Madison LaRocque

Maddy LaRocque

 

Dr. Jaxon

 

English 130i

 

30 September 2013

                                                                  Progress Report Essay

    

    These past four years of my life have, in one way or another, increasingly revolved around technology. Whether it was creating online profiles, communicating with others, or even working in the classroom, I was constantly surrounded by a phone, computer, or both. It didn’t fully occur to me until intensive studies on social media in this class that I realized the world is quickly transitioning into a technological era. Just in the past decade, technology has made such unreal advancements that have impacted the world and society today. With such complexity, technology can be broken up into different branches including social media and learning. Although these two branches are contrasting, both offer the positives and negatives that reflect technology. Whether the average human realizes it or not, we depend and use technology to such an extreme extent. On our own time, or in a learning environment, we utilize these habits on a daily basis. But do we realize it?

 

    Social media is directly attached to digital culture. It is the most popular activity within digital culture. Out of the 7 billion people in this world, 2 billion of them use the internet. According to the Ted Talk Amber Case we reviewed earlier this semester, we are all cyborgs. Anytime anyone looks at a phone screen, a computer desktop, or a TV monitor, they are a cyborg. They are getting lured into a media that offers entertainment, profiles, and information. Social media is probably technologies best companion. Because of social media, phone and computer industries have been forced to constantly compete and advance in order to attract their customers. Social media, or an online community, has launched a whole new era. Social networks allow you to post pictures, express your thoughts and beliefs, show off your talent, reveal your interests, communicate with others, and indulge in other peoples lives. Although these characteristics are positive, people are starting to question what is real. Social networking allows people to create identities that may not even be their own. Take a look at any social media site and you can find false identities. Twitter can reveal thoughts and opinions that aim for others acceptance. Instagram can portray a life you want others to believe you have. MySpace can be a combination of the two. The fact is, technology and social media can cause a loss of identity and who we really are. We start to become people we want others to like and accept and express this through social media. It is like some unspoken competition. It becomes an obsession. Why do we obsess over social networking? Why are we constantly checking our phones and notifications? Technology is slowly engulfing our lives. In contrary to these ideas, social media can also offer a positive trait; expression. YouTube allows one to express their talent, views, and beliefs. Each month, YouTube receives over 1 billion users and every minute there are over 100 hours worth of videos uploaded. This is the biggest video website in the world. Here, people express their talents and get discovered. For example, teen sensation Justin Bieber started off posting videos on YouTube of himself singing which eventually became a hit and led to his successful career. There are videos that provide comedy, music, information, and almost anything else that pops into your head. People will go to great lengths to be seen and heard in the social media world, which consequently can get dangerous. Michael Wesch, producer of YouTube hit “Anthropological Introduction to YouTube” reveals that a majority of the mostly viewed videos are not intended for more than a hundred viewers. Although some may enjoy that fact, I personally believe it is alarming that people tend to forget their viewers and post whatever they please. This is true for any social media site. Users forget their audience can include more than just friends or family but also strangers. Social networking sites can be a great place to expose yourself, but that’s not always for the best. Social media offers positive aspects as well as negative. I think the world is slowly becoming consumed within social media sites and they forget about the real world. I would like to see less heads looking down at phones and more people getting out and making a physical difference in the world. I enjoy social networking like most, but after looking more into the topic in this class,it has come apparent that this may become a problem.

 

    Not only is there controversy within the internet world, but also in actual classrooms. Technology is starting to appear in schools and used as a learning tool. I personally believe that is brilliant. Young children get to learn at a whole new level using computers and playing games. Although this may anger or confuse parents, the online gaming has positive effects. Kids begin to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills while also enjoying the activity and wanting to continue to learn. I believe that the best way to learn is to teach, and with technology in the classrooms, children are able to teach themselves thus increasing their learning. Jane McGonigal from a Ted Talk called “Gaming Can Make a Better World” describes how games include obstacles and challenges which kids must overcome to reach their goal. In the article Good Video Games and Good Learning, author James Paul Gee explains how gaming creates production, risk taking, challenges, interaction and identity which I find as positive traits. Although many would like to eliminate technology in education, I think that would be a waste considering this is a technological era and it would be wise to start educating kids about technology now while they also can benefit by learning with it.

 

    Technology has become one of the most controversial subjects in the past few years. Many who agree and disagree with the advancements both provide strong opinions and points. After all the readings and videos assigned in this class, I have concluded that technology is changing the world, especially within the social media and educational categories. Social media can serve as a place to express and communicate but can also be the blame for false identities and safety problems. Technology in education can create a whole new aspect to learning, but also anger people who believe we should learn the way they did. Technology will continue to make advancements and will probably never go away, so I believe the best thing to do is not get consumed by the internet world but also take advantage of the technological tools we are gifted with today.

 

    

1. Why is it so hard to stay off and away from technology?

    Research: Go online and look up articles about people and their technology tools. Ask people what it is about their device they feel the need to constantly check. Go online social media networks and see what people are doing while on their computer or phone. Look up statistics on what age group uses what devices and how long they are on them.

    2. Why do we feel the need to constantly update people on our lives and thoughts?

    Research: Ask people what causes them to post what they post. Ask what they are thinking when they decide to post something. How do they decide to post on a certain website. Go online and see if there are any videos or articles about scientific or psychological explanations to this question.

 

    3. Why are people so skeptical about using technology as a learning tool?

    Research: Go online and search the pro’s, con’s, and differences of using technology in classrooms compared to using just textbooks and non technology tools. Ask adults how they were taught and why they liked that better or why they would like to use technology if they had the opportunity as a kid. Go online and look up statistics on technology in classrooms and see if it really is better or worse.

 

Update #1:

    I am kind of skeptical about my topic because I don’t find it very original, but after doing some research today I think I will stick with Social Media. I am not sure if I want to also include technology in the classroom or if that is just way too off topic. I found tons of articles and statistics about social media and I really focused on the positives and negatives. I have a lot of knowledge about this topic and I do have tons of questions that I am sure will be answered during this research project. I just feel as though I can find a more original topic. I’m a little stumped.