Technology affecting Society

        Throughout the last few decades, technology has been advancing in many ways that have been negatively impacting our society. The addiction to social media has escalated significantly. Social media sites such as Facebook result in inarticulate and unintelligent people. People expect instant gratification when messaging or commenting to another individual. This has made society much more impatient. Rather than writing letters, we just expect to be answered right away on the internet, which is much faster. Another impact of technology is the way it is affecting children and there mental growth. Much less kids play outside nowadays. They are to consumed in video games, television, and social media. This causes them to lack creativity, and exercise. Video games also result in more violent minded children. Texting is causing people to no longer talk on the phone, this is resulting in people becoming more socially awkward, and less professional when they are face to face with people.

Media and Society

me·di·a¹

ˈmēdēə/

noun

1. 

plural form of medium.

2. 

the main means of mass communication (especially television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet) regarded collectively.

"the campaign won media attention"

synonyms:

the press, the fourth estate, the news, the papers; broadcasting, publishing;  big media;  citizen journalism "the media went wild with the story of the singer's arrest" so·ci·e·ty 1.  the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. "drugs, crime, and other dangers to society" synonyms: the community, the (general) public, the people, the population;

To me media and society is how both effect each other. There are numerous forms of media new and old, even oral communication, which before this class I never would have considered media. There are also numerous types of societies. There wouldn't be media without society, but would there be societies without media? If so what would that be like? How dull, boring and quiet that world would be. So maybe there wouldn't be a society without media. This doesn't seem like something we will ever experience, media is constantly changing and adapting to our evolving world and people rely on it so the demand is there too. Media and society has become social media, so what's next?

Mass Media Influence on Society

Over the last couple hundred years, the influence of mass media has grown exponentially with the advance of technology. At first there were books, then newspapers, magazines, photography, films, radio, television, the so-called New Media of the internet, and now social media. 'Today, just about everyone depends on information and communication to keep their lives moving through daily activities like work, education, health care, leisure activities, entertainment, traveling, personal relationships, and the other stuff with which we are involved.' 'It's not unusual to wake up, check the cellphone for messages and notifications, look at the TV or newspaper for news, commute to work, read emails, take meetings and makes phone calls, eat meals with friends and family, and make decisions based on the information that we gather from those mass media and interpersonal media sources.' Every morning I will wake up check my phone, watch the news for a little while and then go on the computer. I go through this cycle every morning pretty much. It is routine.

http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/Media&Society/MassMediaInfluenceOnSociety.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHQG3oD5p0  

Media: The Second God???

In class a few weeks ago, we were discussing a book called, Media, The Second God. I completely understand that we live in a day-in-age were we depend on the media for information, but unfortunately, there is no doubt in my mind that media is not the second. The difference between media, and God is that media is made by man, and God is a Spirit. In the first chapter of the book, it talks about how media is with us everywhere we go. But I've immediately notice that-that statement is completely false. Why, because if I've decided to go to an isolated island by myself, media is clearly not around. God on the other hand, is everywhere we go, and even if we are not in the site of man. There was also a statement in the book the same programs can be on television. But, what they failed to realize is that there is also a delay. I know this to be fact because when i was on the phone with my cousin, and we were watching the same television show, my TV show was seconds a head of her's. So, God on the other hand is omnipresent, there are no delays in the works of God.

Star Wars Droids: An AI Robot scenario

People today ask what will happen when we give AI to robots high enough to become sentient beings. Terminator and Odyssey 2000 bring the worst case if we let it unregulated, but Star Wars may show the best outcome of the situation

An R8-Series Astromech Droid being loaded into an X-Wing

Astromech droids are sapient beings who are not only good companions but helpful and can even fix ships and navigate, also they can use multiple utilities for purposes beyond the shipyard, perhaps with AI in robots we can have loyal mechanical pets who can fix our cars, another example of friendly AIs in Star Wars are Protocol Droids

C-3PO (Gold) and K-3PO (White) are both Protocol Droids, meant for serving, translating, and so on

Protocol droids were designed to be translators for droids who use droidspeak (droid language like astromech droids), alien languages, and also double as domestic servants around the household, or some cases offer repair or military files (K-3PO served as basically an intern unit for the rebel alliance, keeping files stored in his databank but also ironically gave him enough knowledge to devise battle tactics.) they only ask for respect and used wisely and fairly, but some like C-3PO are rather too timid to make such a demand (which brings the question of robot-rights, but that is another subject), all these can be useful in business and home

these droids can be proof that if we are wise with giving robots sapient AI we might be able to also have them not only as servants, but loyal companions

Games affect the developing brains of children and teens.

“At age 17, Anthony Rosner of London, England, was a hero in the World of Warcraft online gaming community. He built empires, led raids, and submerged himself in a fantasy world that seemingly fulfilled his every need. Meanwhile, his real life was virtually nonexistent. He neglected his school work, relationships, health, even his hygiene” 

This is just one example of how gaming affects teenagers and all aspect of their lives. This article discusses how “9 out of 10 children plays video games, this is 64 million kids” It has been proven that individuals that game excessively rewire their brain before the age of 21 or 22. There was a research conducted in China that studies the brain of 18 college students who spend 10 hours on online playing games like World of Warcraft. “Compared with a control group who spent less than two hours a day online, gamers had less gray matter (the thinking part of the brain)”

My stepson is currently 24 years old. I could remember when he first became a gamer at the age of 18. We have seen a drastic change in his drive and determination to achieve anything. He is a graduate of Dutchess Community College however since he graduated he spend hour upon up hours in his bedroom gaming. We have also seen a change in his attitude toward any involvement with family issues. I do feel that there are some positive effects of gaming however the negative effect subsidies them. The negative effects like poor schoolwork and argumentativeness, poor concentration, increased depression and anxiety, attention deficit and impulsiveness, and physical health issues.

Less or more intelligent?

We have discussed in class about how its a debate on whether technology is making us less intelligent or not. My personal belief on this we are not becoming any less intelligent as all, maybe even more intelligent. Points have been made that while we once needed to pick up a dictionary to look up  a word and we know can just google search (now even just ask our phones with voice searching) what it means and that is making us less intelligent. I say that we are not getting less intelligent we are just adapting to the ways of modern technology, we now have the knowledge of how to operate these phones and be able to google search the definition to that word. Put an iPhone that has one button and is all touch screen in the hands of someone from the 19th century and ask them use it, they would have no clue what they were even looking at. In addition to that, we have people who have to program the software behind these technologies, someone had to have come up with the aforementioned google voice searching, I don't know who or what group of people came up with that (but i can google search it) but thats a pretty inventive technology, I'd say they are pretty intelligent.

AI Takes Over The World

Artificial Intelligence is intelligence created by a robot or a machine. This idea has been floating around society since computers were invented. This is the idea of robots and machines finally becoming independent minds in our society. Just like everything, there are pros and cons to this concept.

The positive outcomes of artificial intelligence could range from small to large. A very basic, but efficent method of something simple like cleaning a house or doing chores could be a positive outcome. Humans would be able to focus on other, more time consuming tasks; the more desirable tasks would become higher quality because of more time spent on each. Another plus would be on a larger scale. The world's most dangerous tasks could be completed without any harm to human beings. Jobs like coal mining, high risk military tasks, etc. Lives would be saved and so would time.

The negatives of artificial intelligence are more significant and outweigh the positives. First of all, many jobs would be taken and the unemployment rate would increase. Secondly, just like in science fiction films, it would be possible that a man vs. machine war could be possible. One intelligent robot could decide they are tired of humans and act on it. Lastly, if everything does actually work, the human species would probably become even lazier due to lack of necessary movement on a daily basis.

Every day that passes is a day closer to artificial intelligence. This technology will gradually increase until human error is completely gone. Someday the human race will in fact experience for themselves the pros and cons of this phenomenon. Till that day, I do not mind doing my laundry over hiding from the brilliant menace machines.

The impact on Social Media

I personally feel that we as people, are sucked into a world that it is kind of impossible not to have social media. For instance, phones, iPad, etc are apart of this era. I can say there are negative and positive effects of social media on society. I'll first discuss the negative effect. First and foremost,  when somebody is constantly on their phone, they'ill beging to use it as a "crutch", and that becomes a habit. Instead of picking up a book, people would now pick up their phone, and ask google about an answere. Now a days, kids growing up now are exposed to media more easily then young adults were when they were young. Also, social media can brain wash adolescent into think that they need to have a certain image to be cool or fit in. Another negative aspect of social media is cyber bullying. it make it so much easier for a bully to go behind a computer, and harass another person. So with that being said, social media has made it very easy for people to bully others online, and that's very negative. One positve that social media has is that it connects people together that are long distance from each other. For example, facebook has a way to connect old school dfriends and family that have lost contact over the years. Social media has also keep people up to date of what's going on in the world. 

 

The Human Brain, The Human Drive

Like we discussed in class, the human brain and the preservation of it is something that we will never be able to understand. The idea of connection a human brain to a computer and getting live information like a human being even after it has deceased, is technology that we only can imagine. What if one day, we really can do so, what will my teacher say about me when I'm on my death bed. Will we want to know what others really thought of us? Or when friends girlfriend got pregnant, would want o know the truth of the true father? If i got fired from job, would I want to know who told the bosses I was giving discounts? It's technology that might take away our innocence. The truth is, nobody knows, and quite frankly, I think it should stay that way.

I think the human brain is the engine, but a printer. It spits out information and can communicate for the computer but without the limbs to perform it's tasks, it can't work. A computer can think but only to a certain degree, a printer can think too but only when it has a host. The brain disconnected is like the printer head but without ink, we will never know what the printer has to say. Thus, we will never truly know.

Video Games

Tonight in class we discussed video games and the impact they have on learning, but we only discussed the new games. I was raised with Atari and the original Nintendo. These game systems were very basic but appealing because that's all there was. They didn't really have much to teach you and looking back now pong and space invaders certainly aren't as appealing as they once were. The children today are very lucky because there are so many options and the games available aren't all for amusement, some are educational. Both of my children have had Leap Frog and V-Smile products that seem like games to them, but are at the same time educational and help develop their motor skills at a very young age. Even as they get older there are so many games that can be downloaded to an iPod or tablet. Something as simple as bejeweled with so many variations appeals to kids, and while it might be amusing it does have a small learning aspect. It makes them think and challenges them to match the colors or shapes trying to clear the rows, to me this is similar to when I had Tetris. Yes there are some game that teach us nothing and are purely for entertainment, but there are plenty of games out there that can be entertaining and educational.

Brain Preservation Theory

The concept of preserving a persons mind  fully after death is unachievable due to many reasons. I feel as though human emotions rest deeper than within the brain, which would not allow us to preserve a humans mind completely. A persons deepest emotions and feelings are unable to process, the brain preservation will only allow us to receive memories, images, and thoughts. The majority of a persons mental state lies within body parts other than the brain. The spine is connected to the brain which allows us to feel emotions such as: sad, happy, anxious, and nervous. It would be impossible to take these emotions out of our brains because it would lack the entire system of our body. Our bodies connect everything, which is why we have them entirely to each serve for a specific function. An entire physical body is needed to account for every emotional and mental state a person has. For example if a person is feeling intense pain in their back, or if they feel knots in there chest, then it is most likely because of stress.

The Wrong with Transferring head (Brains)

The concept of transferring one mental space to another or an empty vessel is complicated but not impossible or so I think. Once you get passed the initial obstacles such as medical and or physical compatibility you open a door problems of processing information. For example, if it was possible to transfer the brain of a bird to a fish you run into to imitate problems of basic survival. The bird brain inside the fishes body would struggle on the concept of breathing through gills, before the bird before tackling problems of swimming. To relate back the probability that the human mind would ever be able to transcend into a digital form is highly unlikely.  Clearly humans process differently than machines, but both are inspired by electical impulses so I believe it's far fetched but more than possible with time. Human digital brains are possible.

Cinematic and Narrative Value in Video Games

Video games today are a whole new way to tell a story. Originally, video games were simple with simple premises and stories, such as rescue the princess by avoiding obstacles and defeating the villain. Today, however, they're much more complex and can tell full and complete stories both through gameplay, which is defined as the player directly controlling the actions of the main character or characters to interact with the environment around them, or through the same cinematic techniques that films use today. In fact, games now are getting closer to playable movies, where the gameplay is almost as cinematic as the cutscenes (breaks in gameplay, mostly using CGI to convey plot points using cinematic techniques). Enemies can carry on full conversations without stopping gameplay, making it easier to move the story along and keeping the player engaged. A great example of this is The Last Of Us, a game widely accepted as one of the best video game stories. Ive posted a video of the first sixteen minutes. The scene is very emotional and very violent.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgHeUdIS-eQ

Patrick Q

So the idea that people will be able to tranced  death and keep their mind and ideas alive for ever is kinda scary. on one hand there is the invertible level of control that the people in charge will be able to have over the ones that are reeling on technology to keep their soul and memories running in a organic shell or a computer vessel. then there is the problem with rich powerful horrible people gaining the ability to never die and further their evil ideas and if they never die they will be able to continue their horrible plan over centuries. i mean with the potential to never die they could have their evil empires span vast periods of time. the video i posted above, they are close to merging human brains with computers. that also goes back to a post i have done in the past. the odds that a computer with the ability to think for its self and improve its computer mental stare will ultimately decide that humans are bad for humans and the computers will look to enslave the human race to save it from its self.

Software

Most forms of media are converted into data and run through some type of software. The progression of software and technology makes the creation of media more accessible to a larger number of people. However, the standard for quality of media rises as the technology advances. Does this make an artist/filmmaker need to reach to a higher pedestal in order to be considered an artist/filmmaker? Despite the fact that technology advances, I believe that software opens up a whole spectrum of opportunity. If you want to work in an "out-dated" medium, such as VHS quality, there is a software available for you to convert that into some sort of data. The quality of work is not dependent on how expensive/new your equipment is, it depends on how well you work with/incorporate the resources you have available to you.

Software And Data In Society

As we were talking about what exactly data is and what software is, I realized that data and software is apart of our daily lives. Data revolves around our culture because that is information we carry around throughout generations and generations of every family. No matter what culture you're, there is data that makes you who you are. Facebook is also data, unfortunately because all information we learn and share is always going to be there and stored in the back of our minds. Data is also used in schools because they have information about each kid. Information to put them in certain classes and whether or not they are eligible to move on to the next grade. Hospitals have data because that information indicates who people are and what procedures need to be done to them in order to survive. Software is used in everyday life because it is what keeps hospitals running, cellphones active, schools functioning, and so much more. Software is electricity; however, without electricity, we would act as caveman and I know I won't survive. 

Media Archaeology

In our most recent class, we discussed  media archaeology. This concept interests me; I have been wondering lately if my descendants will find my Facebook photos in the way that I can find my great-grandparents' photo albums. There are almost no printed photos of me, and the ones that do exist are from my childhood. If my children and grandchildren want to see my photos from middle school, high school, and college, they will probably need to plug in my old cell phones or access my laptop's hard drive. I have no photo albums to show. Will future generations have access to flash drives, and private social media accounts? Will future societies have historians who work on computers searching for media artifacts? How will my great grandchildren learn about their ancestors' Instagrams, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts? Most of my accounts are private, meaning the information is not publicly available and probably will not be accessible in the future if it is not currently accessible without approving a request. It scares me to imagine a world where no one knows anything about their ancestors. I'm not sure these websites will still exist in 10 years, let alone 100 years. In fact, I'm not even sure that I will have access to all of my pictures by the time I'm 50. I know for a fact that I don't have any of the pictures from my cell phones before I had an iPhone, because I couldn't connect them to a computer to save them. Also, many of these photos are selfies or involve uninteresting subject matter. I think that as technology evolves, we must also remember to preserve our memories in the manner of "old media", such as non-electronic artifacts.

Software and Society

Software is truly the foundation of today’s society. On a daily basis we as humans use software to basically do everything. From the moment we wake up software has been used to an alarm on our phone. Then you’re probably going to check your messages or social networks. Then throughout the day you use software to do most anything. Not only has software affected our society though, but also our media which are heavily linked. Movies have change drastically due to all the new available software. CGI plays a large part in most movies nowadays. In my opinion almost too much. It has erased a lot of the artistic camera movements and creating magic through the camera. Now magic is created through the editing process. It’s not necessarily a bad thing though. It allows the filmmakers every vision to come alive no matter how outrageous and unrealistic it is. Whole worlds can be created in a film with nothing but a green room. This allows for films to become more exciting and allow people to escape their realities. Movies like The Avengers or Gravity could not possibly exist without the proper software. CGI is an art all within it’s own too. There is a lot of vision and creativity that goes into creating a world or creature. 

Impact of Social Media and more advanced technology on Society

I think it is quite obvious that social media has had a tremendous impact on the world. Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on have pretty much revolutionized the way people communicate in person and socialize on the web. Nowadays people are glued to their smartphones and there is no real communication going on because people are constantly attached to their phones or tablets. This is bad, what has society come too. Advanced technology such as these tablets and smartphones have changed the way society interacts with one another. People don't no how to communicate face to face anymore, and their social skills are lackluster because of these new technological advances where you can communicate without any face recognition. For example this has happened to me quite a few times where I try to have a conversation with younger kids and they don't no how to talk. Obviously this is not the case for everyone at that age but definitely a good majority of young kids struggle to interact because they grew up with a tablet in their hand so to speak. Just this past Easter for example my EIGHT year old cousin who already has a iPhone 6 and iPad was glued to these devices the whole day and whenever he was made to get off he would scream and yell lol. These are just a few examples of how addicting these devices are. I can say proudly that I have deleted all of my social network accounts because when I was in High School I was addicted to it and it without a doubt it affected me. I pretty much ignored the real outside world because of my addiction to gaming and social media websites. I have experienced a lot of the negative affects of social media and I can say today I am glad I am no longer using it.

Social Media negative effect on society

I feel social media have a negative effect on society. Although sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have allowed us to share our day to day lives with individuals from many cultures, friends and family members that we haven’t seen in many years, just by a click of a button. I still feel social media have a negative effect on our society. Social Media is the number one cause for Cyber-bullying, invasion of privacy and decreased of productivity in the workplace. Kids are the most vulnerable to cybber bullying. Some of these attacks have lead to teenage suicide or as well as the increase in school shooting. Many of these sites also encourage us to be more public about our personal lives. A friend of mine recently lost her job because of a fun night out with friends at the bar. I strongly feel our personal lives should be separate from work. Not because we are out having fun doesn't mean we are irresponsible. This is definitely an invasion of our privacy. Although social media sites like Twitter and Facebook helps with the success of many business, I also feel it decreased of productivity if there is an increase in non-work related use.  

Social Media And Documentaries

Social Media And Documentaries have been known to be attention grabbers for many, usually because they follow the same formula. They use narrations, atmospheric music, and interview celebrities and experts. However the only difference is that documentaries are far more intense when they use these attention grabbing materials.

For an example is the "Humanoid Robots" documentary, using recorded footage, dynamic charts and displays, and interviews, they grab the attention of the audience along with atmospheric music. Almost to a theatrical level.

Also the subjects in video revolve on what goes on in the world today, a serve as a source of information

But both have unfortunately fallen to biased information

Back to the Allegory

A while ago in class we read Plato's Allegory of the Cave. This reading has been on my mind for a while now and i just wanted to share some of my thoughts. The cave represents being closed minded, and exiting the cave represents enlightenment. The man who exits is thrilled at his discovery and when he tries to inform the people in the cave they do not believe him. This fact makes the man very depressed. I think there is something to be learned from this in more ways than one. There are an unlimited amounts of caves to be entered in our lifetime. There are many ideas and ideals to be had. As long as you remain open and don't chain yourself to any ideals you remain enlightened. These thoughts we conjure up are mere shadows on a cave wall. However, entering caves is not a bad thing. While there is need for open mindedness there is also the luxury of imagination and speculation. But to repeat, never chain yourselves to these ideals and keep the outside of the cave in mind at all times

Cultural Interface

Last class, in relation to cinema, we touched on Cultural Interface. The evolution of culture depends on what kind of art is being made at the time and the evolution of art depends on whats going on, culturally, in society. It's an unstoppable snowball effect. Cinema can never be a perfect form of reality. There is always at least one aspect of a film that is exaggerated for the sake of entertaining. A filmmaker can see a pattern, problem, or an "elephant in the room" in his/her surroundings and draw inspiration from it. Reality gets lost in translation when making art/film. However, this synthetic realism inspires/effects the people who view it in one way or another, and can effect culture/society and perceptions of culture/society. So is culture another interpretation or reality?

Future Media - Tyree Carrow

Last class, we discussed the amazing things that media has added to society today. Years ago when film was first introduced, everything was so simple, just moving images. We've evolved to having sound added to our films, including sound effects, and special effects. I see the future having 3D sound, which they kind of have now. I went on a trip with daycare children and we went to a spongebob screening. It was amazing as an adult to see it. The sound effects went from one ear to another and whenever sponge on blew bubbles, the bubbles came out of different directions and we actually felt them. Then sponge on tripped and fell and he broke his back, the chairs we were in had a back breaker in them and it hit our backs, sort of breaking our backs so we know how spongebob felt. Lastly, while spongebob was driving on a bumpy road, the chairs began to vibrate and make us feel like we are passengers of sponge bobs car. The future hold a lot of amazing things and I can't wait to see what they have next. 

The Future Movie

            Last class, an interesting topic in our discussion was presented. In the future, it’s predicted that there will be a multi-screen presentation for audiences viewing films. Personally, I believe this would change the process of filmmaking, but I do not believe it would be very popular.

            Filmmaking would change forever, not only for the audience, but also for the artists producing the films. First of all, multi-screen would provide the audience with a new sense of freedom, because they would be able to choose what they wanted to see as opposed to having no choice to. From a production point of view, films may take longer to make, due to the lack of resources (Cameras). Also, time is money on set.  It may be interesting to experience, but the films will need higher budgets to be successful.

            Budget is the bare minimum for my opinion on struggle with success. Adding multi-screens and giving the audience options almost completely removes the artistic freedom and sense of storytelling for the filmmakers. The aesthetic value and the art of film will be completely diminished. The occupation of Directing in movies may as well be on the same level as the production assistant at that point.

            I think multi-screen entertainment will happen, but it will never be on the same level or in the same lane as traditional filmmaking. The art of filmmaking is too original and unique to lose its value. If people want to view stories their own way with a freedom to experience what they decide to watch, they can play video games or watch a play. Filmmaking is an art; it can never be changed to the extent of multi-screen freedom viewing. Making this prediction is like saying in the future; someone can view a painting and personally choose the color and content of the piece of art. 

Multi-screen Cinema

I think that multi-screen cinema is an interesting concept but very impractical. Cinema as a medium doesn't require a second screen, so the first question is what would be displayed? Video games use multiple screens to display the world surrounding their character, to expand their point of view for strategical and aesthetic purposes. Cinema would have to display something in order to keep the story moving forward but without splitting the viewer's attention too thin. To me, the idea of using multiple screens in cinema is just incredibly impractical and all it well end up doing is divide the attention of the audience to the point where they receive less information rather than more of it. The only way I can see multiple screens being useful is during dialogue scenes, you can listen to the person speak but also read the faces of the other characters throughout the whole conversation rather than cut to a reaction shot. I don't believe multiple screens should be the future of cinema, it would dumb down the experience, diving people's attention and make it harder to follow a narrative.