Connected, but Alone?

 

In TedTalks "Connected, but Alone?" Sherry Turkle discusses the negative impact that technology has on how people connect. She argues, "our little devices, those little devices in our pockets, are so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are."  What I think Sherry meant is that it is as if our cellphones are in control of us. That our devices have a hold over us to the point where it is as if we are the machines, as we interact less and less with other humans and spend more time with our devices. I know people who actually look forward to red lights while driving, as it means they get to pick up the phone and click play on another ‘epic fail’ video. Not to mention texting, as if its a proud skill to avoid a crash as they text and drive. An ideal quote to explain this behavior was best expressed by Sherry Turkle, “we are letting it take us places that we don’t want to go.”

 My views on computer-mediated communication technology are mixed. On the one hand, with face-to-face interactions, you can see facial expressions and actually hear tone of voice, which makes for better understanding. On the other hand, I find that conversations flow easily through texts, as people tend to express themselves freely when they don’t have to face you. Overall I do feel like people are letting technology take away from the need to be with people in person. There was a time when getting together for events like class reunions was a big hit. Now that there is Facebook and other computer mediated technology, the need to reconnect with people is taken away. Thanks to these sites, we no longer have to meet up in person to catch-up. You just check-out their online profile. You can see how they look, if they went off and got married, if they have children etc. It can be intrusive, if you let it.

Turkle goes on to claim, "Human relationships are rich and they're messy and they're demanding. And we clean them up with technology. And when we do, one of the things that can happen is that we sacrifice conversation for mere connection. We short-change ourselves. . . . Over and over I hear, "I would rather text than talk." And what I'm seeing is that people get so used to being short-changed out of real conversation, so used to getting by with less that they've become almost willing to dispense with people altogether."  Personally, I prefer talking than texting but there are cases where texting is more suitable. While I agree with Turkle, I cant say texting is all bad. I will say that there is a time and place for everything and people just need to know how to determine when that is. I found it funny when Turkle said an 18 year old boy, who was an expert at texting told her “someday but certainly not now, I would like to learn how to have a conversation.” When I heard that I thought it was a joke. My friends and I could go on and on having debates about any and everything. It would seem that my generation is slowly loosing the ability to have meaningful chats with their peers.  This really bothers me. I worry for what future we will have.

Being alone feels like a problem that needs to be solved

War Games

“War Games” is a movie about computer whiz kid David Lightman whose hacking skills puts him on the FBI's radar. This unwanted exposure occurred after David unintentionally gained access to the supercomputer of the U.S. military. The machine had its own name, the WOPR, which stood for War Operational Plan Response. The purpose of the WOPR was to predict possible outcomes of a nuclear war. David is prompted by the machine to select a game he wished to play and, believing it was just a game, he selects Global Thermonuclear War.  WOPR then runs a nuclear war simulation, which almost causes the military to prepare for DEFCON 1, which would have been WWIII.

 1.      Passwords

David was always hacking into computers. He misbehaves in class so that he would get sent to the principal's office, a tactic to retrieve the latest password to the school's computer system. They were always changing the passwords, so he had to be inside to open the draw to where the passwords were scribbled to write down the latest one. Despite how smart he was with hacking, he was an underachiever in school. He goes home on his smart pc and hacks into the school's system and changes his failed grades to passing. This was in the 80's, yet people still to this day use passwords that are weak and easy to guess. Knowing this makes it easy for hackers to gain access to personal and private data. 

 2.      Connecting to computers              &             3.      Gaining Access

While searching for the number to ProtoVision, David stumbled on the phone number to the NORAD computer. In the movie, dial-up was used to access the internet. Which was an early form of internet access to connect to the internet by dialing specific telephone numbers. Today most people use high-speed internet to connect to the web. After failed attempts to gain access to the NORAD computer system, David turns to his hacker friends who suggest he use a “back door”. As the hacker explains, back door is using a simple password that only the user knows so as to bypass any new added security. Back doors are still used today for if a person forgets their password, they will have an alternative way of gaining access. Examples of this are security questions, finger-print scanning, eye ball scanning, etc.

  4.      Computer Hardware                &               5.      Human-like Computers

 The WOPR was a room-sized computer with flashing lights on it that played Global Thermonuclear War. The acronym WOPR stands for War Operational Plan Response. David’s personal computer would communicate with him as if he was talking to a real person. This was possible because of voice box installation, which interpret music from the computer and turned it into sound. Also, like computers today, his pc did what it was programmed to do.  Computers with this ability exist today. An example is a computer that is programmed for the visually impaired. Much like the pc in the movie, I know a fellow who is blind and his computer talks to him, reads to him, etc.

  6.      Futility of the Game

To learn the futility of the game, David invites WOPR to play tic-tac-toe. WOPR only plays to win, but tic-tac-toe is a game that could not be won, instead it crashes while trying to test different strategies. Using the knowledge gained, WOPR comes to the conclusion that "The only winning move is not to play". It finally learnt to lose.

Intro

My name is Vanessa Blake, I was born in Jamaica where I lived and attended school up until the ninth grade. At fifteen I migrated to the States and continued my schooling. I was in the fifth grade when I told myself I wanted to work with computers. Back then, the only women I’d see that had jobs with computers, were secretaries, so I thought that was what I would grow up to become. After receiving my first DELL, I started taking information technology classes, which is when I was exposed to other career opportunities in the field. I am here now in my second semester of College to fulfill my aspirations of being a Software Developer.

             Upon registering in College, you have to go through the process of advisement. In addition to my remedial classes I was advised to add HUC 117 to my schedule. I’m glad I did, because this course will help prepare me for my major in Computer Science. HUC 117 is defined as a course that analyzes all aspects of computer-mediated communication and the effects of technology on human communication, language and relationships. In other words, the class touches on the many different ways people communicate online and with other technology. I mostly use computer-mediated communication through Google Maps, Netflix, Hulu, Chromecast, Play Store, hotspot and computers.

            Google Maps is my go-to application to know my way around new places, such as what bus to take to get me to my destination, the location of places such as the closest library etc. Netflix I use to watch entire series, that is, not just the latest episode, but from the very first season. Hulu is my source to stay updated on the latest shows. The most popular shows currently on TV are available the next day after air. Chromecast is a small media streaming device that I plug into the HDMI port on my TV. I connect it to my cell phone and tablet to watch my favorite; TV shows, movies and videos from apps like Netflix and Hulu then cast them on a bigger screen that is my TV. Play Store is where I find all the apps mentioned above and many others such as international texting/calling apps, etc. Hotspot is a portable device that I use to connect to the internet so that I can have access to all.

The Hotspot I'm currently using is on the Sprint network. Need I say more....the service sucks. The issue at first was that it would take a long time to load, but now I can’t even cast shows from Hulu on my TV or tablet. Last, but definitely not least, computers. I love computers.  I’ll have to focus on one main reason I rely on computers (as I could go on and on with a long list); they allow me to complete assignments. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time getting access to a computer to get this blog done. I have a laptop at home but because of hotspot issues I ended up seeking a computer elsewhere. I went to the school library and the line was out the door. I mean seriously, how can half the computers be closed off, construction again, so unreliable. I went to a public library but I was logged off after only thirty minutes. Then I had to wait to be reassigned for another thirty, after which I was blocked as the policy is that one hour is all the time allowed per day. I must say though, despite all the trouble I encounter to get access, computers are my favorite form of computer-mediated communication for all the reasons mentioned and so much more.