Feeling Together but Really Alone

After reading The Medium is the Massage, I was struck with the idea about how our lives are affected by the continuous invention of technology. I can remember playing cassette tapes and thinking this was the greatest invention. I could listen to music when I wanted to and as many times as I chose. Today, I have my Ipod to turn to. It has a selection of music, movies, and videos that I've chosen to listen to. I wouldn't have dreamed this technology would ever happen. In fact, when the Ipod first came out, it was a "WOW!" feeling for me. Here was a new technology made to bring people together. I can remember talking with friends about which one they were getting. But, I've observed that in our attempt to come together, we've gotten more separate. Our lives have taken on a world that has lost it's social aspect and gotten more individual. Closing out the world around and putting on your earbuds is not an uncommon sight today. It makes me wonder if we have really decided, by our own will, if the music, television and news, that we look at, is by our own choice? Or are we being bombarded and affected by outside forces that we arent' even aware of?

When comparing this to the Vlog on Youtube, they share a common idea that although technology has made us more communicative with each other, it has also made us more closed off. The Vlog stated that we all wear a mask on Youtube. How different is that from real life? We show people what we want them to see. Youtube has offered individuals the chance to voice their opinion on the internet. They can wear and say what they want. There isn't the risk of showing your true colors on the internet. If you show a person you want your viewers to see and are criticized, you won't be offended because it's not really you. On the other hand, I've seen videos of people where they use it to create characters of themselves. They become the stars of their own Youtube shows. Once news gets out that it's a must-see, then the video begins it's ascent up the popularity chart and the person becomes a celebrity.

Another point from Medium is the Massage is the idea of who your family is. When he talks about it, he says, "The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by electric media--movies, Telstar, flight-- far surpasses any possible influence mom and dad can now bring to bear. Character no longer is shaped by only two earnest, fumbling experts. Now all the world's a sage". With Youtube, brave individuals can post stories about there lives for the world to see. They can get feedback about how they're doing and begin to build a network of followers. But, I have to wonder if this new found "family" is really a substitute for people to building face-to-face relationships? Furthermore, he says the world is a sage. Can we truly turn to the new media as our source for philosophical and spiritual guidance?

Stay tuned...