Probably my final entry, Lets make it a good one.

While skimming my brain over what i could write about this week, I realized that the semester is basically over, with only one more week of classes to go. I figured this final entry should therefore (respectively) be about Digital Media Cultures. The seminars, the assessments, and many of the things that I have learnt.

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't always punctual when it came to attendance. Due to other commitments I would be required to sometimes leave early, when I did get to come to class. I will also admit that I found myself, several times, questioning weather the clock on the wall was actually working or if the battery had died a long long time ago. My note book is cluttered with pages and pages of graffiti, perhaps more so than actual class notes. And sometimes, but only sometimes, I wondered if the class would ever end.

However, now that it is coming to a close, like all things that end, I begin to reflect on what was a great learning experience. It may seem slightly exaggerated, however the above paragraph might make you rethink accusing me of dishonesty. This entry, like I mentioned above, is all about reflection.

I remember when we had our first seminar. I didn't know what to expect...Peter looked like a fair decent guy, but I felt slightly intimidated by him. still, the introduction to the subject went smoothly, and what started off in a tiny class room for 70+ students, ended up in a larger class room with less students. For the first few weeks, I was still unsure about what I would be learning in the classes, it seemed like it would be a bit of an easy walk in the park.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

DMC proved to be one of the most difficult and challenging subjects I have ever undertaken. The readings were completely foreign, as if they were in a language I don't speak. In the seminars, on several occasions we were required to get into groups to work on a small group activity or discussion. I did not enjoy it at all. I felt that we were constantly being pushed into the group activities which made me very intimidated and extremely self conscious. I felt like, at times when the people in my groups knew exactly what to say, I hadn't even understood what exactly we were meant to be discussing. As a result, I was too nervous to speak up some of the time.

However it wasn't all so negative. I enjoyed the topics we talked about, especially privacy. I liked being able to discuss and learn about the issue at the same time, and with Peter elaborating constantly, I took an interest and felt that I did understand and was at the same level as everyone else. I liked that people with different thoughts and opinions were able to freely share them without a single bit of hesitation.

Overall, DMC was a great subject. The seminars were convenient, and 3 hours on one day may have been draining, but it made taking it all in much easier.

Finally, DMC was a academic journey that I am glad that I took. It has opened up my eyes to the media further, and has helped me thing from different perspectives. I have acquired some great skills from doing this subject, and am glad I chose it.

Good luck with your subjects next year guys, and thanks for checking out my blog.

Seher.

What does South Park have to say?

A couple of days ago my boyfriend showed me an episode of South Park about social networking that I found to be very witty. I felt that it was worthy of a blog entry because of the message that was hidden in the story line, which is that rather than encouraging social networking, the episode conveys the negative aspects of online interaction.

The episode entitled 'You have 0 friends' shows how one characters refusal to conform to society's expectations can leave him isolated and even disliked, until finally he gives in and befriends anyone, and everyone. At one point the father complains to him that he posted a photo on his wall and that he didn't comment it, and therefore felt insulted. Eventually he tries to delete his profile and gets sucked into cyberspace (oh the joys of cartoons and their ability to take you to places thhat you cant go to in the real world) until he defeats is profile and liberates himself from Facebook's grasp.

The sub-plot in the episode shows how another character befriends a boy with 0 friends, and as a result, his popularity falls, until most of his friends have unfreinded him, which sees him resorting to chatroulette to restore his popularity by attempting to find new friends. On the other hand, his new friend is over the moon that he finally has a friend, while his parents are unaware that their sons friendship is only in cyber space and doesnt extend out to real life.

The moral of the story is that our society is becoming so consumed in social networking that it is actually effecting us in real life, not just in cyber space. South Park uses humour to demonstrate the fact that our online profiles begin to define who we are in real life too. Nowadays, to unfriend a person on Facebook means that a friendship is over in real life. A couple is not a couple until their relationship is Facebook official. If you dont accept someones freind request you are being rude or cocky. If you dont comment on someones photo or status you are holding a grudge or being anti-social. Private messages are a substitute for real life, intimate conversations and sharing of secrets. The list goes on. 

Furthermore, in relation to the sub-plot it seems that we really do consider tis new form of friendship a legitimate one. While the little boys parents think that their son is at the movies with his new friend, we see that the boy has taken his lap top with him. Whenever his parents think that the boy is actually doing something with his new friend, we see that he is, but through Facebook, not in real life.

This demonstrtes to us what our genration has become. We do not socialize and make time for people the way generations before us used to. Life is easier for us when all our friends are in the one place and we can make contact with them through Facebook at any time. And it seems that the older genrations have also adapted to this way of life.

I think that South Park raises so many good points in this episode that you really do need to watch it for yourself. It really is a window into what our society has become.