It actually surprises me when I look at the total number of hours people have their eyes glued to screens like this. This suggests the topic of the digital and electronic environment we live in. Even thinking about living a day without the use of these electronics, many people would think that it would be impossible for them to do. They don't seem to look back at time and see how years ago many others survived without the use of all the digital and electronic media.
What seems interesting to me is that none of these people take the risk of finding out what would happen if they went a day without digital/electronic media. They just assume that they would not be able to live without it, but they never get to find the answer since they are never willing to try it. What’s good about this is that we are able to connect our lives with others and are updated with news within seconds of when it has occurred. The news that we see, hear and experience in our world today keeps us close together and on the same page of current events.
For many, people are able to learn many things about others by looking at the info posted on their facebook profiles, than they would if they were to spend some time with them face to face. Without this entire media, news would not be able to travel fast enough; it would take days or weeks, which would be too late. What’s bad about all this is that this entire media is eating up the lives we live. Instead of going out to play sports or spending quality time with our families, many would rather be texting on their cell phones, surfing the web or playing video games. I feel like this digital and electronic media sensation is taking away the time we would usually use to do other things. I think that if we had a limited use of these materials we would learn how to survive without such items.
People seem to care more about what is going on with other people and tend to know more about their friends instead of their families. The reason for all this is that when not engaging in using the digital and electronic devices, people tend to be doing the things that they need to live like eating and sleeping, then they resume their use of electronics. This is very interesting because in the days we live in people cannot seem to cope with their lives without the usage of such materials. Obviously these people are lost in a world of unlimited usage of such devices, which is important but only in a limited amount of usage. I guess it would be really hard to live without such materials, but if we learn to limit ourselves then we will all know how to control ourselves.
When looking back at how individuals lived their lives decades and centuries ago, the digital media has changed a lot about how we live. When looking at the old days, young women would be with their mothers doing the house chores, helping with food and taking care of the family’s needs; while the young men would be with their fathers in the outside world. If we are to picture how the old times would change if everyone started to use these digital electronics, there would be no history left for us. Looking at the environment we live in now, nobody would be able to survive a day without any digital/electronic media usage, unless if someone is willing to take the risk, the question is who will be the first to do so?
Amber,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. You used a lot of examples to make your point, which I think makes it a lot stronger.
Your point was one that I hear a lot (that because we spend so much time with our electronics that we don't have time for more personal things), but you also introduced more uncommon aspects, like how we are literally addicted to our electronics.
I think that the majority of people would agree with you, even if they don't feel that it's necessarily a negative. Certainly our parent's generation usually thinks of technology this way. I personally agree with everything you wrote, although I don't feel that it's worth limiting our use of technology over.
While at times your grammar was a bit confusing, the overall content of your post was interesting. Usually when people refer to 'not being able to live without their electronics' they are joking, but this brought up the point that it may be somewhat true. Still, I don't think it's the oppressive addiction it's cracked up to be. Nothing's forcing us to stare mindlessly at screens for hours, we do it because we enjoy it. The main reason that we'd have trouble surviving without electronics for a day isn't because we've become so Dependant on them, it's because in the process of enjoying them we've completely destroyed our attention spans. I think that the most likely candidate for someone to take that brave first step would be someone who doesn't mind being really bored.
You have some interesting ideas, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about them!
WOW! Wonderful structured and well thought out post. Your opening question is great, then you answer it with another question, this shows your point of view. By answering with an answer you are able to dig your thoughts out a little deeper. I see you ponder on things that people wouldn’t view them self on there own, like (“Even thinking about living a day without the use of these electronics”), thinking going on. Sweet.
ReplyDeleteYour views on electronic/digital era are seen as a bump of unlimited use of technology. Only if and when there’s a cut back people will realize, there is more to life then media, face book, and all the other electronics out there. You tone is if you have a dislike in the electronic new day of age because you feel people are too consumed by it and don’t realize it, but if they were limited you would be satisfied.
I relate to you in many ways you may not read in my blog. I ask my self questions and then answer them in question. I understand your ideas and standings, such as most people getting lost in the usage of technology. I also agree that it seems that everyone is inside in this world of endless technological media, rather stay there then spend time doing something else less or more productive. I feel as if I’m in the same boat with you and our views are similar. We both feel like technology has a strong hold on a lot and needs to be check or just suppressed in a relax understandable mediated way.
I read as if you were judging everyone and stating only your opinions, which were great by the way, but I thought to my self “where’s you place?” Who are you in between all of the unlimited use of technology? I know your ideas but what’s going on in your life that makes you able to develop theses ideas. There is only 3 or 4 “I” in your entire Blog post. Everything is we, people, many, us, they, ourselves, all, and etc. Its not bad at all that you don’t place your self and ever state “I” a lot but it just got me curious on your position on all of this, well your location. If you do this, it will make your readers more easer to feel you and understanding you more. Relate back to your self.
What you make me consider, is to change the way I write my post. I feel your post is very neat, and mine is much unorganized. It didn’t have really much to do about you on a personal level but others. I like this way of writing. Thinking to answer your questions with more questions is great.
Great post and cant wait to read your others. I didn’t have a clue about you, now I got a lil insight of you before I even talk to you, so thank you for your post until next time Amber.
-Later.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteHearing your thoughts on this topic was pretty interesting. You used alot of different examples to support your arguments which made it stronger. Like the way some people use technology to be updated on other people. I also liked that you spaced your paragraphs out or made it distinct so its more neat.
Alot of what you said was about how it was taking up our time and if we could manage that time we'd be able to "control ourselves" and stopping from using technology so much. It made me think about how much I use the electronics and how much time other people do as well. I think we can get on without it, but in this time and age, its neccesary for how we live. So it'd be impossible to unplug totally unless we lived as hermits or something. I think we can go without a day or a month as long as we don't have to do anything on the computer because right now for school, we need to, almost daily.
For developing, some of the points could be shortened to be more succint like the point about us being able to live without electronics if we tried, that could be one paragraph instead of being part of two. There are some points where it doesn't seem exactly related, "People seem to care more about what is going on with other people and tend to know more about their friends instead of their families. The reason for all this is that when not engaging in using the digital and electronic devices, people tend to be doing the things that they need to live like eating and sleeping, then they resume their use of electronics." What does the use of electronics have to do with why people know more about their friends than family? Address what specifically they do, whether its reading their friend's update on aim or facebook or just talking to them more. I think if you proofread or got someone to proofread for you it'd help. It's pretty good, you still have some ways to go as a writer, but you'll get better as you write more. The topics are good, just need to be developed. Its decent so far. I feel somewhat like Simon on American Idol after writing this...But really, I'm not trying to be mean so don't get the wrong idea? (My friend usually asks me to proofread her essays and somehow I got stuck in that mode reading yours. Soo this might be why I'm so focused on this right now, that and I am supremely sleep deprived/tired at the moment. *Is proofreading sleep deprived paragraphs so grammatical errors are limited and is readable* Point is, I'm very neurotic when sleep deprived.)
When I first read "Looking at the environment we live in now, nobody would be able to survive a day without any digital/electronic media usage, unless if someone is willing to take the risk, the question is who will be the first to do so?" I thought I think that many people have gone a day without digital/electronic usage because I was thinking of someone I knew who went on vacation and left all electronics at home and just brought books but then I think most people probably don't do that. See, I can't help but take questions at face value. I think there are approximately 7 billion people on this earth. At least a few million have done so. But if I think more generally, in our society that's pretty rare since someone always has some electronic device with them, whether it is a cellphone or mp3 or radio and while it may not be the "first to do so" it's still pretty rare.
Anyways great first post Amber! I look forward to seeing more ideas :)
Remy,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your thoughts and feelings about my blog post. You really seem to understand the point I am trying to come across.
It is very helpful that you included your own thoughts about my post, and this helps me think beyond them. Also, I guess the way I write may seem a bit confusing to others like you, so I will try to fix that for next time.
I was trying to focus on more about how the digital/electronic media has changed our society and if we can try to challenge ourselves into living without it for a day. I disagree, even though you are not always forced to use such materials, at times you come across situations where you are not able to avoid the electronic media. For example if your job is in near Times Square, you have to walk through the streets filled with digital/electronic media to get to work. Or you may blind fold yourself when walking through Times Square but that would not be such a great idea.
I think you tend to talk more about how we use digital electronic media for pleasure, where as I talk about it based on survival and looking at alternatives.
Both of us seem to ask questions that cannot be answered until they are tested out; for example let’s try to live without the digital/electronic media that surrounds us now days. How will it change the way we think right now?
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your kind words about my blog post. I think you really enjoyed learning about my thoughts on this topic.
It helps me a lot when you included your own thoughts feelings, and questions about what you read. This helps me out because I like to build off of other peoples questions since it helps me dig deeper into the topic.
I tried to base my thoughts on my own experiences and how to me others seem to mix into this topic of digital/electronic media. After reading your questions I start to think more about where I actually stand in this situation. I haven’t deeply thought about this, but now I am starting to. To be honest I don’t know where I stand exactly, I just seem to be somewhere. I need to start creating an answer to where I stand based on my thoughts and feelings. Right now I hear many things from different people and it interferes with my thoughts because I do not have a right answer.
It looks like I base my thoughts on all of us as a whole like how our community responds to all this. You want to learn more about me as an individual in this situation.
Both of us seem to question ourselves on how if all this is supposed to be a good or a bad thing. When will we be able to get a straight answer?