Digital culture was a very eye-opening experience for me. Until the start of the semester, I was of the mind that digital progression was hindering our humanity as a people. I thought that the need to be constantly plugged in was erasing the personal connections that we can have with others. I also thought that digital progression was somehow irresponsible. If we allowed ourselves to be consumed by all these different medias and technologies, we would lose ourselves. So I thought, at least. This class helped me to see that digital culture is a tool that helps us connect with others that we would not be able to otherwise, thereby changing our humanity, not depleting it.
From the very beginning, humans have been creating tools to make life easier and more productive. One of the most revolutionary of these tools was the internet. Suddenly we were able to be in multiple places at once and interact with a variety of people. I think that learning to navigate the digital waters has been the most valuable take away from this class for me. I don’t understand every social media out there or every curation website, but I do understand how to find what I am looking for and why it is important to embrace digital culture rather than resist it.
From the very beginning, humans have been creating tools to make life easier and more productive. One of the most revolutionary of these tools was the internet. Suddenly we were able to be in multiple places at once and interact with a variety of people. I think that learning to navigate the digital waters has been the most valuable take away from this class for me. I don’t understand every social media out there or every curation website, but I do understand how to find what I am looking for and why it is important to embrace digital culture rather than resist it.
As I said before, instantly connecting people to each other is one of the ways that digital culture has revolutionized humanity. There is a power in knowing that I can contact almost anyone in the world. It has affected how I view some of my relationships, especially those loved ones who live far away. I am much more likely to send them an email than I am to call and catch up. Writing “Happy Birthday” on a friend’s Facebook wall has become standard and expected. If you want to see what your friends are up to, you peruse their Facebook or Instagram to see pictures of their recent adventures. In a broader context, being able to reach others that you are not close to is also a plus. For my final paper, I wrote about eTourism. I tweeted at the CEO of the largest eTourism company that I knew about. He did not respond in time to help me with research for my paper, but he responded, and then followed me!
@KyleeBuchanan hard to answer in 140 characters :) DM me
— Damian Cook (@damiancook) December 13, 2013
Without Twitter, I don’t know how I would have reached out to him. And the fact that he was interested enough to respond and engage in a conversation with me makes me realize that digital culture fosters important and productive relationships.
Connecting people means bringing together ideas, which is one of the best consequences of digital culture. The ease with which we promote our ideas and interests allows people to bond over certain topics. As Mele noted in her post, she felt hesitant to share her ideas on the internet. I felt similarly, but more because I wanted to have fully-formed thoughts and be able to back up my ideas with solid experience and defense before I put them out for everyone to read. I guess that might be the English major in me. However, I realized through our discussions of social proofing that putting out raw ideas allows those ideas to catch new winds and take new directions based on the feedback of others. I think this is a really neat and wonderful notion, and it is one of the best benefits of being an active participant in digital culture.
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