Observation #23

Freedom of speech is a vital aspect of the American culture. It not only defines how our nation came to be independent, but it also shows the amount of trust we put into our government, and how much faith they put into us. With all this freedom I sometimes think that we get carried away into believing that we can say or do anything without thinking about the ethical effects of our behaviors; in other words, the power has gone to our heads. I wanted to know why and how the people in the other countries can deal with having limitations in the way that they express themselves. My conclusion, as well as the culmination of thoughts given through discussion by my roommates and I, is that the people don’t want that power, they like having some of their decisions made for them. Although this idea is the complete opposite point of view looking from our country into theirs, if we change our perspective around, we may catch a glimpse of the freedom that they have found. The New York Times has said that freedom of speech is the weakest card in Europe’s hands right now, but maybe we are holding the wrong cards. Maybe too much control over every aspect in the media and in language and speech is just too much control.

Observation #22

Our reliance on technology has destroyed the fundamental truth that we can do things without the internet and computers. In a way I think the creativity and imaginative effect that can come from relying on the brain, instead of technology that can downfall at any moment, has been lost. Recently the wireless internet and BYU-Idaho school website went down for the weekend. Although this may not seem like a big deal, many assignments couldn’t be turned in and learning stopped because teachers didn’t know what to have their students do. One of my friends Megan Jacobsen said, “I haven’t been able to get online all day, it has been a nightmare,” and I think that is the truth. If our use of technology results in an ineffectual communicative effort and lack of fundamental creativity to work without modern convenience, then we have lost to a virtual world.

Observation #21

Almost all modes of communication want to extract the most efficient and entertaining tools from the media. Even our transportation devices, such as cars, have cashed in on this find. With new developments and devices in the music area, as well as television and phones, cars have implemented all the necessary technology to advance the age of digitalization. New cars have sync features for mp3s and IPods, phones, along with GPS systems, that all have voice activated technology. Many cars also have technology for televisions and DVD systems. Although I love the new innovative technology, I dislike the fact that they are a distraction from the road. The time spent in a car should be enjoyable, but if taken too far, as with most things, it will go downhill. Drivers are already detached from the road with their phones, add another appealing item to the list of technology and you have a wreck on your hands. One of my friends was too close to being hit by a distracted driver while she was running, and later in the week a pedestrian was hit by a texting driver. My question is how far will technology go before it becomes destructive instead of instructive or entertaining?

Observation #20

Stop, pause, start, skip are all terms associated with using a remote control or a DVD player, but not with fast forwarding television, that would be crazy. The knowledge of TiVo has redefined how television is viewed and how ad agencies choose to advertise their products. All the commercials that advertisers think are being viewed can now be skipped over by just the push of a button. I am sure ad campaigns have been hurting from this revolutionary tool, but it hasn’t resulted in better commercials. One of the main reasons why people would skip over a commercial is because it is lame, cheesy, and long. I love the Super Bowl commercials because they make me laugh and they take on a new spin, instead of being boring and annoying. If commercials were always trying to live up to their potential, I think TiVo wouldn’t have as big of an impact on the advertising markets.

Observation #19

Disney doesn’t make movies like they used to. Disney classic styles like Cinderella, Aladdin, and the Little Mermaid aren’t found on the newly released, exciting racks, but they are still available. I just watched one of the new Disney movies, Enchanted. I loved it, but it wasn’t a classic in my eyes. Although the new Disney movies have a type of appeal to them, I don’t see them lasting through times like the older movies have. My mom and her mom used to watch Cinderella. I know that Disney can’t remake classics, they have to move on with the times of technology too, but I miss it. What made those movies classics? Will movies of today become classics for future times? In some cases I think the answer is yes, but the world of media is so unpredictable it’s almost impossible to even guess.

Observation #18

New terms in the way we gaggle to one another have emerged since technology has become an everyday necessity in our lives. No, gaggle is not one of them, but expressions like, “I just googled it,” have become a part of our vocabulary. Just like Coca-Cola became a symbol of American life and language, I believe that these new terms like googled, twittering, facebooked, and other technological lingo, as well as, texting abbreviations are already taking up too much of our brains memory, but I can’t help but use the terminology because I hear it so often. Does this type of language just come with the times we are living in, or will it stay with us as a memoir of this technological revolution?

Observation #17

Express yourself, post it on YouTube. If it’s not on YouTube it’s not news, or so I’ve heard. The wide variety of information and entertainment found on YouTube has redefined what expression means. Although many people use YouTube for humor, several great musical artists have found their start on YouTube. The purposes of this site are without number. Personally, I go on YouTube to get fun clips for presentations that I am giving, or to get a real laugh. I think this type of expression allows the Hollywood part of the media become more attainable for the average person, and allows others to enjoy the results for free, that is probably one of the reasons that it is so popular. By clicking on the title of this post it will take you to a YouTube clip produced by madTV called I-rack, I think it is pretty fun!

Observation #16

Digitalization is taking over the world. This digital reform is being exemplified through music. There is a drastic difference in the way we buy music in this day and age. Records were replaced with tapes, which were replaced with CDs, which are now being replaced by I-tunes and single track purchases. Although this adjustment has changed the way recording companies highlight an individual’s music, I think this revolution in music purchases was vital to get people to start buying music again. It requires every song by every artist to be a hit in order to sell, and this creates a more competitive market forcing good music to be a requirement. I love it!

Observation #15

Are we really, truly a literate people? Of course some things have improved since the times of the caveman, we can read, or else you wouldn’t be looking at this, but at what price? Has the influence of media and the new standard of technology brought down the intellectual capacity of the human mind by not stressing the importance of knowledge and answering the difficult questions of life? We are still asking and answering the same questions that have been asked since the Dark Ages. Instead of reading books back then, since they were expensive and unavailable, they used art, music and symbols to interpret and communicate allegorical and symbolic meaning. The book industry today is declining, not because we don’t have the money to buy books or the materials to make books, but because we don’t want to read books. Today we use spell check to conquer the homonyms and spelling errors, but in some cases its spelled write, but not used write, for example. Today’s society doesn’t search for knowledge; it doesn’t dig deeper than the surface unless it is required. Celebration of life and knowledge is being replaced with superficial, inept entertainment which is at the standard of everyday life. So, are we really literate, or have we lost the art?

Observation #14

One of the best new technologies for me, as a college student, is wireless internet. Even though there are kinks that still need to be worked out in some of the systems, for the most part it is a very efficient tool. This technology is spreading to cafés and restaurants all over, and has become a device that we rely on everyday. The internet is still young. If it has come this far in such a short amount of time I can’t imagine where it will be in another couple of years. Things can only get better from here. Faster, stronger, bigger; the options are endless, at least that is what some of the experts say.