Big Paper Revised Draft

We live in a world full of technology and digital representational devices - digital devices that represent an aspect of the world. Why, do we choose to allow ourselves to be hooked onto these devices instead of going out into the world and interacting with nature? Humans have this need for attention and to connect with others while we are surrounded by walls at home. I go on AIM everyday because there is never enough time to talk with them during the day and I find myself checking facebook updates. Another reason why digital representational devices are so addicting is that they are convenient. If we ever need to find someone, all we have to do is dial their cellphone number to be connected instantly. And for people who are uncomfortable communicating directly can make themselves comfortable by communicating through the internet. The internet allows students taking Snyder's or Manley's class to do their homework on blogger so students cannot use the excuse "I lost my homework" or "I left it at home."We can even escape from being ourselves by playing massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). Technology is sufficient to create portable computers (laptops) so that we are not tied to our desks. Digital representational devices are great assets to our lives that we become addicted to them.

We use digital representational devices to feel as if we are important. When I am on AIM, my friends and I are exchanging information about life. It is as if we are saying “ooh, listen to me talk about my day because I need someone to hear me out.” Like Henry said, we feel popular when we see a number of people chatting with us on the internet. And when we do not want to talk to someone, we often try to dismiss the person with “lol” or “rofl.” People say it so often that it is hard to believe what they are laughing out loud. It is times like this when the phrase laugh out loud loses its meaning and becomes a phrase tat is used when nothing else can be said. In a short period of time, we can update people and it feels as if someone was there to care about your day. Even on Facebook, we have statuses so people can get an inside scoop on our life. Whenever someone changes their status, uploads a photo, or writes on someone else’s wall, all their friends would be notified. It is as if we are stalking people, finding a mutual interest to talk about on facebook and letting everyone else on your friends list know. AIM 7.0 is biting Facebook and has the same features, where we can comment on their statuses to show that we care or "like" the statuses. If we see someone comment or “like” the status, then we know that they have read the status, understood it, and then you feel connected to them.
Sometimes people just talk so that they can feel connected with others. Lauren was texting in social studies class during the first day of school and had a casual conversation that went like this:
“How was your first day of school?”
“Whack.”
“Me too.”
It was a casual conversation but it seems like we need to have a casual conversation. Casual conversations help us keep in contact instantly and we are able to feel significant. The feed allows Titus to watch Violet's feed efficiency so he is updated on how Violet is doing. Titus is literally connected to Violet through his feed which is connected to Violet’s feed; allowing Titus to track her feed status. People like to take pictures, capture moments but some people do it A LOT; in Michelle's post, they are called "camera whores." Once the picture is taken, we can look back on the pictures and reminisce; connecting with the photo and remembering the good times. Whether we do it through the internet, the phone, or using cameras, we are always tying to connect with people.

DRDs are efficient. I interviewed a mom on the street and she told me that she would get her son a cellphone because they needed to keep in contact. Cellphones allow us to keep in contact so moms can find their kids and kids can let moms know they are safe. Computers, IMs, and the internet allow people to feel more comfortable because there is a computer between the chatters (people like me). There is a computer in between the people chatting, making the conversation “less real” and us comfortable. This comfort causes us to say things that we would not normally say; we can say mean things because we would not be able to see their reaction. Even colleges are accepting applications through the internet because it is green and more efficient. Applicants would need to use the internet to fill out the applications and it is to an advantage for those who are less organized with paper. Even homework can be done online (Snyder's and Manley's); it saves paper and homework can be checked anytime. The internet not only allows you to connect with people anytime, it also allows you to disconnect anytime. In the song "I love my computer," the artist loves his computer because he can flirt with people on the internet and stop anytime. If he were to do it in person, he would have to come up with excuses that allowed him to escape from those he did not want to be with. But doing it on the internet, he does not have to deal with the consequences or the aftermath; he is able to connect "in the most soul-less way." Computers allow us to play MMOPRG; we can play any role we wish and do things we cannot in real life. When we want to disembody ourselves and immerse ourselves into someone else, we can entertain ourselves by casting magic on our screens. Even Wiis allow us to do something nice for our body by exercising and having fun at the same time. We get the best of both worlds because we are actually interacting with the pictures on the screen. People at work use computers to optimize the amount of work (for example, sending out a note) in a short amount of time. With email, people can receive messages faster than the traditional snail mail and they do not have to pay the postal office. Our technological advancements allow laptops to be created so people are not stuck at their computer desks with back pains. With laptops, Jakob (I, too) can chat and watch videos comfortably in our individual beds until we lull ourselves to sleep. In Feed, the corporations wanted to create air faster so trees were cut down to make air factories since air factories can produce air at a higher rate than trees. Digital representational devices make life a lot easier if we ever want to talk to someone instantly using a cell phone.

Efficiency sooner or later will cause us to become lazy. In Wall-E, people sit in portable chairs; they do not have to walk anywhere or even notice they are moving. They can be chatting on their screens all day without getting lost because the computer is wired to know exactly where people want to go. People in the movie are bigger than the standard size and we see robots carry their drinks for them. They do not need to get out of their chairs to pick up their food because the robots will deliver it to them. Whenever they want shade, they just have to clap their hands and say "shade", the shade will come in two seconds. Because of these luxurious services, the people in the movie are discouraged to exercise and encouraged to chat all day. I interviewed my friend about IM-ing someone in the next room and she said that people who do so are either lazy, feels uncomfortable communicating directly, or they want to avoid situations that happen when communicating in person. Definitely, people are lazy; I get tired of getting up every five minutes to walk to the next room to talk for a minute and then go back to where I was. I also agree with her other two points; I personally find it easier to talk on AIM because I know people’s emotions will not get to me through AIM. If I know what I say will get the other person mad, I would hold my thoughts until I sign on AIM so when they get mad, I will not become their punching bag. In Feed Titus just wanted to know what Violet’s father was talking about and the father kept telling Titus to learn the meaning. We see that Titus was brought up not to learn or process the information, but to ask their feed for it. Similarly, Snyder’s theory #3 is that we are encouraged to google things we do not know simply because we just want the information and regurgitate it. We do not want to go through all the trouble to go to the library, pull out books, and put the pieces together to find the answer. With the internet, we can easily google the question and google will tell us the answer. Digital representational devices are discouraging us to exercise our motor muscles and our muscles in our brain.

Another book that this addiction is demonstrated in is Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. At age sixteen, teenagers like Tally Youngblood go through an operation that makes them pretty. But what the Special’s intention is to install a chip in brain so they can track every citizen in the society. Tally wanted to conform and go through the operation until she met someone who knew the secret behind the operation. Similarly in Feed, the corporations were tracking Titus and everyone in the society and they all wanted the feed to connect through the feed. Corporations in this world advertise products and test how many we are willing to buy. Because we like to connect and conform, we fall for their trap and buy their products.

Johnson says that the internet contains a lot of information and that whenever we need to know something, we could always rely on the internet. The internet teaches us how to work with applications and communicate with people in other parts of the world. We are always hunched over our computers, eager to learn what the internet has to offer us. Again, the internet is just discouraging us to think and encouraging us to google. When we hunch over our computer screens, we disconnect from our physical body and forget all about our physical needs. We sometimes forget to use the bathroom or we might even starve ourselves because we are so hooked onto the computer. Johnson always emphasizes how the internet helps us communicate with a group of friends but are we authentically connecting with them. We should not satisfy our need for attention or to connect using digital representational devices.

After knowing what happened in Feed, Wall-E, and Uglies, no one wants to continue to be addicted to digital representational devices. In Feed, Violet becomes dysfunctional due to malfunction of her feed and Titus becomes distressed. As we continue to use digital representational devices, we learn to rely on them and when all technology fails, we are dragged down along with it. People in Wall-E lack exercise and if we let digital representational devices to spoil us, we would not have to get up to get our food or send a message. The internet is the corporation’s space and as we surf through the web, we constantly see advertisements. We stop to take notice of the advertisements and end up buying the product; that is how corporations make money off of us. Humans have this need for attention and to connect with others while we are surrounded by walls at home. If we ever need to find someone, all we have to do is dial their cellphone number to be connected instantly. But cellphones also eliminate all means of walking over to the person to speak directly, minimizing our exercise. Because of our need to communicate, the efficiency of DRDs, and the encouragement to be lazy, we allow ourselves to become addicted to DRDs.

Works Cited

Anderson, M.T. Feed. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candelwich Press, 2002.

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