Technology is the new handshake, smile and hug. A firm handshake or pat on the back means less now that you can just appreciate a person with a few strokes of the keyboard.
I went to a networking event this past weekend and the subject of social media came up. They mentioned the usual Facebook, Myspace and Twitter but then one was mentioned that I had never heard of. Second Life. What is Second Life? It’s a virtual world where people can basically create another life and communicate via voice and text chat. Is that not doing a bit too much? Did this place just combine Skype, Sims and Facebook?
Random fact: did you know that UTD purchased $50,000 worth of virtual property on Second Life? So if you play this game make sure to go build on UTD’s island.
With the younger generations coming up in this tech heavy environment, will they not only know how not to spell out words or write a complete sentence but will they also lose their face to face connections?
In Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the MASSAGE” he quotes J. Robert Oppenheimer saying, “There are children playing in the street who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they haves modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.”
Todays world wants you to go online to handle your business. They try and create the same friendly, greet you at the desk or door and offer great customer service online. But its not the same. You have people that no longer step outside of the house to go to the store or even get a fresh breath of air because they can all do all of this with one click. Why should one go out into the world and make friends when you can just pick them up online or even rent them. There is a website that offers you such a service Rent a Friend to Meet New People, I was tempted to sign up just to see what it would be like.
To go back to last weeks blog if we would not allow the computer to think so much for us maybe it would be easier to have a clear thought of our own. Instead of building worlds online, if you can, step outside the house and build a decent friendship. Go talk to the teller at Bank of America and let them see your beautiful face.
To leave you with a quote from “the medium is the MASSAGE”, “In the name of “progress,” our official culture is striving to force the new media to do the work of the old.”
Tech update:
-This phone can scan barcodes. It may not be new to everybody but its new to me. And I use it everywhere. I find it interesting that I shine a negative light on new technologies but yet I find more positive ways to use it. Its all apart of my master plan.
D-
ReplyDeleteYour blog is a great read, and I sincerely appreciate your thoughts, while I was reading I came across some tough questions myself...
Would it be possible for society to eventually embrace convenience as opposed to taking the time to visit places where face-to-face service was available? Is it possible for those still wanting to practice the older school method of providing engagement and interacting with people to effectively use new/emerging media?
What are your thoughts on how we can combine these two thought processes? I look forward to hearing your observations-
Danelle - You cover a lot of interesting topics in this post, but the different topics end up spread a bit thin. For next week, try to narrow in on any one of these topics: SecondLife, online commerce, sense perception in McLuhan, rent a friend, phone barcodes, etc. As a reader, I am interested in all of these things, but I would rather read a more in-depth analysis of any one of them than something that covers all of them at once. Please feel free to see me during office hours or by appointment if you have questions.
ReplyDeleteAmanda-I think that there can be a balance of the two but then comes the process in finding the balance. There are some things I don't mind doing online but at the end of the day I love the face to face. And one thing that I have really noticed is that the virtual/online world has taken over so much that people forget how to old a basic conversation. In this day and age its easier to live behind the computer screen. At the end of the day we most likely will have to find our own balances between face to face interactions and online interactions.
ReplyDeleteKim- I'm sorry. Thats the story of my life, covering multiple topics in a short period of time. I will work on focusing in one subject in the future.
I have heard of Second Life, and I tried it once (probably about a year ago). But, the first person that I came in contact with the started chatting with me was clearly a pervert and it put me off from being on there at all, so I closed my account. I think that's the thing with many online types of things. It's hard to really know who's on the other side of that wire. Is the person you are really talking to who they seem to be online? There are still some things that are better to do in person that I don't think online technologies or medias can ever reproduce.
ReplyDeletei enjoyed your blog and the comments it's generated. it lead me to think about online dating. online dating let's us find love while enjoying the comfort of our sofas. it steamlines the dating process by making it easier to screen then select the right partner.
ReplyDeletei have some friends who met on an online dating site. they are married now and living aboard. i've often wondered if destiny would have lead them to each other, or if they were if the power of the Internet destined their meeting. if they'd met in the real world, i wonder how long would it have taken to make the connection that lead to marriage. or would it have even happened.