BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

In 1984, the theme is about a totalitarian government and the dangers it possesses. The character "Big Brother" is never directly in the novel, although the character has a major impact throughout it. The fact that the thought police know ever move that the party members make through the means of the telescreen may not be that different from reality. In our society, could Big Brother not be the face of corporation? It is present everywhere and always keeps a watchful eye on all members of society. Just like how the party members in 1984 have to act in a certain manner in order to be considered "sane", people in our society have to conform to certain norms to fit in. The telescreen is similar to our internet and how everything we do is tracked and monitored. The searches we do in Google and the items we "like" on Facebook are all stored and processed in databases. This information is used to profile us and is sold to corporations so they know what we are more likely to purchase. And to think, all this information is given willingly. I don't know if we have lost our right to privacy or if we have given it away in ignorance. 

Thoreau Challenge: My Final Hours

Sunday was my last day of the Thoreau Challenge. By this time I was feeling better and the weather had gotten cold again. I was missing my phone and TV, all I wanted to do was lay in bed and catch up on all the shows I had missed. I spent the day looking over the chapters of my textbooks for the week, and I felt like I had done all the extra school work I could handle. I finished my book "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and although it was a good book, I was all "read" out. I started counting down the final hours until I could go on facebook and see what I had been "missing". As soon as my watch said 12am I turned my TV on and played an episode of LOST while checking my facebook and email. I was definitely glad that it was over, but I did find out that I waste a lot of my time doing pointless checks on facebook. I think I will probably only check my facebook once or twice a day now, instead of constantly being on it. I want to keep up my productivity with my school work since it feels good to be ahead and not playing the catch up game.

Thoreau Challenge: The next 3 days

The next 3 days of my challenge were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By this point it was much easier to be without my cell phone or TV. I'd caught up, and even gotten ahead with most of my class work. On Thursday I had my club officer meeting at 3:30, and after dinner I played a couple board games with my roommates. I was still feeling a bit sick so I took medicine and went to bed early. Friday I worked, and was worn out when I got home so I napped. After I woke up I had a fraternity event that night that went until late. Thankfully when I woke up Saturday I was feeling a lot better. I had arranged to meet my parents at the Hershey outlets that day. We had breakfast together, went shopping, and had dinner before I went back to Ship. I spent the night hanging out with my friends playing cards and chatting, it was a good time. I remember thinking that I only had two more days to go until it was Monday and I could start using my phone again.

My Feed Advertisements

Ad #1:

Wal-Mart

I shop a lot at Wal-Mart. It is a convenient place to go and get my groceries, household products, and basic clothing. If I had a feed Wal-Mart would definitely be on my feed whenever I thought of something that I needed to get at the store. It would probably even automatically save the item into a shopping list and remind me I wanted it the next time I went to the store. 

Ad #2: 

Panera

I love to eat at Panera. Although it is a bit expensive for what it is, the food is great. The environment is also very peaceful which is great to relax and read a book, or take your laptop and get some work done. My feed would send Panera coupons to my feed and offer me promotional items with a purchase.

Ad #3: 

XBOX

I use XBOX live practically every day. I used to play online games a lot with my friends, but now I use it more for instant streaming of Netflix. Being able to watch movies on my TV without having to leave the house beats Blockbuster and even Red Box. My feed would keep me up to date with what all my friends were doing online and about new offers coming to the marketplace. 

Ad #4: 

iTunes Store

I listen to music constantly. Music is everywhere in my live, my iPod, computer, car radio, etc... I use iTunes to find new music and download it. My feed would have a profile of the types of music I like and recommend me artists and songs based on my preferences. Whenever a new song comes out that is similar to my taste I would be prompted with a preview and the option to download it instantly.

Thoreau Challenge: The first 3 days

So I started my challenge on Monday morning. Luckily I had put a sticky note on my phone to remind me that I wasn't to check my email, because the first thing I did in the morning was reach for my phone. I have a busy schedule, I work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Harrisburg, Tuesday I have 5 classes, and Thursday I have 4 classes. I usually don't listen to the radio on my way to work in the morning anyway since it's too early for me (7am) so that wasn't a problem. The hardest thing was not to text my friends and girlfriend while I was at lunch, so instead I took my book and read some of 1984. I have noticed that I get my work done a lot faster without the TV being a distraction. I had difficulty going to sleep without the "noise" from my fan Monday night. Tuesday I felt like I was starting to get a cold and I was pretty run down all day, so when the night came I took some NyQuil and feel right asleep. My work day Wednesday was terrible because I started feeling worse and worse throughout the day. I took NyQuil again that night as well. Hopefully I will start feeling better soon so I can enjoy the absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather. When it's this nice out, who needs technology anyway.

Man v. Wild or Man v. Technology

In class this week, we discussed several passages from Thoreau and had a lot of debate. The quote that remained in my mind even after class was the section about Thoreau’s Ideas on Modern Technology and Communication. He claimed that commerce and technology, which lead to the advancement of society, were unnecessary. I understand the argument Thoreau was making, he was trying to persuade us that if we lived more simply and concerned ourselves with less, then we would be happier. Maybe this was the case in 1845, but in today's society technology is a necessity in order to stay in sync with the world. 


The question of whether or not I would be able to give up all my possessions and live off the land for a year doesn't have a simple answer. If the questions is Could I?, then I'll say yes I can. I am an Eagle scout and have extensive knowledge in camping and survival. I don't know if I would learn anything else about myself, but I think if someone without my experience did it they would discover that it's not as hard as they originally though. If the question is Would I?, then I'll have to say no. I admit that I have become comfortable with the modern conveniences we have and wouldn't want to give them up. Why would anyone choose a harder life than they have to. It seems to me that people are constantly trying to find ways to improve their lives and make them easier.


I think all the texts have a common theme throughout them; that if we do not control the evolution of technology, it will eventually control our evolution. Technology is an exciting, but scary reality that we are living with everyday. The advancements in the past thirty years were undreamed of and I'm curious to see what the next thirty years will bring. 

Gen Y - The "Dumbest" Generation

In his book "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30)", Mark Bauerlein, the 49 year old English professor at Emory University, makes the argument that Gen Y is the dumbest generation today. His bases the argument on how technology has adversely effected what we learn and know. I believe his argument is heavily flawed for numerous reasons.

One argument Bauerline makes is that "never have the opportunities for education, learning, political action, and cultural activity been greater". The point that he makes with this quote is that even with all the advances and opportunities we have to advance, they aren't being taken advantage of, and we are actually becoming dumber due to them. I don't know if he failed to realize the fact that IQ scores in every country that measures them have been rising since the 1930s (Sharon Begley, Newsweek article) or if he just decided to ignore it. I think he is basing his argument purely on what is relevant to him and his generation. Just because Gen Y doesn't know who Charlie Chaplin (English comic actor and film director during the silent film era) is or what Mark Twain's actual name was (Charles Clemens) doesn't mean that we are the dumbest generation. It is simply a matter of what we choose to absorb. With all the technology we have, it would take almost no time at all for me to look up what films Charles Chaplin was in or what other books Mark Twain wrote using Google on my Droid X. Maybe I shouldn't say Google and Droid X since if anyone Bauerline's age reads this blog, the chances that know what I'm talking about are probably lower than someone in Gen Y. If I were to wrote a report today, I have almost an  unlimited amount of resources available to my disposal via the internet and online databases. Even 20 years ago the number of available resources was significantly lower. So I could argue that with all the material available to me, I have the potential to be exposed to more information than someone writing a similar report just 20 years ago.

Another argument Bauerline makes is "Social life is a powerful temptation, and most teenagers feel the pain of missing out". I'm sure this argument is valid for any generation. When Bauerline was growing up, how would he have felt if he missed an opportunity to go with his friends to the movie because he simply didn't know? I'm sure he would have felt left out and somewhat upset. With the technology we have today it is easier to communicate than ever. If my friends want to hang out, we text each other. If I need to get together with a class group, we use Google Calendar to send each other a meeting request. There is almost no excuse "not to know" something is happening. I almost feel like Bauerline is just, for lack of a better way to express it, jealous that he didn't have the same privileges when he grew up. In class on Thursday Shannon said that when she was in line at Starbucks, she heard students talking about how classes should have been canceled due to the weather. Why should students want classes canceled when we are privileged just to have the chance at a higher education? I think it is because since we have been young, we have always seen a "Snow Day" as a personal day when we can do whatever we want, be it relax and do nothing or do something else on our "To Do List". I'm sure that even adults that are privileged to have a job wanted to be able to take a personal day due to the weather.

I think Bauerline is simply putting a spin on the tried and true practice of criticizing the generations after your own. Every past generation has done it, we're doing it, and i'm sure every generation to come will do it as well.