Link to Classmates Blog

Here is a link to Kun's blog.

I chose to talk about this blog because it has a few interesting posts that I like. Matrix of Mediated Minds is a blog that talks about technology and how people are using it more and more, and in most cases it is pulling family time apart. I especially like the post "What makes Facebook so Popular?" by Sturat Mitchel. I agree with Kun when her post says that, "there is no doubt that in the future we will see a newer website that may have a lot more factors than Facebook." Her blog is a good blog and it's very interesting to read and attractive.

"Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society." By Arnold Brown

Brown, A. (2011). Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society. Futurist, 45(2), 29-34. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

The main topic of this article is social media on relationships, community, and identity in the future. It talks about how people spend more of their social lives online and it is reshaping them. People who create virtual worlds start to treat it like it’s actually them that’s in the world meeting people when its not reality. Brown says, “As we spend more of our social live inline, the definitions of relationships and families are shifting.” The purpose of this essay is to let people know how socializing changes when you are online, because you could be anyone you want and not really who you are. He calls the new younger generation cyberculture because they find ways to adapt the technology to their needs and desires.  He references the Social Industries who say that, “Now, and increasing in the future, technology will let you make and remake you identity at will—virtually.” This defiantly has a lot to do with how technology is becoming more and more apart of our lives and has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

Online Chatting

Chatting on the Internet is an easy way to meet new people but you can never know for sure that the person on the other end is a bad person. Technology has evolved so people can talk to other people from different countries. Just because you have been chatting with a person for a month you does not mean that you know everything about them, they could just be telling you what you want to hear. Video chatting is another way people like to talk over the internet, with websites like Skype people could keep in touch talking face to face with a computer but not actually talking face to face. Video chatting has been around for a while but with new technology the picture of a video chat has high quality and people like it more. I think technology is good for people but it seems like people abuse it.

"The Machine is Us/ing Us" video by Michael Walsh

This video is very interesting, it shows how we use the "machine" for almost everything. This video is very informative in the way technology is changing. The internet has changed in so many ways, like when you go to one link it could lead you to another link and another. What better faster way to get information than the web? Before internet and using the internet to interact with others people were just fine, but this is a new era. What will the future be like if technology keeps rapidly evolving?

"Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

In Nicholas Carr's essay "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" he is talking about how spending to much time reading things off the internet triggers attention spans when it comes to reading long articles or actual books. Carr's purpose of this essay I think is to let people know that the way we think is changing. Carr states that, "research that once required days in the stack or periodcal rooms of the libraries can be done in minutes." He refferenced Maryanne Wolfe who is a development psychologist at Tufts University, and she worries that when we read we put "efficiancy" and "immediacy" above everything else. Wolfe says, "We are not only what we read, we are how we read." Google is a quick search ingine that people go to, to ask questions when they want a quick answer, but is it taking over the way we mentally use our brains? Carr thinks that they way we think and read is going to get worse. If you think about it, we are already really dependent on technology to save us time and money.

"Kid Kustomers"

Schlosser, E. (2011). Kid Kustomers. In S. Cohen (Ed.) , 50 Essays (pp. 353-358). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

The topic of Eric Schlosser's essay "Kid Kustomers" is that there are many advertisments that are aiming for children so they could get their products sold. The purpose of the essay is to let people know how many companies base their advertisments towards children viewing and cartoon characters to attract them. I think the Schlosser points out that children are a target to ads, he says, "The technique purports to create imaginary characters who perfectly fit the trageted age group's level of cognitive and neurological development." He reffers to CME KidCom Ad Traction Study II asking children what their favorite commercials are, survey showed that most children like the budweiser commercials. I agree with Schlosser about these advertisments because today there are lots of children who whine to there parents when they want something or making threats to them. Parents should teach their children to go out and be active, social media and advertisments are sucking them in.

"Getting Plugged In: An Overview of Internet Addiction"

Flisher, C. (2010). Getting plugged in: An overview of Internet addiction C Flisher Getting plugged in. Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health, 46(10), 557-559. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01879.x

Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01879.x/full

Internet addiction can cause interference with daily life and work. Dr. Kimberly Young conducted 500 heavy users of the Internet in 1995 and of the 500 most of them reported significant impacts on academic acheivement, social life, relationships, occupation, and finances. There has been many debate on wether Internet addiction is a clinical disorder or not. This article state some consequences to teenagers who spend a lot of time on the Internet such as self-neglect and poor diet. Dr. Young also concludes that people should practice shortening their time on the Internet by setting a timer to remind them when to get off, get some hobbies, and get out and meet people.

Is Technology Shaping Who We Are?

Many people don't think about how much techology they use in one day, but is it making us who we are today? A lot of people feel that they can't go on without having a cell phone or internet to keep in touch with everyone and everything that is going on. We use these sources to stay up to date with information around the world. Media, like the television, is another way people like to keep themselves entertained, watching tv shows, movies, or the news. Not very many people like to go out and enjoy the outdoors on a nice day but they chose to sit inside and surf the internet or see what's happening on the television. Media and networking are evolving fast and when something like a disaster happens it's either on the internet or news within the half hour that it happend. I'm not saying technology is a bad thing, it is very beneficial in our every days lives and I know that it is evolving very fast, so everyone wants to keep up with it and they are always looking for the next big thing.

"Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted"

In Malcolm Gladwells essay "Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted" he is talking about how the growth of social networking didn't really change how people used to spread the word around without tools like facebook and twitter. Gladwell is comparing social activism today to social activism in the 1600's. In this essay he refers to a guy named Rovert Darton who says, "The marvels of communication technology in the present have produced a false consciousness about the past-even  a sense that communication has no history, or had nothing of importance to cosider before the days of tv and Internet." Gladwell does not think that social media creates activism but makes it easier to let everyone be aware as to what's going on around them.

Social Networking and Privacy

Many people may already know that when you post something about yourself online or on the internet it is there for everyone to see and yet they still chose to do it anyway. Internet is everywhere and main reasons people use it is to stay in touch with others, and its a go to place for information. Facebook and Myspace are social networks that people put information on such as home addresses and mobile phone numbers. Sometimes do you ask yourself if social networking brings end to privacy?

"Communication Styles: What Is Your Impact on Other?"

Hanke, S. (2009). Communication Styles: What Is Your Impact on Others?. Professional Safety. 54(5), 22-25. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. 


 Link:  http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=122&sid=ecb5c406-1dec-4dd8-948f-d2a024e428e7%40sessionmgr113&vid=3&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=40085768

We live in a world where people are inclined to communicate electronically and more and more people are communicating through Emails and text messages, so many people aren't so good when it comes to face to face communication. When people are in lectures they get bored easily and start wanting to check their phones to see if they got any sort of message or they just want to get online, but it is also the lecturers responsibility to know its audience and keep them focused and interested. Although technology is taking over the way we communicate there are ways you could be a better in person communicator according to Carl Jung's four communication styles. The styles are: control, collaborate, analyze, and socialize. I think technology is a good way to keep in touch with you friends and family who live far away and it is also a good way to search schools and jobs. On the internet you could find just about anything.

"Games"

In “Games” Steven Johnson highlights the importance of reading books but also the underappreciated benefits of video games.  His purpose is comparing reading and video games as entertainment and educational tools.  Video games improve not only hand-eye coordination and visual intelligence, they also encourage drive and the speed of information exercises the mind in new and powerful ways. Johnson argues that games improve one’s imagination and problem solving abilities. He imagines arguments that could be made against books (such as their linearity and isolating qualities) if video games had been invented first.  Johnson’s essay might help us better appreciate the creativity and intellectual benefits behind both traditional reading and modern video games. 

"Television: The Plug-in Drug"

In an essay written by Marie Winn she is talking about how the television can be addictive and how its pulling family time apart in a household. Before televisions families used to spend time together around the dinner table or make jokes and talk amongst each other, they would take the time to go see other family members and have things like game night. Winn says that when televisions came out more and more people were spending lots of time around the TV and not just around one TV, sometimes each member in the family has a TV in each room of the house where the children could be watching cartoons, the mom could be watching a cooking show, and the dad could be watching a football game. Some families are asked how much time they let their kids spend watching TV and how a typically day is for their famiy. Many families, if they have young children, will turn on the TV to keep them entertained and out of trouble but that probably is not the best solution because the kids will start to think that its the only solution. There is also a really good point made that when people spend a lot of time watching TV is gets harder for them to deal with reality because when your watching the television your not interacting at all and it takes effort to do something when you are around people.