Isolation in the Technological Age
-
Upload
university-of-florida -
Category
Education
-
view
2.282 -
download
2
description
Transcript of Isolation in the Technological Age
Isolation in theTechnological Age
Christina VilaUniversity of Florida
MMC2265Spring 2010
Purpose
Define isolationDifferent technologiesScholarly workExamples
Connectivity
Some may argue the oppositeSocial mediaChatting methodsInstant gratification
What is isolation?
DefinitionIn today’s worldHow scholars see itOrigins oftechnologicalisolation
Elizabeth Eisenstein
American historianPrintingPress displaced bythe pulpitPrivacy of reading athome
Eisenstein, Elizabeth. “The Rise of the Reading Public.” Communication in History:Technology, Culture, Society. Ed. Paul Heyer. Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 1997. 212. Print.
Marshall McLuhan
Media theoristTechnologies are an extension of usExtensions of our sensesAllow us to see, hear, feel, but at a price
McLuhan, Eric. “FAQs - Marshall McLuhan.” The Official Site of Marshall McLuhan.Web. 10 April 2010.
Clifford Stoll
“What’s missing from this electronic wonderland? Human contact.Discount the fawning techno-burble about virtual communities.Computers and networks isolate us from one another.”
-Clifford Stoll, in “Why Web Won’t Be Nirvana”
Stoll, Clifford. “Why Web Won’t Be Nirvana.” Newsweek. 27 Feb. 1995. http://www.newsweek.com/id/106554/. 10 April 2010.
Clifford Stoll
Distrust of the Internet“Isolated by the Internet”Social outcastsAcceptance
Stoll, Clifford. “Why Web Won’t Be Nirvana.” Newsweek. 27 Feb. 1995. http://www.newsweek.com/id/106554/. 10 April 2010.
Michael Wesch
Social media“Networked indivisualism”“Context collapse”“Connection without constraint”
Mwesch. “An anthropological introduction to YouTube.”Digital Ethnography: mwesch’s Channel. YouTube,26 July 2008. http://www.youtube.com/user/mwesch. 20 April 2010.
Technological IsolationSyndrome
Professor Tony McEnery– Lancaster University
Harmful to today’s youthLoss of verbal skillsDecrease in vocabulary
Stuart, Keith. “Modern teenagers are practically mute. Videogames to blame.”Games Blog. Guardian.co.uk.13 Dec. 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2006/dec/13/modernteenager. 19 March 2010.
Technologies that Isolate
Video gamesCell phonesThe Internet– Virtual reality– Joseph Tecce– Avatars
Hudson, Joanne. “Virtual reality's lonely lifestyle; in a society where so much emphasis is placed on mass communication, it seems surprising that loneliness has become a major ailment afflicting many Americans.” BNET (2002). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_19_18/ai_87024945/. 17 April 2010.
Examples in Real Life
Avoidance usesSelf-checkout lanesVideo GamesFood Court
Examples in the Media
Found in Movies– Up in the Air– Avatar
The Future of TechnologicalIsolation
Professor David Carlson, UFEverything will be digitalDigitized refrigerators, keys, etc.
Conclusion
“Technology is a knack of so arranging the world so that we don’t have to experience it.”
-Max Frisch
Isolation in theTechnological Age
Christina VilaUniversity of Florida
MMC2265Spring 2010