I have to admit that I have a love for television that rivals my love for the internet. I like many others enjoy binge-watching; the act of watching an entire series or special in just one day while mourning the end of a great show simultaneously. However, I take it even further when I bring my obsession over to the internet. That is why even though this post required us to spend an hour surfing the internet I actually believe I dedicated much more time dedicated to this assignment based on my habits.
After watching a television program I usually take to IMDB to read the trivia, fun facts and opinions from others about what I have just watched. In this case I had just finished watching the three part mini-series on music group New Edition, and took to the internet to see how others felt about what I considered to be one of the greatest biopics I have ever watched. IMDB is a wonderful source of news but also a good way to kill time on the internet. Whenever you think you have run out of information you can simply click on a link and find more. When I wasn’t reading the message board comments I was clicking on links of the actors, finding out about past projects of theirs and what they would be doing next. Then if they were in a previous show that I was familiar with I would find myself on that IMDB page, repeating the process over again.
Image Source: BET.com
In a pre-digital age I probably would not have had the same experience. I remember watching shows when I was younger and going back to school the next day and discussing it amongst my peers. There was no Twitter to post my comments and I was not on message boards reading the opinions of strangers. If the people close to me did not watch the same thing I just kept my comments and opinions to myself. However, while I do still discuss TV shows amongst my peers it is much easier to go online and see what people are saying while things are actually happening.
Computerization and digitization improve human activity because it makes everything easily accessible. Knowledge is much easier to obtain, if you are unfamiliar with something a simple Google search will solve that. If you want to find someone you lost contact with you can search and find their Facebook page.The negativity of the digital revolution comes with Communication amongst others. Often we are so obsessed with what is going on in the media world that we neglect the people around us. We go out to eat with friends and instead of talking to each other we spend time texting others who are not there. People often forget to live in the moment, there is a need to take a picture or record a video instead of taking in wherever you may be and simply enjoying ourselves. The digital era is making us so lost in the web that we forget the world right around us.
Questions
- Do you see digital media taking a personal effect on your own relationships with others?
- What would you do believe is the future of digital media? Will it expand to something bigger than it already is or will a new form of media take place?
You make a great point regarding how the digital era is making us forget the world around us. To answer your questions, one, I do see digital media having both a positive and negative effect on my personal life, and two, I do think that digital media will continue to expand. Regard my personal life, my relationship with my mother has been strengthened because of digital media. When I moved out of my home, our relationship was strained because our schedules were too busy. When my mom joined social media we were able to see what the other person was doing and even if we could not call/text each other, commenting on status sufficed. On the other hand, it has produced some negative effects in terms of my relationship with my boyfriend. He is very active on social media and it tends to take away from out face-to-face communication, especially when we’re out. Technology is continuously growing and changing and I believe that the industry will always find was to invent new things. I do think the most important part of being consumers is finding a balance, so it does not completely take over our life.