Thursday, February 15, 2007
An argument...
Although technology has sped up the way we live our lives and conduct our business, relationships are suffering due to people being disconnected with society and a false desire of instant gratification, because our society has created a situation where people have more time than ever and spend this time trying to obtain more and more false desires in which they have come to believe will make them happy.
Myspace, Facebook and the Situation of Discourse
As my blog has been narrowed down to technology and speed and how they affect relationships today, I turn to the internet. Facebook and MySpace are no longer unknown names. They are huge online communities and mostly I will focus on the one I belong to and am familiar with: Facebook.
I think the best way to apply the situation of discourse to facebook is through the individual users. For those of you who don't know, facebook is an online community made up of mostly college students. Everyone who registers (you must have a .edu email address), gets their own personal page which they can put up pictures and fill in information about themselves. Therefore, when I was making my account as I got to college, my implied audience was my peers, friends, and potential friends who wanted to learn more about me. The whole point of facebook is to create a digital image of yourself by stating your favorite movies, books, interests and putting up pictures of yourself. As one reads through your profile they make assumptions about you based on what you put. There is a strong sense of ethos because the majority of people who read your profile you have already met in person and would know if you made up information on your profile.
In short, the actual author is you and the implied author is who you picture yourself to be. The target audience is your friends, peers and anyone you are going to meet in college whom you call a friend. On facebook you must request to be someone's friend and they have to confirm it. Upon being confirmed usually the two read each others profiles, for it is the first time you can view it. Some profiles use humor while others are straighforward and serious. One of the most popular features of facebook is the wall. The wall is a public area on each persons profile which others can write whatever they want. It is interesting to see how people post on each others walls because it is visible to all and very impersonal. Writing on someones wall, you know that everyone else that person is friends with has the ability to read it.
All in all, facebook would be nothing without its community of people. It is well trusted because most people on it are college students like yourself. You are given an opportunity to be an author and the audience at the same time. You are given an opportunity to create an image and message about yourself to all others connected to the network. No where else is there anything like this and it creates a truely unique and interesting situation.
I think the best way to apply the situation of discourse to facebook is through the individual users. For those of you who don't know, facebook is an online community made up of mostly college students. Everyone who registers (you must have a .edu email address), gets their own personal page which they can put up pictures and fill in information about themselves. Therefore, when I was making my account as I got to college, my implied audience was my peers, friends, and potential friends who wanted to learn more about me. The whole point of facebook is to create a digital image of yourself by stating your favorite movies, books, interests and putting up pictures of yourself. As one reads through your profile they make assumptions about you based on what you put. There is a strong sense of ethos because the majority of people who read your profile you have already met in person and would know if you made up information on your profile.
In short, the actual author is you and the implied author is who you picture yourself to be. The target audience is your friends, peers and anyone you are going to meet in college whom you call a friend. On facebook you must request to be someone's friend and they have to confirm it. Upon being confirmed usually the two read each others profiles, for it is the first time you can view it. Some profiles use humor while others are straighforward and serious. One of the most popular features of facebook is the wall. The wall is a public area on each persons profile which others can write whatever they want. It is interesting to see how people post on each others walls because it is visible to all and very impersonal. Writing on someones wall, you know that everyone else that person is friends with has the ability to read it.
All in all, facebook would be nothing without its community of people. It is well trusted because most people on it are college students like yourself. You are given an opportunity to be an author and the audience at the same time. You are given an opportunity to create an image and message about yourself to all others connected to the network. No where else is there anything like this and it creates a truely unique and interesting situation.
Un-connected-ness
http://www.net-temps.com/recruiters/hermantrend/index.htm?id=92
I found this article to be directly related to my blog and the topic of technology ruining relationships. The basic claim of the article is that while technology allows us to be so connected and focused in on one person, we ignore our surroundings and the people around us. So, while our one on one relationships might be more connected, overall we are becoming disconnected with society. In the article, a poll taken says that many people prefer talking on the phone over face to face communications.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “friendship should be surrounded with ceremonies and respects, and not crushed into corners. Friendship requires more time than poor busy men can usually command.”
There is a reason that today divorce rates are higher than ever and relationships have taken a turn to being more casual. There seems to be this common theme of speed, technology, and disconnectedness. So much is lost from face to face communication. Non-verbal communication is a huge part of the communication process which was first outlined by Charles Darwin. Through today's standards, most of this has been lost for one cannot see the gestures, facial expressions and movements through a computer screen or over a cell phone.
According to another article:
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=778
The author states that while all of us are claiming to save time, we really just want to accomplish more. The idea of speed and technology has created a society that is used to instant everything. Fast food, instant coffee, instant messaging, and many other things the article states. Most of all though this has carried over to our relationships. The hardest thing for our young society to learn today is that all good things take hard work and dedication. There is no such thing as instant intimacy as stated in the article.
I found this article to be directly related to my blog and the topic of technology ruining relationships. The basic claim of the article is that while technology allows us to be so connected and focused in on one person, we ignore our surroundings and the people around us. So, while our one on one relationships might be more connected, overall we are becoming disconnected with society. In the article, a poll taken says that many people prefer talking on the phone over face to face communications.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “friendship should be surrounded with ceremonies and respects, and not crushed into corners. Friendship requires more time than poor busy men can usually command.”
There is a reason that today divorce rates are higher than ever and relationships have taken a turn to being more casual. There seems to be this common theme of speed, technology, and disconnectedness. So much is lost from face to face communication. Non-verbal communication is a huge part of the communication process which was first outlined by Charles Darwin. Through today's standards, most of this has been lost for one cannot see the gestures, facial expressions and movements through a computer screen or over a cell phone.
According to another article:
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=778
The author states that while all of us are claiming to save time, we really just want to accomplish more. The idea of speed and technology has created a society that is used to instant everything. Fast food, instant coffee, instant messaging, and many other things the article states. Most of all though this has carried over to our relationships. The hardest thing for our young society to learn today is that all good things take hard work and dedication. There is no such thing as instant intimacy as stated in the article.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Cell phones
The cell phone is a very interesting device that has changed our lives. Around the turn of the millenium, cell phones became affordable to everyone. In the past it may have been uncommon to have one, but now it is uncommon not to have one. To many, a cell phone is an extension of themselves, allowing them to reach otherwise unreachable persons.
As I walked around campus for the last few weeks, I have taken note to the amount of people who talk on their cell phones. It really seems that 1 out of every 3 people you see are talking on their phones as they walk from class to class. It also seemed that about half of the people talking on their phones were talking to their significant other (although there is no way to be sure without asking). Now, if you do the math that means that 1 out of every 6 people you see are talking on their cell phones to their significant other!
What a nightmare this can be for relationships. The amount of time that can be spent talking to one another is increased almost infinately. One can go about their daily lives and still be connected to the one their in a relationship with. In a completely mathematical way of looking at relationships, we can say that relationships last X amount of time with Y being the amount of time spent "connected" or together. As Y increases, X decreases due to the nature of the equation. Cell phones and other forms of communications speed up this process as Y increases greatly by allowing people in relationships always to be connected. Basically relationships will be shorter because time spent with each other increases.
As I walked around campus for the last few weeks, I have taken note to the amount of people who talk on their cell phones. It really seems that 1 out of every 3 people you see are talking on their phones as they walk from class to class. It also seemed that about half of the people talking on their phones were talking to their significant other (although there is no way to be sure without asking). Now, if you do the math that means that 1 out of every 6 people you see are talking on their cell phones to their significant other!
What a nightmare this can be for relationships. The amount of time that can be spent talking to one another is increased almost infinately. One can go about their daily lives and still be connected to the one their in a relationship with. In a completely mathematical way of looking at relationships, we can say that relationships last X amount of time with Y being the amount of time spent "connected" or together. As Y increases, X decreases due to the nature of the equation. Cell phones and other forms of communications speed up this process as Y increases greatly by allowing people in relationships always to be connected. Basically relationships will be shorter because time spent with each other increases.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
The Age of Speed
To me technology really only means one thing...Speed. The purpose of technology is to speed up processes that would otherwise take us longer to do. As the world speeds up, it causes people to speed up as well. People have more and more time but consequently are in more and more of a hurry. Time has become more valuable than ever, and because of it day to day relationships are diminishing. Appearance has become more important than who the person acutally is. The way someone looks is a quick and easy way to judge who you think that person is and what kind of person they are. People pass judgements quickly as they walk down the street in a hurry from point A to point B without taking the time to actually get to know somebody.
As technology has created this faster, more chaotic world, it has also created a whole other side to it. Chatrooms, email, cell phones and online communities are bigger than ever. The ironic thing about the superficial society that technology has created is that these ways of communiticating through technology actually allow for personal relationships. Online dating services are bigger than ever and chatrooms are filled with millions of users who can say whatever they want under the cover of a screen name. If you connect with someone, you can have a one on one conversation and slowly disclose more personal information. Some sites like www.facebook.com and www.myspace.com are a little more revealing by allowing users to put up pictures and create a profile about themselves.
Is love possible over the internet? Only time will tell. There are more and more stories everyday of people meeting through email or on a chat program only end up starting an online relationship that turns into more. I think the reason for this success is because through technology (especially the internet) a person can filter their searches to things that they truely like. Thousands of people with similar interests and personalities come together everyday and share ideas. While everyone deals with our superficial and speed-driven society on a daily basis, millions are turning to technology to detach themselves from the system and try to find people who are similiar to themselves and share ideas. If love is a connection between two people, then technology is helping people make that connection that would otherwise not be there.
As technology has created this faster, more chaotic world, it has also created a whole other side to it. Chatrooms, email, cell phones and online communities are bigger than ever. The ironic thing about the superficial society that technology has created is that these ways of communiticating through technology actually allow for personal relationships. Online dating services are bigger than ever and chatrooms are filled with millions of users who can say whatever they want under the cover of a screen name. If you connect with someone, you can have a one on one conversation and slowly disclose more personal information. Some sites like www.facebook.com and www.myspace.com are a little more revealing by allowing users to put up pictures and create a profile about themselves.
Is love possible over the internet? Only time will tell. There are more and more stories everyday of people meeting through email or on a chat program only end up starting an online relationship that turns into more. I think the reason for this success is because through technology (especially the internet) a person can filter their searches to things that they truely like. Thousands of people with similar interests and personalities come together everyday and share ideas. While everyone deals with our superficial and speed-driven society on a daily basis, millions are turning to technology to detach themselves from the system and try to find people who are similiar to themselves and share ideas. If love is a connection between two people, then technology is helping people make that connection that would otherwise not be there.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
The Mission
It is 3 in the morning and I find myself sitting at my computer deep in an instant message conversation with someone who may as well be hundreds of miles away. My cell phone rings on the other side of the room at the same time as I receive an email from yet another person. Here lies the dilema...whom do I choose to talk to? My answer: all of them. I quickly pick up my phone, continue to chat online and reply to the email without skipping a beat. This is the age of technology and to many this may be a reality. Relationships are created everyday through the use of technology that would have not occured otherwise. This blog will explore the many aspects of relationships created through technology and how it affects those involved.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
First Post
Hey there, just testing this out. I'm still deciding what my topic for this blog is going to be, so for now I'll leave you with a website I found.
http://www.lovesoulmate.net
I found it as an ad on the side of another site but it caught my eye because it relates to courtship. Do soul mates exist? All over the internet I see advertisements for finding the "girl of your dreams". It seems now even the internet is playing off of lonely people's emotions offering services to those searching for a mate. Thats all for now...more later.
http://www.lovesoulmate.net
I found it as an ad on the side of another site but it caught my eye because it relates to courtship. Do soul mates exist? All over the internet I see advertisements for finding the "girl of your dreams". It seems now even the internet is playing off of lonely people's emotions offering services to those searching for a mate. Thats all for now...more later.
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