haileyvez-blog

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Cell Phones

Kopomaa, Timo. “Mobile Phones, Place-centred Communication and Neo-community.” Interface,2002.241-244.(LEARN)

The creation of modern mobile phones has been labeled by many pro technology individuals as a means to enhance communication. We are now able to reach out to others in more ways than ever before: texting, FaceTime, social media platforms (direct message), calling etc. In contrast, many believe the major increase in technology is actually stunning peoples ability to communicate. One important concept as to why, is that people now have more impersonal communication. The ability to instantly, and almost effortlessly send a message to someone with a couple clicks of a button makes actual face to face, verbal communication appear much more daunting. We are unsatisfied by the “difficulty” of scheduling times to meet in person, thus changing the “traditional social structures (Kopamaa, pg. 3) followed in the past. We do not want to wait for a response, it must be instant. Texting is a form of instantaneous communication. Most of us expect a response in a matter of minutes, as it is expected that the individual has their cellphone on them at all times. Cell phones, to some, appear to be lessening the development of basic human communication skills. Can a healthy middle ground of digital communication and personal communication be met? Personally, growing up in the generation with technology already surrounding lives, it is hard to imagine a time without the ability to communicate through technology. As stated by Kopamaa: ��The mobile phone is a device for enhancing both temporal and social efficiency” (Kopamaa, pg. 2 ) I believe these newer forms of communication have created a switch in the way we interact as humans, although it has not taken away from our ability to be social beings; just as past inventions have not. It actually may be widening our sociableness, by increasing the ways in which we can communicate. 

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Memes

In today’s digital culture, memes are a way to spread reactions or feelings on specific topics or events through the use of relatable photos. The concept of mimicking or remixing memes has become popular as the increase in meme sharing has began. Memes are extremely similar to any past trend or “challenge,” as they involve people reproducing media done before as a means to entertain or gain clout. Instead of simply reposting a meme, mimicking involves recreating the photo to include your face. It was your outlook on the meme. Remixing involves digital changes to the original photo, through means such as photoshop. Has it gone so far as to say one’s ability to spot or create good memes contributes to their attractiveness or desirability as a person? Society puts such a great importance on being constantly connected and informed. Knowing memes is an example of being this way. I believe people find so much importance in digital memes because they want to appear as though they are interesting and deserving of attention. They are modern and know whats “cool” right now. It is rare when someone (someone young at least) doesn’t know a popular meme. People are surprised when someone doesn’t, and there is pressure to hop on the trend to not be exiled. 

Shifman, Limor. “When Memes Go Digital.” Memes in Digital Culture.MITPress, 2014.17-35. 

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The idea that specific items are created with the ability to succeed in certain attributes and not in others is not new. The intense presence of social media has switched this concept of affordances to include an ever wider variety of traits. For example, media replicability takes into account how easily information can be reproduced. In today’s society, it is vital to many that we are not only able to see information, but we can share it with others as well. Viewing this in a psychological manor, it appears people use social media as a way to not just inform others, but brag or gloat as well. We went others to know the positive things we are involved in, or care about. We post a photo, a link, an article to every social media platform we possess to spread the word of our good deed. The more people who see, the better. Is this a form of narcissism diagnosable as modern narcissistic personality disorder? Is social media’s ability to succeed in the sharing of data to blame for this phonomenon?