On page 12 of Culture Jam, Lasn says, "[...]it's reasonable to assume that it will take dozens of generations to adapt to the new electronic mass media environment that's rapidly replacing the 'natural' one."
I think that Lasn makes a good point here. Everyday we are bombarded with new electronics that change the way we communicate, exercise (or prevent exercise), and live. There is always a new cell phone, lap top, gaming system, and ways to exercise being thrown in our faces. When cellphone companies added cameras and videos to their phones a lot of issues arose as far as where cell phone cameras are allowed to be used. Nowadays you can go into most public bathrooms and you will see a sign saying the the use of cellphone cameras is prohibited. It changed the way we are living our lives because you need to be caustious when you are sending something out into the world. It's a lot easier to have a photo get in the wrong hands.
As far as exercise and gaming systems go, I understand what they're trying to do. Video games has definitely caused a few problems in our society. I know way to many people that will sit in front of their tv and play Call of Duty all day, everyday. Over the past few years they have come out with exercise games such as Wii Fit. I think it's great that they're trying, but there really is no replacement for going out for a run or a bike ride or going hiking.
I think that all of his technology will take some getting used to. It would be a great start if everyone would take a step back from their everyday lives and just go outside. We need to start enjoying the natural things in life. If we can do that, then maybe the technology won't seem as important and we can get used to the idea that there will always be something new coming out.
I'm curious. Is sitting in front of a video game console all day, somehow better/worse than texting and/or facebooking all day?
ReplyDeleteI really agree with what you're saying about technology and that people are staying inside all day every day. Just look at our grandparents trying to use the new ipad or latest netbook, it's something that they are so unused to. Do you think the over use of technology has lead to what Lasn said about American's being hypochondriacs, specifically pertaining to the medical illnesses, because they are inside with no natural or social connection?
ReplyDeleteYes, we surely do use a lot of electronics epically in this generation. Everyone wants the new cell phone, laptop, and iPod. Yet, we can only really blame ourselves. We got caught up with our wants and needs. Just because we want it does not always mean we need it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Call of duty, the programmers know exactly what they are doing because they make the games addictive. The funny thing about all these games is that they are just a virtual version of real life. Why play when you just live since they are so addictive. I guess because people may get scared when they actually think about serving for their country.
I agree with the concept that people sitting in front of (and we'll lump tv, computers, texting into one category) "technology" all day is a real problem. However, I think that one thing that we're ignoring in this class discussion is the constant evolution of man-kind.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first came around (some 2 million years ago), we operated with 2 main functions - eat and reproduce. We ate for a couple thousand years by going out and killing animals. Then, all-of-the-sudden, somebody came up with the bright idea that we could fence in animals and we didn't have to hunt as much. what a groundbreaking way of thinking! This sounds like a completely irrevelant tangent, but it may be some abstract justification for people starting to get into "virtual reality."
The human race is still here because we are children of advancement of technology. Think about it, we went from stone weapons to metal, and from weapons, we adapted the technology into other useful parts of society...Now thinka bout it, computers were invented to "compute," and now they are used for an entirely different purpose.
...I still hate video games