guy sitting on bench
Yazmin- How much time do you think you spend on digital stimulation?
Guy- About an hour of texting that's it.
Yazmin- What affect do you think this would have if you didn't have it?
Guy- No affect at all.
Yazmin- How much do you think the younger generation uses phones, computers, etc?
Guy- A lot. They're always on it for schoolwork, entertainment and such. I had 5 kids and they were always wanting the new best thing.
Yazmin- How much money do you think you spent in all those years for 5 kids buying digital stimulation?
Guy- Probably around 100,000 dollars. This was on videos, cells, vcrs etc
Yazmin- How do you think it will be for our future generations?
Guy- Definitely be worse for the future.
Old, Spanish Lady reading paper
Yazmin- How many hours a day do you find yourself using electronics such as phone, computer, ipods?
Lady- 5-6 hours a day.
Yazmin- So what are some positives to using digital stimulation?
Lady- It's a good way to keep in contact. And for research on the computer.
Yazmin- Do you think there are any negatives? And if so what are they?
Lady- Oh yes plenty. My kids and grandkids are on it all the time. Everyone in the house is always fighting to use the computer or phone. It's really not good for them to be so addicted.
Yazmin- How will future trends be with technology growing at this rate?
Lady- Oh it's definitely going to get worse. Everything is goning to be computerized soon.
Teen staring off into space
Yazmin- How do you think digital stimulation affects your everyday life?
Teen- I use it but it doesn't really affect me.
Yazmin- What are the number of hours you spend on these tools?
Teen- 2 hours a day on the computer, 1 hour on my ipod.
Yazmin- How much time do you think other kids our age are on them?
Teen- A lot more than me.
Yazmin- What are the pros of being the first generation to grow up with these electronics around us at all times?
Teen- Development. It's like evolution.
Yazmin- What are the cons?
Teen- Some kids don't interact with people in the real world.
Yazmin- Are you addicted to digital stimulation?
Teen- No, I'm not addicted.
Yazmin leaves now.
Yazmin- In what ways does digital media affect your life?
Tati- Helos me communicate with my friends through phone and computer. Tv entertains me. Cameras help me remember good times.
Yazmin- And what would you do if it wasn't there?
Tati- (Shocked, scared face, pause, thinking) I think I would be very bored all the time. Maybe I'd play a bored game?
Yazmin- Do you spend more time with interactive digital media or passive digital media?
Tati- Interactive definitely.
Yazmin- What are the postives of digital stimulation?
Tati- You can communicate with people, it's entertainment at times, and it makes life a lot easier.
Yazmin- What are some negatives of digital stimulation?
Tati- Viruses on computers suck. Your brain starts to get mushy. The oil and power we use for all these things is messing up our earth.
Yazmin- What are the three main forms of digital/electonic stimulations you use?
Tati- Computer, phone, and tv.
Yazmin- How many hours per week are you on the computer?
Tati- 21+ hours
Yazmin- Do you think that digital stimulations are going to be better or worse for the future generations to come?
Tati- I think it'll be worse for them because every year we get smarter and develop new forms of technology.
Yazmin- What do you think we should do about our dependency on these instruments?
Tati- Limit the time we spend using them and worry about our future and the earths'.
Yazmin- How are you doing any of these things if you use the computer 21+ hours?
Tati- Smiles and turns face.
Yazmin- Interview over.
While at the park I interviewed different strangers but received similar answers.
Middle-aged, white guy sitting on bench
Yazmin- How much time do you think you spend on digital stimulation?
Guy- About an hour of texting that's it.
Yazmin- What affect do you think this would have if you didn't have it?
Guy- No affect at all.
Yazmin- How much do you think the younger generation uses phones, computers, etc?
Guy- A lot. They're always on it for schoolwork, entertainment and such. I had 5 kids and they were always wanting the new best thing.
Yazmin- How much money do you think you spent in all those years for 5 kids buying digital stimulation?
Guy- Probably around 100,000 dollars. This was on videos, cells, vcrs etc
Yazmin- How do you think it will be for our future generations?
Guy- Definitely be worse for the future.
Old, Spanish Lady reading paper
Yazmin- How many hours a day do you find yourself using electronics such as phone, computer, ipods?
Lady- 5-6 hours a day.
Yazmin- So what are some positives to using digital stimulation?
Lady- It's a good way to keep in contact. And for research on the computer.
Yazmin- Do you think there are any negatives? And if so what are they?
Lady- Oh yes plenty. My kids and grandkids are on it all the time. Everyone in the house is always fighting to use the computer or phone. It's really not good for them to be so addicted.
Yazmin- How will future trends be with technology growing at this rate?
Lady- Oh it's definitely going to get worse. Everything is goning to be computerized soon.
Teen staring off into space
Yazmin- How do you think digital stimulation affects your everyday life?
Teen- I use it but it doesn't really affect me.
Yazmin- What are the number of hours you spend on these tools?
Teen- 2 hours a day on the computer, 1 hour on my ipod.
Yazmin- How much time do you think other kids our age are on them?
Teen- A lot more than me.
Yazmin- What are the pros of being the first generation to grow up with these electronics around us at all times?
Teen- Development. It's like evolution.
Yazmin- What are the cons?
Teen- Some kids don't interact with people in the real world.
Yazmin- Are you addicted to digital stimulation?
Teen- No, I'm not addicted.
Yazmin leaves now.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
First comments to my peopless...
Cloe
Hey Cloe. Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed the way you have everything written so organized. It goes from topic to topic and at the beginning and end of paragraphs you refresh our memory with the idea you were discussing. I feel like in our blogs are ideas were kind of the same in the sense that we both see what we're doing with technology yet cannot help it. Your blog made me further my thinking on the subject so thank you for that.
So what I understood from your blog was that people are addicted to technology and you were explaining the reasons why. Such as social statuses, to vent out emotions, they make life easier, and just because we feel like we can't stop. You gave explanations of all of these and I felt they supported your thesis well.
I agree with you on all of these reasons. I feel like people in general just are so accustomed to living with these digital stimulations that without them we feel at a lost. I, too check my phone constantly and notice myself doing it but cannot stop. I also wrote about how addicting these instruments can be in my blog. From hearing what others say in class I feel like we are not alone in seeing what we do and not being able to stop it.
Reading your blog made me think a little deeper about what the causes of our addiction to ipods, cellphones, computers, etc. may be. I have thought of reasons such as boredom, social needs, and the fact that they make our lives (or so we think) easier. But there has to be more to this. Perhaps for those who are addicted which at this point might mean almost everyone their is an emotional need behind using these things. Like if we use them they make us feel better. I think that's something that we should both look into more and examine.
Your post also made me think about how some benefits come from digital stimulation. I have family all over the world that I can keep in contact through phone or email. If I didn't have these things I would probably never talk to them. It also made me realize how gossip does start through statuses and facebook world. Someone may read something and get a totally different idea than what it was but still spread the word as if it was true. This made me very aware of what I now post.
Well it was fun reading what you had to write. I hope I have helped in some way and I look forward to reading more posts that you write. See you manana.
P.S. Old and wrinkly????
Conor
Hola Conor. I appreciated your way of tackling this assingment. You made it short but straight to the point.
What I understood from your blog was that because everyone does it, it shouldn't matter whether it's good for us or not. Or even if it is bad for us other people have taken that path and ended up all right. Am I correct?
In class we have all been talking about how much digital stimulation affects our lives and you just go on to further this by stating that because you are grounded you must turn to facebook or cellphone or etc. instead.
I want to hear more about alternative forms of communication. I know you were probably joking with the parrot thing but maybe we should look into other way of communicating. I also want to hear about what you say when you say "and most people do good". Exactly what does this mean? They do good in the form of social, finacial, etc?
Your post made me think about how when I am grounded I do the same thing. For example if I am not allowed to use my phone I turn to the computer more. However if I am not allowed to be on the computer I find that I don't care as much as the other way around. I wonder why that is.
Anyways I enjoyed reading your post on digital stimulation. I hope that I have helped with developing some of the ideas you had and hope to hear more thought out things from you. Til tomorrow -Yazmin
P.S. A little advice. For Andy's class more is always better = D
Hey Cloe. Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed the way you have everything written so organized. It goes from topic to topic and at the beginning and end of paragraphs you refresh our memory with the idea you were discussing. I feel like in our blogs are ideas were kind of the same in the sense that we both see what we're doing with technology yet cannot help it. Your blog made me further my thinking on the subject so thank you for that.
So what I understood from your blog was that people are addicted to technology and you were explaining the reasons why. Such as social statuses, to vent out emotions, they make life easier, and just because we feel like we can't stop. You gave explanations of all of these and I felt they supported your thesis well.
I agree with you on all of these reasons. I feel like people in general just are so accustomed to living with these digital stimulations that without them we feel at a lost. I, too check my phone constantly and notice myself doing it but cannot stop. I also wrote about how addicting these instruments can be in my blog. From hearing what others say in class I feel like we are not alone in seeing what we do and not being able to stop it.
Reading your blog made me think a little deeper about what the causes of our addiction to ipods, cellphones, computers, etc. may be. I have thought of reasons such as boredom, social needs, and the fact that they make our lives (or so we think) easier. But there has to be more to this. Perhaps for those who are addicted which at this point might mean almost everyone their is an emotional need behind using these things. Like if we use them they make us feel better. I think that's something that we should both look into more and examine.
Your post also made me think about how some benefits come from digital stimulation. I have family all over the world that I can keep in contact through phone or email. If I didn't have these things I would probably never talk to them. It also made me realize how gossip does start through statuses and facebook world. Someone may read something and get a totally different idea than what it was but still spread the word as if it was true. This made me very aware of what I now post.
Well it was fun reading what you had to write. I hope I have helped in some way and I look forward to reading more posts that you write. See you manana.
P.S. Old and wrinkly????
Conor
Hola Conor. I appreciated your way of tackling this assingment. You made it short but straight to the point.
What I understood from your blog was that because everyone does it, it shouldn't matter whether it's good for us or not. Or even if it is bad for us other people have taken that path and ended up all right. Am I correct?
In class we have all been talking about how much digital stimulation affects our lives and you just go on to further this by stating that because you are grounded you must turn to facebook or cellphone or etc. instead.
I want to hear more about alternative forms of communication. I know you were probably joking with the parrot thing but maybe we should look into other way of communicating. I also want to hear about what you say when you say "and most people do good". Exactly what does this mean? They do good in the form of social, finacial, etc?
Your post made me think about how when I am grounded I do the same thing. For example if I am not allowed to use my phone I turn to the computer more. However if I am not allowed to be on the computer I find that I don't care as much as the other way around. I wonder why that is.
Anyways I enjoyed reading your post on digital stimulation. I hope that I have helped with developing some of the ideas you had and hope to hear more thought out things from you. Til tomorrow -Yazmin
P.S. A little advice. For Andy's class more is always better = D
Monday, September 14, 2009
I'll just IM, text, or facebook you later..
As we have gotten older the need for digital/electronic media has become greater. Kids nowadays find themselves spending countless hours in front of the computer or on their phone. As time goes on we see that adults are also turning to digital/electronic media in their everyday lives. From just walking down a New York City street you can see how much people are using their blackberrys or iphones. Or even their ipods. It never fails to amaze me that these people are all different ages, sizes, ethnicities, and basically just different people. This to me brings up topics such as the dependency that we have on digital/electronics, if these instruments we use in our daily lives are truly addicting, future trends that will come from this, etc. I like to think about all these things and I wonder if other people do to.
The dependency of kids for their AIM or their myspace is unbelievable. Children as young as 7 are on these websites saying that they are older and racing to grow up. I think some people use these programs in order to be "cool" and keep in touch with what their friends are doing even when they aren't with them. Some people really need to have at least a daily dosage of whatever their digital/electronic media may be or if not they feel like their world is crumbling to an end. Like people who are constantly "tweeting" whatever it is they may be doing at that time. Those people to me seem like they have nothing better to do than just to be on a computer waiting to see what people are doing or for others to comment on what they are doing.
These electronics can also be truly addicting for a person. For example, my 10 year old sister spend all afternoon on her AIM and so do all her friends. They talk at all times of the day and night. When she cannot go on AIM she walks around moppy looking lost. This withdrawal from AIM is the same kind of withdrawal that can come from doing drugs and then stopping. It's scary how this really affects someone as old as 10. I'll admit they I am addicted to texting and when I stop for a long time I feel weird. Which makes it even scarier for me to realize that I have a problem just like other people and still can't help it.
My little brother is 5 months. I am 16 years older than him and until the other day it had not really hit me. We were sitting around the kitchen table and my grandparents were telling me about how they had to use typewriters and I felt so bad for them having to do so much extra work when all I have to do is type and send. Then it dawned on me that 16 years from now when my little brother is in high school and I'm telling him about how I use to type all my homework, he will probably be looking at me with pity in his eyes because I am positive that by then there will be something way more advanced than a computer. It's alarming how fast we are moving through phones, computers, and ipods and yet we still can't focus on the smaller things that affect our lives such as children starving, homeless people, no healthcare. It just makes you think about how sad our lives really are.
The dependency of kids for their AIM or their myspace is unbelievable. Children as young as 7 are on these websites saying that they are older and racing to grow up. I think some people use these programs in order to be "cool" and keep in touch with what their friends are doing even when they aren't with them. Some people really need to have at least a daily dosage of whatever their digital/electronic media may be or if not they feel like their world is crumbling to an end. Like people who are constantly "tweeting" whatever it is they may be doing at that time. Those people to me seem like they have nothing better to do than just to be on a computer waiting to see what people are doing or for others to comment on what they are doing.
These electronics can also be truly addicting for a person. For example, my 10 year old sister spend all afternoon on her AIM and so do all her friends. They talk at all times of the day and night. When she cannot go on AIM she walks around moppy looking lost. This withdrawal from AIM is the same kind of withdrawal that can come from doing drugs and then stopping. It's scary how this really affects someone as old as 10. I'll admit they I am addicted to texting and when I stop for a long time I feel weird. Which makes it even scarier for me to realize that I have a problem just like other people and still can't help it.
My little brother is 5 months. I am 16 years older than him and until the other day it had not really hit me. We were sitting around the kitchen table and my grandparents were telling me about how they had to use typewriters and I felt so bad for them having to do so much extra work when all I have to do is type and send. Then it dawned on me that 16 years from now when my little brother is in high school and I'm telling him about how I use to type all my homework, he will probably be looking at me with pity in his eyes because I am positive that by then there will be something way more advanced than a computer. It's alarming how fast we are moving through phones, computers, and ipods and yet we still can't focus on the smaller things that affect our lives such as children starving, homeless people, no healthcare. It just makes you think about how sad our lives really are.
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