Category Archives: Student Blogs

Media and the change of its users

@Heather94720356

Media formats such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. are used at increasing rates today. Earlier in the media world there were other forms of social platforms such as simple email which is still used as a way to communicate with people all over the web. According to Coleman and Shirkys interpretation, media use changes the user. Just recently in the late 90’s early 2000’s the availability to the everyday person to participate in these media formats have rapidly emerged into our culture. Since anyone can have access to the worldwide web and other forums there is a shift that has happened and is here to stay in our culture today. There are all types of personalities in the world and it is argued that the web and media outlets are a neutral zone for anyone to participate and become involved in different discussions happening, blogs, and just an everyday life story of users around the globe. The allowance of this participation open to anyone also allows a freedom to the shy guy, or the antisocialist to really have a voice and use their “media avatar” to express their thoughts and feelings on any given subject that is out for the public to comment on. The emergence of these social networks allows us as users to express our “story” and interpretations of ourselves that we willingly portray to the network, the interactions within one another that maybe we normally wouldn’t participate in, in real life is a big step in changing the world we live in today in a positive way. If it hasn’t already, I hope that social networks continue to be refined for the better and for the help  in teaching those shy types to step back in the real world with the same courage and urgency that is expressed in these social platforms.

post 9

@Reneejo714

Sorry thought it posted!

What Coleman talks about reminds me of myself and many other people I personally know.  Coleman states how the internet has become the place where people interact with each other virtually. This is a way for people to present themselves however they like, even fool a complete stranger. When Coleman talked about the keyboard banger, I instantly thought of those who use online dating sites. My friends dad had an online dating profile, and time after time these ladies had dramatically lied about what they look like, and what they actually do. The internet has allowed people to escape into their own avatar and be whomever they want, even being able to escape the vivid life of reality. When I look through my twitter, I instantly see things from those I follow and I am completely shocked on what they tweet about, sometimes it’s jaw dropping wondering if it’s true. This brings up how Coleman talks how media can change the user, I completely agree. I know when I was in junior high I would see how some students would bully others through MySpace but would never confront them in person. Being protected by the screen and the avatar you choose gives people the extra confidence…sometimes too much. I do strongly believe that you have the power to say no to allow social networks change you. Use Facebook, twitter, instagram etc. in moderation. Still have coffee dates and real life adventures to make sure you don’t only consume yourself behind a screen.

Discussion Post 9

@stansberry_dtcv

Social Media, have it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another undoubtedly plays a role in the majority of people’s lives today. While not every person uses these websites and some may use them far more than others, the numbers have been and are increasing and people are spending more time than ever keeping up their online identity and reputation. Personally I’ve seen social media change people in a good and bad ways. Some who were naturally shy I’ve seen be able to open up and make more friends by utilizing Facebook, while others seem to have retreated towards the contrary, where you only see them online and never in person. Also, it’s given way to a new form of popularity. I’ve heard even such ridiculous claims from friends about people they see in person who they’ve never met calling them Twitter or Facebook “famous” because of the amount of likes, favorites, or retweets they get on such medias. As described in “Hello Avatar”, “an avatar is computer-generated figured controlled by a person via a computer”. Beth Coleman argues to expand the definition to include more than just characters generated in games like second life, but to also mean the user behind an IM or SMS. I would say this ‘avi’ that we choose on such social networks, even if it is a real picture of yourself, is often chosen so specifically or edited and filtered to portray who we would like to be, rather than who we naturally are. Fact is, many enjoy a virtual world just as much or more than the real world, and that will continue to change and shape our society as these technologies progress.

Avatar Facebook: Blog Post 9

@YakustaLeader4

With Beth Coleman and Clay Shirky stating how “media changes the user” I don’t quite agree with them entirely. Yes in certain aspects media changes the user, but not fully. The C3’s, Communication, Community, and Collaboration have definantely changed in the past decade, but has it really changed everyone or the user in general? For sites such as Facebook and Twitter it depends on the person, whether or not they change due to the media they are using. For communication, yes most people have changed how they communicate amongst each other thanks to Facebook and other social media sites. “… we have had live voice, and text connection and on occasion, as with videp conferencing, a live two-way channel on video stream” (128). What this is, is examples of how people can communicate nowadays. For a community, on some sites, a person could create a group or page where people can ‘Like’ or ‘Follow’ and people who are interested in the same thing could come together as a community if they please. Now whether that changes a user isn’t so clear. Maybe in how those people get together but not just a single user. This can go the same way for collaboration as well. In protests, or trying to have an event, social media sites have helped people in having the ability in collaborating with each other in how the protest/event would be held. But again, it doesn’t nessecarily change the user, just how some ideas or activities change in collaborating.

the morality of social media-colleen burke

I think social media is turning people into a bunch of narcissists, people are losing their identity with this new technology, and often times their morals.  People are more concerned with documenting and sharing whatever they doing in the moment with the world, no matter how trivial and abhorrent.  In the chapter “What is an Avatar?”  Coleman mentions writer Kevin Kelly “the augmented self as a symbiotic relationship with technology.”  In his assessment, technology has domesticated us.  Kelly does not indicate that we are enslaved, but rather, that we are “co-evolving”.” I’m not sure I share their inherent optimism, I feel that we are devolving with social media, and the instant gratification that is the Internet.   Much of the info we feed and read via social media is useless, it not only clouds the brain, but also changes wiring.  Some people argue that this new technology allows us to multi-task, but in general human beings lack the ability to to do more than two things effectively.  So while we updating our status, sending tweets, emailing, and writing a research paper, we are usually doing a bad job at at-least one of those.  Younger generations seem to view the Internet like air, they cannot imagine not having it.  They use social media, but some do not understand social mores.  Take the case in Steubenville Ohio, a girl was passed out and abused, and instead of her peers intervening they took video, and pictures, then posted it online.  There were tweets, youtube videos, and facebook updates of her humiliation.  The only regret many of these kids seem to have is that they posted it online, and that was only because it was evidence of their horrible behavior.  It is true that the very social media they used to humiliate this girl, was turned against them by the hacktivist group Anonymous, but even they can’t be everywhere at once.  As we “co-evolve” with social media, we must be cautious of our own exploitation and the exploitation of others with this new form of technology.

Blog #9 – Media Changing Users

Coleman and Shirky’s idea of media changing the user could relate to us or me shall I say, as a teen due to the various social networks you could find on the internet. I mean Facebook and Twitter have a huge impact on most people around the world because of how people interact these days, otherwise known as the infamous “keyboard banger,” or person who hides behind a computer screen.
As Coleman describes, the Internet is by far the most common place as to where humans like to react or even pretend to be at. Behind a computer screen, people can control who they are and how they react on screen or also known as the social world. “Avatars,” are what represents the media users, and as mentioned on X-Reality, Coleman stated that people are actually engaging into their avatar world. Sometimes it could be an escape from reality.
The theory of both Coleman and Shirkey is represented by us, the users of the social media. It is everywhere. They even have applications for the social meadia. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram; I have all of these social networks and it is just the way that I connect with my friends or followers, it is different to how we connect in reality. Some people just rather have their “avatar” represent them in both worlds. A lot of people go accordingly to Coleman and Shirkey’s theory of living the avatar life in the real world.

Media Changes the User

quy_luu

Media use changes the user. I think it is totally true; there are many aspects that indicate this statement. People create their profile perfectly in social network such as Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. Because there are no regulations that indicate people have to have truly and credible accounts, people can be anybody in the online world. Considering the online world as the second life world, people will change a lot about themselves in the second life world, such as lifestyle, personal images and personal appearance; “In the Second Life world, he appeared cooler than in life” (page 125). Besides, online-game environment is another aspect that proves media changes users. As the same way to create personal profile on social network, users or players can actually be totally different people by merging themselves to their modified characters. By playing these characters, people somehow get influences from their games into their realities. “Computer games, I would suggest, model the interaction logic of self-appraisal in a literal manner. In order to be properly motivated to play through a difficult game, the player needs to know she can meaningfully affect the game environment” (page 136). People have to expand their status in order to adapt new environments and new circumstances (page 137). More than that, communication has been shifting by media because of people’s modified profiles. “In other words, our modes of communication impact our concepts of space, place and time; as we change modalities of representation, we also change our human perspective” (page 140). People tend to find someone who have similar their profile for communicating but in reality, those people are actually not who they are. That’s exactly why media actually changes the users in multiple ways.

Blog #9- Your Third Arm

@ohheyitshonor

In today’s world, social media sites have become a part of the human persona. Acting as a third arm, websites such as Facebook or Twitter have often become how people know each other best, and are a large part of how they perceive others. This directly reflects Coleman and Shirky’s idea of the media changing the user.

The internet has become, as Coleman describes, a place where humans mentally reside in X-Reality, and can control how others perceive them. Coleman states on X-Reality, “…people are making their networked worlds inhabitable. In other words, the makers are making themselves at home by way of their avatars.” This control is, as the quote states, allowing humans to create a world to reside to, what they think is escaping from reality. But these “avatars” are becoming who people know us as, and as Coleman suggests, are changing us. For example, a person who is shy face to face may be very social when they are behind a screen, posting picture with friends and generally interacting more with people than in their actual reality.

Overall, both Coleman and Shirky’s theory is clearly reflected in the actions taken by social media’s users. It is clear that “avatars” are becoming more a more a part of who we are, growing into why we could call our third arm, as it is a s much a part of human’s personas as their  appearance.

Blog #9

@JaredAbrahamWSU

I think that at this point everybody is connected through social media. Chances are if you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, you are view as an outcast by your peers. Social media effects how we form and relationships, both with our loved ones and the creepy guy at work that won’t leave you alone. One could argue that social media doesn’t just help you maintain relationships, but it also creates them as well. This is something that I find very interesting. these websites and apps have the power change us. the essence of who we are does not change but our personality or vocabulary will undoubtedly change the more we interact with our virtual world. So, how is it that  “media changes the user” ? (Coleman, 140) While I am sure that there are many good examples of ways that social media could change  the way that we act, I think that this is the most obvious. When we find a new friend on Facebook, there is a tendency to think either positively or negatively about the person  with which you are now best friends with. Or perhaps when you become Facebook friends with someone that you work with, you see a totally different side to that person. These revelations about interactions with social media could absolutely change the way you act online, as well as, the way that you interact with your virtual friends in the physical world. 

Week 9 Blog Post

@ObergJustin

I definitely feel that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can change and influence the people that use them. I agree with Coleman’s statement, “Media use changes the user. With each shift in automation, simulation, and transmission, we discover not only new technologies but also new facets of ourselves.” I look at my Facebook page and I see photos of myself and of my friends, updates about what are going on in my friends’ lives, relationships forming, relationships falling apart and of course advertisements for a variety of different products that somehow are applicable to me. Because I was able to communicate with my friends more easily and more frequently through social networking sites, I definitely feel that I became a more social person in my teenage years. It was through Facebook my friends and I arranged parties and had conversations about our lives and got to know each other better. However, there is another side to social networks that can change users for the worse. Coleman also talks about how these new realities allow someone “to be cooler than in life”. Many people abuse these sites from innocently training themselves so that they can only communicate with people from behind a computer screen to overtly deceiving people about who they are and what their motives are. As long as people use these sites in moderation and in conjunction with their lives and not as a replacement for socializing in the real world, I think Facebook and Twitter will have a positive effect on the user using them.