1. Many of the readings (specifically Tyler) seemed to spend a lot of pages with faint praise and fault, ending with a general conclusion that the Internet is neither good or bad or that online communication can be both a positive or negative influence. I see it as the Internet has moved from a novel tool to a very ingrained part of a lot of people's everyday life. Do you think it is inherently biased to ask people to compare online with face-to-face communication (or phone to phone)? Even though the Internet is such an everyday thing to me, I still think there is a stigma associated to online things ... online shopping ... online dating ... online friends. Is the desriptor "online" a neutral word?
2. I found the Sigman Press reading interesting, especially the the information linking mortality to living alone. I'm not sure that any of the other readings truly supports that people who spend time online are more lonely or have fewer interactions ... instead, I don't think it is a balanced scale ... just because I spend time online doesn't mean that I don't spend time interacting. Do you agree with the authors that online networking may not be "social" from a biological perspective? If you thought that your online habits were leading to a potentially shorter life, would that cause you to give it up, go outside, and socialize? ;)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment