In one week I feel like my life has been inserted into a computer. I feel like I am in the matrix but instead of taking all the plugs out of me I am getting all the plugs drilled into me. I am currently apart of these social networks: facebook.com, diigo.com, goodreads.com, stumbleupon.com, google reader, and I am a blogger (I have yet to succumb to Twitter for fear that my life may implode with distractions and information). Their are pros and cons about being this "plugged in."
Pros- I can access more precise information and faster than I could before. I can discover new videos, books, and keep in touch with friends easier. I can talk about my ideas and have "a voice." I can let people know what I am doing at all times. I have access to a wealth of knowledge and a place to store that information.
Cons- Now that I am so "plugged in" I feel like everything that I do has ramifications. When I say I want to read a certain book on "goodreads.com" it pops up on my "facebook." So now I have 30 books on my profile and my wall is all jumbled with junk. If I tag anything on diigo.com my entire class can see. Every post on my blog now appears on my "facebook" which is quite intimidating. I feel like I am TOO connected. Every thing I do on the internet I feel is being watched.
This brings up another issue in terms of blogging, does my "voice" really matter? Why do I think I am so special and important to be listened to? Also is this even my real "voice?" Would I talk like this to my friends in person or is this just how I talk on my blog? Do I do things now in real life just for my "facebook" "status updates" or a new blog post?
At the end of the day I don't know all the answers. What I do know is that now that I have been exposed to a world of being "plugged in" it has changed my thought process of what I knew was capable. The scary thing is that I still could get more connected. I feel the more "connected" we become the closer we to having no private life and depending on technology solely. We will become more like the world in "Rainbow's End," where everyone is "wearing" computers and life is a computer. In that world if you don't stay current with the latest tech you miss out on a world. Now that I have been exposed to this world their is no turning back for me.
3 comments:
Maybe there's no turnign back but I personally am finding that there is a healthy balance. You don't have to stay plugged in all the time. For my husband, he pulled all the social networking apps off his iPhone so he has to sit down at a computer to email and network. Maybe this would seem silly to some who use the smart phones for their mobile networking capabilities, but he didn't like feeling like he had to respond every time his phone pinged him. It was too much of a distraction.
Also, on the internet, everyone has a voice and even the weirdest people have an audience. I think because of publishers/ publishing companies, who tells us who to listen to and who study who the market will listen to before they publish a work, we have this idea that only certain people deserve an audience or will actually receive one. But just hop onto a scifi forum and you'll see just how easy it is to be heard. :) I've really enjoyed the online presence you've created for yourself thusfar. Your posts often catch my attention over others in my reader. (though the font on your blog is a tad bit difficult to read on a computer screen - not gonna lie. Sorry.)
"Would I talk like this to my friends in person or is this just how I talk on my blog?"
This is something I've been thinking about lately as well. I think the exercise of writing daily is really about finding a voice. So far in my own posts I've fluctuated somewhere between the colloquial way I speak to my friends and the academic way I would write in a paper. I think these are valid questions to ask and I think the closer we get to finding our own voice in our writing the closer we are to having really accomplished something in this exercise.
In an age that is moving towards becoming more connected it is scary to think about how our privacy is then at risk. I love staying connected to my friends and knowing what is going on my family's live. Without all of the technology we have today I would not be about to do that. But I also like my privacy and the networks that are online don't really allow for that. When I sign into my email it automatically links me to my blog page and facebook. Sometimes being too "plugged in" is not really all that great.
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