New Media Concerning Multi-tasking

Today's Youth is like that of no other generation before it.  In today's society our youth never lives a dull moment and multi-taking is just becoming another part of our everyday hectic lives.  With all the new gadgets and technologies arising in todays new media its making them feel like they constantly have to be doing something every second of the day.  

Many people believe that multi-taking is a good thing and it helps the brain be able to function quicker by doing an assortment of so many things continuously.  Personally my view on multi-taking is that is making it very difficult for our youth to stay focused on one thing for any significant amount of time.  For instance the people in college and high school have the ability to do twenty different things during class of which is not paying attention to the lecture at hand.  With an assortment from cell phones, I-Pads, to PSP's and computers our youth is able to acquire all of these gadgets while in class.  Our youth is multi-tasking so much today its making it impossible for kids to focus in on one thing for a long period of time because their brain is so used to having to handle so many things at once, then when it comes down to them having to study for a big exam they have to study while IMing friends, listening to music checking there Facebook, just doing twenty other things while attempting to study.

An article from Times Magazine gives an example of how kids multi-task with todays new technologies, ""I usually finish my homework at school," he explains to a visitor, "but if not, I pop a book open on my lap in my room, and while the computer is loading, I'll do a problem or write a sentence. Then, while mail is loading, I do more. I get it done a little bit at a time." (Bylund,Time Magazine)  This article also talks about how energy drinks feed off of the new media that arises today.  With more and more new media coming out it makes people feel the need and have the ability to constantly be doing something, so energy drinks make it so kids can stay up for longer periods of time enabling them to multi-task longer and with more things. 

All these forms of new media is really effecting todays youth and their studies.  It is making kids procrastinate more and more, while coming to class sleep deprived with no interest of the topics at hand they are learning in class because they can just go on their phone or Facebook when board.  When a person is multi-tasking it takes away from the amount of information they can acquire.  When you focus on many things you are unable to obtain a sufficient amount of information rather then if you were focusing on one thing.

Below is a link to a chart of how multi-tasking is slit up in our youth.

http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7592.pdf

Is Facebok Getting to Serious?

By: Reid Mene

 

            Currently Facebook is the most popular social network site in the country.  It attracts participants of all ages, races, creeds and genders. It is viewed as a way for people to communicate with one another while expressing themselves with the technologies we are  privileged to have today.  These days people are not holding back from posting anything about themselves, tagging each other in inappropriate pictures without thinking twice about it.  With so much information available  and posted  on Facebook a random person is able to acquire knowledge and sensitive information about anyone they choose from their Face book sites. 

           

With all this information on Facebook and with its mass popularity in our country individuals are asking society to take Facebook material less seriously.  Facebook began as a social network for college students.  It was intended for peers of their own age and from the same generation to be able to connect with one another on the Internet.  Now that Facebook is becoming so popular people are starting to take the information posted  too serious.  Today if a random person requests someone and they seem to have the “look” or are attractive the person will accept the friend request.  Although if their Facebook profile seems lame or dorky and they  don’t have a cool profile picture they will not usually be accepted.  People are letting these random people into their  personal lives and allowing them to view their pictures and learn more intimate information about them. In other words  private and personal  information is permitted to be viewed by individuals who do not know each other.  

 

            A large subset  of  people on Facebook are younger people and kids  who don't always take the information they post  seriously.Therefore they expect the reader to know that the information they are posting is a joke and not necessarily true.  People who look at their Facebook today will most likely think all the postings that are listed on their Facebook represent true information when in fact it might not reflect  accurate information about that person.  If the two people do not know each other very well then they are going to take all the information into consideration and judge that person on false information.  This issue also arises with  famous people where their   fans make Facebooks for them.  People might err in thinking that these are their actual Facebooks and comment on their wall, status, photos etc. thinking its actually them. This just makes the Face book star seem foolish and their actions disappointing  and results in the fans thinking less of them and having a negative view towards someone they previously thought very highly of.    

 

            Today people have to be more and more concerned about what they put on their Facebook for fear of future employers seeing it or colleges using the information when evaluating a high school student for college admittance.  Those who choose to use Facebook must realize the consequences of their actions when posting information . The information posted will be reflective of the individual  for better or worse.  Everyone knows what Facebook is . These days  if anyone  wishes to know about someone they can check their Facebook.  Facebook began as a fun way to interact with one another.   Now it is viewed as a personal biography of that person and everything that is on their Facebook directly represents them.

 Facebook today is the biggest form of false advertising I believe.  I have gown to know you can't judge who someone is off their Facebook  information. Facebook can be by individuals to recreate themselves in a more negative or positive light. Facebook should be used with caution as its users all have different motives for accessing the information. What was once thought to be a "fun" form of communication is now a more serious medium of communication and must be taken more seriously.

 

 

Texting, Angel or Daemon?

I was  raised during the boom of the cell phone era.  From the age of seven ,  I remember my mother going to work never failing to  leave without her cell phone, which by the way, was the size of a brick.  Today, cell phones are smaller than ever imagined and have the capacity of a computer and more.  Cell phones have revolutionized the world.  It was not that long ago that in order to call someone, your telephone had to be attached to a wall or a cord.  In other words, not only do cell phones  allow  us to talk anywhere, inside or outside, but now cell phones give people the capability to talk without ever having to say a word, i.e., texting.  Texting on cell phones began as something somewhat childish and trended toward the  teenage population. Today, texting has replaced the very purpose of cell phones, i.e., to make calls.   Texting  has captured  the attention   of people of all ages because it is a simple and direct form of communication. 

Not all people like the idea of texting.  Some believe that it is slower and more tedious to write  rather than talk.  Initially, I was not much of a “texter.”  To me, it was something people would do to appear hip.  There is no question that for certain uses, such as when you need only a yes or no confirmation, or where talking out loud is not possible, texting is simply the better form of communication.  What about people who text for hours at a time, and have in depth conversations when they could be talking.  Text messaging is cold and somewhat solitary.  It eliminates the human senses of sight, sound and smell of human conversation.  My own experience with texting has shown  that often the message I’m trying to convey does not always come across.  Sometimes I am serious while the other person thinks I am simply joking around, and vice versa.  I have come to the conclusion that it is literally impossible to solve any sort of argument or have any type of serious conversation via texting because  it’s simply too difficult to get ones true point across without hearing the sincerity of a person’s voice or the watch the sight of their face.  So my concern here is, can texting often lead  to the wrong message and actually cause more problems than it may seem to stop?  

I decided to conduct a survey with some of my peers.  I asked ten guys and ten  women  this queston.    Does  texting cause problems or solve  and  avoid problems.  Six out of the ten guys admitted that texting often confused the message.  Eight out of the ten  womoen agreed explaining that their texts were often misread or not completely understood.  I am surprised that people have long conversations via text messaging.  I know that texting for some people is their primary form of communication, but those persons have limited the depth of their communication.  Anyone can put a smiley symbol or a sad face, but to have a truly in-depth conversation with another human being there must be passion and personality in it.  The vibes one sends off through facial and body expressions are what truly make conversation meaningful. People will still converse by texting because it is easy and mindless.  However, it will never replace human conversation , which is precious.

Will 3D Save TV!?

Over the past few years it can hardly be said that the television manufacturing industry has been booming. People simply have not been purchasing new television sets. Much of this is due to the economy being in a rut and people not buying anything new. The LCD market grew at a rate of 29% in 2008, and manufacturers were hoping it would increase, but in fact it only grew 17% in 2009. Television manufactures are hoping that 3-D will put an end to this and get the television industry back in business. There is further hope for a revival because people are able to upgrade their televisions in ways to make them seem unlike the televisions of a generation ago and virtually unrecognizable to the television sets of the previous fifty years. Television owners can upgrade their televisions to high-definition for their home movie studios. More television broadcasters are now beginning to show more programs in high definition (HD) The government’s mandated switch to digital TV signal broadcasts that came into existence in February of last year. All of this is likely to generate sales of new televisions as people grow into and become more comfortable with the new technology.

The 3D attraction has been around since the 1950’s. It began as a gimmick until the mass media began to love it. Although 3D TV’s started out as more of an attraction, and certainly something its creators never thought would become standard in the way people watch television, may soon become the only way to watch TV and at movie theaters. In 2009, DreamWorks announced that all of their movies would be produced in 3D, and they were. They are one of the major leaders in making 3D television become the newest phenomenon. Currently, 3D televisions will be nearly the same price as HDTVs. It is believed that the no price differential will cause people to select televisions that include 3D as an added feature.

Researchers main criticism of 3D television is that people will have to wear the special 3D glasses while in the comfort of their home to view 3d programs. Without 3D glasses, when viewing something in 3D, the image is blurry and almost hurts the eyes. I have experienced this firsthand, and it is not pleasant. It is projected to be about ten years until the industry will have the technology to make 3D television without the necessity of glasses. With that kind of time frame who can say when that will really begin. Another major fear that might cause 3D not to catch on is that it is currently impossible to get 3D footage from live broadcasts or in current home movie theaters. Thus, there is fear in the industry this could result in overlapping and wasteful competition just as there was for blue-ray and HD.

I would love to see 3D television become the norm. It can alter the way we gain information. 3D viewing breaks new barriers not imaginable before. Who knows, after this there could be 4D. That may sound crazy, but sixty years ago 3D sounded just as crazy. Advertisers is likely to play a major role in the success or failure of 3D televisions because of their creative use of technology. Also, companies such as Panasonic and LG need to combine their efforts so they can make 3D televisions available to a new generation of viewers. I have yet to meet anyone who has a 3D television, but I am looking forward to seeing on in the near future. I am excited for this advancement in television viewing.