When I first saw that we got to choose our own response for the readings this week, the first thing that came to my mind was social networking. When I say social networking, I mean websites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter. The reason why I specifically mentioned these social networking sites is because I feel that these three are the most popular social networking sites, especially Facebook. Also, websites like Google allow people to search pretty much anything they want on the internet. In our first research project, we had to be an outsider and find as much information as possible about ourselves and members of our family. Most of the websites I looked at were social networking sites and it always related me back to the same question. Does social networking make us change the way we think? I believe so because it makes us think deeply not only about others on these sites, but ourselves as well. Social networking sites give us the freedom to do so many things that include learning more detailed information about people that you never knew before. I really like this picture I posted on the left because it sums up all of the different things you can do on social networking sites. On social networking sites, you are able to participate, post comments, make connections, make friends, join groups, and post different bulletin ideas. Like I talked about before in my earlier blogs, there are very little restrictions on what you CANT do on the internet today. There continues to be multiple advancements in technology, which will help people continue to find out different ways to discover information about other people.
The reason I think that social networking sites in general make us change the way we think is because we change our opinion about certain people because of the information they post on their social networking sites. An example of this situation could be a co-worker who you really got to like at work and it turned into a good friendly relationship. Then, you decide to add them on Facebook because you guys have gotten so close at work. After you add them you decide to look over their page and pictures. Then after you look at them, your perspective about your co-worker completely change. There are pictures of him/her doing drugs and other illegal things. You start to realize that you wish that you never would of added them on Facebook because your relationship with them at work was so friendly and enjoyable. Also, if someone wanted to discover more information about someone else, they could try entering their name in the Google search engine. Nine times out of ten, that person will come up with more information about themselves. Nicholas Carr talks about Google and how advanced it is when he says "research that once required days in the stacks of periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I've got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after." I really do find his quote true because there have been multiple times when I have been doing research for a class and found it a lot quicker than if I was looking through books or catalogs at the library.
Carr even talks about even when he is not performing research on a topic as a writer. In his free time he is most likely surfing the web for own personal reasons. This relates back to most of us in that if we are on a computer and not doing research for a class, then we are mostly on our Facebooks, Twitters, or watching a Youtube video. Carr says, "Even when I'm not working, I'm as likely as not to be foraging in the Web's info-thickets' reading and writing e-mails, scanning headlines and blog posts, watching videos and listening to podcasts, or just tripping from link to link." However, if you are like me, most of the time that I am working on research for a class I still have my Facebook and Twitter open in another tab. This is a key factor in the theme for this week's readings of "How the Web is Changing the Way We Think." I believe that when working on assignments, whether it be for work or school, social networking sites distract us from our work. Right now, I am currently writing this blog, talking to my brother on Rockmelt Facebook chat, and checking up Twitter every few minutes for following updates. The internet is becoming a universal medium and I agree with Carr when he says, "the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind." I do feel this way when I am surfing the Web for information or playing some type of game. I feel like I am starring off into space and then when I finally turn away from the monitor, I am in my own little world and I can't stop blinking my eyes. The Web does change the way we think in different aspects of life such as social interaction, education, profession, and concentration.
Another website that I found interesting was by Sharon Begley and she talked about our brains online and how exactly the web changes the way we think. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/01/07/your-brain-online.html She explains her reasoning into four short sentences by saying, "Shortened attention span. Less interest in reflection and introspection. Inability to engage in in-depth thought. Fragmented, distracted thinking."
I think you are exactly right on Facebook changing perspectives that we have of people. When you look over someone elses page, you find out things about them that they might have no shared, and then it changes the way you think about them. Its unfortante because you can form a good relationship with someone,and then once you see who they are out of work or out of school, you then may decide you don't want to be associated with that person anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnother point that I liked was using google to research. It is so much faster and easier to just type what you are looking for into google instead of going to the library and searching there books to find the information. I thnk that our generation has a much easier way of writing term papers than previous generations.
Good Post!