Copying Might Not Be That Bad

In response to Lauren's recent post about social media companies copying others and their lack of originality, it's my belief that copying ideas--although it makes sense that the popularity of an aspect of one site would transfer to another--it ultimately comes off as lazy. Although, adding things like hashtags and private messaging makes our different social media sites more personalized and gives us more that we can do with that technology. So, maybe there are some positive aspects to what seems like copying. Some people may only use certain social media sites, so they might appreciate that features originally on a site they don't use were added onto the site(s) that they do actually use.

Cell Phones are Toxic

As much as I love technology, and am very glad to have it in my life, I can't help but feel that sometimes it does detract from some very important aspects of life and just being human. Nicole and Madison discuss some of the good and bad things about technology and how it has changed our lives, and I would like to add to that.

Their posts made me think about the Louis C.K. video we watched the other day about how he hates cell phones because they don't allow people to just be themselves and enjoy what is going on around them. Just "being a person." One of the comments he made that really resonated with me is that technology like our phones has given us an outlet--that we shouldn't have--to not think about the deeper questions in life. You know the kind. They come to you when everything during the day has died down and you're in bed alone and all of a sudden all of the questions of the universe suddenly come to you. It's a scary feeling and it's one that people will avoid if possible--and that's exactly what technology has allowed us to do. I don't think that's a good thing. I agree with Louis C.K. that we should just allow those feelings to take us over and maybe just get a good cry out every once in a while, because if we're not doing that, then we're not really in touch with our humanity.

Virtual Reality

In response to Lauren's post on the future of virtual reality,  I would like to say that I think there is no way it is going to end up as the next big thing, and it certainly isn't going to be so pervasive in society that it affects our ability to connect with people. Maybe it's just my bias, but I think that virtual reality technology is a bit overrated. Especially in the case of the Oculus technology; it's just a bit much and seems like it has the potential to be very overstimulating. Although this kind of technology is interesting at first, I think it loses its appeal quickly. It's just not practical. A huge set of goggles like those of Oculus seem cumbersome and inconvenient. So, even though it would be a fun and exciting experience to try once or twice, I don't see it as a lasting technology.

In my experience, virtual reality has been one of those things that is very cool for a only a very short amount of time. For example, you guys remember Runescape, right? At least within my and my brothers' circle of friends, this online virtual reality game was all the craze when I was in elementary school. And then all of a sudden people got bored with it and it died down just like that. I see this same pattern happening with other forms of virtual reality going into the future. I'm not worried at all that we will become glued to our alternate virtual identities while we leave the real world behind--at least not permanently.

The Future of News

One important current mass media issue that is being talked about is the future of news. As this just so happens to be my final topic, I have an interest in the subject. Something that I have noticed through my research is the reoccurring trend that people are getting their news more and more from social media. In fact, according to Pew Research, about half of adults who are on Facebook use it for news. There's a cool graph on the page that shows the different social media sites that people are using and the percentage of them who are using it for news as well. It might actually be the same graph that Professor Robinson showed us in class the other day, but, hey, that just makes it all the more valid, right? 

Anyway, I think it's very interesting--but not surprising--that this seems to be the path that news is going down now. I think it has a lot to do with convenience; if you're browsing social media and news pieces show up on your feed, it's that much easier to click on the link instead of searching it out. You have your information right there. It may also have to do with the "filter bubble". If Facebook knows what your preferences are based on your past behavior, your news feed will probably have more items that are of your interest than not. This means that you're all the more likely to click on those news links. Even though this is my prediction of where the majority of news will be in the future, I fully believe that other sources will not die out. There are always going to be those more traditional people that like their news the way it used to be: in print. 

Conversation Killer

Although I ultimately love and appreciate that we have the technology available that makes texting possible, sometimes I really hate it. I'm sure that even before texting was invented, people got distracted while having conversations and didn't listen to the person they were talking to, but with texting now it seems like it's an every-day occurrence.

I've realized now how big of a pet peeve it is to me when people start texting when you're talking to them. Even replying to just one takes them out of their conversation with you and detracts from the connection. Not only is it rude to the other person, but it's a total overestimate of how well you can multitask. When you pull out your phone when someone is having a conversation with you, it sends the message that you aren't really paying attention to them. It's one of the most dismissive feelings in the world when you're on the other end of that.

My friends will do this sometimes, and I know they mean well and aren't trying to be dismissive, but it makes me so frustrated and want to just stop talking to see if they'd even notice. Actually, I like to play a game to see how receptive they are to what I'm saying once they start texting, so I'll just start saying the most random, weird stuff to see if it even phases them. I know for a fact that people like to feel listened to, so I've made a promise to myself that I won't check texts or anything else on my phone when I'm having a conversation with someone else face-to-face. Surely if I think I deserve that basic level of attention, then so does everyone else.

The Power of the Polaroid

Okay, just one more post about pictures, I swear. After going through our class's recent blog posts, I saw one in particular that caught my eye. Nicole's post about creating photo albums made me think about what a difference a tangible photo can make as opposed to just posting it on social media. It brought me back to my middle school days, actually. My granddad used to have a Polaroid camera that we would always use on our family trips to the mountains, beach, etc. Something about the whole experience was so much better than just taking a digital picture and printing it out. Maybe it was because it took more time, or maybe because the photo looked so distinctive, but whatever it was, using that outdated piece of technology was an experience in itself.

The more I think about it, I actually remember those moments that we captured with the Polaroid more clearly than I do the ones we took with a digital camera. They were such simple moments too, but I love being able to remember them. Most of the pictures we took are lost somewhere now, probably in the depths of my mom's attic space, but even the memory of the photo itself is still enough for me to remember the actual experience. The one that lingers with me the most is a picture of my sister, my cousin, and I, sitting on what has got to be the oldest, most dilapidated couch in our mountain house just making faces. I was 13 years old, and that is one of my clearest memories to this day. The moment was so simple, but the way we captured it made it special. I'd take a Polaroid camera over a digital one any day.

I Don't Need Dental Work

While I'm thinking about our class discussions, I also wanted to argue, from my own personal experience, against the belief that pictures take away from memories or experiences. I have a story to tell all of you, and it is a story of an experience that was lost with the disappearance of pictures from my phone. Get your tissues and prepare yourself for tears. Just kidding, but I did cry a little myself if I'm being completely honest.

Remember my post about losing all of my information on my phone? Well, the good news is that I did get some of it back, but sadly--and most importantly--not my pictures. Now, that may not be such a big deal to some of you, but to me it meant the loss of one of the best potential albums I have ever made. I'm just going to assume that the majority of the people in our class have seen Bridesmaids, because, let's face it, JOMC 240 is run by girls. So, this means you all have seen the scene where Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph are eating and Kristen Wiig puts chocolate in her teeth and says "I dont. Need. Dental work." If not, here it is and you're welcome in advance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL812ag82xI.

Naturally, I loved this and decided to make it my own. Now, here is where I need to give some of you some back story. I'm in Alpha Chi Omega, and basically every Friday at lunch there are brownies for dessert. So, every Friday since the movie came out, I've made my friends stick brownie in their teeth and I took a picture of the beautiful moment. When I lost all of these pictures, I had racked up about 50 gems of friends who "don't need dental work"--which, coincidentally, was going to be the name of my album when I FINALLY uploaded it to Facebook during my senior year. Now I'll have to start all over from scratch...but I can't get back those moments. The loss of all of those pictures was devastating, which proves my point that pictures CAN and do make moments and create experiences that can sometimes transcend mere face-to-face interactions. Even if it's taking pictures of food stuck in people's teeth.