This weeks readings were about the networked individual. The story about Trudy and Peter really fascinated me, because they used technology to their advantage, and stayed connected more efficiently and faster than if they would have relied on just face to face, or simply phone calls. The network individual is about personalizing and making technology adapted to your needs. If you need an answer from someone, you do not have to go through a third party. You can get the answer from many different sources: via email, text, phone call, and even post. People have their agendas on their phones and can set their lives to be more convenient for them. The way Peter and Trudy were able to communicate what had happened to them in a wider mass, was effective in attaining more resources for help.Then friends and family were able to get help from their friends and family and so on. This shows how communication online is not all negative like some people think. Ronnie and Wellman say, “people are not hooked on gadgets-they are hooked on each other”. This is interesting, because if you think about it, most people are communicating online with someone. They are still talking to people, so there is not complete isolation from the world. Most teens who are online or texting do spend hours in front of the screen, but it is to talk to friends and or family.
In the radio interview with Byam, she says “attention has always been scare”. Negative attention always gets more attention than positive attention. So the negative attention that technology gets is overpowered, because the research that is done on the positive is obscured. Not many people know about it. Byam also recognized that there should be a balance with online communication and spending time with loved ones since most people have such scarce time. So what I think she was trying to say was that she does not think the use of technology is bad, also depending what we are doing online, just as long as we can find a balance between the two. So it is ok to look into each others eyes for a while until it gets creepy, then we can gaze back onto our screens. Personally, I do not get online much on the weekends and try to stay away from technology so I can focus on my family and me time, so I do think finding a balance is very important.
I loved Wellman’s quote that “people are not hooked on gadgets – they are hooked on each other.” As you said, fears that we are isolating ourselves seem to ignore the fact that we’re still communicating when online, just in different ways. Studies also show that online communications hasn’t necessarily replaced face-to-face communication. It can actually enhance our face-to-face relationships.
Baym, Wellman and other proponents of CMC argue that the onus is on us to find a balance in our use of new technology, our computers, our phones, etc. While that’s true, that doesn’t deny the fact that milenllials in particular are very easily distracted now because we are used to having access to so much information on demand. I find myself having trouble concentrating at hour-long meetings. It’s hard for me to focus on one subject for an extended period of time without checking my phone. Even when reading some of the material for this class, I might get to page 10 of a 30 page PDF, and I need a break to check my text messages, Twitter feed, a message board or something else that is going on. I have access to so much, and I therefore feel the need to stay informed as frequently as possible. That takes takes a lot of effort.
Yes Tim I agree, we are forced to become super multitaskers and it can get hard sometimes. Just like you I need my breaks to check my text messages and it is hard to concentrate on things at times when you have your phone ringing saying read me read me I have something more interesting than what you are doing to show you! lol
Yes, I completely agree. Its the fear that you are missing out on a social exchange that makes it so hard to ignore when you are doing a mundane task. I think that plays into the rise in multi-tasking, which I’m guilty of. I find myself checking my phone even during a TV show or movie that I’m really interested in. Also, with CMC, you remove most of the awkward situations that crop up in face to face exchanges like forgetting someone’s name or running into someone you might not want to see.
Yes, Baym, ment that using the technology is not that bad. We all also have scarce time to build new relationships;especially, face-to-face ones. Today, everything is going so fast, life is harder and more expensive than before. People don’t have enough time to visit each others or talk in the phone, or even spend valuable time together around the dinner table like before. For all that, CMC can help us to keep in touch with our friends and family memeber.
I fully agree with the latter part of your blog. As much as I hate to admit it, there have been instances in which negative attention has been noticed more than positive attention. This not only applies to technology, but also for some celebrities as well. For example, Leif Garrett has received more attention for his arrests and counts of drug overuse than from his songs or movie appearances. Negative attention has proven to be a core part of today’s society.