#comm1101

Welcome to the COMM1101 online course!

  Course: Communication Assignment: Word Limit: Assignment 1: 200 words. Welcome to the COMM1101 online course! Part 1: Please introduce yourself to your classmates here. Tell us a little bit about who you are and where you come from, as well as a little about your favourite hobbies and interests. In your post, see if you can also answer the following questions: What are your own personal goals for…

Welcome to the COMM1101 online course!

  Course: Communication Assignment: Word Limit: Assignment 1: 200 words. Welcome to the COMM1101 online course! Part 1: Please introduce yourself to your classmates here. Tell us a little bit about who you are and where you come from, as well as a little about your favourite hobbies and interests. In your post, see if you can also answer the following questions: What are your own personal goals for…

Written April 18, 2012

Life of Robots (Seventh) 

          Just imagine how much we spend on our phones and/or laptops. I cannot speak for everyone, but for me it was difficult to remember when was the last time I was speaking on the phone besides text messaging.

         There is a famous video, which is called “Look Up,” made by Gary Turk. He opened our eyes to the things we did not notice. He talks how we use social devises in our daily life, and what kind of impact it has on its users. Many of us would deny that we do not become the robots of modern technologies, but to be honest, it brings us down. We do not go to the libraries to find a specific book or article; the Internet has the power over us.

         Talking about the video, there is a line that states how different devices closes our eyes on the real world.

“All this technology we have, it’s just an illusion,

of community, companionship, a sense of inclusion

yet when you step away from this device of delusion,

you awaken to see, a world of confusion.”

          It is clear that most of us forget about real life, while they use their phone or something else. I am not trying to judge anyone, but my point is that people tend to forget how to live. We get used to say important things through the text, rather then through calling. We create our own world, where we are alone, even though we have 600 friends on Facebook. Many individuals are forgetting the true feeling of happiness when they cannot share it with someone (sharing a post does not count).

The words that touched me the most were:

“We’re surrounded by children, who since they were born,

watch us living like robots, and think it’s the norm.

It’s not very likely you will make world’s greatest dad,

if you can’t entertain a child without a using an iPad.”

         If you look around, for instance, in the shopping malls or supermarkets, children get distract by the technologies. I am not a parent, so I cannot say that it is right or wrong, but these devices make parents’ life easier. However, no one thinks about the consequences these machines might cause. Children do not interact with peers, do not see a necessity of going outside and play, instead, they sit down on the couch and spend their time on iPads or iPhones. It seams that future generation is going to have a trouble in the real world. 

       I find the context of this video an important issue in modern world. We are humans, who have to feel and experience through real things, not by sharing the heartless post. Even now, it seems funny. The fact that I am writing this blog post about “technology’s influence on us,” instead of going and saying it out load in order to make a difference. 

After all, 

     Every minute social media becomes more and more addictive while new apps or social webs are coming to live. It tends to have control over us. During the weekend, I decided to make a little experiment in order to find out what social media I use. Most of the time I spotted myself on using VK, Russian social media, which is similar to Facebook.

      After my experiment, I decided to analyse this medium. The Russian website, VK, can be divided by three main styles. Firstly, it can be identified as a social network. Users can communicate with their friends, sharing their thoughts and posts they like. I find VK important in my daily life because most of my peers are back home in Russia, so for me it is important to stay connected to them. Moreover, I enjoy seeing their posts and pictures about their daily life. In the way it makes me feel like homesick. Secondly, VK can be recognized as a media sharing network. Many individuals have an opportunity of promoting themselves and their work. They find it helpful to upload their videos, pictures and songs to this network. Thus, there, influential and powerful people might discover your potential and help you with building a future career in the particular sphere. Thirdly, some individuals use VK for social news. There are people who create the groups for specific magazines or TV channels, where they collect the most important information and share it to the rest of the users. I think that this element is the most useful in this network. There is no reason to go to other sites, you can simply add the groups with the specific type of news and read them all, while texting your peers.

    Fashion has become a common subject on the market today. It reached to the point where it stands on the same level with psychology (because fashion is about human behavior) and finance. Some individuals believe that it is just a way of people expressing themselves; however, others might argue that it is an easy way of gaining money.

    When I hear the word “fashion” I picture expensive, high-couture clothes on the beautiful models. Fashion is about expression yourself through clothes, but the most important thing to consider is how they deliver it to people. Imagine, little girls look up to the models, who walk on the catwalk, and want to look like them. They start to eat less in order to do everything what it takes to be like their icons. In this sense, fashion tends to promote perfect body images of the skinny and good-looking women. It has a huge, negative effect on females, who get influenced by this idea of the perfect body type. In the internet, it is well-known topic between girls. It is commonly debated how scary the consequences might be; however, it never stops anyone from starving to be as the pretty lady on the cover of the magazine. Moreover, many people might argue that it is not only about fashion, but about advertising. If we are going to take a look at different advertisements, for example, for beauty products or even beer companies, we will see how attractive body is dominated on the market. People tend to pay attention to images of charming females, rather than to the chubby ones. It sets an idea that only good-looking people (especially females) will attract the public to buy specific products. To be honest, I reached to the point where I chose the beauty over health in order to follow my dream. Looking back, it was the worst decision I have ever made. I almost stopped eating in order to look like the models I admired at that time. It was scary. But the truth is that we learn from our mistakes, and I have learned a lot from that lesson. The perfect body image sometimes sends the negative effect, instead of positive.

    The coat that I recently saw on Hudson’s Bay, was kind of cozy and good for winter, but I did not want to buy it yet, so I left the site. Later, the coat literally started to follow every move I made. The picture of the outwear and the link appeared on most of the sites I went to. Especially when I was searching for a plane ticket home, I had to check various low-cost companies in order to find the ticket I needed. Then, I went to read an article on “The New York Times”, and not surprisingly I saw it once again. I felt that Hudson’s bay site does not take no into account. Later that day, the situation was so annoying as I reached to the point that I do not need a coat anymore. I was in shock how advertisements have an eye on us.

    Looking at this situation, the marketing move is clear and also, a bit creepy. The companies keep track of every individual who access their websites. They try to promote the product in any way possible. Many people might find it useful, as it helps them to make a decision towards the product; however, others disagree with the idea of being spied by the companies. It brought my attention, so I did a little research about, how do the companies find a way of following its buyers? As I looked up in the Internet, I found an article, “Why Is That Ad Following You Around the Web?” by Erin Griffith. It explains that the site “drops something called a "cookie" on to your Web browser,” but the good thing is that it stays anonymous. The site does not know anything about you, but the product you ware interested in. Nevertheless, not everyone knows these details, so it might cause some problems as the customers may think that their private information can be tracked as well as what they want to buy.

     All in all, following your customers is a smart tool in pushing forward your brand, but never forget how easy it is to lose them once the advertisements become too pushy.