If
I’m honest, it's not just that I have never bogged or been on face book or tweeted
because I did not know how or could not be bothered. If I am honest I was kind of against the idea.
I think it has contributed greatly to the continuing break down in the country’s
interpersonal and social skills. I have
been up until this point a conscientious objector.
What’s happened to old fashioned conversation? What is
wrong with chatting to people face to face or speaking on the phone? Why does
it happen less and less? When was the last time you were in a meeting or
chatting to your friends that someone was not on their phone? Why do people text
you when you are next to them? I am not against progress however seeing
photographs of a night out I am still on does not really feel like progress to
me. I prefer to regret my outfit choice, or realise I should drink less,
somewhere in the future.
My
views are split into professional and personal. As a profession I recognise
that this is the way the world is moving so I can work with it or get left
behind. I just don't necessarily agree it's progress.
My
work currently involves persuading people to be physically active. It’s seems a little rich to use such an
inactive medium to promote activity. I not above hypocrisy , I don’t mean I can’t or won’t use digital
media, I just wonder wither ethically I should. I think we are all responsible
for our own actions and those actions are what mark our contribution as a
global citizen. If well all accept that’s the way it is then, that’s the way it
will be. It reminds me of being a child
and watching ‘Why Don’t You’ ( it has not aged well!) during school holidays.
Even
as a child I thought programme was a bit ironic. Was their goal to stop you
watching all programmes, including theirs or encourage viewers to only watch
‘Why Don’t You'? or was it just Rhetoric?
It is interesting that you put the concepts of interacting face to face and talking on the together: it could be argues that phones are equally insidious as the Internet in destroying the traditional concept of relationships. The few remaining generations of people who do not habitually use a mobile are frequently bemused by our need to have our phones clamped to our hand or ear 24/7.
ReplyDeleteThe crucial difference with Internet-based relationships, however, is that it breaks down traditional barriers of cost and distance. Like-minded individuals can now converse across time-zones, borders and even languages. Why should they leave their bedrooms if they can make close friends at the click of a button?
What this means for human interaction is a different matter. Already we have seen stories about hackers or trolls who have been depicted as people who "live their lives on the Internet". This dependence on a virtual world for interaction risks leaving people with few social skills and, to take the issue to its furthest point, no use for society. It would not just be in an industry such as yours where this would pose a significant problem.
Hi Dan, thank you for taking the time to comment. I'm not bemused but I am not entirely sure it is progress either. Removing cost, time, and distance, language barriers, is positive but only in as far as it removes the obstacles not the effort or will in itself to communicate. Does that make sense? Example, my brother recently went a 3 month trip abroad. He wanted me to join face book so he could 'save the bother' of phoning. In that sense the communication although easier becomes a little rhetoric, to me anyway.
DeleteI think it’s great people can meet like minded others who they have things in common with but that these people are not for that reason alone friends. I think we pick our friends, our true friends a least for different reasons. Usually because of our short comings: talk to much, bossy, sarcastic, laidback etc, the type of qualities people edit out in profiles because they may not even be because of things we like about ourselves. You know they are your friends, when they want you to come out of your room (rather than typing in it), will let you talk about anything you like but reserve the right to tell you to shut up once they are bored. They are the ones you will be collecting memories with in the real world. Then if some of them feel the need to record those memories and communicate digitally via face book, twitter etc, as long as it’s balanced great.
Cheesely (I know not really a word) it made me think of a quote “The things you own end up owning you.” – Tyler Durden (Fight Club). So technology are we the masters or the slaves?
Here's a fine example of people using social media to encourage fitness http://econ.st/Ijp4Il
DeleteThank you but I seem to be missing the point of how this truly promotes the idea of physical activity? I think this uses the notion of physical activity to promote its webpage. How active this would make you? I agree that I am being a bit closed minded though. I think this is a better example of technology mixing with physical activity and it’s a family activity yehh! What do you think? Please don't hide your answer at a geographical location and publish coordinates for me to find it.
Deletehttp://youtu.be/-0jN45LFL0g