Response to Baron's Final Chapter

I find it easy to agree with Baron on many of her points especially those that concern the interaction between people and their new media devices. I agree firmly with Baron that new media devices do not necessarily cause people to become lonely or distracted by themselves, but that technology must be understood within a larger cultural context. Baron shows how there is evidence that Americans (in general) have been showing a trend towards personal isolationism for longer than computers and cell phones have been around. Furthermore, I am inclined to believe Baron's assertions that new media technologies are so "new" that as a society we do not yet know how to live with them responsibly. I believe that in many cases the novelty of new media technologies will wear off as Baron suggests, but at the same time, new media companies will continue to "innovate" in order to keep things fresh. I find it quite odd that technologically text-messaging is more primitive than voice-to-voice communication, yet as a medium it has been marketed as the newest innovation and has become quite popular.

I'm extremely interested in the cognitive and power aspects of new media technologies, but I don't necessarily agree that the social and personal consequences of new media technologies are as prevalent as they could be. I think that there is a certain amount of narcicissm that is emphasized by new media technologies, but mostly this is practiced by younger individuals who tend to be more narcicistic anyway. I don't think cell phones or email makes us more lonely or more detached but it does give people an excuse to avoid social situations that they are already uncomfortable with. I don't even believe that there is a change in the manners people display when using cell phones or other devices. People that interrupt you with a cell phone call, or cut off a conversation with a real person in order to chat with someone electronically obviously doesn't seem to think what they are doing is rude. I think it is our responsibility as a society, however, to ensure that addiction to new media devices is limited, especially when it is geared towards children.

I think it is important to recognize the cognitive aspect of this technology, and while it may allow us to achieve things that we could not do before or achieve things faster, we must examine how these technologies affect our entire lives. In this way I think it is important to look at issues of power and control when it comes to these devices. Who is on the other end? Do we really want our employers to be able to contact us at all times so that we live in a system of total work? I think that the blur between personal and business when it comes to new media technologies is troubling. It's also important to realize that the companies who are making these new products are purposefully trying to find something that will hook us on their product so that they can make more money. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this system, we need to be aware of our own inclinations when it comes to new media technologies.

Basically new media technologies themselves are not destroying our culture or causing us to be more isolated or fragmented socially, but they are constantly changing and therefore we have to also constantly examine their roles in our lives and how best to utilize them.

A couple observations from the Football game

While I was preoccupied at the time, mostly by heart-rending despair after yesterday's football game, I thought of a few interesting examples of new media usage that happened to me during the game.

I often question the importance of new-media technology, and personally I'm not the biggest fan of the technology -- especially cell phones, but there are times when I wonder how I would ever accomplish things without them.

I was working at a concession stand earlier in the morning and I was supposed to meet my parents and my sister at their friends' tailgate party. Since I did not go with them I had no idea where the tailgate was located, until my sister texted me with the location: "between 11 and 15." It seemed natural at the time, but how long would it have taken me to find them if I had not been able to receive such a simple text-message or even a mobile phone call? My sister or my parents would have had to come and get me and then walk back over to the tailgate. I guess convenience is something we often take for granted when approaching the negatives of certain new media technologies.

The second instance was while I was in the stands and noticed that one of my friends had not made it to the game. I decided to call him (a ridiculously stupid idea as the game had started so everyone was yelling for the defense). I reached him, but obviously I couldn't hear him at all, so my friend just "texted" him instead. I was almost embarrased that I hadn't thought of the same thing before I attempted to make an impractical call. Texting just isn't really part of my normal communicative routine, so it's usually a second option for me.

The last thing that happened was kind of funny. I always complain to my parents and their friends that nobody outside of the student section stand up or yells during the game so that the majority of our fans just resort to "golf-clapping" when something good happens. To prove me wrong I got a text from my mom during overtime that said "We re cheering!!" I laughed because she was obviously texting instead of cheering, but it was funny to receive a message so spontaneously from someone who doesn't really text that much.

Project Idea

The main purpose of my project is to examine how specific instances of slang arise and how individual communities of practice can affect this process. I am interested in the subtle differences in slang that arise between groups of friends and people who generally live together. I am focusing specifically on male dormitories because of ease of access for me as a researcher. I want to see how certain slang phrases or words gain and lose popularity, and examine the origins of specific slang as it is used within the dorm community.
In order to achieve this goal, I will be interviewing residents from two male residence halls on campus in close proximity to each other (O’Neill Hall and Keough Hall) to see what sort of slang they recognize as “theirs.” I will see if there are differences based on floor, or hall location, or by dorm and if there are any common phrases between both groups. I will also ask about slang that is used for particular instances such as slang related only to eating, or dating, etc.
This project on slang fits the overall class topic because it shows how communities create identity through language interaction. Also the creation of slang often involves a conscious use of word-play to create humor or rapport. This combination of personal creativity and group adoption is what really interests me.
Sources that I am looking at include articles that we have read on language as social identity. I am still in the process of looking for specific articles on slang. I am thinking about looking at the article by Mary Bucholtz from last year about superstandard English.

Any comments on how I could streamline this topic would great? I'm very interested in the interaction between personal creativity and group cohesion.