My Ongoing Investigation on Media & Technology

As a communication student, I have always believed that I have a sufficient understanding of what media is. That thought went straight in to the ground once I change my major to media communication. Media, to my great surprise, was much more complicated because it evolves rapidly and may even be considered ‘ever changing’. In my initial Intro to Interactive Media, I was exposed to a considerable number of topics that made me question everything about media and technology. I can feel myself yearning to know more about media and technology.
One of the stories that I read in class was titled “A Future Love Story” by Marcel Van Der Drift it is a compelling story that made me somewhat excited but also anxious on what the future could be like. The author sets the story twenty years in the future, where humans will be much more entangled with technology. The new normal in the narrative is for humans to be ‘wired up’, meaning that they will always have sensors implanted in their body or attached to their clothes. These sensors will be connected to the super advanced cell phones with software that can monitor your physical health and read you just like a book. The storyline follows Steve, a man who was a nonbeliever of these technologies. Throughout a few months and his decides to finally got himself wired up. In the end, however, Steve threw his phone away and the feeling relief washed over him. I thought this story was a very compelling one, it made me question whether I wanted to be in Steven’s place, or not. Chained to technology and to go about my day with my cell phone always telling me how I feel. I think I would be vastly agitated and might chuck my phone away much like Steve. I might also be depressed like Steve, having a cell phone telling me how I feel.
The second short story I read in class was Stepping Out by David Sedaris. The plot of this story revolves around Fitbit and one’s obsession to complete as many steps as possible steps per day. I think that humans love to believe that they are not controlled by the technologies they own. This story, however, shines a different light on who is controlling who. When the main character finished their first ten thousand steps, they felt a massive achievement. This device helped them be more productive when going about their day. Yet, they became more and more obsessed and dependant on getting more and more numbers to a point where frankly I don’t think it’s healthy. When the Fitbit he owned stopped working completely, he felt devastated and slightly liberated. He finally felt that his life was his again, but then he went back and purchase another one. It amazes me that he bought another device that would continue to control him. This story generated more questions in my head. Will it be like this in the future? Humans feeling the need to be controlled by technologies? Are we aware that when we are too attached to our phone, we give our phone the power to control our days?
Other than the stories that made me think, my teacher also asked me questions that made me think more critically. One of the questions that my professor posed in class was ‘What is natural and cultural (man made)?’. My initial thought when hearing the natural would be the forest. Although after cruising through the web, I now understand that nature is more than just the forest. In Latin, nature means birth. This explains that anything that was brought to this world without the interference of human. But then, a colleague of mine brought another perspective to light. She spoke about how humans have been tampering with nature to make create a better and suitable harvest. This is something that I have been aware for awhile, but now it made me rethink what I knew. Can humans let things continue go the way mother nature made them to be?
Another discussion we had in class was whether or not humans can love a robot? My initial thought was no, for obvious reasons. Those who use iPhone probably have had an encounter with Siri. I think it was just ridiculous for us to be in love with Siri when it is rather hard to have a normal conversation with them let alone to be in love with them. But again, school is about expanding your opinion and knowledge. My teacher showed me a clip from the movie Her. What I initially thought was impossible went out the window. The writer and director made Samantha (a computer operating system) sound very much alive, bright and in all honesty, someone I can see myself talking to. The conversation between Theodore and Samantha just felt natural and they connected instantly. Now, what at first seems to be impossible might actually possible.