HW 4 - Comments

Comment 1: Hey Henry, I really liked what you had to say! Your post was definitely enjoyable with well-construed arguments.

Your thoughts were very interesting and I agreed with most of your points - that digitalization has not only decreased the quality of our relationships with one another (trading in quality for quantity I guess?), but has also caused us to be a more short-sided people.

I also think you're spot-on when you talk about how technology could be a great tool for us, but at the moment is being "mishandled." How do you think we could change that? How can we make it so that WE are the ones using the computer instead of vis versa; as it seems to be now?

Some other things you could write about, or include in your blog, are maybe hows all this digitalization came about. How did you go from Nintendo 64 and dial-up to a Facebook "junkie" so to speak?

Your thoughts on how IMing and texting affect our relationships between people around us really got me thinking - what if we didn't have those things? Would people's actions towards each other change? and if so, how much and in what ways?

Thanks for the interesting thoughts! -Michelle G.

Comment 2: Hmmm, what an original viewpoint Maggie! This is the first time I've seen just how much energy we use for all this digitilaization be pointed out.

I thought it was cool how you reminded us that all these things we use to communicate or entertain us are really just electronic signals, and that they are not in fact "real."

One idea that I think had A LOT of validity to it was that things like "lol," "lmao" or any other kind of short-hand is just sort of a filler...I think these "fillers" might becoming more common as we talk more, but seem to have less to say - something Henry also talked about - how conversations have lost "depth."

The way you point out both sides of your opinion is great - how things like AIM and Facebook are artificial, but can still come in handy - this can make it difficult to tell where you stand though. Are you for or against digitalization? Which side of the argument weighs heavier on you?

The way you said, computers and T.V.s have started to "suck" the life out of us was really intense, it got me thinking about my own habits of web-surfing and cable watching. Are these things sucking the life out of, not just me, but my family and friends as well?? Is this "addiction" to electronics just an American thing, or is it everywhere technology seems infest itself? Has technology gone from helpful to hurtful, and become almost parasitic?

You really got me thinking Maggie - very interesting stuff!
-Michelle G.