I Release You from Technology!

“YOU DID WHAT TO HER?” I screamed into the phone in the middle of Peet’s Coffee, a regular coffee shop in the Middle of Pasadena.  The subsequent looks of polite disdain and calculated glances intended to make me feel self-conscious would not work in this situation.  I was acting out a social experiment.

My voice slowly rose to a peak, and, while some customers had clearly given me dirty looks, not one person politely asked me to stop.  It appears that, in today’s society, politeness far outweighs any personal umbrage one may take in reference to annoying media use.

Unfortunately, we all deal with situations of  poor voice control on the phone or people texting non-stop every day.  As a result, we become jaded and disinterested, even when someone right next to us yells into his phone about expulsion and assault.  This new attitude raises another question: has media truly changed what is socially acceptable, or has it simply made people indifferent to obnoxious people?

I would argue that the answer is both.  Media has, without a doubt, extended the definition of “social conduct” to include texting in public and talking on the phone as well.  However, such extensions should not include abuse of technology.  Yelling on the phone and not noticing you have reached the front of the line because you are texting should not be permitted in today’s society.

The fact that people treat these issues with a polite indifference proves that most people would prefer to suffer through something annoying rather than  have any form of confrontation.  To stop people from abusing technology, though, we must begin to take a polite stand against them.  It is time to reintegrate  those people into the real world and save them from the shroud of technology in which they have wrapped themselves.

Love: A Cyber Experience

In a recent assembly, we pondered the new issues of miscommunication related to the advance of electronic communication.  As a result of auto-correct and lack of face to face contact, texts often have the potential to be misconstrued.  A simple “hello” can be interpreted to mean countless different things depending upon whether it includes a period, ellipsis, or question mark.

The new urban subculture of texting has evolved to include new terminology and social rules that people need to learn to truly function in the new social environment.  Texting allows for faster contact, but ultimately makes our lives more complex, as we can be contacted through numerous different mediums.  Now, we must check our email, facebook, and phone to make sure that have received all possible messages.

With extra time to consider messages before sending them, we can also change what we would have said in a normal conversation.  This leads to a miscommunication about one’s own identity.  When whole relationships can be formed over the internet or through texts, a “relationship” seems to have a lesser value.  People accept text versions of “I Love you” as the real thing and not realize that texting can never substitute for real life.  These misinterpretations can lead to drastic acts like suicide when someone breaks up with you over the internet.

On Wednesday of next week, I feel that we should create a social experiment involving texting or calling.  We can walk into the store and make a minor scene using media devices.

Mr. Tom, the Story Man

Hi Mr. Allard,
I would like to thank you for coming in to speak to us last month and share some of your crazy stories with us.  All of us enjoyed experiencing your brilliant talent for storytelling, and we hope to hear some of your other stories at some point as well.  Each guest speaker also receives their own personalized wikispace page that will give a brief biography and describe what they came to talk about.  To make yours the best that it can be, I’ve attached below a few interview questions for you to answer at your earliest convenience.  It would be great if you could respond to these when you can:

1.  When did you first discover your passion for storytelling?  How has it shaped you throughout your life?  How does it relate to media?

2.  Why do you feel passionate about what you do?  How do you incorporate your storytelling skills into your work?

3.  What was the main idea that you were trying to emphasize when you came to speak to us?  How does that resonate with you personally?

4.  Is there anything else that you would like me to include in your wikispace page(Dreams for the future, favorite color, etc)?

Thanks again! I look forward to hearing your responses!

Sincerely,
Kevin Meurer

Publishing…a Crime?

Mr. Feldmeth showed us a series of slides of pictures that newspapers published and asked the question: “Should the newspaper have published this?”  These pictures ranged from the heartbreaking to the grotesque, but all of them told a specific story.

In almost all of the cases, I found myself answering “yes” to the question of whether they should be published.  I have always felt that the press’ obligation comes first and foremost to telling an accurate story.  If the press wavers in this regard, they fail to fulfill their duty.

Only through a fair and free press can we truly call ourselves one of the greatest countries in the world.  That said, though,  it is not our role to destroy families or cause them shame.  As a result, one picture, which showed a family mourning over the death of their son, should not have been published.

Such invasive pictures, however heartbreaking they may be, violate an inherent right to privacy, one that must be maintained for people to feel safe in our society.  If anyone’s privacy has the potential to be violated, the United States draws closer to becoming an oppressive country.

In the end, individual rights must trump all else.  Only then can we rest easy at night, knowing that the government is looking out for us all.

Who am I? Facebook knows!

Mr. White recently came to speak with us about social privacy.  Rather than give a formal presentation, he instead engaged us in a discussion about social privacy in our own lives.  Have we ever felt that facebook has violated our privacy?  Do we feel an obligation to always stay in touch?

These questions are relatively new to all of us, as facebook only truly came into existence recently.  The fact remains, though, that social interaction has drastically changed.  Instead of saying “I’ll see you on Monday,” we have shifted to “Talk to you over the weekend.”  While such a shift may seem inconsequential, the change in social networking proves to be essential to the way we interact.

In society today, one rarely has the chance to feel truly alone, a factor that inhibits our ability to truly understand ourselves.  Instead of having the time to truly consider what makes us unique, our friends now post pictures of us that shape our online “personality.”

We set a profile picture, favorite television shows, favorite quotes, and general info about ourselves that comprises our facebook profile.  Over time, this profile develops to define us to a certain degree.  It tracks your past professions, schools, and life.  Combined with the absence of personal reflection, this has the potential to change the way we develop.

In the new generation of kids, we begin to see people that can express themselves with far greater ease over the internet.  In real life, they may appear distant, but, online, they seem like a completely different person.

While these people are a select few, they remind us that the new developments of social media have the potential to cause grave harm to the individual, and, keeping this in mind, we must remember to use such media sparingly.

The Insurrection Has Begun…or Has It?

This past week, Mrs. Davis spoke with us about the evolution of digital activism.  We discussed how the “power of anonymity” can often empower people, but also make online activism much less risky.

The power to be anonymous often can empower people, as they feel more comfortable to say what they feel.  When online, anyone can express their opinion on an issue, and have the potential to gather support over the internet.  However, this support rarely will lead into action.

Personally, I’ve never read a forum about an issue, even one that I agreed with, that made me want to go out and march in the street at the risk of being arrested.  To truly inspire people, a leader must directly connect with others in real life.  Internet can spread the word, but anonymity eliminates the direct connection that proves so essential for true change.

Here, a problem arises.  If we truly require a leader to inspire change, anonymity has the power to inhibit such a leader’s ability to do so.  If Martin Luther King, Jr. had written his “I Have a Dream” speech anonymously on a forum, could it have made as great of an impact?  The answer to this question must be no.

The very idea that a leader who has limitless potential could merely vent his feelings over the internet terrifies me.  Without a doubt, the future needs such leaders, and, if they resort to the internet to lead rather than real life, their talent will be wasted.

The internet can be used as a tool to spread word, but it must also be used sparingly if we truly wish to make a difference.

The Era of Texting has Begun!

Mr. Donnell came to speak with us today about the new issues that have emerged with cell phone use in society.  In a spirited discussion, we all shared our personal experiences with phones.  Cell phones have completely revolutionized the speed of contact with others and rapidly bridged communication barriers.

In general, many of us rely on texting as our primary form of communication.  Instead of calling people, I rely on texting because it feels faster and I can communicate with many people at once.

Here, though, a problem arises.  With so much texting, we become overly reliant on our phones.   If I don’t have my phone in my pocket, I often find myself randomly reaching towards it anyway.  Similarly, if my phone is missing, I momentarily panic.  Like many others, my use of my phone has led me to perceive it to be my primary form of social interaction.

While I do, in reality, not truly rely on my phone to the point that it is a problem, many people do have that issue.  For many, texting becomes their primary way to express themselves, a fact that impedes their ability to communicate face to face.

In other words, they feel more comfortable writing “:)” than actually smiling.  The emerging technological world, though, demands mastery of both mediums of communication, and only those who can learn quickly will truly be able to keep up.  The time has come for those who cannot text to learn, and those who cannot physically interact, to enter the real world.

Connection to Your Work

Recently, Mr. Goodman came to speak to us about the value of work for individuals in today’s society.  We discussed how technology and the need for material items can often cut people off from the things that truly matter, like the love of one’s own work.

For many individuals today, work has become a means to an end.  We work long hours in an effort to feed a consumer-based society, with the goal of buying more things for ourselves.  We glorify massive shopping days like Black Friday as it’s own holiday in a sense, and people often look forward to that moreso than Thanksgiving.

The result of such a focus in our society has been the loss of love for one’s own profession.  At the very core of human existence, we seek to pursue the things we love, yet too often, our own possessions and funds get in the way of pursuing our dreams.

In some ways, billionaires have the least freedom to pursue what they love.  They may have free time and the money to do what they want, but they lack the opportunity to feel as if they are building a life for themselves with their own two hands.

In the end, money gets in the way of our ability to know ourselves, and only through sincere introspective thought can we overcome the consumer mentality that seems to dominate our society.  It is not too late to turn back, but the day when technology truly impairs our ability to love what we do is fast approaching.

Now this is more exciting!

In chapter 7, Harris brings up the new development of  “fake news” on television: “In a content analysis of 2005 shows, Brewer and Marquardt found that more than half of his new stories covered politics, many focusing on issues, and a substantial minority addressed new media themselves”(Harris 205).  Harris bring up the idea that these “fake news” stations have actually served to educate demographics that would not normally watch news programming.

While they do not do as thorough of a job with the news, these stations explain many of the top stories through humor.  In other sections of the media, as well, the same principle has begun to apply.  Regular television shows have begun including political messages in their programming that keep people up to date on specific issues.

For example, South Park, a popular program with questionable moral merit, usually bases its episodes off of pop culture news or things that have happened recently.  They included an episode based on Brittany Spears during a period when she faced scandals, and tie their show in with the latest news.  In this manner, they use comedy as a way to get the news across.

While these comedic performances can never substitute for real news, they provide an alternative for a growing population that does not have the patience to listen to what may be perceived as typical, boring news.

What they don’t tell you on the news…

In his discussion of what makes a newsworthy event, Harris highlights the need to have drama or conflict in a story.  Harris suggests: “Complex economic stories like the Third World debt crisis or changing interest rates are often covered only in the context of specific conflicts growing out of these problems” (Harris 191).

When looking at the news that we see, it’s easy to buy into the fact that very little actually happens in the world.  In a way, the United States lives in a bubble, protected by the fact that the majority of conflicts don’t affect us.

News reports have the power to alter our opinions and, if we watch them enough, become our reality.  When we cling to one specific medium of news and don’t do research for ourselves, though, we often miss key issues.

Harris brings up a good point that the news rarely covers the before and after of major conflicts.  By watching tensions between countries, though, and not simply the latest news about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new baby, we can better predict conflicts in the future.

The true news is what’s happening on a quieter level.  These are the true issues.  By only looking to the news, we can slowly lose our grip on what truly happens in the world.