|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 10, 2016 20:18:26 GMT
Aziz Ansari’s article about waiting for text replies in modern romances is a snapshot into the age of consumerism we are currently living in. People are now accustomed to instant gratification, whether it be with texting, Amazon Prime same-day shipping, or receiving likes on Instagram photos.
As a result of our fast-paced lives, our attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. According to a survey of Canadian media consumption by Microsoft, the average attention span of a human is now shorter than that of a goldfish (http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/). It can be argued that the shortening of our attention spans is a survival technique -- with so much sensory information coming in, we need a way to regulate and filter what is actually important. Therefore, we pay attention to the things that are the most stimulating or quickest to comprehend. Do you think that our shortened attention spans correlate with physiological changes in the brain? What other examples can you think of where you have seen the effects of our shortened attention spans?
Another issue comes up as well -- In order to appeal to consumers and to remain competitive, corporations are forced to continually revamp their marketing tactics to be more visually stimulating and faster-paced. However, by doing this, they are only further promoting the growing trend of instant gratification in society. Is there a way for corporations to remain competitive in their marketing, but avoid contributing to the consumerist, fast-paced nature of society? Do you think this trend will continue to escalate indefinitely, or is there a capping point?
How do you think social media has changed our world? I personally believe that social media as a tool is not inherently bad; the way people use it is what creates negative effects in society. Social media platforms can be used as a way to reach large audiences, stay in touch with loved ones over long distances, and explore new and interesting ways of life separate from your own. However, it can also lead to an obsession with surface-level image, create new problems such as cyberbullying and phone addictions, and encourage people to spend less face-to-face time with each other. Do you think that our world would be better off without social media?
TL;DR
What is your opinion on society’s growing trend towards a faster-paced society centered around instant gratification? What do you think contributes to the shortening of our attention spans and how do you think we can halt the shortening of our attention spans? How have you seen marketing change over time and where do you think it is headed in the future? Do you believe that social media has an overall bad or good effect, and would we, as a society, be better off without it?
|
|
|
|
Post by cliffordzhang on Apr 11, 2016 1:47:12 GMT
I think instant gratification is not necessarily a bad thing. We live in the information age where just about everything we want to know can be available to us in an instant. With so much information to sift through, it should be normal that expect to receive or find the information that we need as quick as possible in order to avoid wasting time. Also, I think the Time article about comparing the attention spans of goldfish to people is pretty sensationalist. Who cares if humans have a 1 second less attention span than a goldfish and why is that even a real issue to be concerned with? I, personally did not have much trouble reading through your entire post or the Time article without getting distracted, and I am sure many others did the same. The discussion of shortening attention spans is irrelevant and unimportant because there really is nothing that society can do to combat this "problem" and it's entirely on an individual to individual basis. Also, I'm pretty sure that even though corporations may be responsible for "further promoting the growing trend of instant gratification in society", as long as they continue to make money I am positive they could care less about how they contribute to the "consumerist, fast paced nature of society" because it is only in their best interest to do so.
Finally, to discuss your question about social media, I think it's clear to us all that social media has revolutionized the world we live in and there's no need to expand on all the benefit but is it so fair to accuse social media of creating problems such as "cyberbullying", "phone addictions" or causing people to "spend less face-to-face time with each other" or do you think that might be the problem of the individual who uses social media instead?
|
|
|
|
Post by Emily Leung on Apr 11, 2016 3:32:48 GMT
I think that attention spans are an important topic of discussion as light is being shone on disorders like ADHD. Impatience, a normal characteristic of humans and kids especially, are being seen as a detriment to a student's academic success. In regards to social media, I do agree with Clifford that it is the way we use social media that counts and not social media itself, but because everyone communicates through platforms like texting and facebook nowadays over face to face communication, those who seek real life interactions have a hard time finding others who would rather communicate that way too.
|
|
|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 11, 2016 4:34:05 GMT
@clifford Thanks for sharing your opinion. Most of the articles I sifted through online only had negative things to say about instant gratification so it's refreshing to hear another opinion. I agree with you on the Times article. I could not find the actual results and data of the Microsoft study that was mentioned and I definitely question the validity of the findings. I also found it interesting that Microsoft funded this study and am curious as to what their aims were for publicizing these results. However, I do believe that a discussion on the shortening of attention spans is a relevant discussion to have. The decrease in our average attention span has lead to a societal shift in the way we live our lives, whether it be the way education is structured (a growth in less conventional ways of learning to address our decreasing ability to focus) or the standard to which we expect services to held to (faster shipping, faster Internet speeds, etc.) or how we interact with our friends and family (expecting faster text replies and constant communication). Some view this as a problem, and have made efforts to address it. For example, some child development experts have considered ways in which parents can change their parenting styles to train or encourage their children to increase their attention spans. As for my question on social media, the intention was to ask for others' opinions on social media as a whole. I have heard varying opinions from others as well as seen varying reactions. For example, some of my friends have gone on "social media cleanses" when they try to avoid social media for a certain period of time or delete one or more of their accounts (This is a YouTube video promoting the message of distancing oneself from technology... Thoughts? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY). Meanwhile, others have voiced their opinions on how social media makes it easier for companies to establish a more personal relationship with their customers and impose themselves in their lives in a new way. There's many different ways to think about it, and many areas of life that social media penetrates. As I mentioned, I personally believe that social media is not inherently bad and that these social problems are caused by the way individuals interact with social media. |
|
|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 11, 2016 4:51:31 GMT
@emily
That's an interesting note to bring up -- I'm curious as to whether or not there have been more instances of ADHD as a result of our population's average shortening attention spans. I looked up whether there has been an increase in diagnoses of ADHD and, according to the CDC, there has been an upward trend in the number of ADHD diagnoses from 1997 till now. However, other factors can contribute to this increase, such as a growth in our general population's knowledge about this disorder or the increasing availability and possible abuse of ADHD medication.
|
|
|
|
Post by cliffordzhang on Apr 11, 2016 9:02:53 GMT
@emma Sure, the number of ADHD diagnoses may have increased since 1997 and that SEEMS to pair with the growth of technology, but remember that correlation does not imply causation. HealthLine reports that there are 3 main reasons that underlie this growth in diagnoses: doctors are able to diagnose ADHD more efficiently, more parents are aware of ADHD and are reporting their children’s symptoms, or that more children are actually developing ADHD. Out of these three reasons, two are exactly what you just mentioned (growth in knowledge) while the third is a plausible biological reason but still does not criminalize the rise of technology and social media. Also, HealthLine also asserts that the average of diagnosis of ADHD is 7 years old, which is a little too young for someone to be affected by technology. Article: www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history#Overview1 |
|
|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 11, 2016 16:55:18 GMT
@clifford
Thanks for researching that! The reasons the article lists were the same reasons I found when I looked it up on other websites.
While it is difficult to determine to what degree the rising rates of ADHD diagnoses can be attributed to technology, there has been evidence showing a connection between television/video game exposure and attention problems (https://sites.oxy.edu/clint/physio/article/TelevisionandVideoGameExposureandtheDevelopmentofAttentionProblems.pdf). Children who spent more than 2 hours a day in front of a screen were 1.6-2.1 times more likely to have attention problems. True, there can be other reasons for these results (the children who have attention problems may naturally gravitate toward screens and there is a large genetic component to ADHD as a disease). I agree that the causes of ADHD cannot be blamed entirely on technology, but perhaps technology can heighten an existing problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by elipshutz on Apr 12, 2016 3:51:21 GMT
I think being fast paced can be beneficial if people learn how to manage their time wisely. Technology has made lots of things more readily available. Today any piece of information and lots of forms of entertainment are available through the use of computers or phones. Previously if someone wanted to see a movie they had to go to an actual theater. Now people have the option of seeing movies online or renting them straight through the T.V. There are more resources where people are getting the same service, but not having to wait for the satisfaction. So the time of driving to a theater, and looking up an appropriate hour to fit your schedule is lost. Instead time is only spent doing the activity the person wished, such as watching the movie. This allows for more free time to fill with more pleasurable activities.
I think that as technology progresses society is only bound to get more fast paced. People demand this timely fashion, and companies are required to keep up with the wants in order to satisfy the consumers and compete with each other. Since it is a given, people would do better if they found a way to utilize their time better, instead of trying to slow down compared to everyone else. That being said, being fast paced all the time can be draining. Technology has definitely had many benefits and will continue to benefit us, but I feel that as humans, we should also be able to take breaks from it knowing that it will be there when we decide to return.
|
|
|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 12, 2016 4:53:12 GMT
I definitely agree that technology can make it easier to be more efficient and focus our time on other things. But funnily enough, the tools that are supposed to make us more efficient can also make us more inefficient. Technology, of course, makes it easier to waste time too -- especially with things like Buzzfeed or Netflix.  |
|
paola
New Member
Posts: 34 
|
Post by paola on Apr 12, 2016 8:37:37 GMT
“Do you believe that social media has an overall bad or good effect, and would we, as a society, be better off without it?”
When attempting to answer the above questions, I come across very mixed feelings.
Social media and technology have indeed changed and revolutionized the world. They’ve allowed the world to be insanely interconnected and to be extremely communicative of ideas. In fact, did you know that Twitter was originally created to allow the instant flow of news information? Twitter has become much more than that now, of course, but that’s just an example of what social media can do for the world.
The introduction of social media and the recent boom in technology, however, came and continue to come with a colossal amount of negative effects. The biggest one: our addiction to them - addiction to social media platforms, addiction to our phones, addiction to our computers, etc. People who find a home and comfort in social media platforms are the people who are the most at risk at becoming addicted.
Due to the increasing abuse of social media, we talk less face-to-face and we meet less face-to-face. Our world has turned into a virtual one, and it is for this reason that I wish social media did not exist. As Elizabeth said, “technology has made lots of things more readily available”. We can now watch anything online; we can now read anything online. As amazing as that is, such things are first-hand examples of our total virtuality. We experience and DO less. We no longer go to the movie theaters; we no longer go to the library to check out books or to just read. We, as people, are less spontaneous. We’ve become more robotic.
So, although technology and social media have created wonders, they’ve also killed life’s spontaneity and simplicity. In my opinion, we must reconsider how we use social media and technology so that we don’t lose sight of ourselves as people and the individuals that surround us.
|
|
|
|
Post by emmajessicalin on Apr 12, 2016 21:30:35 GMT
paola I definitely understand your mixed feelings about social media and technology. Thanks for sharing that fact about Twitter -- I had no idea! It's interesting to see how the uses of it have changed over time.
|
|
|
|
Post by cliffordzhang on Apr 12, 2016 21:35:15 GMT
paola Although I do agree about some of your points that addiction to social media or phones or computers is a real concept nowadays just like being addicted to smoking cigarettes or drugs, I think it is extremely pretentious for you claim that humans "experience and DO less" and that it has "killed life's spontaneity and simplicity". Humans have created the technology to instantly collaborate with anyone around the world. We have created the technology to literally do anything and everything that we can conceive, for good and for bad. Hell, we have even invented virtual reality so that we can experience more than just our own private realities. Technology has given us more time to live by making tasks simple and convenient and it's foolish to downplay it's importance just because it has changed the way we live. That would be like saying the invention of electricity is bad because I miss struggling to stay warm or cook food or that the invention of the cellphone has destroyed my ability to enjoy writing and sending a letter.
|
|
|
|
Post by petek on Apr 13, 2016 4:13:15 GMT
I agree with Paula and also think that social media has had many detrimental effects on society. While social media is designed to help us cope with demanding tasks of our modern life, no other invention has limited social interaction to this extend. As teenagers most of us feel comforted by the number of instagram likes we get or regard a few back and forth snaps as if they could substitute a real encounter with friends. In a way, social media creates the illusion that we are connected to many more people than we were before while limiting the depth and content of our interactions. Rationally we tend to think we have enough friends and we are social enough but ironically number of people who 'feel' lonely is increasing. One might argue that like everything else human interaction is transforming with time and change should be accepted. However real world (face to face) social interaction is necessary for us humans and can't be substituted. Just a week ago we discussed in class how people tend to be nicer when they are making eye contact with the individual they are speaking to. Another example would be Professor Chandler telling us to touch our fellow classmates before and exam to relieve anxiety.
|
|
|
|
Post by petekk on Apr 13, 2016 4:13:48 GMT
I agree with Paula and also think that social media has had many detrimental effects on society. While social media is designed to help us cope with demanding tasks of our modern life, no other invention has limited social interaction to this extend. As teenagers most of us feel comforted by the number of instagram likes we get or regard a few back and forth snaps as if they could substitute a real encounter with friends. In a way, social media creates the illusion that we are connected to many more people than we were before while limiting the depth and content of our interactions. Rationally we tend to think we have enough friends and we are social enough but ironically number of people who 'feel' lonely is increasing. One might argue that like everything else human interaction is transforming with time and change should be accepted. However real world (face to face) social interaction is necessary for us humans and can't be substituted. Just a week ago we discussed in class how people tend to be nicer when they are making eye contact with the individual they are speaking to. Another example would be Professor Chandler telling us to touch our fellow classmates before and exam to relieve anxiety.
|
|
paola
New Member
Posts: 34
|
Post by paola on Apr 13, 2016 4:21:43 GMT
cliffordzhangI acknowledge your points, just like I acknowledged them in my previous post: technology and social media really have revolutionized the world and created wonders for our society. I certainly hope I'm not obscuring technology's benefits. However, I don't think we should ignore their detractions. By "experience and DO less", I am referring to a universal fact: people spend more time on social media than they have ever done before, and that has compromised simple activities such as going to the movie theaters and truly experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of that movie experience. That's just one example. However, I think everyone can agree on the fact that simple activities have also been facilitated and improved by social media and technology - a point I also mentioned in my previous point, but perhaps didn't elaborate on it quite as much as you did.
|
|
