It’s Great Being a Cyborg
We are living in new world of human cyborgs. Everyone is glued to their phones as if it’s one of their body parts. You may think technology has taken over humankind…but have you ever thought that technological advances make us more human?
In Amber Case’s TED Talk, “We are all cyborgs now”, presented in December 2010, she explores how technology is making us more human through our constant co-creation of each other and connection. The cyborg anthropologist explains how technology has become a beneficial mental modification of ourselves. The new creation of a second (digital) self, especially with adolescents, allows room for mental reflection, which helps to find who we are.
Before watching Case’s talk, I thought our social media obsessed world was disconnecting people from the real world and from peoples’ real self. The talk has made me rethink my idea of the effects on social media into believing that digital lives allow individuals to take mental reflection, which aids creation of self-identity. The opinion of positive relationships between humans and technology has made me evolved my progressing research to focus on how social media benefits humans, rather than negatively effects.
Extended Brain
Cases talk has put me into the lens of a cyborg anthropologist’s eyes and evolved my thinking into understanding that technology’s relationship with humans are an extension of the brain.
In the new digital age, most people portray themselves on multiple platforms allowing them to have a second life for everyone to see. Case elaborates how technology is a modification of humans.
She starts by explaining we create modifications of human body parts to extend ourselves. We have been creating physical extensions to go faster, hit things harder, etc., but since there is a certain limit on that, we have now created a mental extension: technology.
Growing up in a world with these advancements, I haven’t realized to the extent of this extension. I always think of the technological advancements our world has created, but never thought of technology being a way of being a tool to supplement self power.
Second Self
Furthermore, Case point that the brain’s technological extension is actually our second life that is more efficient, advanced my thinking process into wondering how this second life is affecting out brains.
Case explains our mental modification is our second, digital self apart from our primary, in-person self. The digital self gives a more instantaneous and ambient connection to people in primary life or anyone around the world.
In considering of social media being my secondary self emphasizes the benefits of extended connection to anyone in the world at anytime. With this in mind, reflecting on how some adolescents are on their phones constantly, motivates my search in finding ways to use this extension to our full potential and not allow some people to get lost in their second life.
Let’s Look into Reality…
Case continues to point out that it’s impossible to tell people to stop using social media, which made me realize that I should stop focusing on the negative effects of social media leading to stopping the use, but bettering the use.
Case understands the obsession with adolescents and technology. It would be difficult to slow people down to self reflect when technology has encompassed the world. She suggests that the fast interactions on social media shouldn’t be slowed down, because people self reflect on their lives in order to portray themselves accurately online.
Since we have evolved into this culture, it would be hard to slow it down. Instead of looking at technology being addictive, we should see it as people becoming excited about the advanced ways to communicate. Technology doesn’t disconnect us from our lives because it emerges us into our second lives. So with this step forward, we shouldn’t move back but excel and thrive with the advancements. This leads me to switch the question of how can we persuade people to stop because of negative benefits, to how can we persuade people to use social media, considering the negative factors, to benefit everyday life?
Finding Self-Identity
Lastly, Case concludes that second self’s helps people’s primary self’s find who they are, which opened the door in my mind of the good causes social media can have on adolescents.
Case continues to explain that with an external output, it allows individuals to reflect on their creation of self, long term, and on who they are. By thinking about how to portray second self, people have to reflect on who they are resulting in finding self identity.
I always thought about social media of taking away from individuals thinking about their identity, but never thought about the ways it could help. Now I consider social media to be an extension of one’s self. It can help people see who they are and how they want to be seen. When adolescents are growing up, they are unaware of the negative effects of bad social media habits, but with the knowledge of healthy social media habits, they can learn to use to use their second self to its full potential. My further research will still be on the negative effects of social media, but now, focus on finding ways that those risks can decrease and expand on ways social media can fully extend people’s minds.
Being Your Best Cyborg Self
My initial attention on the effects of social media causing depression, demotivation, and self-doubt clouded my mind into thinking the less usage, the better. We can’t stop social media in a social media world so it’s wrong to only focus on the bad. I am determined to find a way to use social media in a beneficial way, and it could help people to consider the big picture of what social media is.
Reference
Case, Amber, director. We Are All Cyborgs Now. TED, Dec. 2010, www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now#t-392737.
