The Future -

            Some might say technology is good. Some might say technology is bad. Both opinions would be correct. As evidenced by any individual utilizing modern technology, these advances certainly do make our lives easier. Inventions such as e-mail and instant messaging have made personal and professional communications easier. Corporations are able to communicate with employees face-to-face via video teleconferencing technology. Using the same technology, families are able to communicate with friends and family members across many miles and time zones. Additionally, the invention of social media such as Facebook has allowed friends and family keep in touch and stay up-to-date on one another’s lives. And for goodness sakes, what did we do before the Google Maps app???

Life before the Google Maps app

Sherry Turkle addresses a few of these potentially negative aspects of technology during her 2012 TedTalk (watch the full video below). Turkle argues that our little portable devices not only change what we do, they change who we are, which results in trouble when we attempt to relate to ourselves and engage in self-reflection. The problem with having real, in-time conversations is that “texting, e-mail, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. We get to edit, and that means we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch, the face, the voice, the flesh, the body – not too much, not too little, just right” (Turkle, 2012). She also suggests that “technology is making a bid to redefine                       human connection – how we can for each other, how we care for ourselves – but it’s also giving us the opportunity to affirm our values and our direction” (Turkle, 2012). The key to our success with technology is to recognize our vulnerability to it; and recognize the potential crutch that can result from relying too much on technology. Technology should be an enhancement to our communication, not a replace for organic, authentic communication.

            However, at what price comes our easier lifestyle? For example, in 2011 Facebook was cited in a third of all divorce filings. In addition, more than 80 percent of divorce attorneys in the United States say, “social networking in divorce proceedings is on the rise” (Lupkin, 2012). Furthermore, an article written by psychotherapist, Kim Schneiderman, exposes the idea that social media, while all the craze, may not be the healthiest outlet from an emotional perspective. The author believes that social media sites “offers the online universe a whole new arsenal to offend, snub, flirt, spy on” (Schneiderman, 2011). This article references research by psychologists at Edinburgh Napier University which findings revealed a connection between stress levels and the number of Facebook friends one may have. Schneiderman relates a number of various situations as a result of Facebook including a “defriending” war, political arguments, divorced couples, passive-aggressive behavior, envy, jealousy, etc.

Lupkin, S. (2012). Can Facebook Ruin Your Marriage?

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-relationship-status/story?id=16406245

Schneiderman, K. (2011). Cyberspying and Defriending: How Facebook is Finding its

Way to the Therapy Couch. The Novel Perspective.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-novel-

perspective/201110/cyberspying-and-defriending-how-facebook-is-finding-its-

way-the-th

Turkle, S. (2012). Connected, but Alone? Ted Talk.

            http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html

Cultural Effects –

It is obvious that technology has had a profound impact on the culture of our society. One of the major shifts we can see is who is controlling the media we consume. Well, the consumer is. Chuck Hengel, founder of Marketing Architects, believes that the consumer now has the first word, the final say, and demands a deal, more buying options, and shorter attention spans (Hengel, 2011).

An example of this can be seen when The Walt Disney Company, in an effort to appeal to a contemporary market, “sexualized” their “Brave” heroine, Merida. As a result, over 200,000 signatures petitioned for the company to lose the makeover and bring back the original Merida. In an effort to appease the masses, Company CEO, Bob Iger, mandated to revert Merida’s new image and that making her “skinnier, sexier, and more mature in appearance” was a “disservice” to young children (change.org, 2013). Consumer for the win.

While the consumer may enjoying their power to control the media, marketers are getting the last laugh through data mining. For example, Target assigns every customer an ID number that is linked to their credit card, name, and e-mail address. This information “becomes a bucket that stores a history of everything they’ve bought and any demographic information Target has collected from them or bought from other sources” (Hill, 2012). As an example, let’s say you write a fashion blog and may reference some of Targets clothes, jewelry, or shoes. There is a way this information ends up in Target’s database so they can cater to your specific interests.

Change.org (2013). Disney Pulls Sexy Merida Makeover After Public Backlash.

http://jezebel.com/disney-pulls-sexy-merida-makeover-after-public-backlash-494274022

Hill, K. (2012). How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl was Pregnant Before Her Father

Did.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

Societal Expectations for Mass Media –

With the advent of the Internet and social media, our society has come to anticipate a higher level of expectation regarding mass media. Long gone are the days where journalists had time to gather pertinent facts, verify information, qualify whether a source is credible, etc. Social media has become rather instant gratification regarding news media. Obviously, this leads to more margin for error since journalists are trying to be the first new organization with the late breaking story.

An article by Northern Illinois University Department of Communication professor, William P. Cassidy, gives interesting information regarding the journalists’ view of online news credibility. Cassidy’s main research consists of online journalism and influences on news media content. His article reveals that the journalists’ view feels that online news sites do not meet the same standards as traditional sources. Furthermore, they tend to rate the credibility of online news sites lower than the general public. Their skepticism of credibility stems from valid concern over the speed at which stories are posted online, which makes mistakes more common in reporting. The results of this research provide key insights into the evolving role of journalists as “gatekeepers” in the online environment. Additionally, the results prove that traditional journalists are beginning to incorporate the validity of online journalism into their professional principles.

As mentioned in a previous post, some journalists see their function in mass media as evolving into a role of “interpreter” as opposed to a “gatherer” or “disseminator” (Singer, 1998). However, some journalists use interactive media to gather information in addition to disseminating it. Perhaps the journalist’s role is to be interpreter since our society is inundated with information from all types of mediums – newspapers, magazines, television, the Internet, mobile devices, etc. After all, being saturated with so much information leaves the audience in a constant state of stimulation.

As a result, our society constantly feels the need to be entertained – even in death. Yes, that’s right. Pause Ljud & Bild, a Swedish company that sells audio equipment, has developed a product called the CataCombo Sound System. This contraption features a two-way speaker that pipes your pre-selected, post-death music into the coffin. In fact, if you want to keep your “playlist fresh and up-to-date with the latest hits, you can set it up as a collaborative playlist so that your friends and loved ones can keep adding tracks even after you’re gone” (Kotenko, 2013). If jamming to my playlist in the afterlife isn’t a high expectation, I don’t know what is.

Cassidy, W. (2007). Online News Credibility: An Examination of the Perceptions of

Newspaper Journalists. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

            doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00334.x

Kotenko, J. (2013). This Casket Streams Spotify So You Can Keep on Shuffling

Into the Afterlife.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/you-can-get-a-coffin-to-play-your-funeral-songs-via-spotify/

Singer, J. (1998). Online Journalists: Foundations for Research into their Changing

Roles. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Volume 4, Issue 1.

            http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1998.tb00088.x/full