Blog Post 1
- Sophie Siegel
- Sep 2, 2017
- 2 min read
To me, the phrase "digital media and culture" had a different meaning before the first day of our class. The only digital media that fully encompasses my life are the various social media accounts that I hold. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and the various food delivery or news applications on my phone are the only digital worlds that I really live in. However, even in these virtual worlds, I am more of a passive observer, rather than a participant. I very rarely post on Instagram or Facebook, because it creates an anxious monster within me that I would rather not feed into.
Media has affected me in both positive and negative ways. I am able to acknowledge the benefits of my own experience with media, specifically, that it gives me the ability to connect with family and friends who live in other cities and countries. However, I see the emotional toll it often takes on me, which is why I am more of a passive media user, an observer rather than a participant. I rarely post on Instagram or on Facebook, as I am aware of the anxiety it creates within me. Instagram has become competitive in many ways. In my social circle, I find that it is more about the amount of followers you have and the number of likes you receive on a post, rather than the content you are sharing with the world.
Walking into our class on the first day, I learned of the digital worlds that my classmates live in, which are very different than mine. People engage in various forms of digital culture that are worlds within themselves, such as Reddit threads, Tumblr blogs, Twitter feeds, etc. These are worlds of media that I have never felt the urge to explore.
I never thought of humans as gadgets before, but now I am learning to see us in a different light. I wonder if we are instruments ourselves, or if we are merely the tools that help these gadgets and instruments operate. On the one hand, we are controlled by our gadgets. I feel an intrinsic pull to my phone every time I leave class. Without even thinking about it, I immediately click on my Instagram or Snapchat applications and scroll through my feeds. This begs the question, is engaging in certain types of media a mindless activity, or is something else occupying our brains to make us act robotic?
