Sarah Entry One

"technocultural anthropology" and the practice of "digital ethnography."

“The Machine Is Us/ing Us” depicts a brief coverage of the way information is recorded in terms our movement to digital text on the internet. This tool allows all those with access to it to post their own content and also search through the database that the video depicts we organize ourselves.Because everyone can post, the information available begins to represent an anthropology of mankind, where prior information was not mass spread unless distributed or produced by those of power. This leads to the conclusion that this tool is becoming us as we are teaching it the ways in which we live, think, relate to one another, tell stories, and so on.

“An anthropological introduction to YouTube” discusses how Youtube allows anyone to post content, giving the public a voice and they are taking advantage of the opportunity. Prior, the most similar medium was broadcast, however this was one to many meaning the content produced, its information and framing, was controlled and limited and there was no medium to allow others to spread and form other perspectives. It allows immense amounts of new material to be spread, for smaller niches to be reached, and for globalization to begin. This changes the culture depicted as what is expressed in the content is not just exchanged with those ones knows within their living communities, rather it facilitates relations and culture to be shared from all over the world through its accessibility. This platform opened up possability for expression in the form of video footage, which better works to serve as entertainment in comparison to text.

Wesch says, “media mediates human relationships, when media change our relationships change,” which I took as the big takeaway from the video.

The internet presents a handful of paradoxes:

• Cultural inversion: we are becoming increasingly individual while maintaining a value of community, the more independent we become the more we long for relationships, and we are exposed to increasing commercialisation we desire authenticity.
• Issue presented: everyone's watching but nobody's there ane one develops a hyper self awareness through others viewing and through the replay aspect.
• Anatomy + physical distance + rare and ephemeral dialogue + hatred as public performance AND/OR humanity without fear or anxiety.

It’s a tool that affect society the way that our intentions of its use, it can allow learning and expression and connection, or for hate and judgment and seeking the desire to “be seen” and get attention (complication implemented through ranking → authenticity crisis)

The Ted Talk summarized similar ideas but focused on the internets relation to the education system. Social media is a disruption in the ways we learn by making they traditional forms of learning seem irrelevant and lacking connectivity. Conversations move to the new medium. With one way mediums like TV, the issues become impersonal and irrelevant, or far away because the message comes from someone not like “us,” they have power. The internet gives the people a voice, making it a conversation, not just having them be talked at, which allows the public to have more contribution, or at least ability to contribute in the shaping of society. Civic journalism, or citizens reporting also allows critical information to be spread. The video critiques the education system saying it is like previous media, the information is given by one in power and you must follow, rather than being treated like a collaboration where meaning is created through the process, not just through memorization of facts. Moving to a means of education that is inline with new media will allow students to able to approach issues in a holistic way by treating them as a conversation, as it allows the incorporation of more perspectives and possibilities. The current education system not only leaves them uninterested and unsatisfied, but fails to exercise the many to many approach form of communication.   

Since these videos, other issues have surfaced with many to many forms of communication such as oversaturation, the echo chamber of following reinforcing belief created in the structure of social media networks, slacktivism, fake news, the creation of the ideal self on social media or living through one's posts, and overall loss of in person social connection. I believe that there needs to be more education about the dangers of the internet in terms of content posted because it appears to be the both the information source but also an outline structure of how people are looking to represent themselves, relate to others and seek to communicate in general. Given the wide access and impacts on globalization, the internet is making a more significant impact on our cultural development than other means of communication, and since there is no hierarchical power that functions as a gatekeeper, the collective we needs to take a look at how it impacts society and how we each are contributing to it. I believe that one’s presence online is taking priority, almost consuming the motivations of one’s actions in the physical world. This in part occurs given the somewhat soul in terms of it being digital, allowing one to break up information into segments and selecting the ones they wish to post.