Memory Gone Bad!!

As I get ready for this weeks class my mind constantly goes back to last weeks class. I did the reading, I took notes and I thought I had a grasp of what was being talked about – until the class discussion started. I was very lost. I told a fellow classmate that my ADD had kicked in because there were many conversations going on at once. It’s not that I couldn’t follow it but to me there were a bunch of useless words and examples being thrown around. I’m a journalist/writer first and for me that means cutting out the unnecessary and getting straight to the news, the important things that matter. And just as in a newspaper, articles that don’t contain a photograph most likely won’t get published. Just get to the main point and paint a picture while doing it so that we visual learners can understand and remember. And this is just in general, no one person or group in particular.

Speaking of memory, I asked my friend if he knew my phone number and he replied no that he has his phone to do that for him. I thought about the contacts in my phone and how I can count on one hand how many numbers I have memorized. At that moment I started to feel bad because I felt that I was relying on technology way too much. In my last blog I let it be known that I had joined the smartphone community and purchased a Droid. It does everything! I even made a comment about not needing my laptop anymore. In this weeks reading, Flusser: On Memory, he goes through the various stages of memory and how remembering has changed over time. It started out with oral and people passing it on from one person to the next. Next were stones and other hard objects because of their ability to preserve. Now electronic memory that will over exaggerates the original memory. And of course these came with errors. I feel that when we had to tell each other and write it down or even draw it out that our brains and memory were at its strongest. The memory may have not been perfect but the brain was forced to remember something that was being heard or seen. The heavy reliance on technology in todays society could be weakening the memory part of our brain. Fluesser says that humans will just be used to process the information. I think back to the days before all this technology when I didn’t have a problem remembering anybodies phone number and now I find it difficult to recall my mothers number.

I have a GPS, Dell laptop, Ipod, Camera and Droid. To me, a new “techie”, I feel that this is a bit too much. I feel bad for not reading, just for pleasure, like I use to. In this new social media climate I don’t think that we need to invent or come up with anymore new gadgets and toys to help us remember or store our lives. How about we put some of these things down and take a breath of “technology free” air. I know this is a class and major to study all types of new media and the more I learn the more I see it as being negative than positive.

So to sum it up; 1) In class, in general, get to the facts in a much simpler and quicker way. 2) Try not to rely so heavy on electronics to remember for you, make your brain work beyond which button to push on your phone or laptop. 3) Go memorize someones number. (can I LOL in my blog??)

And I say this all from my Droid but not really though because I haven’t learned how to do that yet.