Social Uses/Implications of Technology and Media

Though I used music as my strongest media influence for my media autobiography, I am going to discuss my computer, more specifically the Internet, and its impact on my life. Every morning, I wake up and turn on my computer, waiting for it to start, I shower, and get ready. Before I get dressed, I check the Weather Network for today’s forecast, and then put on one of my favourite radio stations on via their website. Before I leave for class, I check my e-mail and Facebook page. I then shut my laptop, and take it to class. In class I use it take notes, and to look up concepts I don’t know on Google. I then come home, check my e-mail again, and do my homework, which almost always involves the Internet, I then usually catch up with people from home on MSN, and finally go to bed, to do it all over again tomorrow. I don’t know what I would do without my computer. I wouldn’t know what to wear, sometimes I would be lost in class, and I would get bored of the music on my iPod. The way my dorm room is set up even shows how my life revolves around my computer. When you walk in, my room is usually very clean, with not much stuff lying around, and my chair and my computer waiting anxiously for me on my desk beside my printer. I think I’m so drawn to the Internet as opposed to television or print media because I feel as though I have more control. I do not have to sit through commercials, though there are advertisement banners, I feel they are easier to ignore. To me, the Internet is more of a personal form of media, but still has the ability to connect you to the masses. I can listen to music, or connect with friends, or I can learn about the latest technology in Japan if I really wanted to. As much as I enjoy the Internet, I do believe that it has some negative implications. A lot of the information is not trust worthy, and the media is more hidden than in a television commercial. An example of this are those sneaky pop-ups that claim to have a million dollars waiting for you just because you’re the ten millionth visitor. There have been times where I am so distracted by what I am doing on my computer, that I have ignored reality. I think this is a really dangerous, and ignorant type of behavior and try to stay away from it as much as possible, but the Internet is so encompassing… speaking of which, I have just received a new e-mail from Facebook.