HW 8- Comments Round 2

Maggie:

Maggie,

I must say, the second half of your video reminds me of the old horror movie Halloween, and countless horror movies after it, where you see everything from the killers point of view. People thought this would warp people's minds and I think it sets the perfect mood here and casts a great tone to the video.

It seemed to me that your opinion was left open ended on digital-representational-devices. You said that for yourself, that they are boring and don't seem to lead to much without another person involved, but for somebody like your sister that they can act as tool to help gather together information.

I can connect this to something that many people have stated in class, that many of these devices can be good or bad. You are essentially saying the same thing, that they have many different uses and that it just depends on the how.

I think that in order to try and take this to the next step, one has to consider that people are really the ones in control of al of these devices. If people find that these devices are rotting away at our culture, are harmful to our youth, or that they are the greatest thing to happen in the history of ever, they have to see what that says about our society, because these are merely tools that we use to represent our inner selves, or at the very least, an aspect of who we are.

This really starts to make me think about how we have to means to direct civilization in any direction we see fit, and in connecting it David Banach, who we are studying in Manley's English class, people have to take more responsibility for the way they act online because it affects everybody eventually and the way the world turns (Metaphorically of course).

I really liked your post, even if it was just a little tidbit it led me to find a lot of interesting concepts that I think many people are not aware of, or if they are, ignore.

Thanks for the insights,

Henry

Kate:

Kate,

It took me about a minute to even realize where you were in your video, something that some may see as an error on your part but I really think it helps to show how the viewer becomes inconsequential and the TV engrosses you.

You really come off as being in a state of disbelief, amazed that this "zombie" is in fact you and that this is the way you are now, instead of how you used to read or draw. Even though, with this state of attentiveness, you are still connected to the real world by your cat, which I think is good, everybody needs a little something to keep them connected to the real world when immersed so fully in the digital.

Your ideas on the Wii are mostly the mainstream idea and the image that they try to project with the marketing executives. As a parent you say you would not want your son to X-Box or PSP, but the reality of the situation is that even a Wii would leave your son pretty vegetative.

In order to explore your idea, I feel that it would be nice to have a video of somebody playing an X-Box and another video of the same person playing Wii, to see how they react differently. I agree that parents have to take responsibility, but at a certain point it has to have some give and take and the child should realize the error of their ways, which leads to the classic "There are no bad students, only bad teachers" which can be taken as the kids are not learning here but it is the parents fault, or the teacher if you will, which is what you are proposing. The only solution for this would be a way of cutting down the gameplay or to play Wii, which by the way, only has a couple of games that require more than an arm flick to trigger the controls.

Watching you watch TV makes me think about how my eyes were drawn straight to the TV and I knew what you were watching even without having ever watched it (Greys Anatomy if I am correct). I think that this shows that we focus so much on the digital world even if irrelevant to us, and that for me specifically, that I can connect with this vegetative state, which is, let's be honest, not good.

I liked you post and enjoyed stumbling onto it. Even without proposing points, your post still makes me think about so much and for that, I thank you.

Thanks for the insights,

Henry

HW 6

Wow. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I watch this video. Now I have seen myself on video as I play video games before, and honestly I forgot that I literally do not move AT ALL when I play video games. This is really takes me aback quite a bit, as I don't realize how "blah" I look, just blank slated.

I feel slightly upset when I watch this video. Now, if I just played video games as my connection to digital-representational-devices I think I could handle, because that would just be a small portion of my time. But when I think about this video in addition to all the other instances in which I must be in a similar state, then things get to be a little scary for me. To think that I am so blank so often is not good in any way. Now, in this video though, I think I am actually more active and I have more of a real world presence than when I normally play video games, since I took the video at my friends house. By doing this, I show that there is a possible way to merge the two realities (Virtual and Physical) in some aspects, or at the very least you can bring somebody else to this world with you.

Thinking about how much difference between my two personas (Virtual and Physical) is quite interesting too. On the game, I am running around like crazy, racing off to kill somebody. This is in stark contrast to my physical self, who is just sitting down, leaning in, intently watching a screen. I think that people enjoy watching themselves on the TV, because they can do things much easier on there then in reality, like for instance running after an alien trying to kill him. I think that this is common knowledge, that people don't try to do things in the real world a lot of the time due to the simple fact that it is so much easier to do something digitally. I think that what people don't realize is the extent that this reaches to, such as simpler games including UNO or billiards. They have digital versions of these games, and they often more popular to play simply because they are easier to do and you can do them from the safety of your couch. In the case of UNO, not much is lost, but for a game like billiards, all of the skill required and time to get good is lost as the game simply accounts for your errors and you learn how to gently handle the joystick.

Ironically enough, I have a little sister and want a son one day, and the idea of them playing these games or spending so much time just watching a screen is actually a little concerning. I feel that the future generations will lose a lot of opportunities and that they will lose appreciation for the physical counterparts of these games. Of course, this fear could also extend to myself, as I might be losing appreciation for certain things without even realizing it, much as they would hypothetically.

Honestly, after watching this and thinking about the subject with a visual to see, I think that my life is too digital and that I am on the computer too much, or playing video games, and so forth. If I can just spend 30 minutes less on each a day, I will feel accomplished but I think that I don't realize my dependency on these devices, the grasp they have me in and how hard it will be to break away from the reach of the digital world.

Me playing Halo 3:ODST from Henry V on Vimeo.

HW 7

Would you be happy without the digital world?

Response from a family member-

My mom:

"I would be happy without the digital world. I don't really rely on it for things outside of using the computer for business purposes and watching T.V. here and there. It would be an inconvenience going a step back and everything, but I could definitely still be happy without it, I would just read a book and write letters."

Strangers-

'Sway guy':

"Yes, I feel relieved without it sometimes and long-term I think that I could adjust to life without it."

'Spanish girl':

"No, I would miss it and find that life was incomplete to an extent. If I didn't know about all this stuff, then no, I wouldn't of course."

Friends-

James:

"Yes, I mean I would feel weird for a while but I think I could deal, it would just take me a while."

Marco:

"I wouldn't be at first, but I could adapt to life without all of that stuff. and find new ways to be happy, or just do the things that make me happy that aren't digital more often. It would affect my careers down the line too, but not in any way that I couldn't find a way to be happy."

M&M Comments

Michelle-

Michelle,

What I first noticed about your blog was that you show the progression of technology for each generation, something that I really liked and shows you how in a way nothing has changed even though everything has evolved.

Your main point that people are becoming less interactive physically and more digitally actually goes hand in hand with your other main idea that people are becoming more self-centered. The two of these show how people are closing up into shells and forgetting about the outside world.

I think that you arose some very interesting points about "I" products. While I'm sure that Apple intended for this to mean it was the owners own product, you flip that onto its head and show that Apple is a leader in the centering of the worlds citizens. I never really thought about this and it is in fact very interesting, because it shows how technology is treated as a representation of oneself with everything having a name reflecting them.

Your mention of Ipods especially affected me because it made me think of how I named my ipod MinIV, in reference to it being a miniature representation of me. This led to me later naming my computer MarcoV, as it was a larger representation of me. I think that your talk of Twitter is also interesting. I for one hate Twitter. I find it to be even more self-centered than Facebook and Myspace and it has almost no value for networking and reaching friends, like the others. It is the perfect example of how self-centered our world has become.

Overall, I was quite surprised by your blog and I look forward to reading more of your insights into the world we inhabit, and the world we live in.

Maggie-

Maggie,

The second I go to your blog, the first thing I notice is that you went back and edited it and noted your edit. That just right off the bat made me think that you were on the right track and were actively thinking about the topic, and that impressed me. I also like that instead of approaching the types of technology that we frequently encounter, you focused on the usage of electricity in our lives.

Your general idea that electricity runs our lives is a very clear one and very true. Almost every single thing we do in life can now be done with the use of a technological device. Even right now, my homework here is on a blog, which is on the internet, which can only be accessed through electricity. Electricity in essence rules the world and without it people wouldn't know what to do.

I think that your ideas on Facebook are essentially the same as everybody else's, myself included. It is particularly handy for talking to friends that have very hectic schedules and I otherwise don't get to. I think that what you say about AIM is also very interesting. Tone is the most essential thing, I find, in talking to people. It can affect the entire conversation and the way people see you. I am a very sarcastic person and I find that using AIM to talk to people gets very annoying because people cannot sense when I am being sarcastic unless I couple it with an extraordinary amount of "lol" 's and "jk" 's.

I think that your concept of the electrically powered items not being "real" can be narrowed down a significant amount. I think that they are very much real, depending on the media. For instance, interactions through a webcam are very much real, and I have friends that I am very close with just because of the internet and its capabilities. All things can be real, it is a matter of how people use them. People feel like the internet is a place where they can be somebody other than who they really are, so they create an alternate reality which in turn carries over to affect the real lives they live.

Your posting makes me think about my use of texting though, and how I do not use it "correctly" and to an extent I agree. I am irresponsible with it and talk to people I shouldn't about things that my real consciousness does not want to. Texting is really just a time filler though and I think that when used to notify people of things that are too quick for a phone call, it works well, but when it becomes something you cannot live without, it is a problem, and that is why I have been working on cutting down.

I really liked your blog and I think that there is a lot of room for new ideas to be collected through our commenting.

Thoughts on the Digitalization Experience

I can remember the first time that I truly experienced digital media. I was a little kid with a new neighbor and I went to play with him at his house and he had a Playstation console. We played video games for hours and it prompted me to buy a Nintendo 64, which led to many other video games. I went on the internet that same year, with the old dial-up and everything. That was the start.

Now I will admit, I am addicted to Facebook. I can always find something to do, some friend to check up on, all that good stuff. I think I have it well managed in controlling myself, because it doesn't interfere to the point where I can't function without it or get anything else done.

I think that with everything being digital though, the world is rapidly changing. People will spend hours small talking through texting and IM-ing instead of hanging out and having one in depth conversation. People also don't really get to know the other person as well with digitalization. Not only do you just know their online persona, but since you can talk to 20 people at once, you don't even remember who is who half the time and the other half you don't remember what they said anyways. The quality of relationships is not that of those who don't rely on digital media to stay in touch.

Digitalization also is eating away at the world's patience. With everything ready right now this very second, people expect everything to be done. This in turn affects people's attitude toward long term projects, losing quality in exchange for getting it done. And that is when they do get it done, when they aren't on Twitter or Myspace telling everybody that they are doing this work and had to stop just to tell them so they could get attention.

That's another thing, much of this digitalization is just a way to grab attention. People will say things online just to get people talking about them or to them or something, hoping that they take the next step and venture onto their profile page. And if somebody isn't talking to you, you can IM them. Or text. Everybody is constantly available for you to grab their attention.

That was a bit tangential, but I feel like the topic of digitalization can encompass so much and has such a large affect on the world, with its growth increasing every day, and as a result, every train of thought brings you to another track. In order to even think coherently about it, you must focus on one aspect of it to start, and hope to gain enough foothold to power through and demolish the topic, getting everything out of it. I think that digitalization can be a great thing for the world, but at the same time, it is mishandled right now and people do not know how to control themselves and be reserved with their digital interactions. Hopefully we can find a way to aid our use of digital media, but for now it is like an uncontrolled flood, killing us when it could provide fresh water for the country.