We’re surrounded by Digital Culture whether we like it or not!
Digital culture has been around since the internet was first introduced in the 1990’s probably even earlier then that.
But in recent years has dramatically shaped and even enhanced our lives with the invention of the smart phone. We don’t realize it but every morning the majority of Americans when they wake up will look at their phones to check if any new notifications had surfaced. We may spend on average up to 10–20 minutes before actually getting out of bed and starting the day. We may play music while we shower, look at Instagram while we eat breakfast, or even scroll through Facebook while waiting in line at Starbucks. No matter how you look at it Digital Culture proposes that the internet and technology structures how we interact, behave, think, and communicate with other individuals in a neighborly setting. Because of this we live in a world of instant gratification. At any moment you can “post” a status or picture on your preferred medium and within seconds your friends, colleagues and family can know your prominence. It’s a life style we are engulfed in but depending on your stance on the matter you either love it or hate it.
Personally I look at it through the social media perspective. Growing up in the early 2000’s the first social networking site I used was Myspace. Myspace was basically Facebook back then but more user-creative in which html was used to publicly give your profile page a creative difference compared to other people’s profile pages. I liked the idea of finding and adding friends or family members that I’ve known or met on a social network site. Eventually when Facebook surfaced it attracted me so fast that within a year I deleted my Myspace account and never looked back. Facebook was just a way more organized network and user-friendly website that had a professional edge to it. What makes it more advanced was that Facebook allowed users to create statuses. This is an important element in the Digital Culture world because that allows all registered users to say or type what’s on their mind and allow the whole online community to view or even comment on. Seamless interactions all throughout the Digital world.
In Danah Boyd’s written piece, Choose Your Own Ethnography: In Search of (Un) Mediated Life, she explains she wanted to understand how mediating technologies, and networks upon networks shaped the lives of teenagers. Much like today we may talk differently or have internet “slang” when we communicate with one another. We don’t even analyze or think about it because it’s second nature. Digital culture in the last decade has certainly changed our way of life but I believe we can adapt and use it to our advantage.
