Baffling Technology

Technology is a continually growing force. Over the younger, newly developed generations, our knowledge towards technology has become greater and more in-depth, due to growing up with the latest technologies; making it not so foreign.
Many people in Generation Y, when it comes to technology have everything: a mobile phone, a laptop, an iPod, the list goes on. What were once luxuries only that some people could afford, are now necessities that everyone has and relies on.
As Lucy Thomas speaks about in her blog post, Our Knowledge- Their Knowledge- New Media, she explains “The Internet, IPods, tablets and mobile phones are all heavily incorporated into our business and personal lifestyle and thus the skills and knowledge of new media is a constant requirement.” Generation Y has never had a problem with this, however older generations seem to be getting left behind if they can’t keep up. New media skills are mandatory in almost any job, therefore are something to be learnt thoroughly and continually developed.

References
Thomas, L. 2011. “Our Knowledge- Their Knowledge- New Media.”http://lucythomas33-socialmediathenewyou.blogspot.com/2011/04/our-knowledge-their-knowledge-new-media.html. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

Gill, R. 2007. Informality is the New Black. In Technobohemians or the new Cybertariat? New Media work in Amsterdam a decade after the web. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures: 24-30 & 38-43. Accessed 26 April 2011.

Who's The Expert Now?

Like many others, the first place I go to when I have a health question, is the internet.

It is fast, quick, easy, and I don’t have to waste any time or money. As Lewis (2009) speaks about our generation being “cyberchondriacs,” this explains how whenever we worry about anything to do with our health, the first place we go to is the internet.
This can bring on issues such as a lack of communication and misinformation between us and others when it comes to our health. Literally, being a life threatening issue. It is not one of those topics you can easily ignore. As Social Networking- The New You blog speaks about this issue too, she highlights our reliance on our iPhones for health information Apps, which is just another new technology towards health information evolving.

Does this mean we can now too be ‘experts’ with information we have so easily found?

Could it be true that, gone are the days of working towards a 7 year degree to be able to speak about health information correctly, now all we need is a few key words typed into a search engine?

Dr. Jenifer Ashton explains that in the end, it is not what you know, but how you apply the information that is where the true art of medicine lies.




References
CBS, 2009. Doctors Online Medical Info. YouTube video, posted November 2.Accessed April 1, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNGuodw7Ho

Lewis, T. 2006. Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria? Media, Culture & Society, volume 28, issue 4: 521-539.

Social Networking- The New You, 2011. Is Your Iphone Your New Doctor? http://lucythomas33-socialmediathenewyou.blogspot.com/2011/04/is-your-iphone-your-new-doctor.html.

The Ultimate Blockout

Tuesday, as I waited at the lights to cross the road in the city, my iPod in my ears, phone in my hand, I realised how the other 15 or so people around me were all the same. We were all so disconnected to each other, listening to our own personal music, or busy on our phones, barely paying attention to our surroundings. Although we were all strangers, this made me understand how these days we can easily block out so much with technology. Erin explains in her blog how people are so connected to their mobile phone, which is essentially the same concept. Although mobile phones are more difficult to use when doing everyday aspects like shopping, unlike the iPod which can be left in unconsciously 24/7.
Aspects like the sound of traffic or people around you, was once acknowledged and accepted, now it is blocked out and ignored, isolating ourselves from the world, yet again. Deuze (2011) explains this in his reading how media is disappearing from our consciousness, and merging as a part of our life. In the image (to the right) it shows newborn babies with headphones already on, could this be the future?
Although this has been going on for a very long time already, sometimes it is important to soak up your surroundings and be involved in the world, rather than always disconnecting yourself so easily. We’ve become too heavily reliant on these technologies, which once were just luxuries, yet now have become permanent parts of our lives for many.


References



CubikMusik. 2010. “Cubik Musik in 2010,” 20 posts categorized "CubikMusik Info," January 16. Accessed April 3, 2011. http://cubikmusik.typepad.com/cubikmusik/cubikmusik_info/.

Deuze, M. 2011. Media Life. In Media, Culture & Society, Volume 33, issue 1, pp. 137-148.

Ryan, E. 2011. "Me and My Mobile Phone: Best Friends Forever!" Erin Ryan. Accessed April 4, 2011. http://erin-ryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/me-and-my-mobile-phone-best-friends.html

Betty on the Internet

You have a new friend request! Who’s added you on Facebook?
Well you have 1 mutual friend, Abdusah Sadahmale, another who added you a while ago, so you add them, why not!

But it’s these situations where you’ve allowed possibly anyone, a key into your whole world. Access to photos, information, friends, posts, interests, so many facts about you, accessed by a random that you don’t even realise, all by clicking “Allow”.
Security on the internet is a very loosely used term. With the amount of people using the internet increasing significantly each year, safety is becoming overlooked. As Rosie’s New Media Reflections blog speaks about safety on the internet, she highlights the risks of cyber bullying.

That also links to Hamelink (2006) questions “Can the choice of a fictive personality (“persona”) do harm to other users and how well should one protect one’s privacy?” It all comes down to your own choice; however tools like Facebook Places invade our privacy to a whole new level. We need to remember that the internet never forgets, so what’s put on it will last forever.

People forget the lack of security on the internet due to feeling comfortable in their surroundings when online, which can result in your privacy being invaded. If you are not aware and careful of this, it can result in a dangerous situation.




References
Hamelink, C. (2006). The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net? In Ideologies of the Internet, K. Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Monty, C. “Is your privacy about to disappear forever?” Last modified February 21, 2009. http://www.blippitt.com/is-your-privacy-about-to-disappear-forever

Rosie’s New Media Reflection. 2011. “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but online taunts will haunt you.” 27 March 2011. Accessed 28th March 2011. http://rosiesnewmediareflections.blogspot.com/

What's in the music

Much like the car we drive, or how we do our hair, it is said that music says the same about us.

Music gives us a sense of identity and belonging, creating common grounds between you and the other supporters of the same bands and singers. However over the years, it has become too easy to get any kind of music imagined, which is now taken for granted. Gone are the days of the Walkman, where you would listen to a CD entirely, now we flick through our iPods from song to song, artist to artist, in a matter of minutes.

Along with the status over which genres and bands are popular, this too is always changing. As Levy explains that people define themselves and are judged by what they listen to. With explicit images and themes in music videos, this too is changing our ideas of music. The rise of YouTube has created these aspects which are more heavily weighted now, than ever. People have started judging music by what they see, and the value of music and lyrics has dwindled. Young girls are singing along to music like Rihanna’s- S & M song, yet not understanding truly what they’re singing, view video here(warning MA15+) . So if they are listening to this kind of music, does this still then reflect their identity and beliefs too?

Losing attention faster and faster, this is the ‘Net generation’, as society is trying to keep up by delivering what they want, in some situations it seems not always for the best.



References
Levy, S. (2006). The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 21-41.

Singh, M. (2008). Bollywood's Viral Video in Time International(Canada Edition), Vol. 171, Issue 14.

YouTube Video, S & M by Rihanna, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=452JBsXCqfM.

Bite back.

Public displays of connection have moved to the next level, blurring the line between close relationships and just online friends. Yet many are willing to share almost anything with what they call their "friends". As Donath and Boyd explain

"knowing that someone is connected to people one already knows and trusts is one of the most basic ways of establishing trust with a new relationship".

However risks associated with this type of connection are very high due to how much one is willing to say online. It may be an emotion fuelled post about a colleague, but funnily enough that ‘new friend’ you’ve just made, happens to know that same person and just like that, a bad situation has arose.

With the ease of accessibility on pages like Facebook and Myspace, the user becomes comfortable with the page and trusts their surroundings, much like the glass bedroom concept, easily forgetting that many of their ‘friends’ they actually barely know. In reality, most of the time, it is no “You’ve got mail” love story. It comes down to asking yourself the question of "Would I go up to each of my online friends, and tell them this in person?", and if the answer is no, then it most likely doesn't deserve to be online.

You've got to be careful about the content put online, because one day it could just bite back.




References
Donath, J. and Boyd, D. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal , volume 22 (4): 71-82.

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web's a stage: the Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks . First Monday, volume 14, Number 3.