Monday, January 21, 2008
Mapping the Maddness
What follows is a personal case study in convergence culture. Starting this course, the first thing that comes to mind is my slow advance into the world web of communication. As I think many people can relate--surely, I am not alone--venturing into the virtual world, giving in to the madness of it all, can be a challenge for some. I did not get a cell phone until it was the better financial decision, I had email only because of school, and I certainly did not chat online. I was never one to naturally navigate the Internet. Part of me wanted to, but never had the aptitude, for different reasons I was very reluctant. Slowly, but surely, things change, the evolution of media evolves so rapidly, and before I knew it I was sucked in, suckered in to getting a Facebook account. Two years ago I took off of school to attend an internship in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a year. Before I left, my sister and best-friend talked me into getting a Facebook account so we could keep in touch, they promised it was the best way and very efficient. I was so concerned about my anonymity that I used a pseudonym, Shaniqua Washington. I was Shaniqua for a year, until my new friends in Colorado could not find me on Facebook, and even more, after a trip to China, my new friends there wanted to stay in contact, and since Facebook is a world wide institution, I changed my name and developed a personal profile to match the real me. Point being, Henry Jenkins is an answer to the prayers of the confused and frustrated individuals who are stuck in this virtual world. Convergence Culture is an attempt at mapping an understanding of the madness that surrounds and sustains us. You can't live with it, and you can't live without it. Work, school, play, purchasing; the Internet contains options that the non-virtual world cannot supply, and vice-versa. Jenkins goal in trying to understand how these worlds, ideas, systems, and people participation on every level collide is just that, a huge collision, everything continually converging and changing. Here today, gone tomorrow. The Internet can help you one minute, and complicate your life the next. Devices that include telephone and Internet may be sufficient for the user, but complicate the real-live relationships going on around them. People are living virtually, i.e. Avatar, Second-life, literally living full, seperate lives on the web somewhere, but what about the real world, the real life? It all gets so mad, and interesting and intriguing at the same time.
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5 comments:
I really like your blog. I agree that the World Wide Web has complicated lives, and most certainly, simplified those of others. In my opinion, the WWW complicates our parents lives more than ours. In elementary we began using computers. When they were in elementary, the ink pen was invented. (Just kidding. Mom would kill me for saying that.) But seriously, most of our parents weren't introduced to computers until AFTER we were, much less the Internet. Also, I feel that the WWW has definitely simplified our generations' lives. Simple example: Look at our PAWS accounts. We can check our grades online, e-mail teachers and classmates, review our degree audits, possibly saving a visit to an advisor's office, etc. I was just discussing this the other day with my grandmother. She couldn't believe that we could check our "final grades" online and print our assigned readings from the Internet. She remembered having to wait weeks to see her final grades when she was in college and buying tons of books because printing was not easily available. My grandmother is impressed at the new, ever-changing technology, but she definitely prefers the "old-fashioned" way of things. My generation? We're chatting with our friends in New York and Australia, ordering a pizza (on-line), doing homework, checking every wall post on our boyfriend's Facebook profiles, and TiVo-ing our favorite TV show - all at the same time... not all in the same week like most of our elders. I like it that way :)
Oh , and what is your e-mail address, please?
I am endlessly fascinated with the influence the internet and things like Facebook have over us. I, too, have used different Facebook names - always nicknames that are variations on my own name - and was shocked to find out that people believed that the Facebook name was my REAL name (once it was Catrin, and now I am listed as JaCatherine). Facebook can be a great tool for keeping in touch, but what does it say when we begin to let it be our main source of information about our own friends? Does that mean that we are actually less in touch than we were before?
My email address is suzychica@yahoo.com.
I definitely agree with Catherine's query, is being in touch also bringing us more apart? My friends and I are able to "stay in touch" through the internet, but we don't call eachother, we don't really talk, but we are "in touch." It is such an oxymoron. Now when I meet people randomly, in class or out, or through friends, we end up being "friends" on Facebook. So, I am connected to more people, but it is so surface. The same thing goes for cell phones in public. A whole row of people at a bus stop can be talking to someone on their phone, or texting, but they wouldn't dare speak to the person, the real person sitting right next to them. Now that baffles me. Technology is ruling our lives. People want to be connected all the time. For example, texting constantly, hand-held internet devices, and handless-cell phone ear-pieces. You can grab a newspaper, watch the tv, listen to the radio, and talk on the phone all at the same time. Sensory and information overload.
Susannah--It's late, and I can't write much, but I've really appreciated your entry. I feel like an anthropologist reading news from an informant about how the virtual world is capturing your generation. Even at my age (your grandmother's age?), I'm no novice to the computer. I've been using computers for
30 years! And yet, something has radically changed in the last few years. I've gone to seeing it as a tool for writing, then a tool for research, and now a means of communicating with others for an incredible range of purposes. It's great to see how you and others your age have experiences this same transition. Dr. L
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