HW 15- Commenting on other blogs

Maggie-

Maggie, I really liked how you analyzed a little bit of each of the links so that it was like a summary and I knew what to expect when I clicked on each. It was also nice because you kept it neatly organized, flowing from one bullet to the next with ease.

Essentially you criticized the links you provided. You mentioned how the first link was stupid and an over-reaction, how the second one effected income, and how the third one wasn't very official, since there is constant contradictions with these surveys and you can't really trust them very much. To expand, the first link talked about an online poll asking about Obama being assassinated and if it should happen. This man was even considered to be put on trial to the full extent of the law, something that is an over-reaction for sure. The second link showed the usage of electricity in the average American household, and what percentage of the bill came from what. Lastly, the final link discussed cell phone usage in connection with cancer, something that the video acknowledged but minimized.

From the way you reacted, I am reminded of the average teenager. Most teenagers would react to these links the way that you or I did, dismissing them or finding them to be stupid. This would support theories that youth does not see fault in the way they use electronic devices, since we reacted that the studies were either wrong or that they showed we aren't as bad off as older generations say we are.

I think that you can draw a lot from these links. To start, you can see how the internet violates or pushes the Bill of Rights. I mean, if people are ready to prosecute somebody just because of something they said, what makes the world any different now from the way it is in some dystopian future of a sci-fi movie? Freedom of speech comes first in respect to the situation, even if it concerns the president. This person did not threaten Obama, and that is what people have to realize instead of looking at it as a threat. The second link is interesting. I mean, I can't even count how many times I have been told to get off of the computer because it will cost too much, or that I should turn off all of my stuff to help save some money. What does it matter at this small of a value? People also don't use these devices as much as people speculate we do, since the relation to other things is so drastic. Why don't they make other things around the house this convenient, this fuel efficient? As for the third like, it is really just an opinion piece. I can take in this piece as what it is, one guy telling us what he thinks about cell phones links in relation to cancer. This is something nobody can truly prove because for the individual we might have different ideas on the affects that the devices have and how they change our lives on a health level.

From here I think about the way I use technology on many levels. Do I act without thought and say stupid things that get me in trouble, like the first link dictates? And if so, is anything I do less or more punishable and is that going to make it worse that I said it? The energy statistics were a bit of a relief to me because I didn't feel so bad about being on my computer all of the time when I'm at home. If I am on and I do stuff with it and I talk with others all night long, I don't feel the same self-consciousness that I am wasting energy then I did prior to reading this link. The third link also relieves me, because now I don't feel as worried about developing cancer from using a pice of hardware like a phone. I can use it normally and weigh the options and side-effects on a more well balanced scale and have a true choice between using the phone excessively or not.

Thank you for the links, they surprised me and led me to places I did not think I would head to, and I am very happy to have traveled this path.

Keep up the good work,

Henry

Additional analysis, My train of thought:

HW 10-

First link- This is so stupid. Granted, I understand why people are upset, but isn't like he was threatening to do it, he was simply asking whether he should be or not. I know it isn't the best idea but prosecuting him "to the full extent of the law" is in my opinion very stupid and pointless because he didn't do anything wrong but instead voiced his opinion and asked that of others in a public forum.

Second link- Top contender for the title currently held by heating? Cooling. Nobody talks about how much power we spend on those things we also "need". Granted, in comparison to computer and such, we do need heating more. But I find it interesting that either people do not actually use the computer nearly as much as people think, or scientists make them a lot more efficient for their power. Plus, for only a 76 cents a month you can use a computer for three hours a day, which can help to get other readings, where even using it for say 9 hours a day still only costs you 228 cents. Why don't they devote their time to doing this with heating and such?

Third link- I like this one because it shows something different than the others, it isn't about the fact of how much damage cell phone usage causes, but rather it is about how everybody will feel about this and the emotions. Emotions are wild and hard to control, they are a variable we cannot account for and yet this man predicts that emotions on damage caused by cell phones is more harmful then the actual damage. I also like how you point out that this research is untrustworthy, and I agree with you there, because every new poll or study shows the opposite of the one before it so how do you know what to believe?

HW 14- Second Text

Steven Johnson's "Everything Bad is Good for You" seems to flip the world around, talking about those things that rot our minds, namely video games, TV, and the internet, in a slightly more positive and progressive light. The video game parts of the text talk about how you are engaged by video games. Video games are irritating 90% of the time according to Johnson, something that most people who play video games will no disagree with. They tend to work in a way that for everything you do properly, you get a reward. Then from this new state, you can work towards your next goal. Therefore, video games can enhance goal-oriented thinking and planning. They also can help kids learn something they otherwise wouldn't by presenting it an attractive way, as opposed to something like a classroom environment that they might not respond well to. The TV parts of the text discuss how TV can teach people to look at the subtext of something, the layers of events below the obvious. TV can also teach us how to be socially active and how to act in an acceptable way. The parts of the text devoted to the internet talked about how people can explore and learn new ways to connect. This is basically an expansion of video games and television.

I found this to be a very interesting read. First and foremost, I thought that a point Steven Johnson made that did not specifically target any of the subjects was the most interesting. He proposed the notion that we judge everything based on what has come before it. Now, this isn't like some completely revolutionary concept, but to hear this clearly stated was very nice for me. I think that a lot of people do not realize that they are looking at something, say it's video games, with a prejudice because they are different. For years I have read articles criticizing the use of blood and violence in video games, and I am not justifying the usage or otherwise, but I wonder if the critics realize that it simply something that works for the medium, in the same way that a dramatic dialogue scene works for a novel.

I think that another interesting thing about the article was that it wasn't a straight out bashing of modern technology. Normally when people talk about TV, video games, or the internet, they only focus on the worst case scenarios. They tend to focus on the one kid who killed his mom for taking away his X-Box 360 and not the millions of people who learn strategy from their X-Boxes. So reading the positives of these things was a change of pace. However, I feel like with some parts of the text, that it was merely mentioned and it never went past a surface value. I mean, it is granted that every medium has the potential to express any story, but to connect the over value of medium to that of another would have been more engaging. I think that the internet has the most potential to have a greater value because it encompasses all of the other mediums for example. By that same value, I think that reading might actually have the least because it does not have visuals or interactivity included like video games and TV can. Going in depth with these comparisons would have been nice to see but I think that to get any form of recognition is a nice thing for the modern audience.

In comparison with Feed, Steven Johnson is in a different league altogether. He doesn't really flat-out defend or destroy the looming presence and power that technology has. He talks about how it can actually be of benefit, but he also talks about each medium in a way that they are not solely praised. While Feed was a mockery of American culture and the progression of the world, "Everything Bad is Good for You" was more like a feature article, leaving the choice up to you on whether these things are good or bringing the world to its knees before it dies.

To this point, Feed talks about how everything is about choice, or rather the lack of it. Almost the entire population has the feed plugged in, telling them what to do, what to buy, giving them a million choices to grant the illusion of individuality when you are still doing what they tell you to. Feed makes it seem as though the internet is leading to the feed, where people will lose their-selves to the system that is projected into them. Steven Johnson says nothing about this. He doesn't talk about choice, he talks about how there are good things to every medium, that video games can serve a purpose other than mind-numbing-time-takers. To compare Feed and "Everything Bad is Good for You" is like comparing apples and oranges. Both are similar, for sure, but you can't really compare them in a way that gives them both the justice that they deserve.

HW 13- Feed B

I think of Feed as a mirror of the world. If it is a hammer, I want no part of the world that it is shaping. Rather, I feel that it is a mirror because it reflects the world as it stands now. With our world, so many things seem to be constantly becoming more and more digital and centered around the fee- oh, I'm sorry, the internet. The book clearly reflects this because everything in the lives of the teenagers revolves around the feed. Without it, their lives are unbearable and they become hollow shells of people. If you take technology from a teenager, their lives are likely to react in a similar fashion. If not identical exactly, you will see similar theme's and reactions.

I think that a mirror can be a hammer though, and in a way this book seems to be trying to accomplish that very feat, or so I see it. By showing people what they act like from an outside perspective, you can give people an unknown insight into their one person. Granted, Feed is quite an exaggeration of the world right now, but it is really just a combination of multiple aspects of American culture taken one step further. By showing people the road they are headed towards, they can take a step back and adjust their way of life so that they are not so reliant on an abstract factor such as the internet, or the feed in the book. I myself have seen the error of my ways multiple times by seeing somebody else do something similar or identical and realizing how annoying or wrong it is for me to do whatever it be, like interrupting a conversation somebody is having for instance. Feed looks to accomplish the same thing with American teenagers and the internet.

I would want my piece to be a hammer rather than a mirror. Ideally though, my piece will be both, a hammer and a mirror. I think that the best way for somebody to correct themselves and change their life is to see somebody doing the same thing and the consequences that befall them. I always want to strive for growth, for strengthening of a structure, be it literal or figurative. There are enough mirrors out in the world, between TV, movies, magazines, and the other tentacles to the media's octopus. Too few of these try and make a difference in the life of the person interacting with these things. In a dream world, a chain reaction would occur which would turn everybody's mirrors into hammers to help build for a better tomorrow and make tomorrow a better day.

HW 12- Feed A

Feed by M. T. Anderson is a commentary on the American way of life and where it is headed. Anybody who sees it otherwise, as a sci-fi story, a teenage drama, is not far off, but they do not see the full range the story showcases and the parallels to American life. Take for instance the party that the group of teens go to midway through the story. At this party, everybody is jamming to the same music via the feed, and everything is synchronized. People are dancing, partying and having a good time, with no sound actually leaving their physical bodies. This can be a parallel to two different things. The first being the party, which has kids getting high off of "Bulb-tweaker", which they refer to as a mild scrambler. Essentially, they shock themselves for a high. This is a parallel to teens who go to parties and do some form of drug up in a bedroom where people don't see. Another parallel being that the music is internal for everybody, which connects to a "silent rave". While not the most common things in the world, silent raves are parties or gatherings where people plug in music and dance and have a good time, but there are no speakers just everybody's headphones.

Another, more obvious connection is between the feed and the internet. Through the feed, you are connected to everybody else with a feed and you can M-Chat them. You can also find out everything you need to know, justifying it as an educational tool. However, there is also the onslaught of media coming at you from every angle conceivable, another parallel to the internet, where almost every web page has an advertisement of some sort. The only difference between the feed and the internet is that the feed is always there, but A-HA! There is a connection to the real world as well! The iPhone is a constant connection to the internet, and anybody who has one is constantly carrying it on their person. The iPhone is not alone in this category, because there is a near-constant stream of phones with these capabilities. Many of these even have news stories and internet facts pop up as you open the phone, including my dad's phone, which has a different headline every time you go to the main menu.

Feed also has a connection to the real world through Violet, who sees the Feed differently then everybody else and can in fact live without it much better than the others. She truly understands that the Feed is trying to manipulate people's beings and make them into junior corporate lackeys. This connects to people that understand the massive effect that the internet is having on people every day, or even the media. We are constantly bombarded by images and products just like the characters of Feed so that we are more likely to buy them, or to be warmed up to the idea slowly so that we can eventually buy into having everything we need thanks to the media telling us we can. To be able to see this is not uncommon, but to do something about it in a way that affects people in an interval of time longer than five minutes off of the computer is really something, to be able to change the normal routine that everybody is growing accustomed to thanks to the real world Feed is really something worth mentioning and striving towards.

HW 11- DIGITAL OVERLOAD

My digital experiment, the digital overload:

My experiment was a digital overload. In order to do this, I put on my headphones, plugged them into my computer, turned the volume to the maximum, and did the following:

• Went on AIM, to talk to a few friends
• Watched the following videos all at once, to encompass a large spectrum of the internet and the media:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eDwTq8JAc
2. http://psx.ign.com/dor/objects/13317/wwf-smackdown/videos/smackdown_gmp_mankind_100709.html
3. http://psx.ign.com/dor/objects/13317/wwf-smackdown/videos/smackdown_gmp_jericho_100609.html
4. http://psx.ign.com/dor/objects/13317/wwf-smackdown/videos/smackdown_gmp_jeffhardy_100209.html
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8SyqH3fjfA
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUpOhM8Hxx0&feature=fvw
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d78eRaBD7k&feature=player_profilepage
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEhk2Un8NxE&feature=pyv&ad=3413386824&kw=mike%20bloomberg
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEYFccXHRDQ&feature=channel
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=691WAj8u5ko&feature=player_profilepage
11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFGIj3-q-2w&feature=related
12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va7VijLpm7c

(Some of those were after one another, since I wanted to fill a 5 minute time slot, but there were always at least 5 videos)

• Listened to Goldfrapp, the songs Lovely 2 C U and Ride a White Horse

This experiment made my head want to explode. I knew I was taking this to the extreme, but I was literally shaking for the first minute of this, and couldn't properly type to my friends. It led to ramblings like "ufirifbeicbeicn'oianic'njlnican f vnn e' virwnv nw viefnuo ibdfi gj 'iorj jkcz/v /l" which was a perfect reflection of my mental state, because I just couldn't even properly think throughout this. My head just became completely overloaded with thoughts and ideas that weren't mine, and trying to process all that was going on, that I couldn't think on my own, just go through the motions and get rambling statements as a result. However, after the first couple minutes, I found myself adjusting to what was going on. It was still a million things at once, and it was hard for me to sort things out, but maybe it was videos ending and having to open new ones, but it just felt as though I could handle it and still function to a degree, just not to my normal point.

Informal Research

Concerning Facebook

Site 1: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/06/facebook-users-up-89-over-last-year-demographic-shift/

Site 2: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Site 3: http://www.nickburcher.com/2007/12/latest-facebook-usage-statistics-users.html

Site 4: http://overstated.net/2009/03/09/maintained-relationships-on-facebook

Site 5: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1902248/the_relationship_between_facebook_use.html

Alright, so everybody knows Facebook is everywhere, that Facebook is growing, all that stuff. These sites show you actual statistics that support these vague statements that everybody seems to make all of the time. The most interesting of which, I found, was the fourth link, which talks about the quality of these relationships on Facebook. The survey shows that there is not a linear relation between how many Facebook friends you have and how many are real quality friends, but rather the amount of quality friends is a near constant, with a number ranging from 3/50 (Quality to quantity) to 5/50, and finally to 10/150.

I find this interesting that out of all of those Facebook friends that so few are quality friends, but then I think about my own experiences and I feel that this is mostly accurate. Facebook is really just a tool (For me at least) to talk to friends that I have lost touch with. Many of these friends were once close to me, but they drifter off for a reason, something that becomes apparent when I talk to them online. In fact, in the nearly 3 years since I have joined Facebook, I have only gotten close with 3 people on it that I didn't encounter on a regular basis. I think this goes to show that Facebook loses value quickly, and that really it is just a counter to show how many people you know, or have known in your life.

Commenting on a single comment since not everybody commented on my post like they are supposed to

Maggie,

Thank you for your comment. I like your light humor in the beginning of your posting, it was a nice lead-in to your comment that also accomplished a purpose in explaining how vegetative people are when playing video games.

I found it helpful that you diverged from just talking solely about shooting game or console games, instead expanding your point to encompass an entire genre of gaming and that, coupled with my video, shows the entire spectrum of gaming. I think it is important to not focus too much on one thing, but by focusing on one aspect of the experience like that

Your comment made me think about how people try to displace their true self and leave their body helpless and lifeless to act out another life that they would rather be living for the time being. I think that this is very common, because video games can often be like trying on a different kind of life, when it is a game like the Sims or a military game, so you can have a better idea of what to expect, if not wholly accurate.

Your point about people playing games because they are lazy is very interesting to me, as the gradual decline in fitness levels and attentiveness is something I am very interested in. I have in the past just thought about the food aspects of it, but when you think about it, much of the digitalization we are currently experiencing is to blame instead.

Something we both seem to want to explore is how to make people switch back to doing the real version of something they are doing virtually. Granted, not everything can be done for real with responsibility, but like playing Uno or billiards. It would be interesting to do a survey to determine a way to hook people back into reality, something that is no easy feat.

Thank for the comment,

Henry