Rise of the Human Machine

"...the concept of 'human' is unthinkable without technology but we act as if it is." (Shaw, 2008, p.81)

Today within the 21st century we are constantly surrounded by a non-stop technology feeding us our media texts. Our lives have become so interconnected with technology that it appears that we can not exist without them what so ever. We would not be able to live our everyday lives without the technology that we have become accustom too, as it has made us live easier lives. Mobile phones especially have become vital to our lives. From these small devices we can continually communicate to people, play games, watch video, listen to audio and download any file we wish.

Furthermore with other technological devices such as computers we can create an online version of ourselves, who is a completely different representation of who we really are. This can be done in many different forms on the internet. We can create avatar's in online games and use them as a representation of ourselves within the game. We use these technologies to reinvent ourselves as we may not be satisfied with our real world lives and decide to start over online. We become more interconnected to technology this way, as it defines the ways we can recreate ourselves.

Moreover Facebook and Twitter as basic and common they may seem also are used to reinvent our self images. And these forms can be easily be accessed through the mobile devices we constantly carry around. so there for we have constant access to these re-inventors of identities. We then see the technologies that let us do so as an extension of our own bodies and there we then become cybernetic as a result. This then causes us to further depend on the technologies that we use day to day as if we lose them, we then in turn begin to lose our self of identity; whether it be real or a digital form of ourselves. 

"Machines... 'R' us." (Shaw, 2008, p. 81)

Bibliography:

Shaw. D. (2008) Technoculture: The Key Concepts, (Oxford Berg Press)

Video:

Holiday Inn Express- Youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9PYIwPSaj4

Convergence Culture is here... Ready or not.

"By convergence, I mean the flow of content across multiple media platforms..." (Jenkins, P.2)

Just over a decade into the 21st Century the way in which we now consume our media has come along within leaps and bounds. We are at the forefront of a digital age that has rapidly developed the way in which we live our day to day lives. None more so than how it has helped us consume media. We can all now go online, watch a film, listen to radio, listen to our music, read books and communicate with others while we do these. 

"Ready or not, we are already living within a convergence culture." (Jenkins, P.16)

We truly do live within a convergence culture whether we like it or not. We may not like it but we come into contact with it on a daily basis. As we watch television we are now reminded to follow the programmes we enjoy on Facebook or Twitter so as we are kept up to date. Some television channels inform us to watch episodes again by going online on websites such as 4oD and iPlayer. As we enjoy socializing on Facebook pages we have liked of our favourite music artists link us to their lastest music video upload onto YouTube or to tell us we can download their album online from such sources as the all mighty iTunes store. 

We seem to be connected to all forms of media even if at that moment in time we only want the function of one. This does not seem as if it will stop at anytime soon as the new generation of technology is trying to become more multi-functional than the previous. An example is the Xbox One. It is by no mean the first Xbox, it is 12 years late for that title. It is called this as it is the all in 'one' home entertainment system and there is likely more to follow.

Bibliography

Jenkins, H (2008) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (New York University Press)