Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Response to #2: Making Room for a Revolution
There were a lot of things talked about in the last class as well as in the reading that spurred my thought about social networking and privacy. Everything from our privacy ever-changing due to the internet, with Facebook at the forefront, to the very structure of society is affected by our internet lives. These days, there is hardly a hole out there that5 the internet has left empty. Many of us, including those with eccentricities, have an outlet in the internet to go shopping, surfing and even set up our own individual blogs and websites. If we forget our own privacy, we are susceptible to the pitfalls of an increasingly dangerous internet. An example of this “increasing danger” is that most computers and laptops nowadays have cameras in them. One program that this allowed was called “chat roulette” where anyone could be connected to another computer with a camera. One can imagine the possibilities…
The age of chat roulette has passed, but it has opened another door I think. Another door to numbing our objective privacy standards, allowing us to see where our world is heading; a place where every individual will have to watch their virtual self as well as their physical self.
You see, to me what Facebook is doing is not all that bad. In an increasingly global world, we are going to have to start dealing with more and more different types of people. For example, there are already many shows making fun of our connection to India regarding customer service (Outsourced, NBC). There are and have been hundreds of movies portraying what is, what can be and what could have been with our technology and privacy (Eagle Eye, The Matrix, etc.). The bottom line is that we cannot necessarily stop technology, so we must learn to grow with it; we must know it takes personal responsibility to participate in Facebook and everything like it. Our privacy is challenged in globalization, and to know our own limits will help us in the future when more change comes.
There are some benefits that can come from this entanglement though. Other than the obvious (people can connect instantly even if they are across the world), the relationship between us and our technology can get us information faster, taper to our likes and dislikes (sometimes this is a bad thing) in and out of advertising, and even remind us things we would have otherwise forgot. This is exactly what technology should do for us, be the helper that we always need. There are drawbacks though. Other than growing dependent on our technology, we can come to grow obsessed with it. We have all had friends that will seem to be on Facebook for hours. I am embarrassed to say I have done this before, bored with nothing to do.
It is useful to worry about our Facebook; after all, it is a part of ourselves we are just putting out there. But it is something that has to do with our personal responsibility. I have worried about this in the past, but a couple years ago I just grew out of it. Maybe it had something with the length I had had Facebook (2005), maybe not. Either way, I still can see the good weighing more than the bad which is why I never deleted my Facebook. For me, it is useful keeping in touch with a sister who lives in Germany and a Dad who lives in England. Everyone is different though. This is the Social Networking Revolution.
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I really like your quote about how the world is becoming "a place where every individual will have to watch their virtual self as well as their physical self." I feel like this is very accurate. While I agree with many things that the internet does, and I feel like it has more positive things than negative things, it's scary to think that we have another personality, like another on of us somewhere on the internet who we need to watch out for as much as our physical selves. I like the way that the internet can help us communicate with people and access information easier, however it scares me that things about our actual physical selves and our physical world are being replaced by the online world.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you in the sense that although we're moving forward technologically, the package is coming with a lot of precautions as well. Yeah we have the luxury to keep in contact with people from all the way around the world and even be able to see their faces through video chat, but someone's always going to find some loop hole around it. For example, someone could abuse videochatting for sexual purposes or use chatroulette to let the whole world see you masturbating (which i find odd why someone would want to do that). The same goes for facebook. Yeah it's great when you want to see what old friends are up to or just want to get the inside scoop on things, but someone can easily abuse this privilege. For example, someone can use facebook so stalk another person by getting specific details about their location, who theire hanging out with, etc. Facebook is pretty open which can be really scary because you don't know who is on the internet and for what purposes. What I'm basically trying to say is that I feel like we're being forced to move into this new revolution of technology where we feel the need to go along with what everyone else is doing. But similar to you, I'm one of those people who kind of like this newfound way of communicating. Although there are a lot of dangers, the convenience of it keeps me hanging on.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post really makes me think more about the film, We Live in Public, that we saw on Wednesday. I cannot believe how well Josh Harris essentially predicted how our world would be and what it would look like with advancements in Technology. However, watching that movie changed my view and understanding of privacy. I found Josh's social experiments to be disturbing. It made me want to similarly abandon much of our technologies and lifestyle for the simpler life that he currently leads in Ethiopia. While Josh Harris definitely appears to have some mental problems and may suffer from a psychological disorder, and while the social experiments do not necessarily reflect the exact way we live in public currently, it just made me really think about how I am living and the way the public can view me. If anything, your comment that we are entering a world where “every individual will have to watch their virtual self as well as their physical self” really rings true to me, now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I completely agree that the internet boom positively correlates with globalization. When you said that, it just made a lot of sense that obviously with an expanding world there becomes an increasing need for technology to provide this communication. Facebook is a wonderful source for this (as well as Skype and other technologies), and I agree that it is probably powered by the globalization occurring. I also think that it is a matter of knowing our limits! I do believe that with the privileges of the internet comes more responsibility, so I agree about your thoughts on "personal responsibility" because it really DOES boil down to the individual.
ReplyDelete"a place where every individual will have to watch their virtual self as well as their physical self." - This quote that you offered in your blog couldn't be more true in my opinion. I believe Josh Haris' experiments were a testament to this idea. In the years to come I believe more and more will become aware to this happening. I don't know if anyone else is scared, but I certainly am. I'm not so much scared for myself (because I believe in my abilities to dissect media fairly well and limit the amount of time I spend on social networks, etc.), but scared for the next generation. What is the next frontier of computer technology and social networking. Will I watch my son or daughter get out of the car after they just spent the evening with their boyfrind or girlfriend and immediately be face to face chatting with them on their mobile device - yes, I'm scared!
ReplyDeleteThe cameras are rolling - from your computer and from everywhere and anywhere else! I believe some very interesting things are going to happen in the next few years while we continue to develop these technologies, sociologists keep your writing hands ready! (O, that's right people don't write any more...they type!!)
I agree that it's crazy how quickly technology is moving and how we are moving right with it. It definitely has both benefits and drawbacks to it. Some positives are communicating with friends and family easier through tools such as Facebook, Skype, and phones with Internet.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is definitely a privacy issue to how much we post on the Internet. It is important to be smart about what we post and to not reveal too much information about ourselves. Facebook is one of the tools in which it is so easy to pour out your entire life on, with all its little details. As a result, it can be extremely detrimental to your safety, for people can take your information and pictures and use it in ways that you would not want done. These are scary thoughts, but good to be aware of when on the Internet. Once you put something out there, it can never be deleted unfortunately. We must learn our limits to help us prevent mistakes in the future.
I’m also curious but also a bit scared for the next generation of people. How will they be using the Internet, social media, and other forms of communication? We can only imagine, never quite sure what will happen or what it will be like.