People 'anxious' when cut off from internet

An article i found that i found extremely interesting.  Our lives have become so heavily dependent on the online world, that some may find an actual inability to live without it.  

www.telegraph.co.uk

Staying in a place with no mobile phone coverage, or suffering from the internet going down, is a cause of high stress and anxiety for an increasing number of people, the study suggested.

As many as 85 per cent of full-time mothers always have the internet turned on at home, while a third of people said they no longer felt any sense of guilt about always being “connected” either by having their mobile phone or computer turned on.

The results indicated that 36 per cent of people were anxious about keeping in touch with their family if they were disconnected, compared with 29 per cent who felt they were liberated.

When it came to work 29 per cent cent said they were anxious when cut off, compared with 28 per cent saying they felt liberated.

The survey, undertaken for Virgin Media by the analysts Future Laboratory, identified a type of consumer who “switched on to switch off.”

James Brook, psychologist, said: “These people know that, the modern world waits for no one and that taking a break from technology means potentially missing out.”

“At any time we might miss an important email or a phone call, an old friend may try to get in touch via Facebook or breaking news may come in. If they feel that they cannot keep up with these things because they are not connected, it will naturally have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing and peace of mind.”Read full article…

Video Responses

'The Machine is Us/ing Us' by Michael Wesch

I was glued to the screen as I watched this clip. We always are connected to the web but rarely think about it using us. I use it pretty much everyday, from research, to communicating. In the beginning, the clip shows various ways we use the web but the twist is, in the end it's about how the "machine" uses us. How the "machine" can keep tabs on my likes, and find a pattern in my life by my frequent visits to certain information.

The basic idea of the video is that before, data was organized in a "stupid" way. HTML would only describe things such as how a text should be coloured, what's the size of the picture on a web page and so on..
With XML, we are describing the 'meaning' of the content. When i.e. you tag something, you aren't telling about its colour or shape, you're teaching an idea.  What Professor Wesch wants to point is that there are huge ethics going on with this. There's a terrible "big brother" going on...

'We Think' by Charles Leadbeater

I LOVED this video.  I think it was created beautifully, and extremely clever.   Very thought provoking and timely - this needs to be thought through as things are happening so quickly. I agree the old corporations are on the way out - history is being made and our futures are being reshaped in an extraordinary way. Even we cannot predict how different things will become.

Manovich's Essay

I completely agree that "It is only a matter of time before constant broadcasting of one’s life becomes as common as email." People appear to be broadcasting their lives via internet sites like Facebook and Youtube more and more. With the ever growing popularity of sites such as these as well as Twitter, we are getting constant updates of peoples lives. In fact i very rarely even receive emails theses days from friends or family as i get constant reminders of their lives throughout the day. 

This phenomenon is even more marked on Facebook, to the extent that to send someone a private message implies quite a high level of intimacy.    The constant advance of technology like cheap digital cameras and 'Mobile Uploads' , fuels all this as well as the likes of Flickr and Youtube. People take photos and videos as parts of their lives, and it seems almost inevitable that they will want to show them off to a much wider audience now that is is possible.  The quick and easy accessibility of it, make it to be a less time consuming way to let others know what you are up to. 

I believe art will still be possible after web 2.0. As Manovich believes, most the content is being produced by young professionals or professionals in training.  However i think this will expand, new talent is being is being discovered all the time, especially talent on the web.  Its hard to dictate who you would consider a 'prosumer' as people who make a carrier from online uploads don't need of had any training..

Laura Farrat

Digital is..

a system of representing information where the values are discontinuous, as opposed to analogue systems which are continuous. The most obvious example I can think of to illustrate this concept is the difference between 'traditional' radios (and early televisions) where the user has to tune into a station by a process of trial and error and a tiny movement of the dial can cause a distortion of the sound, and digital radios and televisions where the user simply selects a station or channel with no opportunity for variations in the signal: the station is either on or off.

'Digital culture' refers to the implications of a society increasingly dominated by digital technology.

My Blog

Hello!  My first task for my Digital Environments elective is to start a blog to discuss what i will learn during this time.