Hw 8- A Digital Representation Of My Comments on Videos...Blah Blah A-F

For Ian G.

I loved the music that you were listening to during your video. Not only can you multi-task but you also have great taste.

I like how you made the point about how real reactions can come from fake things and you found that you couldn't just sit still you had to be doing something else.

I feel that somehow these videos are not really the best way to "capture" how we are when it comes to using out digital products. I can't help but think that some part of this video was staged. Like somehow I don't think that every aspect was real. I'd like to believe that we act out for the camera. Were you acting out?

You say that it is sad to think you might waste a whole day getting mad at a screen when you could be out creating things. That's something that I haven't thought about. But when you're out creating things is it not possible to fall victim to the activity that you are doing outside. Either way we are becoming enslaved by something. Wheather its an ipod or a volleyball we alwasy end up depending on something.

I think that it's easy to waste a whole day doing anything, sleeping, school, screens. But how can we really decide what's is good or bad? Whats going to fry our brains and what isn't? 1/2 the things we learn in school will most likely perish into the deep corners of our brains so whats the use?... I don't hear anyone complain about that.

This was a great post. The video was AWESOME by the way. Looking forward to more!!!!!!


For Sam R:

I loved the music I haeard throuour the video if anything. Kings of Leon is a kick ass band.

I noticed that throughout the video you looked preoccupied, like you weren't completely in to what you were doing. Like you didn't care one way or the other. I noticed that you mentioed that. Why is it weird to see yourself? Do you think you would feel differently if you were doing something else besides being digital?

I think that we all are in a way much more aware of ourselves when we know that we are being watched. I feel that it drastically alters the way that we act/look. I think that if you didn't know that you were being watched the outcome of the video would have been different.

I noticed that you mentioned that you said you looked like you were looking for something else to do all the time. I think that was an important observation that you umade about yourself. It connects to what I was saying about acting differently because you are being watched, do you think that has an impact?

I think that I looked a bit bored in my video as well, it was a weird assignment and while filming I was a bit distracted.

Sam, awesome post as always looking forward to more.

Hw 6 - Lets Get Digital, Digital

Untitled from JacG on Vimeo.

I didn't really have any thoughts about my video. It looked like any regular day that occurs in my house. I looked natural to me, but not completely because the things that I did were kind of planned (besides the conversations). I feel that once you know that you are recording the feeling of your "natural actions" change.

I was looking at blogger and listening to music on some of the clips and eating a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch with soy milk. I felt awkward because I knew the camera was there and I didn't want to look like a fool. Uh, I also had to modify some of the things that I did too. For instance I don't watch TV on the floor but when I sat on the couch I couldn't get both the TV and myself so I had to sit on the floor.

I don't feel bad about the amount of time that I spend on the computer, I know that my little brother spends a lot of time in front of the TV and my mom often tries to get him out of the habit. (He and my father are in the background doing homework) I'm on the computer doing homework, 1/2 listening to my father and also looking for something better to do online.

Personally I don't think this assignment will make me change any of my digital habits. I think its useful to know what you look like dazing out in front of a screen, but I didn't really get much out of it.

Seeing what I look like makes me feel weird beyond content, but there isn't really nothing that can done about that. I would imagine that I would feel weird watching myself do anything. When you see yourself staring at a screen I think you look the same way when your staring at anything. There's a certain spaced out look that many people maybe concerned that they have but most likely that look has haunted your face more than once.

Hw 7 - You Talk, I Text

"People love to talk about themselves" this quote makes a difference to me when it comes to asking to people questions about anything. If you make question personal, the person that you are talking can almost be guaranteed to get an answer that is "deep" and or "thoughtful"

Conversation with my step dad

Why do you use the things that you use? Why do you need your iPhone?
-To keep in touch with you guys. Its necessary in order to communicate.

Don't you think that it is taking over our minds in a way brain washing the people who seem to depend on it?
-Absolutely, people will take anything that is made easier. More things for our society (technology) makes us lazier. (personally that means a revert in my eyes, you get lazier and you get dumber. You become dependant upon one thing in order to do your daily deeds)

If you believe this then why don't you prevent it?
-Because I have no control over it. People act as a society. (He said more, but I don't want to be here typing all night) ((His main point was that things get marketed and as a whole, we mush together to in a sense kind of devour these things, when it comes to 'upgrading' we are never alone))

Strangers, the pick of the liter

So while walking down the streets of New York City, I had to observe my prey and then go in for the kill.

Victim 1:
I found my first victim packing her car with plants. She seemed to be in a rush, but for the sake of the assignment my policy was, NO MERCY. I approached the woman and asked "excusemedoyouhaveamomenttotalkaboutdigitilzationinourlives?" she looked back at me wide-eyed "sure, but I'm in a rush so it has to be quick. I don't want a ticket" I looked down at my blank page and then back up at the woman who looked oddly jittery but calm at the same time. "Would you say that you spend alot of time using tech-tech" I didn't know where the stutter had come from "technology?" the woman shifted the plant she had been holding to her left arm, cradling it the same way one would a child. She looked up semi-thoughtfully and responded "I'm on the phone all the time" I quickly scribbled down what she said while asking "Do you think that's a bad thing?" She smiled and laughed to herself, my stomach grumbled, she responded "yes, but I can't stop. I tried but I can't" I scribbled down the words 'like a drug' smiled and said "thank you for your time"

Victim(s) 3:
My third victim(s) had to be my favorite, I caught them while they were exiting a restaurant and placing their ipones inside their inner top left pockets of their business suits. I clicked my pen and walked over asking "excusemedoyouhaveamomenttotalkaboutdigitilazitioninourlives?" They looked back at me and then down at my notebook which was only filled about 1/2way with the notes from the 2 previous victims. "What is this for?" businessman 1 (b1) asked inquisitively. I pointed towards Madison Square Park "I go to School of the Future on 23rd, its for a class assignment." B1 leaned back slightly in what appeared to be astonishment as if I had just offered the answer to a hard puzzle. "Well you gotta say that or else people won't know what you're talking about" I was taken aback "well I've done this several times before and I find that people seem to always be in a rush. So on instinct I skip introductions." Businessman 2 (b2) laughed and b1 joined in. I wanted to get to the questions, I was hungry. "So how much time would you say you spend on your ipones daily?" an immediate answer shot up, "all day" they said in unison as if it was timed. B2 cut in, "It's like you have to youcantgoaroundit..." his words were spilling out in excitement, he continued "youneeditforwork" I nodded writing his response slowly. I looked at b1, "do you think that this constant need for a screen is making us zombies?" B1 reached in to his top left inside pocket, it reminded me of how people look in movies when they are about to arm themselves. "its like the matrix..." he continued
now holding his weapon of choice "...everyone is connected" I looked down at my phone, 12:29. "Well thank you for you time" the words came out automatically. They smiled in return and wished me luck and I went to lunch.

My "best friend"

Well she thought that people as a whole use alot of digital things not just teenagers. People like to say "oh those darn kids" when adults use their ipones just as much as kids do. Focusing on other people what you hate to realize in yourself helps people to deal. She said that she would feel wrong saying that its a bad thing because everything depends on perception. How can you ever know what is truly good or what is truly bad? You can't. You can only look at statistics and charts and most likely you will be in conversation with people that agree with you or think like you on some level but what's good and bad differs depending on the person. I asked her if she thought that anything would change, i.e more phones and computers. She said that besides design and model numbers everything will be the same.

It feels like we are going somewhere but really we are stuck in a circle.

Hw 5- More Letters, Its Important

Respose to Ian and Sam:
I'm not sure if anyone thinks about this but really everything is a big circle when it comes to technology. No matter how many different types of phones there are, a phone is still a phone. The numbers are the same the purpose for the phone is pretty much the same. So why you ask do we buy more of the same old crap?

Because, we think we need it of course. It's simple, if one has the knowledge that there is something new and "better" then your mind automatically disregards that you basically have the same piece of plastic already.

You are scared of going back, you feel like you're in the past if you don't upgrade. If don't update your sidekick you feel old. Get it? I just figured this thought out completely just now as I wrote this post.

So even if you do have a piece of modern technology, and something else comes out what you have is old, what you have is in the past so we continue to need more.

Now, if there were to be a complete halt in technology, yes the world would continue to spin on its axis, yes your text inbox will still be full and yes your ipod will still charge at night. But people will wonder what's next. We are already in this pattern of getting something new when something gets "old".

So if nothing came out people might panic. I actually think that people will have more of an appreciation for what you already have and you won't mindlessly buy the same thing over and over again just because it has a new name.

Response to Francesca:

Thanks for the comment, I like how you think its important to proof read. I rarely do so myself.

I think that it is important during this unit to actually accept that being digital is something that a lot of us rely on. So I won't say that being digital is completely hurting us as you say but I think it a matter of balancing how much you use your whatnots and gadgets.

But your comment actually helped me to further my thinking about how we are so amazed with flat 2-D images. I think that you make a good point here. For humans we seem to be amazed with the simplest and yet the most expensive of things.

So here we are these "advanced" people that have this wild obsessive fascination with these small simple things that somehow end up controlling our lives. Why do you think this is? Why do we need these little things?

This isn't AA. But lets think a bit

At the end of the day, you should know whether or not you are a digiaholic. Its as simple as that. Just because you are in a class that makes you think about why you need what you think you need doesn't mean that you should lie to yourself about what you use and how much you use it.

Here try this: My name is _______ and I am a digiaholic.

The first step is admitting you have problem. And if you don't have a problem then congrats. It isn't necessarily a bad thing if your thumbs start to bend into the shape of your blackberry. What makes a difference is how much you think about why you use the things you use.

Why do we feel the need to always need a new whatever? Whats the difference between "Mom I want a new phone" & "Mom I need a new phone?" Is there even a difference? What if there were no new phones? then what would you be begging for at Christmas, What if your current phone is the last phone that you'll ever have? Would you protect it just a little bit more? Would you think twice about leaving your phone in the charger all night?

Mind boggling, isn't it?

Oh, So That's What We Go To School For

Statistics are lame, they never really have any depth, just numbers. How are we supposed to know the real truth if all we have is a number? Just because there is a TV in a room doesn't mean it is being used. Just because you carry a phone with you everyday doesn't mean its your go to text machine. You could be digital, just to be digital. Have it just to have it, better safe than sorry. Who knew that would make you part of a statistic?

Hw 4 - Comments, (Just In Case You Didn't Know Your Alphabet)

Ian: Wow, this was really good. From the beginning I like how you don't capitalize the "i's" I feel like it helps to add to your tone. This post has got your character all over it.

I noticed that you're getting at saying when we are being digital we don't really think, we are in a way, zombies. You went on to say that if we just sat down in a chair and did nothing we would be forced to notice the "natural things" I agree, do you think we do it because our minds need to be occupied? We've gotten so used to having our thumbs glued to something that we must reduce ourselves to thinking about our breathing.

That point reminds me about how I feel when its quiet. Its like you can hear everything, it makes me think that maybe quiet is better. But then again I feel like I do my best work with my headphones on (as they are right now).

I noticed that you said that through digital, things you talk to people all over the world. If this option wasn't possible would that bother you? If so then what would you do?

I notice that the option that most video games give now to talk to and challenge others who are online etc, but I never feel the urge to talk to these people. I just wanna play my game and get it over with. Bu the way you describe it makes it sound like it might be worth a try.

I loved reading this and I look forward to more blogs from you.

Francesca: I think its a great thing that during the whole post you kept on realizing new things and wondering how/if it would affect you.

I like that you are addressing what tis is doing to todays generation and how it started early back in the 90's when we were all small, that is interesting to think about. Its almost like we were taught to need digital things in order to function.

I rememebr wanting a gameboy so badly when I was young, I don't remember the grey one you mentioned but I remember when they made countless upgrades after that and I rememebr wanting each and everyone of them, even though they are all the same thing.

Do you think its a bad thing that you never really learned how to tell time manually? How would you fix that? Do you want to fix that? I think you should talk more about a change in habbits.

I feel that there are some people who are much more digital than others. I think its also laziness. Being digital makes everything so easy.

Sam R: I loved your honesty, it was amazing.

I like how you started off saying that you have digital rituals. Right from the start no bs getting to the nitty gritty. You're saying alot about how you're connected to the digital things that are in your life.

I connect alot to what you said about your ipod. I am the exact say way. I feel like I can put on a song and just tune out the world and many days my ipod is a much needed asset. In a way I think it make you smarter, why listen to mindless chatter on the train about last night Gossip Girl when you can plug in and tune out, analyze some lyrics.

I like the point you made about the digital things in your life taking you to a place of fiction and fantasy. Do you think that that is a good thing? Do you think that this could make most other teens "dumb"? Whats re the pros/cons?

I wonder how/when/or if we even realize when we have been taken over by the digital plastic in our lives. Is it good or bad? ... i'd like to know.

This was amazing, I enjoyed it all. The best post i've read all night.

Hw 3 - Oh and One More Thing

Lets say for arguments sake, that the human brain can only concentrate on one specific idea at a time for a maximum of 10 minutes. And after that 10 minutes is up the mind automatically jumps to a new topic. Only after you have explored a generous amount of new topics can you go back and rethink on something. With a brain like that it doesn't seem that much information or concentration can be contained. What if that was reality? New things keep being introduced so quickly that there is a very small gap of time in between when product a is introduced relative to when product b introduced. This is how the buyers get tricked, they don't notice that everything that is coming out in the market has probably already been sold somewhere else at a cheaper price, hopefully in a place with free health care.

Hw 3 - It's Just Lights And Clockwork (Add On's)

America has been placed on a pedestal with a matching silver plaque that reads "most advanced" so if we don't have the latest phones,TVs and mp3 players then what. Yes, out of fear our eyeballs are glued to the screens, and our brains are always on the look out for the next closest outlet.

What happens when there aren't anymore idea's? No more shiny screens? no more larger TVs? Would there be a slow decline back to cassettes and black and white TVs? We're convinced that we need usb cords in order to live our lives, why? I'm not saying that its good or bad, lets be clear. but maybe just maybe there is a bigger better world beyond our 3 by 4 cell phone screens.

Hw 3 - It's Just Lights And Clockwork

Being "digital" as Andy put it, has evolved from being a dream for the future to a desire to a want to a need. In a matter of years you can do everything that you would normally do outside, inside. Who needs to walk 10 blocks to the post office?, just click send, who needs to bike to the gym? just plug up your wii. Are we to look at all this new technology as a blessing or a burden?

That's what makes it tricky, if you say "I like digital things" you automatically get meshed in with the 'dumb generation' and if you say "I don't like digital things" you get called a neanderthal. Needless to say that most teens are sucked, tugged, pulled and pushed in to using technology to the point where we become overly dependant on the tiny piece of plastic with a shiny screen. I will admit that there are many hours,days,weeks and months wasted away in front of screens. But there are many days,hours,weeks and months wasted in school,restaurants,and mindless family gatherings.

Its not very surprising to me that most people are accustomed to a digital lifestyle because its one of the major things that get marketed year long and like everything else that has an ad, people convince themselves that they need it. Why do we need all this? Is it a waste of money?

Advancement. I think that we ignore the fact that most of our lives revolve tiny screens because this whole theory of "the future" and "whats to come" has been deeply drilled in to our heads. We think that this is what we have to do because we are heading towards the future of computer chips and away from the past of clunky materials. If we erase whats coming i.e ipods, plasma TVs & touch screens do we have to revert back to the 60's? I think that the thought of rewinding time scares us so we keep dreaming up ideas, keep spending money, keep plugging in because what else is there to do?

HW- 1, 25 Questions

1.Name: Jacara G

2.Section: D3

3.Birthdate: 5/16/92

4.Neighborhood: Bronx

5.Favorite musicians: (Bands) Tegan and Sara, Sick of Sarah, Motion City Soundtrack, Cartel, .. Anything that’s alternative really

6.Favorite films: Imagine Me and You, RENT, What We Do Is Secret

7.Favorite books: A Wolf At the Table By Augusten Burrows, also every book by Ned Vizzini

8.3 students you already know and like in this section: Ian, Ali Jo, Russell

9.Main things you do when not at school: Read, Watch Tv, Download music (legally), Hang out with my friends

10. Average daily amount of time you use for TV-IMin-/websurfing/social networking (Facebook)/videogames (in hours) – please specify hours per day for each form: of electronic stimulation.

I don’t spend much time on Facebook I see my friends in person a lot, I don’t spend much time on AIM anymore either. I only really like one game on X-box and that’s Assassin’s Creed and I beat it already so I don’t play many games. I’d say maybe 5 hours a day on TV. Less than 2 hours a day on Facebook.

11.Guardians’ names and what they do for a living or an interesting hobby: Tonia J. Being my mother.

12.Favorite teachers from SOF and why:

Ms McGinnis, Ms Baker, Ms Chen

Ms McGinnis because she was always witty and sarcastic and she always worked with us when we needed help and she had a great sense of humor.

Ms Baker because she was the first math teacher that I liked and the first math teacher that actually taught with a purpose and some spunk.

Ms Chen because she was a hard ass.

13. The 3 main reasons, in order of importance, that you come to school:

1st: Exercise

2nd: Friends and possible learning depending on the teacher, class, mood I’m in

3rd: Society makes us if you want to "get somewhere in life"

14.List 1-3 talents you have (e.g. trombone)

I play guitar, not very well. I’m pretty good at remembering movies, music and actors for a number of movies

15.What’s one of the main questions you think about intellectually?

Why are we in school so long?

16.Your email address: Jgill516@yahoo.com

17.Your cell phone # (or home phone)

718-------

18.Your guardians’ phone numbers and email addresses: N/A

19. Are there very good reasons to avoid bothering your family unless necessary?

Only if necessary may you call.

20.What are your academic strengths?

Writing & Reading

21. What are your academic weaknesses?

Probably math

22. Why did you sign up for this course (or if you didn’t, why did you sign up for what you signed up for, and how upset are you)?

I signed up for it because I didn’t like the other options that were given for history courses.

23/24. What are a few interesting ideas you have about the digital/electronic environment of teenagers in NYC today?

What are a few interesting ideas you have about the tendency of people to make masks for themselves for daily life – do you think most people are masked even to themselves?

Yes I think most people don’t know who they are and probably never will. How can you ever really find yourself in a racist, prejudice, sexist, capitalist, homophobic society like this one. If you don't fit into the mold that people want you to fit in to then you get shuned.

25. What are a few interesting ideas you have about how school has shaped how you see the world?

I think school forces things down your throat just like this society.

Um

Posting this because I can..