Week 6 - Adolescent Interview

Adolescent Interview

I was able to interview my 17 year old sister about her technology use.  I enjoyed doing this interview because notice how often she uses her phone, but it was interesting to actually talk to her about it and get her perspective on this.

What type of technology or device do you think you use the most?

A phone. (iPhone)

What do you use your phone the most for?

It depends.  To look stuff up or talk to people.

Do you text or call people more?

Text.

How often do you actually use your phone to call people?

Everyday, to talk to you and mom (haha).

Do you typically call your friends?

No because it’s easier to text.  You can talk throughout the day.

Do you think you would talk with your friends as much as you do without texting phone?

Yes, sometimes we email each other.

Okay, what if there was no texting or e-mail, and you could only call?

Then no, we wouldn’t talk as much.

How often do you think you use technology for school?  It is a choice or required?

Everyday.  It’s required because we have to research things and write papers.

Do you like having to use technology as much as you do? Why?

Not really because it gives me headaches sometimes and makes me tired. 

I really was not very surprised by the answers my sister gave me during the interview.  Not only because she is my sister, but her answers were fairly typical of someone around her age.  A lot of teenagers are so dependent on technology and use it to stay in constant communication with each other.  (Although, ironically, she did state that if it were not for newer forms of communication, such as texting, she knows she would not talk to her friends as much).  I did find it interesting that she did admit that she does not like having to use technology as much as she does for school.  I know that, personally, I do not like having to be on the computer all the time, but I assumed that it did not bother most younger kids.

Week 5: Ad Deconstruction Reflection

I chose to deconstruct an alcohol ad for this assignment.  I used the 2015 Budweiser commercial which features a lost dog, his journey home, and being reunited with his owner with help from his best friends, the Clydesdale horses.  This was such a different assignment that I really enjoyed doing.  I had never really taken the time to break down an advertisement -- look at it in detail, think about what went into making it, possible implications of the ad, and the audience it is trying to reach out to.  I think these are things that may have crossed my mind when I've seen/read a commercial/print advertisement, but it is very informal.  I previously had not really dove into a commercial the way I did for this assignment.  After reading the statistics about advertising, however, it has made me much more conscious of the enormous role advertising has in our lives today.  I certainly realize there are print advertisements everywhere you look -- billboards, magazines, even sports arenas -- and there are definitely a large number of commercials that play on TV.  Still, it was surprising to see the numbers behind this.

Week 5: Media Education

Jenkins brings up a very valid point that with the changes that technology brings to our world – socially, culturally, politically, etc. – people need to make adjustments accordingly.  This theme and cultural issue is present throughout McLuhan’s lecture as he states, “Mine is a transformation theory, how people are changed by the instruments they employ.”  I certainly agree with this statement.  People are directly affected by the tools they use on a daily basis.  These tools change rapidly with technology, and those changes are transferred onto the users, as well.  People really do not have a choice with that.  Different technologies require different skills sets.  If people do not adapt and change themselves, they will struggle to keep up with the ever-changing and transforming world.  These new technologies also have so much to offer and ways to better and improve the way people do things.  This also provides incentive for people to want to keep up with the changes. 

This is not to say that keeping up the changes is always easy. McLuhan brings up the interesting point in his lecture is how we tend to see effects before causes.  He states, "Another strange circumstance attending all discovery and all investigation is that the effects come before the causes."  I think that this speaks volumes about how sometimes the changes in technology and new media literacies happens so quickly, we may not always see it coming, be ready for the changes, or even know where they come from.  

McLuhan, M. Living in an acoustic world. (PDF Document). Retrieved from http://www.marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/media/mcluhan_pdf_6_JUkCEo0.pdf

Week 3 -- Technology and Politics

When it comes to technology, something I had never given much thought to before was the way it has influenced and changed politics.  It is not surprising that this has taken place, however, as in this digital world we now live in it is inevitable that technology will have an impact upon just about everything.  Technology has become the dominant force as Saskia Sassen explains, “technology is the independent variable…it’s a given…it then applies to a dependent variable that is a familiar object of study.”  This shows quite a big shift in the way the world operates.  In Language and the Internet, David Crystal explains how the Internet is a world of its own, even having its own language.

The video presentations by Raquel Recuero and Saskia Sassen, along with Bennett’s Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age all focus on this integration of technology into politics and democracy, with a strong focus on how young people fit into this equation.  Bennett (2008) sums this up very well by saying, “There is a need for caution and considerable creativity in thinking about implementing more creative approaches to engage young people in communication with each other about real political concerns” (p. 17).  The political world itself has not drastically changed, but many young people do not respond to it the way people used to.  This is really found on a global scale.  More often than not, political issues are addressed or movements are started using the Internet as a vehicle for change. 

I do not necessarily wish it was the case, but I was able to connect to the readings and speakers.  I have never been overly involved in political issues, though this is something I am working to try to become more aware of.  It seems that most people my age do primarily rely on the Internet as the main source of finding out political information or getting involved.  There certainly is value in using the Internet to do this, but I think that when it comes to politics, traditional methods of involvement, such as face-to-face interactions, are just as important.  I think that both should be used and that people should not be motivated only if the Internet is used.

Bennett, W. L. (2008). Changing citizenship in the digital age. Retrieved from https://moodle.esc.edu/pluginfile.php/1699274/mod_page/content/6/Changing%20Citizenship%20in%20Digital%20Age.pdf

Crystal, D. (2004). Language and the internet. Retrieved from https://moodle.esc.edu/pluginfile.php/1699274/mod_page/content/6/david-crystal.pdf

Recuero, R. (2012, July 24). Digital youth, social movements, and democracy in Brazil. Retrieved from http://connectedlearning.tv/raquel-recuero-digital-youth-social-movements-and-democracy-brazil

Sassen, S. (2012, July 26). Networks, power, and democracy. Retrieved from 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpw1GpHzAbc&feature=youtu.be