QCQ for _(name the reading) “Making New Media Make Sense” – Baym
Quotation (with page number or paragraph number or time-stamp if video/audio)
“… raised the notion that new media cause cultural anxieties…”
Comment (250-500 words)
When I first read this quote, I connected it to conspiracy theorists or just very paranoid individuals that believe that technology does as much bad as it does good. I disagree with this outlook, seeing how far technology has been able to take us. Any fears or anxieties surrounding it, in my mind, are ridiculous. But then, I kept reading. Baym continues to discuss how Nick Carr has observed the way in which technology has changed us. For younger generations, the change is minimal because we have grown up in a mostly technological age. However, older generations see it clearly – our brains are beginning to be bored by anything that isn’t outwardly visual or quick like social media.
A great real-world example of this is the social media app called Tik Tok. Videos reduced to 15 seconds or 1 minute have recently allowed for our brains to tire easily when trying to watch YouTube videos. Somehow, the 10-minute videos you used to enjoy on YouTube have changed to be “too boring” or “too long”. We are so adapted to a fast pace now, anything that requires too much energy to absorb is tossed aside by our brains as difficult to understand or too time-consuming. Students all around the world read less and less, especially in high school.
I would argue that technology and social media have allowed for many things, including our advancement as a human race and the spread of global information; however, I do like to sit back and imagine how peaceful life might be if cell phones were never invented.
That peace is however easily disrupted by my activist thoughts, telling me that social media is the only reason that things such as gay marriage have been legalized in many countries today. Without fast traveling media, we would not be able to be made aware of as many important social causes. Gladwell tried to argue the fact that social change is brought on by physical action, but I believe that the two must really work together. It’s the only way the cause will actually travel far.
As much as I want to try and get on the side of Baym or even Gladwell, I just cannot find it in me to acknowledge that this change is necessarily a bad thing. Some changes can be scary, some changes can alter who we are and how we work, but I also believe that some change is for the good. We as a human race are evolving, becoming reliant on technology for our daily activities, which may end badly in the long run, but how long are we really here for. Older generations are the ones who let our planet fall to the ground in the first place.
There is no ill will in progress, it is found only in the minds of those who would rather let a whole species die than spend the effort and money to try and change the problem’s outcome.
Question
Why the fight against technology? Although we are changing because of it, who said the change was bad in the first place?
