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New Media & Digital Culture - Coggle Diagram
New Media & Digital Culture
Introduction to new media
What is New Media?
Difficult to describe and roughly a
catch-all term for content sharing devices and applications.
Marshall McLuhan is the "High Priest of Pop culture". His world view influenced many opinions on the subject, primarily in a negative light. He believed that technology would become too much of a human lifestyle -"extensions" as it were-, and that these would demand detrimental "amputations" of human qualities as it continued to evolve in the future.
Somewhat derived from McLuhan's theories and parallel to those of marxism, technological determinism is a dire viewpoint that humans cannot control technologies influence on society. Variations of this viewpoint exist with some more extreme than others, but this leads into the the view of technology as neither wholly good or bad.
History of Smartphones
The accidental universe is the indirect experience mediated through technology. This creates a sort of "Parallel universe" through which we view the real world. It is perhaps unwise to become this removed, and the experience is not new, stretching all the way back to the industrial revolution.
We are consistently removing our capacity to retain our own knowledge and skills as we become more reliant on technology to do the work for us.
This Reliance may have benefits in the future, such as ease of access to medical records, but it could also come with consequences. Again the theme of neither good nor bad reiterates itself.
Habit Making device
Smartphone addiction
is a concern that's studied for some time now. It fails to fall under any category of addiction neatly, such as substance or technological addictions, but signs of behavioural addiction are still evident.
A theory for this is that habitual smartphone use simply amplifies existing extreme or negative behaviors. One such amplified habit is the checking for messages or notifications, an extreme version searching for a reward through activation.
Marvel App
Used the marvel app to create the idea for an app that would help solve a problem present on the university. In my case I created a message board/messaging app to help students keep in touch with other students on campus and be given the opportunity to find and meet students with similar interests.
Her Film Analysis
For this the class watched the film Her, and was given information on how to analyze films, and theories regard the media format.
The film itself is an analyzation of how overdependence on technology, presented as a romantic relationship. The main experiences a removal from the real world in lieu of the "Accidental universe" while the girlfriend ai ends evolving far beyond the needs of the humans.
Outsourcing Memory
Once again playing on the theme of over dependence, this section regards the benefits and detriments of reliance on technology for memory. On the one hand technology is more exact in detail than our memory. On the other hand, it's much harder to recall anything of our own volition if we haven't actually memorized it but instead relied on technology.
The Debate between
Clay Shirky, Nicholas Carr,
and
William Poundstone
covers these ideas in more detail. In particular Poundstone amends this with the idea of "meta-ignorance" and the concept of not being aware of how much we don't actually know.
Digital Socialites
Here we were presented with the idea that digital socialization is not as meaningful real life socialization. While some such as
Larry Rosen
may adhere to this belief, referencing anxiety and a lack empathy, others like
Keith N. Hampton
dismiss these ideas as clinging to the past. Hampton believes digital media only accentuates our socialization.
Concerns about media socialization also correlate with addiction, as a study by
Timothy Wilson
found that 67% of men and 25% percent of women would rather inflict themselves with electric shocks than be bored or feel isolated with their thoughts.
Going Dark
This section further explores the idea of isolating oneself from technology or giving yourself time to be alone with your thoughts. There is certainly a correlations between creativity and stillness, as
Dr. Jonathan Smallwood
covers.
If nothing else it's considering re-evaluating digital tools to complement creativity and a less distracted life rather than grab our attention constantly.
My personal opinions coincide very much with this chapter/section as someone who wholly relies on her creative abilities.
Conclusion
It was obvious from reading the book that many of the ideas presented are both intertwined and inescapable when analyzing smartphones and digital media. The idea that technology not good nor bad, nor even entirely neutral is a fundamental cornerstone of each chapter and study. There are certainly many viewpoints concerning the mediums benefits and issues, both with how we receive, retain, and retort information; and how we both manipulate and are manipulated by the phones themselves.
Technology Mindfulness Project
Ever present since week 3, even though the results were somewhat conflicting, I found the project to be ultimately useful- even if in my own personal way.
This project made me aware of my usage amount, which varied widely, and also how much I checked my phone. Both of these were thankfully severely reduced by the end of the semester.