A forum for Blog Community #10 of CSCL 1001 (Introduction to Cultural Studies: Rhetoric, Power, Desire; University of Minnesota, Fall 2011) -- and interested guests.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
An increasingly interesting body practice that I have been noticing is the heightened levels of procrastination in today's youth. Much of this could be attributed to the culture of emails texts and instant messaging that we have grown up with. For example, when searching for a primary source one can simply sit down and have access to the largest database of information in the world in mere seconds, it's easy to see how this technology could affect young people in a negative way. The decline of grammar in every day language is increasingly apparent with more and more conversations on the sidewalk consisting of phrases such as "omg" "lol" and "roflmaosastty?" In a generation where information is available to an individual within seconds could it be that that individual is less inclined to work as hard as a member of an older generation? Or could it be the changing world has changing work habits in it, could our culture be morphing to the point where people truly do have to work less? That has always been the intent of technology, but at what point may it become too much. Once again the body practice I noticed was increased levels of procrastination in my roommates, friends and even myself. I do not know the exact reason for this, though my guess and my argument is that increased levels of technology could be the cause. Please comment with any other ideas on the matter.
I liked your post! It really made me think about the body practices I do every day with regard to technology. I probably check my phone at least 20 times a day - which is seriously unnecessary. I think you could argue that we have assumed Foucault's "docile body" with regards to technology. We're all required to have U of MN email accounts and even though it's not strictly enforced, we must check these a couple times a day.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that texting (which isn't even a standard verb), emailing, etc. have contributed not only to a decline in grammar but also a decline in actual conversation. There's nothing really spontaneous about text or email - it's formulated, edited, then sent.
As for the procrastination element of technology. Yeah, it's definitely there. . .facebook, youtube, collegehumor, the list goes on. Kind of makes you wonder how much further along we'd all be if we spent those hours perusing the internet on our studies. . .