Reflective Post for Week of 2/19

This week in class we learned about online learning as communication, and we heard presentations by class members on different aspects of CMC, including blogs, social networking sites, the use of CMC in the work place, and online dating sites. It was a very interesting week. Discussing different colleges who primarily instruct students online is kind of mind-boggling for me, even in this current age of advanced technology that we live in. I think it's definitely a good thing that people like Mr. Corso, who have other things going on in their lives, can earn a degree completely online. However, I can foresee trouble in the future if we would ever reach a point when instead of any physical campuses, all college education is online. I think for students just coming out of high school and wishing to earn a degree eventually, a four-year college at a physical institution is definitely still the best plan and always should be. Physical interaction that comes from dorm life, activities on campus, and FtF communication with teachers and other students is critical to the college experience, and I think our world of higher learning would be drastically changed for the worse if colleges one day were entirely online.

As for the presentations covered in class, I found those highly informative and eye-opening. I think it's really interesting that so many companies nowadays use IM within the office. I guess I've always thought of this technology as more like a way for middle-school girls to gossip, or lazy college students to talk to their friends next door about what time to go to dinner. (I'm not making a judgment here, because I too am guilty of this!) I guess IM has just never struck me as professional enough for the workplace, but the presentation showed me that it can actually be highly effective for communication in the office without unnecessary interruptions or distractions.

One decision that I made this week, partially influenced by this class, was to give up facebook and IM for Lent. I think it's going to be very hard, because I waste so much of my day using these technologies, but in the end I think it will be worth it. I think I will see just how much I take these forms of CMC for granted, and how it is possible to survive without them. Also, I'll get so much more done, because they are huge distractions while at college, since my computer is always within view on my desk. Everybody whom I've told this to has had the same reaction: "You're going to die!" I think that is a noteworthy reaction, because it shows how attached we are to certain forms of CMC and how most people just take them for granted...me included, until now.

Reflective Post for Week of 2/12

From this class, I am continuing to learn more about how CMC affects our everyday lives and how we use it. In my last post, I talked specifically about cell phones and how the fact that practically everyone nowadays has one contributes to the ways that we use them, as well as how often we use them. I don't think there is anything wrong with cell phones at all; I think it's great to be able to take a phone with me everywhere I go, and it's a really good way to stay in touch with family and friends from back home. However, I do think there are times when it is appropriate to use cell phones and times when it simply is not. For instance, last Saturday I attended a religious function in my hometown, involving many prayers and an inspirational speaker. During the three hour event, I heard a total of nine cell phones ring. After the first couple, I began to get really annoyed, so I started counting. When your cell phone rings in a public place, it's very rude and disrupting to the people around you, and especially to the person speaking. Also, at my home church, they make an announcement every week before Mass asking everyone to turn off their cell phones, but without fail, every single time I attend church, I hear someone's phone go off, and it always happens to be at the most solemn/important parts. This is especially embarrassing if an announcement was made for that very purpose! I realize that there are some emergency situations in which it is necessary for someone to be able to answer their phone quickly if need be, but unless it is absolutely dire that you be able to take a phone call, there is no excuse for having your phone on during these solemn occasions. And this is not limited to religious events...we've all heard a cell phone ring at the movie theater, in class, and many other places that it shouldn't. Every phone has an off button...use it! Like I said, I have nothing against cell phones in general, but I do think, because of the more and more widespread use of CMC, cell phones have begun to cross dangerous boundaries, and people should learn to be responsible with these forms of technology that we take for granted so often.

Reflective Post for Week of 2/5

I can't believe how much I've already learned from this class in just the few weeks since it began. I think that, without a doubt, it will be one of the most useful courses I will take during college. I really enjoy our discussions about how dependent we are on technology, because it is very eye-opening. When we talk about how we couldn’t survive without our cell phones or computers, it makes me aware of just how dependent I am on these things. But then again, I went seventeen years of my life without a cell phone, so I’m pretty sure I could survive without it if I had to. I think the reason so many forms of technology have become so addicting is simply because everyone else has them. Our culture is one that says if you don’t have this cell phone, or this i-pod, you’re not cool. I think this is honestly the reason why people buy so much technology that they really don’t need—simply because they feel like since everyone else has it, they have to have it too. I remember being the last person out of my group of friends to get a cell phone, and how it seemed like the world would come to an end unless I got one too. In all honesty, I really didn’t need one in high school, because I saw everyone that I would talk to on a cell phone on a regular basis. Looking back, I think the only reason I wanted one was because everyone else had one, and I felt left out. Now, my fifteen-year-old sister is the only member of my family without one, and she is constantly begging my parents to get her one. I think it’s fascinating how widespread certain kinds of technology have become in just the past few years, because when I was fifteen, hardly anyone that age had cell phones. Now my sister always wails about how all her friends have cell phones, and I’m sure the only reason she wants one is because everyone else has one too. In a few years, will all seven-year-olds have cell phones? I think our society in general is becoming too dependent on technology, not even for its uses but just as symbols of social status in many cases. Although I like my technology, I know I could survive without it if I had to.