After watching, “The Machine is Changing Us” on youtube by Michael Wesch, I have mixed feelings about his truths. Personally, I have never felt right about having intimate conversation with my computer screen. I tend to agree that it is a little awkward at first to continue a monologue without some facial cues from my invisible audience as I feel that, we as humans, do feed off body languages and facial expressions which leads our f2f conversations down a certain path of reasoning which is healthy and productive in forming views and opinions about the world around us.
In today’s day and age, it appears that people want to be heard, they want a voice; their voice. It is so important that everyone has an avenue to connect with someone else of similar interests and similar experiences that using youtube as a therapeutic way to release yourself to the world can be a good thing, if used properly.
As an educator, I see this everyday. Students are continuously trying to find out who they are as individuals and where they fit into their surroundings. The Internet can open up dialogues between students from all over the globe with similar ambitions and interests especially for rural students that feel disconnected from the rest of the world around them.
Information is at our finger tips for anyone to learn everything about anything. What a powerful tool the “machine” is. It has changed how we do business, how we communicate and how we raise our children. Anything that we want to learn about is only a click away.
The Internet and all of its advantages can harvesting life long learners in all of us; however, it can present debilitating effects as cyberbullying is on the rise. “The Internet has taken on a central role in teenage culture, creating a new landscape for social interaction…while most cyber communication is of a positive nature, an increasing number of young people are using interactive technology to harass and bully peers.1 A 2002 British survey found that one quarter of youth, aged 11 to 19, have been harassed via computers or “cell” phones”1. These are issues that we cannot ignore. Bullies have the avenues to hurt others through the use of “machines”. In fact, the machines provide a safe haven for bullies to harvest a plan and manifest those plans into a reality. “Cyber bullies are often more vicious and hurtful than in-person bullies, saying things on line they would never say face to face. The anonymity of on-line harassment gives bullies the power to attack others with little risk of being caught. Using cyber technology to harass also shields bullies from the consequences of their actions. Having no actual physical contact with their victims, the cyber-bully’s feelings of empathy and remorse are minimized”1.
A positive, more uplifting side of using the Internet is that people can perhaps overcome their social anxiety. Look at computer dating, “It has been found from online dating statistics that around 83 millions Americans aged 19 to 45 are interested in online dating services and that consumers spent nearly 302 millions dollars for online dating services; in addition, 44% of American Adults are single, 40% have tried online dating, AND there are more than 120,000 marriages a year that occur as a result of online dating in the U.S” 2
The social anxiety that some student exhibit in the classroom can also be overcome by allowing students creative ways of creating videos or blogs to release there inner voice for class projects. My school has almost 1400 students, which can be quite overwhelming at times. Through the use of blogs and youtube as a media of release students can get to know not only people in their school but students from other schools in their city and of course from around the world.
Unfortunately, the problem that arises is that students develop “narcissitic views” and tend to communicate in “ephemeral discussions”(Wesch). Furthermore, with greater computer usage, kids may not develop pertinent social skills required when caring out face to face conversation with peers, parents or teaching staff.
Context collapse and deep self reflection occur as a result of using youtube and other video creating sites but the fact that people can form help groups to find others out there in the same situation as they are in is of course a great advantage to using these sites.
Our computer generation can create their own world to live in instead of having it created for us by T.V in the past. The information that is exchanged via blogs and social networking sites is directed by the individual and not by T.V which puts more control into the user’s hands than ever before. It has even been said that the reasons why students love using facebook and myspace is because they are in control and few parents have reign over them while in those sites.
Perhaps this is where context collapse comes into play. If individuals are not taught how to use the Internet effectively be it through searching for information or posting personal information or videos then trouble can exist. Students need to know that any information that is placed on the web can potentially be seen by millions around the globe and that their actions being portrayed must be taken seriously in order to avoid any uncomfortable situations.
These issues surround us today as we learn how to make technology work for us as a comfortable personal tool and a not so comfortable classroom tool.
References
1. http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Cyber-Bullying-Part-One.aspx?articleID=7981&categoryID=news-poh5
2. http://www.articlealley.com/article_565008_39.html