In
chapters 3 through 7 in Digitized Lives,
Reeds touches on five pretty interesting topics. The first is how identity is
perceived online. It’s interesting to see how you are perceived online. It is
understood that people can mediate what is posted on a status or what pictures
they post. That is a part of what makes an online identity. Another aspect that
was talked about in class was what happens when you type your own name into any
search engine, and the results that come up. Do we as individual have power
over how our name gets responded to in that manner? For instance when I type my
name “Jennifer McIlvaine” into Google, the first link that comes up is “cooking
with Chef Jennifer McIlvaine in Umbria.” Now it’s really cool to know
that there is an Italian chef with my name, but that’s not my virtual identity.
Just some interesting thoughts about how you are interpreted online.
The next thing that this book brings to attention is how new technologies are possible creating or solving problems related to our desire for greater equality. The points that we came up with in class were that there is a noticeable gap in the wealthy and the poor. This creates a technological gap between the gadgets that some people have the ability to own. That was an interesting point but I had initially thought about how the internet has brought racial injustice to the limelight. As we have seen in the recent years it is easier for people to illustrate any racial discrimination just by bringing out your phone and recording them. This creates a way to open a dialog about what is really happening. So both the points about the wealth gap that is immersing and the social injustices that is being illuminated are both important points that technology is bring about.
Another point that Reed makes is about the presences of the Internet in our lives and how that affects our personal relationships. This is a significant component in our millennial lives because our social lives and relationships have been on the internet since middles school for most of us. One of the points that was brought up is that there is now this permanent record of all your conversations. If you say something to a friend, who later becomes someone you no longer trust, they have a concrete evidence of a possibly incriminating conversation with you. One of the good things about this technological medium in our relationships is when you are having a kind of heated conversation with a friend or a significant other you have a moment or two to think about how you want to respond. This is instead of face-to-face conversations that you have to think of a response immediately and you may accidentally say something that you don’t mean.
The reading from this week has shown me that there are a lot of positives and negatives to the moving technology, but it is never the fault of the tech. The internet is neutral. It becomes what you make of it.
The next thing that this book brings to attention is how new technologies are possible creating or solving problems related to our desire for greater equality. The points that we came up with in class were that there is a noticeable gap in the wealthy and the poor. This creates a technological gap between the gadgets that some people have the ability to own. That was an interesting point but I had initially thought about how the internet has brought racial injustice to the limelight. As we have seen in the recent years it is easier for people to illustrate any racial discrimination just by bringing out your phone and recording them. This creates a way to open a dialog about what is really happening. So both the points about the wealth gap that is immersing and the social injustices that is being illuminated are both important points that technology is bring about.
Another point that Reed makes is about the presences of the Internet in our lives and how that affects our personal relationships. This is a significant component in our millennial lives because our social lives and relationships have been on the internet since middles school for most of us. One of the points that was brought up is that there is now this permanent record of all your conversations. If you say something to a friend, who later becomes someone you no longer trust, they have a concrete evidence of a possibly incriminating conversation with you. One of the good things about this technological medium in our relationships is when you are having a kind of heated conversation with a friend or a significant other you have a moment or two to think about how you want to respond. This is instead of face-to-face conversations that you have to think of a response immediately and you may accidentally say something that you don’t mean.
The reading from this week has shown me that there are a lot of positives and negatives to the moving technology, but it is never the fault of the tech. The internet is neutral. It becomes what you make of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment