Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Journalism 2.0: Benefit or Burden? Kevin Penny

TweetDeck, The Final Frontier...
People believe that society is moving at light-speed, and that their news should be provided to them at the same speed. But nobody steps back and asks, what happens when we move at such speeds? Are there repercussions to using technology like the Internet or television? As we move towards a more techno-savvy future, with our news being beamed directly to our iPhones and Macbooks, are we looking at what repercussions there are?

It's a media over-load trying to keep up with all the news on the internet...

In countless studies done over the years regarding TV and the Internet, scientists have found a link between our multimedia talk-boxes and depression, ADHD, obesity, and many other symptoms. This tells me that if we shift our news media sources such as newspapers and magazines to a more digital form, it will only increase problems in our society. I really don't want my kid growing up angry, depressed, antisocial, and can't pay attention for more than five minutes. We should take care to remember which world is more important, lest we turn into a bunch of zombies infront of view-screens.

Although I will digress that the Internet supplies vast amounts of information to the general public, we as a society must learn to use it responsibly. It cannot be good for humans to be staring at television and computer screens, absorbing vast amounts of information for long periods of time (my eyes can attest to that). We should learn that although there is a vast world we can explore on-line, we must not forget the world we come from as well.

3 comments:

  1. If all these technologies are so great, why aren't people as a whole happier? Perhaps, watching endless youtube videos all day, while text-messaging isn't the best way of human interaction?? I dig this post.

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  2. Your point of view seems somewhat extreme to me, but it still drives home a very good point. People do need to be wary of how much time they devote to technology in their life, or they could end up paying for it in the long run. I did not know that excessive amounts of TV and Internet use have been linked to depression, ADHD, and obesity. That was definitely an eye-opener! Oh and I like how you referred to us as "zombies." Now that I look at that picture, I think you're on to something.

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  3. I also dig this post.
    I think you make some really good points about us having lost connection to some of the most important things in life.
    I think there might be a difference, though, between just reading news online and spending hours daily on social networking sites.
    Also, I think overload is one word - at least according to my macbook dictionary...

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