Commercials and the Demise of American Society

The more I post on here, the more I begin to realize how specifically I notice oddities in my media usage. Almost always I have a conscious thought about something on television that disturbs me, and rarely do I talk about my direct use of media. I am addicted to my cell phone and my iPod (though I use my iPod to draw inspiration from the music for my paintings, drawings and ceramics pieces) and I am on facebook every chance I can get. I know that I am slave to my technology, but I don't think coming to terms with this makes a difference. I suppose that I could actually cut down my "screen time" but when I'm trying to make the grade in college while networking elsewhere, I need to be able to check my email as often as possible and use other tools to get ahead in both school and the workplace. I realize this has nothing to do with facebook, but I don't see myself falling off that wagon.

So now that I've explained all that, I'm going to talk about a commercial I saw on TV. To me, commercials seem to exude every negative stereotype of America. Sometimes the commercials are for the SPCA, but entertainer Sarah McLachlan is the one endorsing them anyway. I recently saw a commercial for CommonSenseMedia.org that struck me as strange. With a name like Common Sense Media, you would think the site could give you guidance on how to effectively use media, as the commercial illuded to after stating statistics about how often kids stare at screens per day and setting paranoia in about where all the information comes from. The add aims to capture the interest of caring parents, concerned with what their kids could be seeing on the internet. Here's the fun part: CommonSenseMedia.org is not by any means opposed to media. It is a website that, though including an "education" section, is meant to entertain parents and kids alike. If the aim is to get them away from the screens, how does having them play "educational" games help if it is also online?

XBox Replaces Real Play Time

So I'm sitting in my room at home watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Even on top of the fact that an incredible amount of attractions in the parade are television actors or characters, the commercial breaks really grind in the reality of the parade as a money making scheme. An American favorite, the parade seems to do little but perpetuate the cycle of watching television.

But that is not what I came here to talk about. In class we talk about television, cell phones, the Internet, but we rarely touch on video games. We've gone from Atari to XBox Kinect and slowly but surely, video games have put real athletic activity on pause. The most disturbing part of my Thanksgiving morning was the realization that now, with the new XBox Kinect, there is no need for kids to play outside. There is no controller to remind them that they are attached to a television screen. What happened to the days when kids would play soccer with each other outside, on grass, with a real ball and real teammates to see who came out the victor? Well, no need to worry about your kids' safety, parents!! They're playing games inside. Aren't you proud?

Crackberry Infiltrates Rumspringa

So since I've hurt my ankle and have been far less mobile than I'm used to, I've been watching a lot of TV. That's not to say it's more appealing to me now, just that it's more distracting than simply sitting with my foot up unable to move. Anyway, last night before I went to sleep, I caught part of a National Geographic documentary about the Amish and their weddings. It was very interesting and educational. In the Amish tradition, at 16 years old the young people of the community go out into the "English" world. This time out of their community is calledRumspringa. It is a time for young people to see what they're missing on the outside, fine a husband or wife, and return to the church to become official members before God.

Fascinating unto itself, I very much enjoyed the documentary until the kids began talking about what they would miss when they went back to their traditional communities. One boy said he would miss his laptop, but miss his Blackberry more since it's with him always. What I heard when he said that was that America has done such a good job at advertising and selling people lifestyles, that even the Amish, those who are without the ads, the newspapers, the magazines and all electronics, can get sucked into something like a Crackberry in just a short time out in the "English" world.

This boy won't miss traveling or seeing life on a more global scale. He won't miss the new friends he's made and the new life he has set with his girlfriend. No, he will miss his Blackberry by his side at all times. The only redeeming factor of this boy was that he still wanted to re-enter the Amish community even though he would have to give up the things we take for granted every day. I feel that in order to excommunicate yourself from your family, you would need a better excuse than a light-up paperweight, but even still, I don't know if I could do it now that I'm this deep into technology, could you?

The New Generation

I've decided that I need to come to terms with the fact that I am no longer part of the new generation. Technologies will progress and mediums will shift and I will forever struggle to catch up. Progress is a great thing, but one thing that is not so great is the way kids are growing up as slaves to technology.

Four days per week I babysit a six-year-old girl. Her mom is adamant about her only watching a few minutes of TV per day, but this morning when I showed up at seven in the morning, she wanted to go on youtube. She likes to go on there to see how other kids are playing with their American Girl dolls and can sit in front of the computer all day. She is constantly distracted from normal conversation, especially when she is in front of the computer. What kind of world is it when youtube comes before reading, writing, and homework for first graders?

Book Burning Returns to Civilized Societies in America

OK, so we aren't actually burning the books...yet. Kaufman's essay, Protecting the Printed Word, makes me feel like I need to scream at the top of my lungs that I am 21 years old and every day I would choose a printed book over anything over the internet!

I find it disturbing that there are some authors that see no problem in transferring their life's work to a fluid medium like the Internet. After reading the last two books in class, I want to tell them that, in all likelihood, their texts will become harder and harder to find as people will copy, paste and amend at will. Though it is a, lets say, interesting metaphor, the book to the jew of the Nazi's, it can really express the quickness and readiness of the public to let the book go.

To me, a book is an experience. A book is used to learn, used in classrooms, used to teach and understand, but a book is also an intimate, one on one experience with yourself. I don't think I could have an intimate experience with the internet (though, I suppose, many people do each day in their own way). The way a book smells, or feels, or the way the page took the ink, these are all things you cannot experience in cyberspace. What will become of the ancient texts of the past, seemingly forgotten? Will they be burned too? Will they be lost forever?

Kaufman notes that this is the way things are going. Because people like money, they're going to do whatever it takes to make money, even if that means destroying a cultural tradition that has been around for about 600 years. If it ain't broken, don't fix it, people. What becomes of these priceless pieces when the Internet crashes? When the technology moves on (as it always will). What happens in times of catastrophe and times of struggle where there is no money to pay for electronics and there is no one to run websites? A book is more than a book to me, as it should be to everyone. It is something sacred, a piece of time saved on pages, cherished and revered for years after.

I can see it now: Empty libraries. Kids in schools holding only a kindle. Bookstores becoming extinct like so many music stores. Where will we study, and how? What kind of learners will we have become? How will this transform down the line? What will be next, paintings done all on the computer? If one art form goes digital, will they all? Where is our culture headed?

Step 2: A Power Greater Than I May Restore Me to Sanity

Every day of my life, I am bombarded by images and overwhelmed by technology. Only now do I realize the impact this may be having on my life and the way I am growing up. In today's world, people seem to find technology addiction to be amusing or roll their eyes and laugh at the soullessness of it all. As I've learned, there is no reason to laugh.

Last night, I was watching the show Modern Family with my housemates. Part of the show was about a technology ridden family where no one listened to or respected one another and the adults tried to put their foot down. They wanted to put a one week ban on using any electronics, however they made it into a game. Whoever won received whatever they wanted and the last person to use any technology was the winner. Most of the kids became frustrated and gave up, as did the parents. Sure, things can be easier using these devices, but is the cost too much? What happened to family time? What happened to human interaction and conversation?

I think it's interesting what Postman said in the interview we watched about how putting computers into classrooms would be a terrible idea. It is a catch-22 because kids need to be computer literate to make it in almost any field when they get older, as well as while in school, but they are losing face time rapidly. The best part about school, for me, was getting to see my friends every day and talk and play with them. Honestly, the most boring part of my school week was when we went into the computer lab to "play" Mavis Beacon to practice typing.

If kids are enjoying their computer time and wishing for more of it in schools, I wonder how different the kids of today will turn out from me, the kid of yesterday. If kids are spending time in schools on the computer and watching "educational shows" like Voyage of the Mimi, and then going home to watch TV or play video games, when do they interact with other people? Talking into their World of Warcraft headset? Kids may need to know how to type, but they need people skills too.

Questioning My Memory

After reading from Chuck Klosterman's Eating The Dinosaur, I became disturbed, wondering about the images in my head. He goes on for a while describing how for about 129,900 years, all of the images people had in their head were real images they had seen an experienced. He explains that today, most of the images in our head are at least partially generated from the television.

As a result, I have been thinking of the many things I picture in my head that I have most certainly not seen. Any war, for example. I have an image of war. In fact, I have many different images in my head for many different wars, yet I have seen none. This has really come to make me realize just how much of an impact both the internet and TV have had on my life and the lives of those around me. I always knew these were powerful technologies with the ability to change us, however I have not, before this, realized just how much they have influenced me personally. From now on, I know I will really think about the pictures that come to mind and try to understand how many of those pictures are not mine.

Something like this realization does make me fear more for society. By going back to the idea that the press is no longer serving its watchdog function, I can see how easily the government and all those who influence it, can manipulate how we see and understand the world. We don't see the wars overseas, or the impact big companies and factories are having on the environment or cultures of peoples around the world. These images, if seen at all, are generated for us, by the press. If they aren't looking out for us and keeping an eye on what we see and our looking at, who is and what are their motives?