Privacy

The idea of private.....it never really exists. People think that the actions they do will stay between themselves and whomever is around. However are our lives ever really “private”?

Right now I can go to 411.ca, type my name and get my phone number and street address at the same time , I can then go to Google  and type my address and see my house and my vehicle and get step by step directions on how to get there. I can go to www.123people.ca and type someone’s name in, and anything associated with them on the internet will be shown. All of this and i can honestly say that i know nothing about the internet or technology. I often ask myself what are people that have more experience and knowledge of the internet than i do able to do?

Our live are plastered on the internet, it is involuntarily placed, which is described above, but it is also voluntary. Facebook, allows people to create a profile of themselves and share it with the world. All of this reminds me of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon.

Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon was really based on the prison system. It was an idea for a prison built in a circular shape with prison cells all around the edge facing a watch tower in the middle. The guards in the watch toward could see into ever cell, however the prisoners inside the cells could not see into the tower. This approach was brought forth at first as a way to save money because it needed fewer guards, however, it then became clear that this fear of being watched and caught doing something wrong is what would keep prisoners in check in their cells.

Is that what is going on now in our society? With all this technology and information on every individual available at the click of a button our living in a panoptic state? we are CONSTANTLY being watched!

We value prvacy however we never really have it. In order to have privacy we need to have money. in order to TRULY have privacy we need to be able to pay people.

Shared Memories

Memories

Dr. Strangelove discussed how our memories have changed over time.

In the past, memories were shared as stories, orally, from generation to generation.

These memories could be easily altered and changed however the gist of the memory stayed intact.

Today people rely on the internet to convey memories.

We never have to think or recall, we just have to point and click.

This equates to a loss of control of our memories to the youtube.com world. With the invention of sites like youtube.com , memories can never be forgotten.

Our Lives on The Internet

The video above is a great example of this. A historically private and intimate moment like a marriage proposal gets seen all over the world. This video "Greatest Marriage Proposal EVER!!!" has, of right at this moment, 2,570,358 hits on youtube.com.

There is no such thing as the private sphere anymore.

People are documenting their entire lives and sticking them on websites for the entire world to see. Sure, we may never lose our memories, but do we really want to share our lives and intimacy with everyone?

We are no longer passive consumers, we have all become active audiences.

We find ourselves wishing we had a video camera with the occurrence of funny moments in the hopes of becoming the next youtube.com sensation.

Some individuals ALWAYS have a video camera with them with the same hope in mind.

Audience are actively seeking out fame with youtube.com. We are no longer just couch potatoes, being entertained by the television, we are the creators of television.

What kind of society are we heading into? Will there ever be private moments anymore? Or will we always be under the watchful lens of a camera?

First Media Studies Class!

In order to graduate at the end of the summer, I needed 3 more credits and a minimum of a B to do so. Therefore, I decided that I would look at all the courses offered at the University of Ottawa  at the 1^st and 2^nd year level and I would chose what seemed the most interesting  and least difficult.

After looking around for a little while I came across this; CMN  1160 – Introduction to Media Studies. The course description given was as follows “Study of the basic concepts in Media Studies. Socio-historical study of major media and new technologies in communication and their effects on individuals and society.” So I decided to give it a try.

After the first class, so far so good. The professor’s name is Dr. Michael Strangelove, The course is for 6 weeks and there are 3 large assignments. The first is to write a blog after each class, the second is to make a video research documentary and the third is a final exam. Pretty straight forward.

The class began discussing how the economic system is a communication system as well as a patterning system. The economic system communicates to consumers a certain “style” to buy in to. There are only a select number of “styles” and these “styles” are communicated through the media and are pushed down consumer’s throats in order for them to purchase items that reflect the “style” that they have chosen. This leads to a loss of diversity. People either fall in to the Paris Hilton style, the punk style, the “gangsta” style or any other style promoted by the media in order for the economic system to profit.

So far, Dr. Strangelove you have my attention.