#comm200

apu COMM200 speech outline 3

Write an outline in complete sentence form. Include a thesis statement (which may be spoken); a purpose statement, indicating the response from the audience you wish to achieve (which is not usually spoken); an introduction; a body, including supporting evidence; transitions; and a conclusion. If you use outside sources in creating your speech, please include them in a bibliography. Be sure your…

At first, it was easy. If something was needed online, someone went to the computer, turned it on, waited for the Internet to load, did whatever task was needed online, then logged off. Like turning a light switch on and off, there was a definite break between the online and offline. This was back when Internet was synonymous to the AOL dialup noise. It was where we logged in and logged out, signified by the little sound of a door opening or slamming shut on our AIM messenger. Fast-forward to modern day media and that distinction is no longer as easy as a door opened or closed. As of 2013, 63% of adult cell phone owners used their phones to go online (PEW). The Internet has caught up and is now as on the go as we are, increasingly as mobile as our phones. When speaking about media consumption, it is not something that can be defined to one place, especially in a city as in-motion as Chicago. As a 21-year-old student living in Chicago, I can attest to how mobile the life of my peers and myself is. Taking a step back, I quickly was able to notice just how big a role something handheld played in my life, blending the online world with the offline one. So I put it to the test. I thought quitting mobile media would change my life, but it really just strengthened the evidence that my “connections” follow me wherever I go, and that there are physical, mental, and social consequences we face being with and without said connections.

I was sure cutting my mobile social media intake would steer my life into order, bring “normalcy,” whatever that was, or at least make me more productive. I had high hopes, to be sure. My main hope for this test was to compartmentalize my media use in a way that would make it more efficient. Mirroring our in-class discussions of the relationship between utopic thoughts and new media, I believed that only being able to use media during certain times would allow me to use social media for the purposes I needed it for. For example, my Facebook would keep me up to date with friends’ birthdays, something I was very concerned about missing if I was completely disconnected from social media. In my grand mobile-media-free diet plan, I would check it at night when I was home and write a birthday message, having had my whole day when I was on the go free for me to do other things, such as read on the train. This did not happen. Like most diet plans, I quickly realized my life was not on an ordered schedule to do things like this. I never knew when I was going to be home. In my field notes I express anxiety because I almost didn’t open my laptop one night because I got home so late. I would have missed a long-distance friend’s birthday. In other words, my utopic vision for social media as a useful tool quickly diminished if I did not have it available to me in a mobile manner. Without the push notifications I was left my own, or rather, other, devices that did not always work as efficiently.

I might have felt lost without my social media in terms of efficiency, but my media diet was also able to help me notice the first major consequence of mobile media: a change in my physical presence. Being “present” somewhere can have many meanings. Normally, presence refers to being in a certain place at a certain time. Not too far into my media consumption monitoring, I was able to understand Rushkoff’s rule of Place in terms of social media. Just as the line of being online and offline was blurred, so was the line of where I was in a specific moment. I was not making up this sensed of ambiguity. Rushkoff argues in Program or Be Programmed, “the bias of networks were absolutely intended to favor decentralized activity” (43). Physically I was sitting on the train, but I was using media to put myself in many different places: reading international news tweets, responding to a friend about a class we had in an hour, or just posting a photo of the food I just ate in a restaurant down the street. Nicholas Carr furthers this thought in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? by remarking that the “Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies.” As internet and media begin to replace more things, such as newspapers, clocks, calculators, or cameras, it becomes necessary in more places. I experienced firsthand during my media diet when I went out to eat with my boyfriend. We sat at the table and immediately I put my phone face up next to my fork, as if it were another utensil. It got me to start thinking, how much was the phone just like a utensil? Even while on a media diet, I still had it at the ready, simply out of habit.

I noticed how Rushkoff’s tale of Gina, the girl who was both at the party and simultaneously searching for the next best thing online was a reality. I too noticed how my phone was able to remove me from my physical space. In my field notes I was in awe of how engrossed I was in facebook feed while a friend was trying to speak with me. It took so much mental effort on my part to switch from one “location” to the other.” Even on facebook, which a day earlier I had called “boring” and mused why I was even still on the site in my notes. Which brought me to another question: which one of these spaces did I hold to higher importance? My online or In-Real-Life location? While my knee-jerk reaction would always be to say “IRL” is most important every time, the evidence showed how subconsciously it was the opposite. My only explanation is that the physical buzzing and obnoxious notifications keep pulling us in. “The red notification is so enticing,” I wrote in my field notes, “apps like facebook and twitter, that constantly show notifications were harder for me not to check.” Only until we have someone doing the physical equivalent, slapping our wrist or waving a hand in our face, do we pay attention.

As mentioned before, realizing there was no strict divide between this online life and IRL demonstrated how we tow the line, with one foot in each realm most of the time. I felt like I was teetering between the two, waiting for one to pull me in a bit further than the other. Danah Boyd discusses in her lecture, Incantations for Muggles, how “there are no walls. The walls have come crumbling down.” I was physically in multiple places and mentally there as well. I named it “media snacking” during my monitoring. In my notes I checked my phone 23 times in a 40 minute train ride. They weren’t long intervals of  use, but I went in and out of one medium and my real life. Carr notices the negative effects this seems to have on us. “What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information…in a swiftly moving stream of particles…” In my media diet I noticed this as well. Constantly being online, or on-alert for the next notification, status update, etc. has our brains subconsciously checking constantly. When this breaks down, we are suddenly sedentary and it is uncomfortable. I noticed I reacted in one of two ways: I was either annoyed or feeling lazy.

Primarily these feelings occurred in what I referred to in my notes as “the tunnel,” a period of time on the Red Line train in which it goes underground and all 3G connection is cut on mobile devices. “People stared, like I was. I took note of how interesting we are when communication is suddenly cut. So many people are like zombies who don’t know what to do without a phone to check,” I wrote in my field notes. However this was a similar expression to that which I had while doing my Camtasia video while on media. I noticed this in my notes as well, stating, “being honest, I’m not sure disconnecting from media makes me any less of a zombie, just a different type of one.” If they weren’t spacing out with me, they experienced the other emotion I felt during my diet, “some even got desperate and kept trying to call back the person whose call they had dropped.” They were annoyed. Being removed from the constant connection was extremely uncomfortable.

My time monitoring my media intake has also demonstrated another type of consequence: social consequences. Boyd is correct in her assumption that people my age use media “primarily for coordination.” The biggest loss I felt was not being able to check facebook for possible events coming up or to see if I was missing something on campus. It was not simply this social disconnect that I felt howere. What I noticed it in “the tunnel” as well was “staring at people on the CTA at this point was starting to feel weird…We all avoid eye contact, while most pray for their service to return.” Referring back to my first consequence of presence, socially, we can see how in public settings we rely on our media to provide an invisible barrier. Without it, the excuse to not participate socially is not there. During my media-free time on the train, I felt like I had to retrain myself in how to be okay sitting in a full train of people without my phone as this excuse to not be in my environment. I had to ask myself if I was staring at people for too long or looking too open to unwanted conversations. The tunnel did not just disconnect me from the Internet, it also showed the disconnect I felt to the people around me.

Communicating through social media has never really been my fortè. I find that I am always one of the last people to join the trend of the newest social media. Every time something new has popped up, I know I can always turn to my sister who has already downloaded the app or registered for the website. It is through her that I get all the information and perks of being on the bandwagon. It is only after many efforts of convincing that I give into the pressure and join the newest technology. Not to my surprise, however, the usual routine begins to take place where my interest quickly peaks and then shortly after begins to wane until there is not a hint of interest left. There are a few exceptions of course, but in the usual case, to me, the new social media app becomes just like the others on my phone. The recently downloaded app lines up with its forgotten neighbors until its next possible use. As a result, I find myself trying to immerse with the community around me and relish in the moment as much as possible. I do use both social media websites and apps but I try to keep it to a minimum. For this project, however, I decided to try something new. Instead of being one of last ones to relish the scraps of a new media, I wanted to be the early bird. I signed up for a brand new social media website called Ello which is actually still in beta mode. Due to the lack of its popularity, I discovered the urge to constantly check it greatly diminished. It is also not brought up in conversation because it is a hidden gem.  From this experience, I learned that I greatly enjoy surfing this new social platform because it is hidden from the public. That notion is what gives the platform something special. I feel less pressure to post and more pressure to be myself.  By joining this new social platform I was better able to understand how social media has changed the way in which individuals find a sense of community and personal identity.

With popular social media websites, I feel like it is leaning away from being an aid to communicate with others to leaning more towards a crutch to do the communication. We are no longer living side by side but through the internet. From my personal experience and talking with others, the ratings of special events and trips are based on what social media deems to be worthy. That is the first thing that comes to mind. I have a friend whose friend was visiting for the weekend. At one point, there was a high chance that she would not be able to come. My friend admitted to me that one of the biggest reasons she wanted her friend to visit was because of the fantastic instagram pictures she would receive out of the experience. In “A Life Lived in Media” by Mark Deuze, Peter Blank, and Laura Speers, they say, “If anything, today we have to recognize how the uses and appropriations of media penetrate all aspects of contemporary life...media become the playground for a search for meaning and belonging”. When one posts social media worthy pictures online, one expects to receive an abundance of ‘likes’. In return, the media gives one an endorphin rush. They feel love, loved, and welcomed. The rush in most cases, however, does not last very long. The pressure to be part of something extraordinary increases to the point that one cannot go without their social media. It has becomes a part of who they are.  It becomes their crutch to creating their identity, which in some cases does not always match up with the reality of the situation. 

Through this experiment, however, I learned that a social media community can be very welcoming. I think because this new technological platform is fairly unknown, the pressure that is present in the popular websites is less visible in this one. There is no need to live up to certain expectations. You enter the space as who you are in both the virtual and actual reality especially when it is a new space. It can be a space where your thoughts and values are nurtured. Of course there are limits to sharing because I think there should still be a line drawn between one’s public and private lives. The site Ello, because of the absence of advertisements, gives one the chance to only focus their attention on the art and other topics of discussion posted on the website. One is than able to share their work as well as help a friend out and promote their work. The media on its own accord has the possibility of becoming a promotional site. It gives the user the ability to chose between what they the want and not want to see.  It gives the user option between friend and noise. If one places a blogger in the friend category, their posts will appear on one’s newsfeed. If the user decides to place a blogger in the noise category, they are given the option to check that feed,  they do not comes across that new or information automatically as they sign in. I noticed that it allows the user  to think they have control which can lead to the site becoming more and more popular. 

The benefits of a popular site, however, is the fact that all sorts of companies non-related to the social media website are drawn to it because of what it does. Social media not only is a way to communicate with others but it in the end it is also a great promotional tool which can be a blessing and a curse. In this day and age, it can be a blessing because the internet caters to what you want to see. The downfall of that however according to Eli Pariser in “Beware online ‘filter bubbles’”, when reflecting on his social media experience, he says, “ ...I was so surprised when I noticed one day that the conservatives had disappeared form my Facebook feed”. Social media can spread all kinds of information and raise awareness of certain situations, however, due to the conservatives disappearing from Pariser’s newsfeed, it shows that the internet has the capability of filtering out certain information to the point that that it becomes invisible. Sometimes the information that is cut off can be vital. As a result, if the user only relies on the internet for is current news event, it becomes detrimental to their knowledge of the reality of the situation. Eventually it becomes this notion that, “It will be very hard for people to watch or consume something that has not in some sense been tailored for them”. The internet, “moves us very quickly toward a world in which the internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see”. One creates their own unique personal virtual world that filters out the good and the bad. In other words, the internet can promote a very one sided view of an important issue or make the user unaware of the issue in general. 

Even though there are up and downs to having random articles and advertisements appear in one’s newsfeed, it is promotional tool which is vital to the survival of a social media especially new social media. It also shows that the media is finding innovative ways to keep the users interested.  Promotion and updating are one of the major keys to extending the peak of a new media. I was talking to the same friend who introduced me to Ello and was expecting the visitor. Due to the lack of promotion for this new media, she is the only one out of my friend group, and vise versa, who knows about this social platform. Unlike me, she on the other hand has completely forgotten about it. One of the major reasons this could be is because no one talks or posts about it, which for me is not a problem. Word of mouth, posting and sharing of new updates, concepts, and ideas gives room for a site to become very popular. As mentioned before in this paper. what makes Ello stand out from all the other social media websites is that it promotes itself as ad-free. It is still in its beta phase so the chinks and errors are getting worked out. If the creators do not find ways to continually update the system, the user’s interest begins to wayne.

The benefit of an interest decreasing until the media becomes desolate is that it becomes one less distraction, one less virtual community to check. I discovered that this allows the user to be present in the moment and to create their identity on their own terms without being influenced from what they see online. Speaking from experience, I think one often forgets that  fellow users, most of the time,  hide a part of themselves that could be key to their true identity. Most often what one sees online is an exaggeration of the truth or in some cases one can actually be cooler in person than what their profile reveals. It gives people a greater incentive to communicate face-to-face. In other words, try not to judge a book by its cover. 

My literal "diet" from social media on my phone for three days definitely did what most diets do for me...it left me hungry.

I came back to social media with a vengeance, immediately back into the old habit of perusing through facebook on the train. Was it all in vain? Did I learn anything?

I don't think it was all in vain, and I do believe I learned a few things.

I started this test with a few questions, so I feel like I should tackle those first.

Did it change how I experienced my day?

I would say it did. Aside from the obvious, not running into people if I was blindly on my phone (happens to everyone, right?), I was forced to spend some time alone with myself. It forced me to connect differently since certain means were unavailable. I sent more texts. I used a calendar. I actually listened in class, instead of half-listening, half-browsing. There were some negatives. I was frustrated on the bus. Wht was I going to do for those 45 minute commutes? I did a lot of dozing off, staring into space, and some productive things, like figuring out my schedule in my planner and trying to study. So, being honest, I’m not sure disconnecting from media makes me any less of a zombie, just a different type of one.

Did I miss out on anything? I wrote in  my notes about a friend’s birthday which I did almost miss. Like I mentioned in earlier posts, I don’t say happy birthday to every “friend” I have on facebook, but it is an extremely useful tool for me, especially with far away friends. Not having it made me utilize a calendar for plans, but some things still almost fell through the cracks.

What I did notice, like most to-do lists I make in my life, my hopes did not mirror reality. I wanted to study, be productive, get things done. With or without social media, I was still myself, a tired student who just needed a break during her commute. My brain wasn’t about to accommodate more school or work. My time in-transit is usually my break in the day. My facebook browsing, however mundane, it somewhat of a much-needed mental break for me.

The connection to our in-class discussions that stuck out to me the most was Rushkoff’s idea of “Place.” Nowadays, we are so “programmed” to check media, this constant connection, we must actively disassociate ourselves from it in order to be present in daily life. I noticed this when I would be sitting at dinner with my friends and immediately put my phone next to me, as if it were another utensil with my meal. Social media is not something physical in place and yet I saw how transformed I was by it not being in my life. It was like I had stepped outside of a comfortable place that I could enter with the press of a button. Without it, I experienced the outside world quite differently.

If I were to do this again, I would also try to take it a step further and remove texting. That would surely have me “disconnected.” While I’m still checking facebook on the train, I think back to the “tunnel” and how between the North/Clybourne stop to Grand, we all stopped. I think that is the true thing needed. We all need to, voluntarily or not, experience a “tunnel” during our days. One that shuts off our connections outside the place where we physically are. One that makes us stop and look at the person sitting next to us. As uncomfortable as it might seem, I think it is necessary to remember what happens and who we are without these connections, providing a balance.

Sure, looking at my media consumption as a whole was really interesting, but testing it's limits, or more accurately my limits, was a whole other experience.

Just to refresh, for this second step I applied certain rules to my media consumption. For three days I planned to:

Make myself not use social media sites (facebook, instagram, tumblr, vine, twitter) on my phone.

With friends or in social situations, I will not be allowed to check these sites on my phone.

Try to make note of every time I get the urge to check social media and hopefully be able to explain why.

Take note of the things I hope to do on public transportation rather than check my phone. I will then write what I actually get done on public transportation instead of checking my phone during these 72 hours.

Because my notes were jumbled blips of little information, I'm going to divide the information by the days the test took place: September 29 - October 1.

9.29

Day one was a decent start. I was pretty sure I could handle not using social media on my phone. Since I had work so early in the morning I wasn't really able to use my phone anyways since it was so crowded, but by the time I transferred to the less crowded bus, I noticed how I would tap my phone to see if I had notifications, without really thinking about it. To make matters worse I had forgotten my headphones so I had no source of entertainment.  By the time I was coming home from work I was beginning to notice other people around me. "I’m not the only one. I’m spending my free time people watching. Some of them are smart and have books. Others are just staring," was a note I jotted down. This mainly occurred in what i referred to as "the tunnel" or the Red line stops from North/Clybourne towards 95th. These are underground and have little to no cell reception. I noticed that as soon as reception/3G dropped, half of the car shifted into an uncomfortable stillness. People stared, like I was. Some even got desperate and kept trying to call back the person who's call they had dropped. I took note of how interesting we are when communication is suddenly cut. "No 3G in the tunnel. So many people are like zombies who don't know what to do without a phone to check."

When I got home I turned on my laptop and went through facebook. I had survived not going mobile.

9.30

Day two was more rough. My headphones were still missing and I had not had time to go to the library to pick up a book. But I also made note about how having a book on CTA is wishful thinking.  “I’m just sitting on the train. I don’t have a book. I said I would get a book to occupy this time, but honestly it’s more weight in my backpack to carry.” Later I also wrote, I don't have time for a book that isn't for school." But by the time I wanted to read my Media Law Textbook, the train was once again packed for rush hour. No reading.

I also took notes on when I would want to check my phone. Usually as soon as I sat down in the seat and put my stuff down, I picked up my phone. It was as instinctual as setting my purse down on the train. "The red notification is so enticing," I wrote. "It's 6...what is happening on facebook that i have 6 notifications?" The apps like facebook and twitter, that constantly show notifications were harder for me not to check. I found myself able to go without instagram and vine much easier.

I tried to tally how many times I checked my phone during one 40 minute trainride. I got 23. I checked it for the time and texting predominately.

I didn't even make it home to check facebook. I found myself checking it in class just to see what those 6 notifications were.

10.1

Really tired this day. I realized how I sometimes use my apps on my phone to stay awake. Browsing facebook puts me in a zombie-daze, but at least my eyes are still open.

My friend Mary's birthday was this day as well, I almost missed it. Had I not checked facebook at home, I would've not said anything, and I'm going to her wedding in two weeks. Yikes.

Since most people have their own personalized computer as well as a connection to the internet, we have constant access to the web. With the modernization of technology and invention of social media, we are able to communicate with others through the modem instead of having to interact face to face. Because of this new form of interaction, we can spend endless hours in contact with people without having to leave the comforts of our bed or home in general. We can express ourselves and share this image we create with just one click of a button. Through Facebook, people can already get an idea of someone before they have met them just by glancing at the pictures, the statuses they post as well as the articles they share. On tumblr, people can share their deep personal thoughts without the fear of judgement and find those who are like minded. In other words, the internet is a great tool to bring people together. 

It is for that exact reason that I use social media. I use it stay in touch with people as well as learn about events taking placing in my neighboring area. Since my whole family, excluding my parents, as well as some friends, live abroad, I use Facebook as a means to stay in touch with them.  I am able to keep up with their lives through their postings  and I can show them a bit of the real American life. Not the ‘life’ that is portrayed in the movies. It can help them understand me as well as vice versa. Sometimes, I get into touch with some friends who I haven’t seen in years, and it is through Facebook messaging or creating an event page that I am able to meet up with them again. I feel like we could pick things up right from where we left off because I am up to date with the events in their lives. It keeps the conversation flowing nice and easy. 

However, continuously being in contact with people can also be unhealthy. Our first posts can be honest and real, but it quickly transforms into a tailored appearance. Most people only want to share the good things in their lives, therefore they only post fun photos and statuses. Eventually, in a way, we create a second identity. It is an identity that has been wiped clean. I try not to spend to much time on social media because there are times when I think ignorance is bliss. Checking social media can take away from living in the moment and sometimes ruin your own experience. 

  There are times when I feel like social media is more of a popularity contest rather than bringing people together. Every time I check my new media, I see posts that are funny and witty. Usually those are the posts with the most likes. One receives an endorphin rush just by getting one like or a one share. The more likes and shares they receive, the more popular they become. Sometimes it gets to the point where people post everything that is on their minds ranging from happy thoughts to sad thoughts to thoughts that are considered private. This proves that the internet is making it harder to keep the public and private life separated. 

My use of social media varies from time to time. When I am on break I spend less time on the internet because I find other things to occupy my time. It is only in the morning that I check my social media whereas during the school year, I am always on the computer when I have down time because that is my way of relaxing. I go from checking my new media in the morning to checking it a couple times a day, especially towards the evening. If I spend more than one hour on the internet, I actually start to feel worse about myself because I have not from the same position in that amount of time. In other words, I use social media to escape the boredom. If I do something else, for example, read a book, I feel guilty because if I’m reading, it might as well be a text for school.