Part 6

These things are all good, nice opportunities and benefits to have from increasing technology and internet, but we need to remember to find a balance. In all the things we do in this fast paced world, in all the places to stay connected, it is important to take time for normal human interaction with people around us and the world around us. There are many beautiful creatures and creations. If we are only focused on technology, we may not get to experience things through human eyes. We may become as the movie Surrogates-seeing things through machines and robots. We need to be aware of the world and the people around us and enjoy it!
Go to this URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqIuaNkE6ak to see my youtube video for this project. The music consists of clips from the song Step Into My World by Jennifer Lopez.
Also, the pictures in this post are from the screen of facebook. I saw these things and thought they would relate because it seemed so perfect for this project, so I had to include them! (I did not tell these people to write these things. I simply saw them and used them. Hopefully they don't mind I am using them! So these are things people really wrote, though we may not fully understand the context or what they were referring to with these statements.) So, with that said, consider these pictures and see if you ever feel the same way!

Part 5

not be these photo applications today, but the idea is still the same that the internet has so many options. And once again, I counter the hype, the excitement that goes along with all these options. I am not saying that all internet should be done away with, but I am saying that some things should be eliminated or slowed down or only available but not pressured to use most, or all, of these constantly increasing online media programs. The pressure is great to be connected and literate in all forms of the internet. Maybe postage was slow...but too much technology on the internet takes away from more genuine and thoughtful contact with others.
The world is increasing drastically. There is a video on youtube you should watch to help emphasize this point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8
This is most likely outdated by now. Much of the information may not be the same as of now, but the point is that the world is increasing a lot technologically and becoming more modernized. It is continuing to increase, so we must be careful to still make time for normal human interaction and interaction with the world and creations around us!
I do agree that technology has its perks, and here are a few reasons why having more and more internet usage and technology usage can be beneficial:

1. People can chat online with anyone at any moment. Instant message through the internet.
2. People can use twitter to follow not only friends but businesses. By following a business, people can know the current updates of the company they work for or for the company they would like to work for. People can also follow news companies and get headline updates to learn the latest news without picking up a newspaper or going to the news' website. People only have to go to the twitter page for this update, and then if they want to read the article, they can click a link to go to the news' website and read the entire thing!
3. Facebook is a good tool because old friends can reconnect who may not be in contact anymore. These friends can view photos and keep up on each other's lives on their own time. Sometimes it's hard for friends to call each other or get together because of time schedule differences, but through facebook, you can check out someone's profile/wall at 2 in morning if needed to get important updates on a friend's life!
4. We can store more data, create various documents, presentations, etc.
5. We can find and research information information faster.
6. We can even buy things online.
7.We can pay bills online.
8. We can take better pictures with better cameras.
9. We can carry information and share with us through flash drives & hard drives.

Part 4

People use who use the internet spend about 3 hours on it each day. When it comes to television, those who responded had about 1.7 hours per day of watching. But how does this relate to normal human interactions and decreasing these relationships? Time spent online does the following each day: takes away 70 minutes spent with family, takes away about 30 minutes of tv watching, and takes away about 8.5 minutes from our sleeping time.


This little article goes along well with my topic. I feel that in this world, there is so many websites to connect with: facebook, blog, professional sites, twitter, etc... It seems people spend so much time online keeping connected with the world around them that they are spending less time with the people around them. We are so focused on knowing the latest news or being a member of the "hottest" social media site or the "hottest" professional networking sites, that we forget to value the little things in life. We forget to just relax, chill out, and enjoy the blessings we already have. It gets to be overwhelming sometimes when we always hear about blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin, and if we aren't consistent users, we tend to feel behind or out of the loop. Is all of this web pressure necessary? Personally, I think all these web outlets are helpful and useful, but the pressure to constantly be connected to the web is so unhealthy. We have plenty to do and enjoy each day of our lives without feeling like we have to practically live online instead of with the people around us. We should find time to interact more with the beauty of the world around us, and interact with people as well. We don’t want to be totally focused on technology.
There is a song by Brad Paisley called Online. This song is about how people can be whoever they want to be online. Click here for the lyrics http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bradpaisley/online.html
There’s a part in the song that says, “I’m so much cooler online.” What if people went out and interacted more? Yes, they would have to accept themselves as they are and they might actually be “cooler” online, but at least they are working towards building better social interactions, face-to-face!
Sandy Hardmeier published an article online about the internet in 2005: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/technologyinternet.mspx
She speaks about the increase in the internet and how that has benefited people. She specifically mentions the aspect of staying in touch-involving digital cameras and the internet. She explains the lengthy process people used to go through just to send a letter to friends or family. People would have to put it in the mail and pay postage and the letter would not arrive instantly, and then if the sender wanted to include photos, he or she would have to develop the film which takes time and then send it off. With the use of the internet and digital cameras, people can keep in touch instantly-no more waiting for hours or days, etc. Life is instant with the internet. She wrote about handy online programs that have sprung up regarding the use of digital cameras: EasyShare Gallery, Google's Picassa, and the Photo Gallery on MSN Spaces. Now granted this article was written a few years ago and the hottest programs and newest uses of the internet may

Part 3

My analysis of Quote 2:
This statistic may not directly transfer over to our alternate terms to put in place of surrogates, but the idea is still quite the same. A majority of people’s lives are consumed by technology and internet. Why are we not spending more time one on one with those we love or care about? Why are we not spending more time together in groups to interact and socialize and laugh and enjoy one another’s company? What a sad life to wake up one day and realize that we are still living but the major association we have with people is through our surrogates (our internet and technology) interactions. I am not by any means saying that we should cut off all internet and technology connections or usage habits. I am just saying that we need to keep it in check. We do not want to live in a world that is continually increasing technologically and sucking us right on in with it, slowly leaving our normal human interactions behind. We just need to take a stand and even though there are many increasing opportunities to stay connected digitally, we have to decide for ourselves how much is too much-whether that be limiting ourselves to only necessary or beneficial technology devices. It could also just be each of us setting a time limit each day that we will spend on various aspects of our lives: work, family/friends (normal human interaction), and internet/technological devices.

Quote 3:
“- Newscaster's voiceover, Surrogates
(preaching to the people who use surrogates) "Unplug from your chairs, sit up and look into a mirror. What you see is how God made you. We're not meant to experience the world through a machine."”
My analysis of quote 3:
This quote really seems to hit the problem on the head. We just need to “unplug” our technology devices sometimes and realize that we are humans who need to experience life that way. If we were robots, then we could justify ourselves in experiencing the world as thus; but since we are not, we must maintain our human interactions and continue experiencing the world personally and not only digitally.



I found a website with an article discussing the ways Internet use takes more time from family and friend interaction than it does from television watching: http://www.clickz.com/3455061

Part 2

that they forget to really live and interact with those around them. People can pretend to be anyone they want behind the walls of a computer screen. People can sit home and play games online, chat through facebook, msn, etc. They can get updates through twitter, online news sites. People can even buy groceries and clothes online.
I want to focus some more on this movie Surragates. If you have not seen the movie, you may not understand what I am talking about, so click here to watch the trailer in order to get a feel for the movie: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/surrogates/trailer_small.html
Next I have some quotes from the movie. As you read each of these, I want you to replace the terms surrogate/surrogacy with other terms that more relate to our current day, such as: Facebook, twitter, text messaging, hulu, pressure to stay connected through the internet, etc. Insert these words in your mind as you read these quotes about surrogacy and you will see that many quotes from this movie can already relate to our world now in regards to all the digital media and increasing modern technology that are taking over our lives. (These quotes are taken from http://www.tvmoviequotes.com/surrogates.htm . Check out this link to read more!)
Quote 1:
“- Dr. Lionel Canter, Surrogates
(reviewing the benefits of the surrogate success story) "The ability to leave your home without risk of disease or injury, to have perfect looks without trips to the gym or plastic surgery. There is no question that at some point they will be persons like anyone else. They will not be human but that they will be part of our community, there is no question in my mind."”
My analysis of this quote 1:
Connecting this quote to other terms list above about the pressure to stay so connected with the world through electronic and digital devices, such as the internet; we see that the internet is indeed becoming part of our community. It is like we have now made the internet into another one of our kind even though it is nothing like us. Through the internet people interact with each other. It’s as if the internet is now on a path to become like another person in our lives because it is where we spend much of our time, whether it’s listening to music through Pandora, using it as a tool to interact with other through social media sites, or simply to browse the web. The internet and all this technology pressure is becoming part of our lives. We are accepting/have accepted it into our community!
Quote 2:
“- Newscaster's voiceover, Surrogates
(again speaking of the phenominal success of the surrogates) "According to VSI, the industry's leading manufacturer, over 98% of the world's population uses surrogates in all facets of their daily lives."”

Part 1

Rachel Smith Paper 3
Connect More than Just Technologically:
What are you doing right now? (Besides reading this….) If you are like most people these days, you are probably multi-tasking-maybe even major multi-tasking. It seems to be one of the only ways to accomplish things in a highly fast-paced world. Even if you are not physically multi-tasking, you are probably mentally multi-tasking trying to plan your next appointment, your next task, how to complete your to-do list, planning what else you must accomplish by the end of the day, within the next hour, even the next minute. Time is valuable and you have a lot to do. Perhaps you are thinking you just don’t have enough time to read this document, but continue reading and you may gain a different perspective on how you want to spend your time.
The world is turning more and more digital. Just about everything can be done online these days, but it seems lately that a new trend is pushing through. This new trend seems to make internet technology no longer a luxury or a possibility, but it has now almost become a forced way of life. It's no longer an option to use internet technology-you must use it to have an upper hand in the professional world and simply to not be behind. People are almost expected to spend so many hours on line a day it seems, in order to keep up with blogs, email, websites, news, twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc, etc. You name it and you'd better be checking it every day. People's lives no longer consist of just living, lives now consist of how one uses and is viewed on the web media!
Internet and web pressure are only one of the many technology pressures that we face daily, and although internet plays a major role in our lives today, this is not the only thing I want to touch on. I would also like to emphasize such things as texting, iPods, cameras, computer software programs, videogames, etc. The list of technology goes on and on. So here’s my question for you: Do you ever feel like it’s too much? Do you ever just want to escape from it all…but then where would you go-to a place with internet connection and cell phone service to stay connected “just in case?” Well I think it’s time we find a way to really take a break from the hectic pressure we receive from so much modern technology. It’s time we spend more times with our families, friends, and associations. It’s time we get to know people as individuals; it’s time to learn about the world around us and share those views with others in person-to-person interaction.
If things continue the way they are with everything becoming more and more computer and technology based, the world may turn into a world close to that of the movie Surrogates. In this movie:
Basically it is about people who live through these robotic creatures called surrogates. A person can stay home in his/her pajamas all day while connected up to some device over his eyes which allows him to see what the surrogate sees. These surrogates can be any body shape or size...usually a younger and more beautiful depiction of the owner. This way people avoid dangerous situations by living vicariously through these robots. So if a surrogate is harmed, no death or harm actually occurs in the real individual-he/she just has to get a new surrogate. But eventually an individual does die by being connected to the surrogate and being fried through the eyes, and then things start happening. Basically to me this movie shows how in this world people are getting so hooked on technology and web media