Is this some sort of joke? Until today I've never heard of this "Buy Nothing Day" on the 25th of November. Apparently Buy Nothing Day is a day which challenges consumer to put of shopping for just one day. This day is esentially a day to help reduce over consumption. "20% of the world population are consuming over 80% of the Earth's natural resources causing a disproportionate level of environmental damage and unfair distribution of wealth"[1]. To be honest i could totally participate in this buy nothing day because truthfully i have no money to anything anyway. Realistically, this Buy Nothing Day seems effective to some extent but only to those who are conscious and aware of what the world will eventually coming to when it comes to over consumption. It seems like we buy things that arent essential to live (wants) instead of actually buying things that we need. We live in a society where keeping up with the latest fashion trends and technologies is very important. With kind of mentality, i believe that it will be utterly impossible to get at least 50% of the world to participate in this "Buy Nothing Day". Really, do you know what kind of world we live in today?
The term "mass media" may be hard to define because the term is understood and interpreted in many different ways. In order to get a general idea of what mass media is it will be wise to break down the term. The word mass essentially means the common people or the multitude. Media is defined as the various ways or means of communicating information or things. So now that we are familiar with the two definitions putting them together makes the term mass media much more easier to understand. with that being said mass media is the various way or means of communicating information or things to a multitude of people. Mass media is comprised of different mediums. for example television (CNN), Movies (The Matrix), Newspapers (The New York Times)[1].
Participatory culture is evident in a portion of the lives of those who were born in the technological era. Some may not be familiar with the term “participatory culture”, however, media scholar Henry Jenkins defines this captivating term in the short clip below:
For those who have not watched the clip, the term “participatory culture” is defined as a culture with relatively low barriers for artistic expression and civic engagement [1]. It is also something in which one believes that their contributions matter and make a difference, and they also feel a sense of social connection [1]. MacArthur divides participatory culture into 4 different forms:
Affiliations — memberships, formal and informal, in online communities centered around various forms of media, such as Friendster, Facebook, message boards, metagaming, game clans, or MySpace). [1]
Expressions — producing new artistic forms (digital sampling, skinning and modding, fan video making, fan fiction writing, zines, mash-ups) [1]
Collaborative Problem-solving — working in teams (formal and informal), to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (such as through Wikipedia, alternative reality gaming, spoiling). [1]
Circulations — “Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting, blogging).” [1]
Now that you have some insight on the concept of participatory cultures, we will discuss a few cultures that I engage in. To start off, we will converse about the very popular online community we all know and love; Facebook. Facebook is an online community where millions of people network and connect and keep up with their friends and acquaintances upload an ample amount of photos, links and videos and also meet and get to know new people [2]. As of September 2009, Facebook has said to have over 300 million users, which is almost the population of the United States!
Online gaming or MMORPGs (massive multiplayer role playing games) is another participatory culture that I take pride in being familiar with. Unlike some people who take part in this culture, I have self discipline and know when I've played enough. MMORPGs are essentially online communities where thousands of people around the world come together and interact with each other and assist one another. Although everyone is aware that this culture is a virtual and sometimes unrealistic experience, they sometimes take things too seriously. For example, in South Korea people are prosecuted for stealing virtual property. "Players in South Korea have been prosecuted for stealing virtual property. More than half of the 40,000 computer crimes investigated by South Korea's National Police Agency in 2003 involved in online games". Really? It is a huge wonder why people let something that has no effect on reality affect their personal lives in the real world.
[1]"Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century". Digital Media and Learning". 10 October 2009. Web. http://www.digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF
[2]"Facebook". Facebook. 10 October 2009. Web. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home
The World Wide Web, popularly known as the Internet, would probably be one of the world’s greatest technological advancements of the 20th century. Due to the existence of such a powerful resource, the world has shrunk by allowing communication with others and the access of information to be a less difficult activity. With the emergence of the internet, new cultures and communities are also developing and evolving.
The term media ecology is derived from two words; 'media' and 'ecology'. Now lets define both terms. From my research, the term media simply means the various ways or means of communicating information or things [1]. The term ecology means relations and interactions between organisms and their environment. Putting those two words together with the understanding of what both terms mean, media ecology is simply the role communication and information plays in human affairs or the study of media environments. Neil Postman defines the term as "how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value, and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival"[2].
Whenever there is a shift in medium there is a corresponding shift in culture. As a cultural impact, people believe that the Internet is killing our culture as humans and our traditional ways of doing things (i.e. sending letters, using the libraries for research, writing on the chalkboard). They believe that realistically we have become lazier because we have become accustom to the advancement of technology. I believe the Internet is an enhancing tool and it is making us much more informed and knowledgeable of broad and narrow contents. Also, it makes the process of accessing things much simpler, considering space and time is no longer a factor. One thing I’ve come to realize is that we do not understand this medium as much as we think we do. We do not care how it works or operates or where it originated. The things that most of us are primarily concerned with are if we are connected to the Internet and able to access this World Wide Web of information. Although this technology exists in reality, we do not realize it exists because it is a part of us like most cultures are. The Internet or the World Wide Web is just an extension of our minds. Like one of my fellow classmates stated on our class wiki, "Google is the extension of our memory". It is clear that I am not the only one who believes strongly for such an argument. As McLuhan said, “Fish don't know water exists till beached"[3].
The World Wide Web has dramatically changed humankind and the processes and methods we use to communicate with one another. For example, eighteen years ago the email address Sexi_girl101@hotmail.com did not exist nor did the term 'email'. Eighteen years ago "Sexi_girl101@hotmail.com's real name was Annie Francesco. In order for Annie to communicate with someone who is a long distance away, she would have more than likely sent them a letter by mail. If she was aware that almost two decades later she will have the option of sending a letter through a new technological society called the World Wide Web, do you think she would embrace that technology? Even though she has knowledge that in the future it would be the most popular and fastest means of communicating and obtaining information? This scenario is somewhat similar to the one Klosterman brought up: "It becomes very clear that- you have become obsessed with Canadian football. And this future is static and absolute; no matter what you do, this future will happen...come across a pre-season CFL game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Knowing your inevitable future, do you watch it?" (Klosterman, 132). [4]
Marshal McLuhan states, "The medium is the message"[5]. Since the Internet would be considered the medium in this scenario, what is the message?
[1] "Ecology." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 06 Oct. 2009.
[4] Klosterman, Chuck. "Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs" New York, NY: Scribner, 2003.
[2] Postman, Neil. "What is Media Ecology?". 7 October 2009. http://www.media-ecology.org/publications/MEA_proceedings/v1/humanism_of_media_ecology.html
This video, created for my mass communications class, is a visual autobiography my insight, understanding and use of the media. This brief video incorporates some of my personal work (fashion sketches, recorded films, and earth zooms) as an attempt to display my creativity and talent in relation to media. Enjoy!
