http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/mcluhan.html
The article describes Marshall McLuhan who's job it was to understand the effects on technology in pop culture. Plus how this effected people and how we interact with one another.
Now, this is something that has troubled me before. Now with the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web it is easier to communicate more then ever, with Email and Instant Messaging and Social Networking. Great! Maybe not. There is another side of that which I think is dangerous for people as things get easier for us. I think we become impersonal.
Let me explain, so you have a social network page with tons of photo's and story's basically being very personal and inviting other friends to see your page and friends of friends to even share you social life with. Then in real life where you can see people face to face and express feelings with out exclamation points or emoticons. A real person walks up to you and says I know you, I have seen pictures of you. Their response is oh you were "creepin" on my page. Now this conversation can be flirtatious but still its the fact that the word "creepin" was used. I don't get it, this person has posted their life on Facebook or Myspace but when you look and say something in person your a creep. What happens if you just walk up to a total stranger and say "your attractive" or "Wanna go out sometime". I feel like you would get murdered if you weren't fake friends on Facebook or Myspace first.
Which bring me back to the article about Marshall and his research he says that we all have extensions of ourselves, for example cars, cell phones and even social networking sites. With these extensions we extend our self to that object of technology. For me I'm a Honda civic, Apple, IPhone whore, Facebooker. That's me! On the other side of this extension there is the amputation which means I walk less because of the car and talk less face to face because of the IPhone and Facebook. Which means that I just like you are becoming more and more impersonal everyday. I love it and I hate it. On one side of the coin I want to punch the interweb and technology in the face. On the other side I'm like a fat happy baby.
I'm off to go cry in the shower
:)
I agree with you that there is a danger that technology is making us less personable. My ex and I used to sit on the couch next to each other and IM, instead of having an actual face-to-face conversation. :P
ReplyDeleteTechnology like is a great tool. Communication can mean a lot of different things. I think part of the problem is that digital communication has become "marketing of one." You mention that people are surprised if you approach them and your not facebook friends. It's true, but would you go up to the CEO of any corporation whose products you "love" and say let's hang out? I agree with you that technology is eating away at our physical selves. From how we communicate to how we treat one another. The most scary thing is how the internet allows us to shout at everyone, but listen to no one.
ReplyDeleteI just had to comment about the comment from Laurie. That's hilarious. I will now text my answers to you in class.
ReplyDeleteThe internet lets all of the super-opinionated people, which are many, have a soap box to shout their views from. This is great, but you have to take what you read online with a grain of salt because you have no idea who is really writing it... most likely a 12 year old moron. In fact thats who's writing this for me,
I also have to comment on Laurie's post...
ReplyDeleteI think I broke up with my girlfriend last Wednesday but I don't really know because we haven't spoken since then. Neither of us are the best communicators so we often end up getting pissed when one has had enough. Most of our "important" communications have come thru email or texts, but I'm still waiting for official notification.