"The Machine is (Changing) Us"... Is it really?

Neil Postman thought that we were "amusing ourselves" to death in 1980's. Well, I wonder what he would say if he saw people today. I believe that we are doing this and truth is being drowned in irrelevance. There is so such a drive to entertain ourselves that we don't even care about real news and events that happen around us.

The part about the word "whatever" was very interesting. I never considered my generation to be the narcissistic generation, but I can definitely see it. the internet doesn't exactly help to get rid of that either. on the internet we are very isolated. we can share our views on blogs and say things to others without any real consequence.

The part when one of Wesch's students was doing a YouTube video and she held the mirror up was a bit eye opening. I watch a lot of videos on YouTube and I truly feel like they are talking to me. I don't realize that they are actually talking to a camera and may feel like they are talking to themselves. they don't know who they are talking to, but we know who we are looking at. It's very anonymous because they will never be able to see who exactly is watching them. they can see comments, but not the person on the other side.

Overall, Micheal Wesch's talk was very eye opening. It has helped me see the internet in a whole new light and see things that i haven't really noticed before. the examples he used were very entertaining, but helped me get his message. 

Digital Writing Within Social networking Sites

Digital Writing has many perks. It's quick and easy. For example, its easier to type out "lol" than to spell out "laugh out loud". It’s easy for the computer to detect mistakes in spelling and correct it for you. It’s also easier to get your ideas out to people quicker. Writing on social networks has developed its own dialect of the English language. This language is normally referred to as text typing, text language and other variations. This new language is easy to grasp for most people and quicker to write with.

Although, the negative side becomes clear when it is used all the time and normal writing is forgotten. When we type out our quick responses on social networks every single day, we get so accustomed to that type of writing. We forget how to write in regular, formal English. As a result, when we need to write an essay for an English class, we notice how our vocabulary has diminished and all that’s left are acronyms like “lol”. This seems silly till it actually happens. I remember writing an essay and forgetting how to spell some words because I'm always writing acronyms or using spell check.

Is Technology Ruining Social Interaction?

Everyone's been in a situation where they have resorted to their phones to avoid awkward situations with other people. I have done so myself on many occasions. Technology, in this sense, can be a life saver. Although, resorting to phones instead of talking to others around can be detrimental. When we use our phones, we are less likely to converse with others around us; we are in another world. People lose the chance to spark up conversations about the weather which may lead to other interesting conversations about their many interests. We lose the ability to learn new things from and about each other.

As I was doing my observations at the Eaglecafe in Pray Harold, I noticed one similarity between all the students who weren't already talking to another person. All of them were using technology at the time. Whether they were bent over their tiny iPhones, or staring at their laptop screens, these students seemed engulfed by their technology. They weren't interacting, they were too busy texting their mom or whatever else they do on their devices. There was one pair of female students who came to the cafe together and sat at the same table, but they weren't talking and had their noses in their small tablets. It’s a sad day when an Eaglecafe is packed with students, but abominably dead with silence.

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I'm Dilann. It's pronounced dee-lan (lan rhyms with pawn). Yea... thats about it.