If I Were an Outsider, What Would I Say About Mass Media?

[caption id="attachment_3207" align="aligncenter" width="450"] What's so much better about the flat black dog than me?[/caption]

If I were an outsider to our "modern" and "connected" society---perhaps someone hailing from a community where mass media and the quick distribution of information never existed---what would I think about our increasing submersion in online virtual realities? I’m sure I wouldn't be worried about the world’s richest R&B couple, that enormous pet rabbit over in Scotland, or even the latest mid-term elections in North America. Without mass media in my life, I wouldn't be constantly surrounded by flashy images in digital or print which tend to provide false ideas of how a person should be living. I can only imagine that if I were indeed a person who lived in a community where the use of mass media and easy information dissemination never existed, I would think more often of the others around me; I would work more on myself and my faith; I imagine that I would feel a lot more at peace.

If I were to be alive one thousand years from now, what would I contemplate about mass media and its long term effects? I’m sure I wouldn't care about the countless millions of "Selfies" taken daily; I’d hardly be able to read through the billions of blogs and websites to find an exact answer to a question. Despite my hypothetically cynical and senile sour take on it, could the exploration and distribution of mass media someday become a custom and folk tradition during those years from 2014 to 3014? Or would I be stuck naively believing, “Hundreds of years ago, everyone and her Mom would, after suppertime, forgo conversation and community to go into separate bedrooms to hunch over computers and watch videos of others and even themselves.”? I fear that a thousand years from now, if I were to be alive, I’d be looking back on all of the isolation that humans endured while putting mass media first.

The reasons I might feel bitter: There are times I find the information age distracting, annoying, and even at times downright exhausting. It seems at times that everyone who advertises online, through print, and on billboard, is in constant competition, all attempting to become famous in one way or another. I also wonder why everyone has become self-involved to the point of missing out on real-life human connections. People spend significant time sharing their personal stories and opinions about their family, their pets, their friends, and their ideas by using their photos, their blogs, their voices. It seems tiresome and tremendously difficult to live up not only to the ideal physical, emotional, and mental but now even digital way of living in a modern pop-culture world. For one to become not just a great family man/woman, boss, and weekend gardener but now also e-mailer, media blogger, political idea-generator, and assiduous liker of friends' gym photos all at the same time seems much too exhausting. Wouldn't life be more simplistic and meaningful if we had only each other?

[caption id="attachment_3205" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Maybe Keanu has a point.[/caption]

That is all, of course, if I were an outsider or living a thousand years from now. But I’m not an outsider to mass media in the least, and I definitely don’t know what life looks like in 3014. Alongside everyone I personally know, we are all a living, breathing culprit of the world's mass media crime. I read articles and view videos online. I post articles and videos online. I distribute teachings and facts that I've learned. I distribute personal feelings and ideas. I distribute some things to the outside world, hoping that in some way it can reach another person in an academic way. I can’t waste time hating mass media; I choose to embrace it in a balanced manner.

So, I ask myself again: What if I was an outsider or future historian---but one who could find a beautiful thing or two about mass media and its effects on pop-culture? What if I found that while it distributes many forms of information to regions all over the world, it continues to create space and inspirations for new ideas, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, and even a few psychological needs? Mass media is provided electronically and digitally, through print and big, crafted signs. It may even be provided vocally with the art of public speaking. In the modern worlds that thrive on pop culture, all forms of information are accepted and discussed. The people working within mass media provide wonderful sources of information by either addressing problematic issues or brainstorming multiple solutions. There is an ever-growing platform for creative expression. Mass media may cause isolation for some, but it also brings people from all over the world together---a sense of "interconnectedness." Maybe mass media isn't so bad after all.

Some communities that choose to stray from mass media are happy in their own version of what life should look like. In fact, many individuals who have been surrounded by mass media all of their lives take to the mountains with rucksacks, creating a new version of what life should be. Mass media and the ever growing distribution of information are not for everyone. But I have to be grateful for all that it has done for me, and everyone I know. Perhaps I won’t win a YouTube nomination for Best Music Video, and perhaps in the end, we will all become egotistical, isolated, human beings---but what an interesting change in sociology we've made so far.

Afraid of Your Smartphone? You're in Good Company

Today, it is almost strange to see someone without a smartphone in hand, uncomfortable to be in a place where there is no WiFi, and unnerving to imagine a day without Google. Humans worldwide have become so dependent on the Internet that some don’t know what to do with themselves if they are not online. It's how they get their everyday jobs done; how they learn, read, figure things out; how they connect with others in their daily lives. But while there are billions of people who heavily rely on the Internet as a main resource for jobs, daily tasks, and communication, there are hundreds of sub-cultures that do not wish to connect with others online. This article will explore some of those sub-cultures and the possible reasons that technology may not feature in their everyday lives.



They Just Don't Know
For one, some people don’t use social media networks like Facebook or Twitter, use a smartphone or computer, or even use the Internet at all simply because they don’t know how. Some people just don’t have the resources to get onto the Internet; some have never even heard of it. Have you seen the movie Avatar? Pre-industrial societies like the Navi do indeed exist in small corners of the human world, and for them, the Internet may seem like something akin to interstellar flight or cold fusion to us. But for those who have access to the Internet and or smartphones and just don’t know what they’re doing will sometimes just give up and result back to a more simpler way of dealing with social interaction, like, you know, in person.

Private People
Some people want to protect their privacy, and, let’s face it, social media networks are essentially online phone books connected to a server. Even photo-networks such as SnapChat save your ‘timed out’ photos to their server. This might freak a few people out, especially if they are trying to apply for a new job or want to hold their current position. People will protect their privacy online by using a different name or pseudonym, different pictures to represent themselves such as anime characters or pictures of trees, etc. There are also the people who choose to get rid of technology all together to protect themselves and/or family members from a previous stalking or abuse situation. However, the small font warnings about Privacy settings that come with smart phones and online social media networks don’t always attract the human eyes. It is so important to review your current privacy settings and remember to never share too much information. Example: Don’t tweet or post “I’m home alone tonight” when you’re privacy settings are set for public viewing. People get stalked this way.

The Religious and the Anarchists of Technology
People from long ago and until this day have continued to hold various religious convictions against technology. These sub-cultures find that technology will ruin a community and mankind. Modern-day transportation and gadgetry really started taking off during the Industrial Revolution. During this time, a group of British lads and ladies known as the Luddites held social stances and techno-anarchist schemes against the engineering of technology as they longed for a simpler and more pastoral life. Machines that replaced human hands and hard work left many jobless and frustrated. Those same machines were attacked and left broken in many cases by the anarchists of technology. A more calm example of people who choose religion over technology are those of The Amish cultures of today. The Amish still prefer a life more pure and precious, one without violent media and dirty rap.



Technophobics
People are just plain scared to get involved. Really, Technophobia is a term used to express both the fear and dislike of technology. It started with the Luddites during the Industrial Revolution. The fear of technology grew even more around the world after weapons of mass destruction were created and used during World War II. It has been depicted in films like Frankenstein, Fern Gully, Skynet, The Terminator, and Demon Seed that technology is something to be scared of. Whether it is a lightning bolt that awakes a dead man, a poisonous tractor that kills forests, a half-robot half-man that kills human beings, or a computer that becomes a human – they all mean the same thing – never underestimate the power of technology. Not only in fictional films are computers, phones, machines and digital systems taking over. In reality, all of technology has taken over the world. It has replaced the gumption in humans to sit up and find a real book. It has information upon information upon lost photos and messages stored in servers and now the Cloud! Even worldwide famous band U2’s latest album became lost in a Cloud, (yes, there are multiple Clouds) and was instantly on everyone’s smartphone, for free. Do any of us really even know what the Cloud is, or how many there are? At times, I even find myself fearful of technology; what it has done to our world, the way we communicate, and a possible future online war. Technology gives me anxiety. Am I technophobic?

Anti-Time Wasters
Some people won’t use Facebook, smart phones, or the Internet at all simply because they think it’s a waste of time.  For instance, why spend your entire vacation snapping photos and uploading them to Facebook; updating Twitter about your cat and Justin Beiber; gawking at YouTube videos for two hours… the agony! Spend time enjoying REAL LIFE happening around you! I remember becoming annoyed when I’d sit down with a group of close friends to watch a movie together, and everyone was updating their statues and posts online about it. Why?! Why does it matter to Uncle Greg and Elizabeth from ninth grade what you ate today or how your dentist has bad breath? Yes, even in the exciting world of technology and the Selfie, people still really don’t care about your every day and every minute updates. Do something for someone else instead. Get offline and smell the air, pick up a leaf, paint a picture, make up a new dance. When I say ‘People’, I guess I mean ‘I’. ‘I’ don’t always believe that the Internet benefits everyone, especially when meditating on time spent well. And at the same time, if we didn’t have the Internet, it would take so much more time to personally hand write and mail your letters and notes to others. This paradigm shift (return) leads to some really interesting possibilities, and I’d love to see what other think about the communicating through the Internet, online social media networks, and smart phones: Is it more of a time-saver or a waste of time?



Do you think you could go a day without any online communication or updates?
How about going a day without the use of any technology at all?