Instantaneous Communication

ST: New Literacies in Practice

Today in class we had an intriguing conversation about communication and technology. One aspect of this was the value of face to face communication over online communication. We tend to think that face to face communication is better (I do at least). But why do we think that? Because we are primarily used to it? Because we are with people? Yet, how often do we truly communicate and connect with the people who are around us-- whether strangers or friends? 

I think about friends who update their Facebook status and that's how I learned about issues they were having or concerns and worries they had. Maybe it was ease of sharing, or maybe it was because calling each person to tell them bad news "in person" would be too hard? Even myself, I think I communicate in some ways better online because I can write, edit and rethink what I say until it is what I want it to be. I am not a very talkative person in class or social settings, but online allows me to ramble on as much as I want.

An issue I notice about technology and me is that it sucks me into the fast paced world where we are multitasking and not truly "being." Right now, I am eating and typing this post. I am thinking about what I need to do when I get home and how to prepare for inservices in August, and who I need to call to check up on. I am not present. I am not enjoying my food. My mind is not calm. People text instead of enjoying the moments of movies or concerts.

Instantaneous Communication is a great gift. I can call if I get lost or if I need to text something to someone before I forget my statement. It's addictive to start a blog or update Twitter (though I really don't need to know every thought and every move you make during the day!). However, there needs to be a balance. We need time to be alone with our thoughts. No TV, Radio, Internet, Cell Phone, or other interruptions. Just us and our lives. I find a deadly temptation of technology is how fast time passes and how life can get sucked up into a "virtual" world which is not "real".

The Internet

I have noticed this before, but as I work on these posts and my Multigenre Literacy Autobiography, I have noticed this more . . .  you can really put almost anything into Google and find some results that are beneficial! Go to You Tube and you can see everything from official music videos, fan videos, tutorials, and episodes! You can find image databases and articles.

On the one hand this is a major plus. I can sit here and access all this information from home. I can link it to my blog easily. I can share it with others by placing the information in a power point. The possibilities are endless. In some cases they are almost never-ending too. I could be reading for a long time.

However, the ease with which I can locate, pull, and read images, movies, and information makes me a little sad too. I remember researching with books. Nothing is hyperlinked, but there was a certain thrill in hunting down books to assist with a project. I think that having to be physically involved and visit a library and interact with people in order to complete my research made the work more valued. 

So, like all technologies, there is a great advantage to accessing more information and information that perhaps I'd never access. But there is also a loss of interaction and work that made research an exciting challenge.