From this class I learned the importance of maintaining privacy, and the Internet’s ability to trap me into a bubble of consistent information. Initially, the filter bubble sounded like it wasn’t so bad: essentially if I liked a post from my liberal friend and rarely checked the page of my conservative friend, then the computer is smart enough to get rid of that conservative friend from my feed, since I clearly do not care about what that person has to say. But what if I wanted to go outside my boundaries and expand my knowledge? The filter bubble makes it that much harder to find new information and opinions because the Internet is designed in a way that assumes what I would like to see and read. The fact that the Internet is capable of controlling what I view, and furthermore, that the Internet has constructed an idea about what I would like, or what I am like based on my Web surfing truly bothers me. On top of that, the consolidation of my likes, dislikes, the items i’ve shopped for have all resulted in the Internet, or larger corporations, trying to sell me things incessantly. Before deleting my cookies and browsing history, anytime I considered purchasing something from a website: airplane tickets, concert tickets, shoes etc…an advertisement for this item would show up on a different website completely unrelated to what I was on. The websites KNEW I never purchased this item, but they know that I have looked at it for an extended period of time, or have done research on the quality of it…so they push me to purchase it harder and harder by appearing on my screen.

Thats a description of this new App called Watching Cute Girl made by a Japanese joke company called Ningen Inc. This app features a Japanese girl looking over you, paying you company and saying encouraging things to you every so often. She takes pictures of you and shows them to you, but you can be assured that the photos won’t end up on Facebook. The app is subject to Japanese males (the whole thing is in Japanese), and though it is more innocent than sexual, it is clear that it is trying to appeal to a particular gender.

It is kind of ironic though, that Japanese and Korean people are heavily addicted to their technology and through the Frontline episode we watched in class, I kind of got the impression that the Internet takes time out of potential relationships. I’m wondering if this kind of App would be successful in America, because I do believe that it is becoming harder to maintain relationships that aren’t virtual, since we are so encompassed in our on-line realm. And to desire somebody by your side, for the intimacy, is a basic human nature.

Last month, Facebook bought a company called Oculus Rift for $2 Billion. WOW! What makes this company so special?

They are attempting to revolutionize the way we watch movies, by mass producing a headset that allows us to be completely immersed in the image in front of us. The company wants to produce a product that is for all consumers, so the price will supposedly be affordable. But what does this mean for our eyes? And what about the intimacy of watching a movie with other people? I can’t tell if this is a good invention, or an invention that will begin to tear humanity apart.

When we watch movies with other people, it is a shared experience that provides us comfort and the ability to be on a personal level with someone else. If it’s a comedy, you laugh together. In horror movies, you experience the anticipation together. Action movies, you’re entertained together………..etc. My point is..this is taking away from that experience..are two people supposed to sit on a couch together with the glasses on and time everything correctly so the movies are playing at the same time??? It just seems so awkward….and when I think about the ROOT of it: that is, Mark Zuckerberg bought this company, after creating a social media platform that was at its core an outlet for on campus dating…well then it starts to make sense that he would go and create something that would further divide the human race…

Although one could argue that Facebook has allowed for a feeling of togetherness, I kind of feel like the numerous outlets in which we portray ourselves has left people feeling incomplete, and confused about their own identity…because there are so many different representations we have of ourselves: one through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter….these seem like separate entities of our personalities and I feel like this brings about a lot of self-identity issues for people my age.

What are your opinions on Oculus Rift? Is it a beneficial or harmful invention?

That’s just a prediction. But I’m pretty sure the developers are onto something with this. Graphene is the HARDEST material in the world, but its also the most pliable. Meaning it is easily bent, morphed and shaped to whatever you’d like to shape it to. This material is a form of carbon, and it can conduct electricity and heat better than anything else.  It is one of the only materials in the world that is transparent, conductive and flexible at the same time!

“200 times stronger than steel, and so thin that a single ounce of it could cover 28 football fields” –> crazy, sounds like some kind of nuclear element that should be used to power something in a Marvel movie.

This material was found ten years ago, but wasn’t thought of to use in the commercial world until now–duh– because there are so many things that this material could be used for, and what people are hoping is that this will improve technology even more. Devices that are supercharged, or electronics that piggyback off of the cells in the human body are only the initial ideas of what is yet to come.

In 2011, researchers used this material (with the addition of silicon) to build a battery for a cellphone. The cellphone stayed charged for MORE THAN A WEEK and recharged in 15 minutes!

The best part: this material is fairly cheap! It’s on its’ way to replacing plastic.

The immersion of wearable technology has spanned from ugly Google glasses to the 4-in-1 wristwatch to rumors of an Apple ring that controls the television. However, for the sex that supposedly seems to care more about aesthetic appeal, not much exists that is considered fashionable….This article in the NYT shows the result of fashion and technology. Ironically, these items of jewelry are tasteful, but serve very little technological purpose. Each item has the ability to send a ‘help’ signal for the person who activates it, and each item can be easily activated with a push of a button. Other features, like sending a text message, are done through voice activation, and physical levels may also be recorded. For now, this is merely the beginning of ‘technocouture’. I’m sure that new features, as well as new designers will come up with more innovative features and looks soon, but I’m truly impressed by the designers’ ability to really hide the technological aspects of the jewelry…those golden cuffs look like..golden cuffs.

I was thinking the other day: technology has really ruined mankind. First of all- there is what exists in the media- provocative images for children to idolize, TWERKING, and images in general that appeal greatly to the man psyche. For women (and little girls) these constant images are slowly debilitating the slivers of self-positivity and mental security that exist. (This movie–just a trailer–is an incredible representation of the female and even male psyche in themedia) So, women in this generation are constantly striving to ‘get fit’ and ‘work their bodies out’, when essentially they do not need to–the standard of which they are comparing themselves to is completely unattainable, since photoshop exists. Secondly, there is no limit on what we can find on the internet, leaving people constantly entertained by the virtual life, which provides very little encouragement for a person to live in reality. Therefore, for this generation, I feel almost as if young adults face cognitive dissonance in that they would like to be social, and go to social events, but at the same time, the availability of things on the Internet holds the person back. To be honest, I’ve had times where I preferred to watch seasons of a new series on Netflix instead of going out and spending money. However, this has happened so often (where I would choose Netflix) that it almost feels as if two parts of my brain has split: one which wants to be social, and one which looms over quite depressingly. I would love to do more research on this topic–please comment and let me know if anyone feels the same way!