It has been fun this week to think about some of the different perspectives of the internet that are out there. Different generations definitely view the internet in very different ways.
One of my friends, a 24-year-old woman, uses the internet for nearly everything. She is an online student, pursuing her Master's degree. She also uses the internet for doing research, checking the weather report and the news, paying bills, budgeting, shopping, selling things, and of course, as most of our generation does, for social networking. She sees the internet as a critical component of her life, because she's never really known life without it. She doesn't have much to say about how the internet has changed her life, considering she's pretty much grown up using it, but she is aware of how most of the things she does online are things that her parents had to do by other means until recently.
My dad, who's 55-years-old, primarily uses the internet for business purposes. He is a real estate broker so he makes fliers, updates and checks the MLS, and sends and receives a ton of emails. He recently joined Facebook, but only for the purposes of seeing pictures that I post. Rarely does my dad look to the internet to see the latest world news or weather reports. He pretty much uses the internet because the social institutions in which he lives his life require him to. He thinks the internet is a great tool for gathering information, such as found on the MLS website, but for personal communication with he still prefers a simple phone call.
My 82-year-old grandma only uses the internet for keeping in touch with younger generations in our family who all seem to have more time to send emails and post digital photos online than to pick up the phone. She doesn't initiate any online communication. She anxiously awaits emails and pictures from her children and grandchildren, responding with a simple "Thanks" email when she gets them. My grandma wishes she didn't have to mess with the internet, though she loves not having to wait to receive photos in the mail.
This week I have gained great insight into how cultural traditions have changed across generations. Tradition used to be to go to many different places to get things done, enjoying those things as they were what living was all about. Now, tradition is to get as much as possible done in one "place", on the internet, so that once it is all done life can really be lived. These changes in tradition reflect a change in cultural values as our culture has increasingly valued efficiency. They also reflect a change in our cultural beliefs about life. Also, tradition used to be to meet up with friends in a physical place to chat face-to-face. Now, tradition is to asynchronously communicate online via Facebook or other social networks. These changes also reflect a change in cultural values, as we used to value having a few close friends and now we value having many acquaintances around the world. They also reflect a change in cultural norms, as online communication is now an acceptable form of communication whereas it didn't used to be so highly esteemed.
Increased internet use across generations also shows how information has become "more broadly valued," as Wood and Smith suggest (p.148). The internet allows us to have instant access to all types of information, which each generation values more than the previous generation did. Wood and Smith also say that "technology is not a tool imposed on us, but one we willingly accept and use" (p.150). Although technology is often seemingly imposed on us as our social institutions adopt its use and seem to give us no option but to use it ourselves, we do willingly accept it and use it. We see how it makes our lives more efficient, so even if hesitant we choose to embrace it. It is quite possible that we live in a Technopoly, as Postman suggests, since "we tend to believe that only through the autonomy of techniques (and machinery) can we achieve our goals" (p.142). Younger generations feel dependent on the internet because it seems as though without such a valuable tool efficiency would be impossible and therefore goals would be impossible to achieve.
2 comments:
I thought you made a good point by talking about the way cultural traditions have changed over the years. I interviewed my brother who uses the internet everyday and then I interviewed my Grandma who doesn't use a computer. I agree with you on the fact that our values have changed and traditions are not what they used to be. The social norm is to communicate online instead of meeting up with someone and talking.
I am wondering why it is more convenient for us to send emails and text messages rather than calling the person. I wonder how your grandmother feels about getting more emails than phone calls. I am the same way with my grandmother. What does this say about our detachment from the form or interpersonal communication? It really makes you wonder what the state of future interpersonal communication will be. Scary!
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