Pros & Cons of Social Media

Ever since the introduction of social media, the way we communicate and interact with each other has changed. Society as a whole has experienced a change in ways of communication and interaction thanks to networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. The way we get our information, the way we talk to each other, and how we navigate our everyday lives has changed due to the influence of online networking. With change comes the positives and the negatives of the new way of daily interaction.

Pros:
Social media has opened up a new world of obtaining news and other information. Before the new age of technology, people had to wait until the evening news or the morning paper to know about major events. Now, people can know what is happening instantly. With more and more news and information outlets utilizing sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is quite common to follow events as they unfold. Social network sites have also started keeping track of what is happening around the world in real time. Known as "trending", the sites take into account how many people are talking about a certain topic or news story and allows you to see it for yourself and even join in on the conversation. All of that shared information on multiple platforms also sparks conversations, opinions, and reactions to the content. Social media allows people to view a varied amount of content and then comment on it. People can now share their opinion or reaction and be views by many people, possibly sparking discussions with people that you may or may not even know. Another plus to our new online lives is being able to connect to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Online networking has allowed us to stay up-to-date with friends, family, even celebrities. We can now share our experiences, photos, and videos in real time, allowing people to stay connected no matter where they are.

Cons:
With any new advancement comes the negative side-affects. The instantaneity of information can sometimes be inaccurate, exposing millions of people to information that is not true. Every news outlet wants to be first with the information, but sometimes disregards the fact that what they are putting out there for the world to see is false. In other cases, information outlets may decide to use someone's first-hand account of an event, which could be factual, or just completely made up. In some instances, real life situations continue into the online world. Cyberbullying has become an issue mainly with school-aged kids but has occurred with adults as well. The ease of having multiple platforms to communicate with people online has allowed for such a thing to exist. Finally, one impact online networking has made on the real world is the less frequent one-on-one conversation. Many people nowadays are on their phones at social gatherings, or while at home with the family, often connecting with others over social media. Also, the younger generation can sometimes seem to lack people skills because they are used to interacting with people online rather than in person. It must be easier to type something on a keyboard and tweet it than having a face-to-face conversation.

The impact that social media has had on society is a great thing. In some ways it has brought us closer together. Online networking has allowed people to view different things they might not usually get to see, connect with people that might have otherwise been forgotten. People have a new understanding of how our society works and can let us know how they feel about it in the comment box. Unfortunately for some, social media is the only way of life that they know, which can backfire when trying to engage with others in the real world. We can only hope that the online world and real world can co-exist in peace.

Social Isolation

Whenever you leave your house, dorm, apartment, or whatever, I'll bet anything the first thing you make sure you have is your phone. We have all grown up in a world where technology is the norm whether we like it or not, and where some people are more involved in their social profiles than they are with the people they're actually with.

This video went extremely viral and it's kind of ironic because it's saying that people should get off their phone and interact with others around them but then they share this video on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. to show others that they should get off their phone. However, it shows how important it is to actually engage in conversation with other people. It's not saying technology is bad, it's saying that we are becoming unsocial because of it. What catches me most about this video is that people are going to watch it and say, "Wow, that was super powerful, I really should get off my phone more I'm going to start doing that," and then the next day they'll be back on their phone. It's not their fault because in the world we live in today, technology is a necessity.

One of the first things we talked about in class was koine, engaging with strangers, and idia, being in our own world. Today we all live in our own world, especially us teenagers. I'll admit that there are times where I get really involved in something online, but now it's starting to make sense because I am 9 hours away from home and all of my friends went to different colleges. However, there are some people who are on their phone literally all the time. You see it on the street with people running into each other and you see it in restaurants when people are on dates. How are you supposed to get to know someone if you're too busy texting your friend about the hot person you're on a date with or live-tweeting the entire date? First of all, no one cares about your date and second of all you don't seem to either.

It's okay to be in our own world sometimes but it's important to remember that there is a world outside Facebook. We need to be able to interact with other people outside the internet because believe it or not, you probably won't impress an employer with a meme you created. Unless you're applying for some job that makes memes.

So the next time you're in class, out with friends, or just at home watching a video, think about how much time you're spending on your phone. If you're really daring (or just curious), there's an app called "Moment" that you can download and it tells you how much time you've spent on your phone. You may be surprised and actually put down your phone.

Bad Habits? Thank Technology

“How many times do you look at your phone screen each day?”

It's a question that we are asked by our teachers, surveys, and angrily by our parents and grandparents. But honestly, no one knows the answer. It has become a habit to have our phones constantly by our sides just like babies and their binkies. Today, people with nonstop connection to precious technology have inherited habits that are simply unnecessary and diminishing to human existence. These habits have caused problems within ourselves and the society around us. This alludes to the concept known as ubiquitous computing which states computers are EVERYWHERE, seriously. Because of this, we have no other choice but to conform to these habits.

These habits, that everyone is guilty of, are ones that we definitely wouldn't have if iPhones, actually all technology, didn't exist. Since computers are everywhere we have no other choice but to adapt and be forced into these bad habits. What habits am I talking about? Well, think about these and try to tell yourself you don’t do them. Do you pull your cellphone out during college lectures, dinner at restaurants with your family, when you're going to the bathroom (everyone does it, don't lie)? Do you reach for your cell phone the moment you wake up in the morning? Do you take pictures of pointless things that you end up deleting an hour later? Or what about texting and driving and using Maps when you can just look at the big, green signs. And last but not least, do you scroll aimlessly through Apps when you're waiting around?

These habits wouldn't be evident if technology didn't exist and honestly the world would be better off without these habits embedded in everyone. Instead of paying attention and gaining all the information necessary to pass the class, students are scrolling through their Twitter because we HAVE to keep up with everyone's super interesting lives every 90 seconds. Even though our parents gave birth to us we would rather text our friends about plans rather than have a conversation at the dinner table. Why do we take out our phones instantly when we see something beautiful or funny instead of just taking in the experience and enjoying it? Because these awful habits tell us if we don't take out our phones we are going to miss something. During elevator rides everyone whips out their phones and stares at the screen pretending they’re doing something to avoid eye contact and conversation. This habit is the worst and most noticed. Constant contact with our phones has forced us to be unsocial because instead of looking up at the people we look down to the small screen where we are being "social" through apps on our phone.

The main way these technology habits cause danger is when we are on the roads. In fact, texting and driving causes more than 1,600,000 accidents per year (National Safety Council). If we can't stop ourselves from looking at our phones for just twenty minutes then what does that say? It says that technology has us so gripped around its finger that we can't stop ourselves from doing these habits. 

I'm not saying we are villains. We can't control these habits because it’s just the way the world is conforming and transitioning. Although I personally think it’s sad, I do the same things as any other young adult. I will admit it. Having technology at the grasp of our fingertips is helpful in certain ways but there is always a negative on the flip side. As technology keeps enhancing I'm interested and a little nervous to see what the future holds for the sake of society.

What is All the Hype About?

    If we are being honest, I had no clue that google glass had actually been released to the public for one day only until we talked about it in class. Google Glass is a piece of wearable technology to ensure that we never have to spend a second of our day away from technology. Google glass has many pros and cons. To begin, is it really all that safe for a person to be partaking in everyday activities while wearing Google Glass. Secondly, Google Glass makes it very hard to socialize with others. Finally, Google Glass can be used in a positive way when it comes to the many different applications that are installed.

    Let us begin by asking ourselves is it really safe for a human to be looking at technology 24 hours a day 7 days a week while trying to live a normal life? I personally am going to say no it is not. For example, walking, biking, and driving are all things that require someone's full attention, but when wearing google glass you a concentrated on other things. Yes, it has been announced that you should not wear Google Glass while driving. When it comes to biking and walking it is in many ways a free for all. Even Rich Chang, a Google Glass app developer says that it is unsafe for people to be walking and biking while wearing this technology. People are already very distracted when walking, biking, and driving so adding Google Glass into the mix would not be a good thing. 

    The next con about google glass is all about the social aspect. A person can either live in a world where they communicate with everyone or live in a world where they communicate with no one. When someone is wearing google glass they are more likely to live in a world where they do not talk to strangers. Stranger sociability is extremely important for someone to live a healthy lifestyle. You can gain a lot of life experience just from talking to one stranger a day. This has been the case for many years. Greece coined the term koine and that means living in a world constantly engaging with others. Unfortunately, while wearing Google Glass a person is not as likely to participate in the koine type of life and that can potentially have many consequences in the future. 

    Finally, one pro of google glass is all of the applications that you have the ability to use. Someone wearing google glass has the ability to record their whole life. They will never miss the opportunity to take a picture or video. Google Glass takes "home videos" to a whole new level. All people have to do is tell Google Glass when to record or take a picture and it happens, completely hands free. In this video you will see some of the videos and pictures that people have taken with google glass. I think any photographer would love this technology because you can take pictures from a whole new angle.

    Yes, Google Glass has many pros and cons and in this post I only touched on a few.  To begin, is it really all that safe for a person to be partaking in everyday activities while wearing Google Glass. Secondly, Google Glass makes it very hard to socialize with others. Finally, Google Glass can be used in a positive way when it comes to the many different applications that are installed.  Eventually I think Google Glass will be a very common part of our society. I think that there are many corrections that still need to be made to Google Glass before they are fully integrated into our daily lives.     

    

   

Google Glass YAY or NAY

   We all know that one person that's constantly on some sort of technology,  ignoring all means of human life  (social media isn't a human life form, by the way).  You're trying to have a conversation with them being all 'koine-like', engaging in conversation, communicating face to face, getting personal opinions and they are half-a**ing (pardon my asterisks) your conversation!  Technology has become too big of a part of our lives.  We are switching out people for apps and conversation for social media.  I'm guilty of it too, waking up and going to sleep and everything in between with phone in hand.  But Google is taking it too far with the new Google Glass.  

    Google Glass is just a step closer to being in constant 'idia'/in your own world.  As you can see, I'm pretty against it.  This new wave of constant technology makes me feel about as uncomfortable as a raw oyster served with sweet pickles.  Who knows maybe I'm just a old person at heart dissing anything new to me, but we have people to communicate with face to face and a beautiful world to explore.  And all of which can and would be done best without constant technology.

   Now here are some pictures to...just because.

"Fountain"

Expensive art is one of the hardest things to understand for most people.  How does one decide to 

spend millions of dollars on a piece of painting or a sculpture?  I have never walked in a rich persons 

shoes and I can only speculate that art and social status are somehow connected in society today.  

Expensive art is something I will ever be able to understand.  Paying millions for a painting can be 

justified, but how do you justify paying almost two million for a piece of so called art that is a urinal?  

At what point does a urinal, that is massed produced, become art. 

(original piece)

This is the famous urinal that was sold for 1.7 million at Sotheby's in 1999.  We discussed this piece 

in my intro to music class; most of the student  chuckled at this piece and could not comprehend that this 

passed as something that was considers an art.  My teacher gave a short bio about the author of this 

piece; Duchamp needed to submit an art piece to an upcoming showcase so he casually went to a 

plumbing store and bought this piece.  Duchamp signed his name on it and submitted it.  He wasn't very 

popular in his time; but in December 2004, Duchamp's Fountain was voted the most influential artwork of 

the 20th century by 500 selected British art world professionals.  I cannot understand this piece; and 

never will and wont even try to.  That was a large amount of money that was paid for this piece and in 

my opinion the money spend on this urinal could have been spend in a more useful and effective way.  

There is no reason that anyone should spend 1.7 million dollars on a urinal that was purchased for an 

original price that was about maybe a dollar.  If this piece was purchased to show wealth then people 

who buy these things don't have much imagination.  Wealth can also be said to be similar to power; 

possessing expensive things is showing wealth.  Purchasing expensive art is showing wealth. Everything 

that we do is interconnected;  whether we realize it or not.  

(Piece that was sold in 1999)

Gutenberg Parenthesis