Strand 2: Units 5 and 6

I feel like I probably have two of the most exciting/controversial units to talk about: women and the internet, and cyberporn and cybersex.

Unit 5 talks about women's role on the internet.  A key term to remember is Digital Gender Divide which is the inequity of a women's access to the internet compared to men.  Years ago, women were rarely ever on the internet and had little access to media and communication.  Men were mostly the dominant inhabitants of the web.  Today, women on the internet are the norm rather than the exception.  The unit goes on to talk about gender in gaming and chat.  The majority of games embody a sort of hypermasculintiy which means sexualized women are featured.  However, Lara Croft is an exception to that.  This game is hypersexualized because she is tough and in control.  Statistics show that women are more likely to derive enjoyment from long-term gaming.  Also, they are more likely to engage in online chat and emailing.  With the internet, there are downsides such as cyber violence and online harassment.  Types of violence include cyberstalking, online contacting which leads to offline abuse, and degrading representations.  At the end of the unit, it discusses how CMC is used in poor nations.  In many regions, women are prohibited to access to media and the internet because it is controlled by men.  However, in some nations, women are working on building online communities between the Global North and South.  CMC is important for these women because it is their way to voice their concerns.

Unit 6 discusses interpersonal attraction and, cybersex and cyberporn all three which are very important issues.  Statistics show that as a result of online romance, one in ten web dates end in bed, one in ten say they are addicted to sex and the internet, and one in three view online porn.  Some reasons why people enjoy meeting others online is because of the promise of meeting the other person in the future, the idea of associating with like-minded people, and to boost his or her self-esteem and humor.  The unit then goes on to discuss cybersex, or "Vsex."  Cybersex is basically erotic messages sent through the computer.  It allows people to express them sexually.  A study showed that 52% of the respondents said they have had cybersex, 36% of whom reported having an orgasm, and 25% said they had faked it.  Online pornography is another big issue.  It revenues millions of dollars.  Cyberporn is also big business.  The book discusses how people or unaware of the effects of pornography because of how much it is lost in the moral and political maze such as the issue of the Time magazine in 1995.  Random fact: almost half of all child sex abuse is committed by parents and almost always by people known to the child.  Overall, sex and pornography is all about relationships and identity, whether it is right or wrong.

Artifact 4 A and B

The way I interpreted the two videos was that they showed how technology has advanced over time.  The pencil sharpener, in my opinion, is very old school.  Even though some still carry them around just in case they need a quick sharpen, you don't see many people using them just because not many people use regular pencils.  Mechanical pencils and pens are the most popular kind of writing utensil.  Also, many schools will have either electric sharpeners or ones that are attached to the wall where you have to physically sharpen the pencil yourself.  To me, those are even considered a bit old school.  I myself have an electric pencil sharpener for pencils, colored pencils, etc just because it is much easier and quicker.  From the hand-held sharpener to the electric sharpener, this is an example of how technology has advanced over time with this particular item.  After watching the video of the droid I was confused at first.  Even though it was obvious it wasn't a real person, it seemed so real and that's why it threw me off at first.  This a great example of how far technology has come.  Technology now allows us to create human-like machines that look and act almost like a real person.  The droid was kinda scary too.  It had a very creepy voice and the way it moved its head and smiled and also towards the end when the eyeballs started moving back and forth.  The comparison between the sharpener and the droid show that technology is advancing and will continue to and shown with the droid.  Many people are still very old school and probably still use the hand-held sharpener, but the majority of us have advanced are keeping up with the new technologies.

Artifact #3

How is the internet changing us as human beings?  This is the question that Nicholas Carr proposes in his book, "The Shallows."  I agree with Carr that even though the book and the internet share the same general purpose, (to gather information), they are also very different.  Back when the first book was created, one would sit and read it and solely focus on that one particular thing.  Reading a book requires a person to be fully engaged in what they are reading; paying attention to only one thing at a time.  It allows you to filter out what is going on around you because you are distracted by the words you are reading.  Today, we are a people of multi-taskers.  For example, when a person gets on the internet, they will usually do multiple things at one time:  check email, check Facebook, watch a Youtube video, etc.  The internet is filled with distractions.  It allows us to navigate very easily between multiple things at a time.  The internet is also an interruption system.  It promotes multi-tasking which is a big reason why it interrupts us from doing something.  Carr mentions that as a society, we crave new information.  We are constantly checking our email, Facebook, news updates, etc.  If new information is able to be accessed, then we will most likely stop what we are doing to see it.  All these little glances we do when we are doing multiple thing at one time are little distractions that change they way are brain runs.  Carr mentions that a study was done that showed office workers, who worked with computers, would glance at their email 30-40 times in an hour's time.  I actually wouldn't be surprised if the number of times I checked my email was close to that number. I am constantly checking my email and my Facebook because I thrive on getting new information sent to me.  The problem with this, how Carr describes it, is if we are gathering all of this information at one time and it is all being put into our brains so fast, then it denies us the ability to move messages from our short-term memory into our long-term memory, which allows us to connect other information that we have remembered to our experiences.  So, if we are constantly getting new information and constantly being distracted, then we can never really store that new information into our long-tem memory.  I am very dependent on the internet.  It would be very hard for me go even one day without using my phone or the computer because I am so dependent on them.  Like Carr mentions, the way we receive information and stay updated with what is going on is usually through Facebook or Twitter or text messaging, and that is exciting to us.  He gave an example of well-known artists who built our amazing monuments and sculptures.  That was done by deep thought and full attention.  Today, because of the internet, we don't usually use that mode of thought.  I believe that as technology advance, this form of thinking will no longer exist.

ePortfolio #1

Artifact 1 (1/23/11 at 6:18 pm):

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/01/artifact-1.html

Status updates to Artifact 2 (2/11/11 between 11:04 am and 8:15 pm):

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1338751780

Artifact 3 (2/16/11 at 10:30 am):

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/02/artifact-2.html

Response to blog entry of artifact 1 (1/28/11 at 11:27 pm):

http://lyssib1291.blogspot.com/2011/01/convenience-of-internet-artifact-1.html?showComment=1296286048464#c6501066611675091944