Apple, Google, Facebook: Reflection

I actually found out about “Apple, Google, Facebook” from a class I took last year when Professor Smith came in to promote it. Since I have a great interest in all things Internet and had taken all of the Internet related courses that Professor Bakioglu taught, I decided that this class would be another interesting learning experience and could possibly work towards a self designed major I may create.

I had a great time in Apple, Google, Facebook this term. I enjoyed learning about Steve Jobs, Google and things about Facebook. I had never actually focused on three specific companies before, when I learned about the Internet in previous classes, we actually didn’t talk much about Apple or Facebook. It (mainly Facebook) was briefly mentioned but we focused more on Google and the “Googlization of Us”. It was cool to actually learn more about the company itself rather than just from an outside or user perspective. I also had never really known anything about Steve Jobs and I really enjoyed reading his biography. Even though many people still think Steve Jobs was an asshole I still hold the idea that he was a very interesting man who a very different thinker who was able to create Apple. And while I use Facebook everyday, I hadn’t ever really read much about Mark Zuckerberg and learning about him was very interesting.

I thought it was very interesting when Dr. Larry D. Rosen came into talk to our class. I have an interest in psychology so his lectures were very interesting. I had never actually met or heard anyone before who worked with generation differences and the different uses of technology. I had figured some of the more obvious differences. For example, many people who are in the older three generations prefer face-to-face communication rather than communication that takes place through the Internet. These “differences” in technology and some stress factors he talked about defiantly were true for me and I have personally experienced the technology gap with my own family/parents.

If there were more classes like this one offered in the future, I would definitely be interested in taking it. I knew a little bit about Apple, Google and Facebook but this class expanded that knowledge and was very interesting at the same time. 

Troll in the Dungeon

In his book, You Are Not a Gadget, Jaron Lanier discusses a group of people on the Internet who are called “trolls”. But what exactly are trolls? If you are an avid Internet user, you probably have encountered a troll or two during your time online. According to Lanier, a troll is “a term for an anonymous person who is abusive in an online environment”. Increasingly in the past few years, trolls have become quite a problem on the Internet.

Lanier’s first mention of trolls is during in his first chapter, “Emphasizing the crowd means deemphasizing individual humans in the design of society, and when you ask people not to be people, they revert to bad moblike behaviors. This leads not only to empowered trolls, but also to a generally unfriendly and unconstructive online world. In his book, Habits of the Heart, Bellah says that “a community attempts to be an inclusive whole, celebrating the interdependence of public and private life and of the different callings of all” (Bellah 72). Jaron specifically says that it is a lack of community that allows trolls to thrive. Many trolls can be found on the site called 4chan (mainly the /b/ threads). 4chan is a forum site and users do not have specific identities and make posts anonymously. This makes it easier for people to not feel bad about being completely rude or down right mean to someone and invokes a mob like actions. Trolling often leads to cyber bullying and there have been accounts of kids who killed themselves because they were trolled too much.

 

Even though “it would be nice to believe that there is only a minute troll population living among us. But in fact, a great many people have experienced being drawn into nasty exchanges online”. Trolls are far more common than people think and are spreading to other sites like Reddit or Youtube. Anyone can be a troll but that does not mean you should be one. Trolling may end up being a large problem if people don’t take a step back and stop “feeding the troll”. 

Blog

Google Glass

The advances in information processing in recent years have given rise to a major societal change. People are stepping away from the traditional desktop computer for their internet access and trending towards use of more portable with devices such as tablets and smartphones. Ubiquitous computing is now being integrated seamlessly into everyday life and is now more available and used by people from all walks of life. The multi-national corporation Google, which provides internet related services, has become one of the leaders in bringing new edgy technology into the homes and pockets of citizens around the world. Google’s latest ambitious project is “Google Glass”, a tech product that may revolutionize the way society accesses the internet and interacts.

Google Glass is a wearable Android based computer with a head mounted display that will allow users access to hands-free internet and other computer features. The head mount is not bulky or clumsy; instead it is in the form of a sleek pair of designer glasses. Google Glass is being developed by the Google X Lab, a top secret facility located somewhere in California that exclusively works on technology for the future such as driverless cars and space elevators. Many people in today’s society are obsessed with sharing their lives and keeping in touch with their friends and acquaintances, Google Glass is going to make these things much easier to do. The product has the ability to shoot pictures and videos with a simple voice command as well as upload them to the web. Instagram users rejoice! Google Glass will be able to utilize weather applications and navigation tools such as Google Maps but be able to present them in a heads up display format that seamlessly integrates reality and the digital world. Imagine being able to send a Tweet or instant message through a simple voice command without the use of your hands or smartphone; convenience is the name of the game when it comes to Google Glass. Users will also be able to browse the web, instant message their friends, and even translate languages.

Google Glass is everything the modern person wants in a small convenient package. Ease of use has always been attractive in products and Google Glass will not only be easy to use, but it will make our tech integrated lives easier as well. Information will be able to be shared at a rate that has never been seen before. Human connection is possibly one of the most treasured things to people and with Google Glass and other technologies connections will only be made stronger and people will be able to reach out to each other in ways that have not been possible until now. Every day the tech world grows bigger and bigger and so does its usage by the human population. Google Glass takes advantage of the changing times and offers people a product that will effortlessly weave into their everyday lives. 

The Internet Age of Activism

In his article “Small Change”, Malcom Gladwell discusses he thinks that influence of social media/networking on activist movements will never be as strong as they were in the past. The activists of the civil rights movement used to participate in sit-ins or nonviolent confrontations. Nowadays, many people who consider themselves activists like Facebook pages like “Save Darfur” and then continue to sit behind their computers instead of take action. Gladwell equates this to the fact that when you interact face-to-face with others who are interested in a cause, you create “strong-ties”. Yet, when you connect with people over the Internet about a cause the ties you create are “weak”. In his opinion, this is why organizing an activist movement using social networking sites won’t be possible to successfully complete.

Now I don’t necessarily agree entirely with Gladwell, I think that there are some people who are successful online activists rather than “slactivists”. Also, just because you may have bonded over the Internet with one person or a group of people does not necessarily mean that it is a “weak-tie”. As our society dives further into the digital world, many people have been creating strong connections or friendships over the Internet. It isn’t as weird as it used to be just 10 years ago to meet someone you met online. However, I do agree that in this time and age, we do not like to be inconvenienced. So many social networking consumers think that activism just means liking a picture on Facebook that says, “like and share if you are against animal abuse”. There is much more to activism than saying you agree with a cause. Sharing/liking a post may get it more attention and it may help raise awareness of a cause, but it is just a passive way to make yourself feel good for “helping out a cause”.

The “Egyptian Chronicles” blog (run by Zeinobia and can be viewed here http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/) is a great example of a successful Internet activist. Now, this is not the first time that I have visited Zeinobia’s blog or other social networking accounts. I actually wrote about her blog last year for a class.  And she still continues to keep up an awesome and informative blog. Even though some of her blogging topics are dark or dreary, her blog is bright, colorful and positive. And unlike many people who consider themselves activists (most likely because they liked a picture for Kony 2012) and only pay attention to a large-scale event for about two weeks, Zeinobia actually keeps the world updated about Egyptian affairs almost daily and has been for a few years. Her blog also contains links to multiple different social networking/media accounts including Twitter, Flickr, Youtube and a couple others. This way she is able to get her message out to more than the demographic of people who read blogs or use blogger.

In my own opinion, Zeinobia is an awesome and successful activist. She is able to spread news stories that wouldn’t normally make it to the rest of the world if it weren’t for her blog. Gladwell may have been concerned that we would lose activists due to our “weak-ties” but I think that “strong-ties” can slowly be created out of those so-called “weak” ones. 

The Trouble with F.O.M.O

During our Monday class the author of book “iDisorder: Understanding our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming its Hold on Us”, Dr. Larry D. Rosen, came and talked to us about his book along with some other information about brain function and social media use. I then attended his lecture later that night in which he went into more detail about the generational differences and how we could help our brains from becoming over stimulated and therefore better students.

One point that I thought was particularly interesting during his lecture later that night was the differences between the generations and the anxiety younger generations get when they are separated from their electronic devices. According to a survey that Dr. Rosen and his team did, they found that the three older generations preferred face-to-face interactions with close friends, phone calls then emails (the only difference was that the Generation Net preferred Internet communication over phone calls).  However, the iGeneration put texting first, instant messaging second and THEN face-to-face interaction on their level of importance. During an experiment in which half of the students had their phones taken away and the other half were allowed to keep their phones, Dr. Rosen found that students who had their cell phones taken from them in the beginning of the experiment had a higher anxiety than students who were allowed to keep their phones. Where exactly did this anxiety stem from? Are kids really that attached to their smart phones that they can’t handle being in a room for sixty minutes without them?

Rosen claimed that the anxiety most likely stems from an addiction called F.O.M.O. (also known as the fear of missing out). It seems to mainly affect those who are from the iGeneration and it seems to be seeping into the younger generations. It stems from our obsession with social media and the developed need to check your Twitter or your Facebook for new tweets or notifications. People worry that they are missing out on something more fun than what they are doing so they constantly make sure they know what is happening in the online world around them and if they aren’t constantly checking they may miss something important. Some people with major F.O.M.O. even choose to stay home rather than go out with friends because they of how much they fear missing an online event.

This anxiety will only grow larger as we become more and more dependent on technology. The fear of missing out may start to cause more people social issues due to caring more about the online world rather than about those around them. If people cannot get over this fear, our generation may have a lot more issues we need to deal with in order to function better in society. 

Is Facebook Addictive? The Answer is YES

From a small, exclusive Harvard website to one of the most well known social media platforms today, Facebook has quickly risen to the top of charts. Over a billion people around the world actively use Facebook. But why hasn't the "Facebook craze" died out like MySpace? Many call the site addictive, which is why many use it so actively and compulsively. What is it about Facebook that makes it so addictive? From first hand experience, I can vouch that Facebook is a very addictive website.

I first heard about Facebook when I was in middle school. As an eighth grader I played JV softball on the high school team and, therefore, hung out with the older kids during practice. One day they were talking about Facebook and how it used to just be a college site and that they were all making accounts. I ended up making an account during the first week of high school a few months later. From there my Facebook addiction grew.

During high school I was completely addicted to playing Facebook games. It first started with FarmVille (a Facebook game that allowed you to tend to your own virtual farm) and went downhill from there. I played Mafia Wars, Happy Pets, Treasure Isle, FrontierVille, The Sims Social, and many other games during the first few years of Facebook use. Many of the Facebook games make you do tasks or quests that require you to gather items from your friends or come back on later days to continue. Now, not all of my friends played these games but when I was younger enough did that the games were enjoyable. I could send them item requests and slowly complete levels on multiple games over time. My friends and I would have contests to find out who could attain a higher level on FarmVille or who could complete the Treasure Isle quest first. Just the excitement of opening new quests or gaining levels made playing the games worth while and kept us going back for more.

Nowadays I don't play many Facebook games as I used to in high school but I still check my Facebook account multiple times a day. I have many Facebook friends from across the country who I still keep in contact with. I also am an administrator on a few Facebook pages and groups that I help keep updated. I am constantly checking for new notifications or messages. I like to be updated on what all of my friends are doing or how events like the Super Bowl go.

There also could be a scientific reasoning behind Facebook's addictions.  Multiple articles claim that the sensation of receiving a notification on Facebook causes the brain to release dopamine. This would explain why many people are addicted to Facebook, because the sensation of getting a notification makes them feel good so they crave that feeling and continue their Facebook usage to feel it again. (Example article: http://thecerebralcortex.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/facebook-and-the-dopaminergic-response/)

Do I get good feelings when I have a new Facebook notification? Yes. Could someone argue that I am addicted to Facebook? Probably. So, if someone asked me if Facebook was addictive I would answer with a 100% yes.