well this is my first proper blog and not really sure what to write, but i was interested in the whole blogging concept that james has brought in to this class.
although i can see the benefits of this new 'blogging' phenomenon that has quickly spread through the social psychology scene, i think there is a case for arguing that such social online interaction is a not necessarily a good thing.
firstly, computers can be very very annoying. for example, after spending half an hour filling out details about myself for my profile, i clicked on a button (obviously the wrong one) that i thought would save it. instead it deleted all the details. on reflection, maybe i should be annoyed at the operator?
secondly, in a society that seems to revolve around computers and mobile phones, i think that we sacrifice good old fashioned face-to-face talking. i heard a statistic on the ever-reliable news the other night that something like 16 million people in australia have a mobile phone! although mobiles and computers can be good for keeping in contact with people, communication with these devices lack in a number of ways in comparison to talking face to face. talking to someone in person you can pick up body language, tone, sarcasm, humour, etc. yet when we read a text message we have to interpet it and think about what the sender is saying. i know i have read messages and taken it one way and found out the sender meant something different. also, with communication online or with mobiles responses can be sent almost instantaneously, without actually thinking about what we are saying or what was said by the other person. context is difficult to establish with such devices.
on the other hand, i think that the whole submitting blogs and online engagement is good in that it mixes things up at uni. this is my fourth year at uni and it seems that there is a fair bit of repition in units. lectures, tutorials, essays, lab reports, exams, and so on.
anyway, to anyone that reads this thanks for taking the time to read my rant...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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6 comments:
Hi Graham, I think its interesting that despite the emerging technology around us many people prefer to use a text message to communicate when we have the ability to talk. Or even in the workplace for a colleague to send an email saving the few paces it would take to walk to the persons desk. Is life so busy that we can't stop to pick up the phone or visit the person. On the flip side of this, I realise the distance may be great and can appreciate the flexibility of communicating via text when you can't possibly take a call. I do however believe we get caught up in the technology and lose sight of the face to face contact as you say.
I definitely think that the use of mobile phones and the internet has changed the way many people communicate. There may be some negatives to this but there are so many positives! I have a sister that lives overseas and keeping in contact with her by telephone can be expensive! Email has made it so much cheaper and its pretty much instant communication (as long as your computer hasn't crashed or the internet is down!). I am very grateful for the newer communication technologies and whilst they may change the way we communicate, anything that encourages this has to be a good thing!
HI, I agree with what you have said here, but I so believe that by using blogs and discussion pages it allows those people who are quieter in class and take a back seat in the tutorial proceedings to put forward their ideas and opinions in a forum where they can actually do so with other being interrupted or "cut down". A communication/discussion tool where everyone can have an opinion.
Hi Graham, you've made some good points there about how communication has changed and evolved and I think we can all relate to the pros and cons of technology. We live in such a busy world now and are confronted with so much information that I guess it's just so easy and efficient to send someone some kind of message rather than meet with them. While it does have down sides, I think all this extra communication is a great thing. It means that I can keep in touch with friends daily who live interstate or even overseas! I suppose we just have to make sure we use it but don't abuse it:-)
~Ruth
Graham,
Know where your coming from with computers and how much we do rely on them. It makes me realise how different the world was back before Windows 95 and Doom came out. I can't really imagine what UC used to be like in 1995 and how banks used to work. Yet when i think about keeping in contact with my friends, the world today is so much easier when using computers. Just sending an email is so easy and now I'd say the majority of people have internet at home. It seems that Facebook and Myspace are taking over new communication levels among young people. Although i'm not a great fan, i like using Myspace to find new music and without having computers I'm pretty sure i would still be listening to Korn and thinking it was cool.
Hey Graeme, Interesting post!
I know what you mean about technology, it's taking over! Another thing that I've noticed is how really young kids ie primary school, are now toting mobile phones and sending text msgs!
We've been blogging now for 4 weeks, whats your current opinion? success? failure? good? bad? Be honest!
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