I remember hearing about mobile phones as a small child. Back then they were rather large, black and folded out with an antenna. Nobody I knew owned one (except the rich lady up the road). Certainly no children my age owned a mobile, and the closest I came to having one was my 'candy filled phone'. It was not till the year 2000 (or 2001), that I acquired a mobile phone. It was a pink and black flip phone and also one of the first to have the 'new' ability to conjure 'text messages'. Pure splendor, it seemed. Regardless of society telling me I needed a 'new and trendy' phone in order to conform to 'the norm', I have since only ever owned two other phones (which I think has to be some kind of record for a female my age in this part of the world).
But, I have begun to notice the downside of using new media. Firstly, what ever happened to writing a nice letter, something me and my long distance friends use to do frequently as children? I still try and make the effort to write or send a card in the mail, but life has become so fast these days with new technology, that buying in to it is almost the only way to keep up. Texting someone, is more convenient that being stuck on the phone with great aunt Glenda for two hours (I don't actually have a great aunt Glenda, but you get my drift?).
Unfortunately there is something sad and mechanic about all the new media, with which the youth of society are now faced with. You often find that your friends abbreviate so much, that you have to read the message a dozen time in order to get the gist. Misunderstandings can also occur and you find yourself thinking whether someone is being short with you or friendly.
But here is a prediction for the future, which will see that the world of literature has a breakdown. In the year 2080, nobody will bother to write correctly. They will abbreviate so much that the English language as we know it will be substituted with a mix of numbers and rough consonants and vowels, and we will only have the virtues of Msn and texting to thank for that.
I refused to conform to using Facebook for many years, until I recently was convinced to join by my friends and family who live overseas. It can be a viable way to connect to Friends and family. some of whom I have never even met. Making the vast kilometres separating us, only a click away. But although an application, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Msn can bring people together, it can also give us a false sense of reality. I will not chat to people whom I have never met and am not related to, due to the fact that on the web anyone can adopt whatever persona they wish. While some could argue that people in 'real life' also adopt a persona to some degree, it is much easier to do so behind the facade of a computer screen.
My father suggested to me years ago,(when the Internet was beginning to take over the world) that it would be used as a tool for the fascists of society to harbour as much information as possible about every living soul on the planet (and some dead ones too). Looking back I believe he was very correct on the subject. Most of the new forms of media, such as the Internet are incredibly useful as a form of market strategy tool. Google, for example, knows and stores the most popular sites in the world. This is deduced from every click the populice make. Public Relation Practitioners, now use also use Internet databases more and more, as do many companies.
Like it or not everything you do or write on the Internet is being watched. You might not even know it, but someone may be watching you watching me as we speak.....
But, I have begun to notice the downside of using new media. Firstly, what ever happened to writing a nice letter, something me and my long distance friends use to do frequently as children? I still try and make the effort to write or send a card in the mail, but life has become so fast these days with new technology, that buying in to it is almost the only way to keep up. Texting someone, is more convenient that being stuck on the phone with great aunt Glenda for two hours (I don't actually have a great aunt Glenda, but you get my drift?).
Unfortunately there is something sad and mechanic about all the new media, with which the youth of society are now faced with. You often find that your friends abbreviate so much, that you have to read the message a dozen time in order to get the gist. Misunderstandings can also occur and you find yourself thinking whether someone is being short with you or friendly.
But here is a prediction for the future, which will see that the world of literature has a breakdown. In the year 2080, nobody will bother to write correctly. They will abbreviate so much that the English language as we know it will be substituted with a mix of numbers and rough consonants and vowels, and we will only have the virtues of Msn and texting to thank for that.
I refused to conform to using Facebook for many years, until I recently was convinced to join by my friends and family who live overseas. It can be a viable way to connect to Friends and family. some of whom I have never even met. Making the vast kilometres separating us, only a click away. But although an application, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Msn can bring people together, it can also give us a false sense of reality. I will not chat to people whom I have never met and am not related to, due to the fact that on the web anyone can adopt whatever persona they wish. While some could argue that people in 'real life' also adopt a persona to some degree, it is much easier to do so behind the facade of a computer screen.
My father suggested to me years ago,(when the Internet was beginning to take over the world) that it would be used as a tool for the fascists of society to harbour as much information as possible about every living soul on the planet (and some dead ones too). Looking back I believe he was very correct on the subject. Most of the new forms of media, such as the Internet are incredibly useful as a form of market strategy tool. Google, for example, knows and stores the most popular sites in the world. This is deduced from every click the populice make. Public Relation Practitioners, now use also use Internet databases more and more, as do many companies.
Like it or not everything you do or write on the Internet is being watched. You might not even know it, but someone may be watching you watching me as we speak.....
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