The World of Games

Millions of people are addicted to online games.  There are even games through social networking sites such as Facebook and virtual worlds like Second Life.

Games promote a variety of things such as competition, prizes and rewards, violence, and social interaction with both friends and strangers. 

They can be a way to escape from the real world.  With gaming sites and virtual worlds, you can create any character that you wish.  Being anyone you want to be has been extremely appealing and popular to many people.  One of the main reasons is if you’re not satisfied with who you are, for instance, not pretty enough or over weight.   

It is crazy to see to number of people playing games and creating fantasy characters for hours and hours a day.  I was surprised when I watched an in-class video on designated rooms that are filled with computers for the purpose of only online games.  That was so shocking to me.

I never really got into online games because I prefer to spend my time with other things such as school, family, friends, sports, music, and community service.  If I want to play a game, it would only be through the Wii with friends and family.  I think it is weird to play online games, especially if you are talking and interacting with complete strangers.  You could be interacting with a 50 year old man who has nothing better to do than find out your personal information; you just never know.  That is why I prefer to actually know who I am playing games with.  

I have also learned that the modern world is in fact slowly becoming more and more like a game. If you make a real life opportunity a type of game, then people are more easily stimulated to get the work done.  The main reason for this is because it is fun and exciting; never the same, old, tedious, and boring tasks.  However, it would be better if they are games in positive ways that help make a difference.  From thefuntheory.com, I have learned some great examples of a real life games used in positive ways.  One of the theories is putting a sound machine inside trash bins so when someone throws trash away, they will hear the fun sound.  It provides a positive way to make people want to pick up trash and keep our environment clean.  Another theory is putting piano keys on the stairs that are next to the escalator.  That way, it encourages more people in a fun way to exercise by taking the stairs instead of being lazy on the escalator.   

Technology & Privacy

It is crazy how quickly technology is moving and how we are moving right with it.

I think the cultural move toward social networking and constant access to the Internet brings both positive and negative effects.  There is definitely an entanglement between our personal lives and technology.  Some benefits are communicating with friends and family easier through tools such as Facebook, Skype, and phones with the Internet. 
It is also easier to share pictures and videos, inform others about events, and post anything you want.  But some drawbacks are sharing too much information and overexposing yourself in a very dangerous way.  And so, these drawbacks will give you less privacy.

One of the things that bother me the most about the Internet is when people tell the whole world what they are doing every second and where they are doing it. I seriously do not care about knowing every detail of someone’s life about what toothpaste they used to what time they went to bed for example.  If I want to know, I can ask them personally and not through a public broadcast.  In addition to it being annoying, it is also stupid and dangerous because a creepy person can read your post, go to the place you are at and … we can imagine what horrible things could happen. 

Another thing that bothers me on the Internet is when I have seen people post inappropriate pictures on the Internet, especially on Facebook.  It is ridiculous that these people need so much attention that they are willing to disrespect themselves to make other people like them.  As a result, it can be extremely detrimental to your safety, for people can take your information and pictures and use it in ways that you would not want done.

Once you put something on the Internet, it can never be erased unfortunately.  Even if you delete it from your profile, it is still out there somewhere else that others can see and use in whatever way they decide. This is a scary thing to think about.  

It is important to learn our limits to help us prevent mistakes in the future.  Since we have the complete freedom to post anything we wish, it can be easy to do something we will regret.  We must think before we act, or post in this situation.

I try to be more cautious about what I put online to protect myself because it is so easy for others to tamper with your information in a negative way. Even though I try to be careful, I still worry about my privacy.

In conclusion, it is important to be smart about what we post, and to not reveal too much information about ourselves.  Facebook is one of those tools that create such an easy environment to pour out your entire life on, with many little details.

I am also curious but also a bit scared for the next generation of people.  How will they be using the Internet, social media, and other forms of communication?  We can only imagine, never quite sure what will happen or what it will be like…but hopefully more positives than negatives.

Technology and Social Interaction

Technology has changed significantly over the past years and has definitely influenced social interaction in both positive and negative ways.  A lot of people are constantly texting, on social networks, and on other Internet sites that have transformed the way people life their life.  It is so easy for people to just look down at their phone and separate themselves from reality.  It has become a negative habit, in my opinion, when the phone or computer becomes more important than the person you are actually sitting with or having dinner with. 

  For me, it has impacted the way I interact with people.  I can attest to this force of habit with technology.  I have noticed that sometimes it is easier to talk to someone online because you can’t always meet with him or her.  But regardless of how much time I spend with the social media, I much rather talk to someone face-to-face.  It is more personal and meaningful that way.  I keep reminding myself on what’s really important in life, and that is having “real” relationships where I can physically see the person. 

We don’t live in a media bubble, but then again there are many people who much rather prefer a virtual world.  After seeing the in-class video on adultery and cyberspace, I felt disgusted by how much time people spend “living” in a virtual world.  In my opinion, I believe virtual worlds are extremely detrimental to the relationships in the real world.

         Connecting with others via online communities can be a viable way of creating meaningful relationships through Facebook for example, but not always.  I think Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends publically, privately, or in groups, as well as be informed about upcoming events, and share pictures and videos.  However, it is very easy to be caught up in it through excessive hours and preferring to post on someone’s wall about how they are doing instead of calling them or meeting with them.  It is not that hard to neglect our everyday relationships in favor of these "virtual" relationships.  Since technology has been taking over our lives with social media interactions, we, as a society, need to really focus on creating more "real" spaces publically for people to connect, interact, and discuss meaningful, political, and social issues.  The generation after me will probably be even more connected to it, and I hope those people will still try to find time to develop relationships in the real world too. 

Social Networking

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare have become exponentially popular in the past decade.  Many people are connected to one, especially Facebook and Twitter in my opinion.  I personally only use Facebook. 

On both my phone and my computer, I am always connected to Facebook, using it everyday to text and check updates.  It is so easy to spend hours and hours on it.  Some activities I do are reading, "liking" and commenting what friends post; writing messages publicly and privately; checking upcoming events; writing “happy birthday” on people's walls; adding new friends; posting a new status; uploading pictures and videos...it’s non stop.  I think it is very difficult to leave Facebook, and I'm not even one of the crazy addicted ones.  I spend a lot of time on this social network because of all its many ways to communicate and connect with others.  I like almost everything about Facebook, especially the events to be informed about.

            Twitter is also a great networking site because of its microblogging service about many different things.  I hope to become more involved with it to follow friends, celebrities, experts, and breaking news, but mainly the news.  

            I think the cultural move toward social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy sometimes brings about its positive and negative effects on the whole.  There is definitely an entanglement between our personal lives and technology, but if we incorporate our lives into these social networking sites in a positive way, we can make a huge difference for others. For example, we can use Facebook to inform others of the news, important causes, fun events, and other things of value.  As a result, social networking sites would just be an addition to our lives to communicate with others about good and bad things in our world. 

My Media Diet:

Monday, October 31
Internet-4hrs.
Music-3 hrs.
TV-3 hrs.
On my phone-6 hrs.


Tuesday, November 1

Internet-5 hrs.

Music-2 hrs.

TV-3 hrs.

On my phone-6 hrs.

Wednesday, November 2

Internet-4.5 hrs.

Music-1 hrs.

TV-4 hrs.

On my phone-6 hrs.

Thursday, November 3

Internet-5 hrs.

Music-2 hrs.

TV-4 hrs.

On my phone-6 hrs.

Friday, November 4

Internet-4hrs.

Music-3.5 hrs.

TV-4.5 hrs.

On my phone-7 hrs.

After looking at my media diet, I have noticed that I am using media sources everyday, and that it is a big part of my life. 

The one source of media that I use the most is my cell phone.  I am always with it and constantly check it.  I use my phone for a variety of purposes such as the Internet, phone calls, text messages, email, the weather, photography, games, and my calendar.  I am always using the different applications on my phone.  

I also spend a lot of time on my computer using the Internet.  I really enjoy having the Internet so easily accessible to me so I can use it any time I need it.  I use to the Internet to check my emails, check my homework, research assignments, go on Facebook, and youtube.  I go on Facebook everyday, and rarely go on Youtube.  Whenever I'm on Youtube, I watch music videos and random silly videos.  But with Facebook, it is so easy to be on it for hours: reading, "liking" and commenting what friends post, writing messages publicly and privately, checking upcoming events, saying happy birthday on people's walls, adding new friends, posting a new status, uploading pics and videos...its non stop.  I personally think it is very hard to leave Facebook, and I'm not even one of the crazy addicted ones.  

I am also always watching TV (both live and online) and movies with my friends everyday, but usually at night. Since there is no school the next day, I spend the most time watching TV on the weekends.  I actually hope to not watch as much as I have been because I should be using my time more wisely such as homework, reading, and exercising.  

I have noticed that more and more youth are using the media, especially TV, the Internet and cell phones, at a younger age.  My 11 year old sisters are constantly using the media and since they just got cell phones, they are always texting and calling.  They love using their phones almost everyday second of the day, and get so excited when they receive a text or phone call.  It is so much easier for youth to understand and interact with all the new forms of media than adults. I think this is because the youth grow up with the new technology and therefore it is easier to understand. Also, they enjoy figuring out new forms of technology and keeping up with it all.



Also, I think that social location has influenced my media consumption from high school to college because I am spending a lot more time on my four types of media consumption than I did in high school.  However, when I leave college and live on my own, I think I will probably continue to spend the same amount or even more time with the media. Since the American society is constantly progressing and enhancing what the consumers desire, I believe everyone will use the media a lot more.  

So it has been very interesting to see how I use the media, how often I use it, and how it affects me.  I'm glad this assignment gave me the opportunity to evaluate my media consumption because it is so easy to not think about how often I use technology on a daily basis.