Essay 1

Pete Carper

Dr. Mulliken

Engl 1113

6 Sept. 2011

Today’s World of Technology

            In the first chapter of Ben Agger’s book, “The Virtual Self: A Contemporary Sociology”, Agger begins to talk about the relationship between what sociologists call social structure and people’s everyday lives.  The purpose of this book is not to complain about sociology, but rather to argue that people can find sociology that is good in places that are surprising. Agger’s main goal in writing this book and more specifically this chapter is to apprise people about their virtual selves. People who are living in postmodern worlds, this idea is very different from previous generations.  For example now we are able to send an email that will instantly be received by whomever we wish, but when our grandparents were kids they did not have this useful tool at their disposal. In this chapter Agger talks about the positive ways that information technologies could be used to challenge the big companies that control power and wealth. Agger says that the same technology can be used to make the citizens operating them submissive and less likely to search for the truth.

            Ben Agger wrote this chapter to help educate people about sociology and its relationship with technology. Agger says that today people are becoming more and more virtual, “I view technology as a dense set of social relations defining the uses of machinery, electronics, media” (6).  This statement means that there are a myriad of ways that we relate virtually, whether it is through email or online dating web sites. No matter the use they are all telling us how to operate and interpret the technology and information we are given. Ben Agger say’s “we need to think

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sociologically on the ground of our experience, which is what Neil Young does as he explores the intersection of his world and his self” (7).

            In this chapter Ben Agger talks about social structures he say’s “Structures are things you can’t easily see or discern. But they make their presence felt” (40). Agger says to help you, “think of religion and churches, economy and money, and now think of the Internet and other electronic connections that altar the distinction between self and society, inside and outside” (40). All of these things, Agger argues, give you clear guides to help you see what the connection is between social and self. For example religion is self because no one can make you believe anything you don’t want to, but the church is the social gathering that encourages and growth within religion.

            Agger believes that the Internet and other technologies can and should encourage people to join together and help fight existing positions of power, wealth, and information. Agger says that more often than not, these technologies that are supposed to be helping us, by making our life easier by having information and entertainment at our fingertips, are really just making us take the information we get for face value, instead of being able to critically think and analyze the problem. Agger suggests that it is possible that all of the information we have at our fingertips it is making us less able to think for ourselves. Agger gives the example of internet searches, instead of having to answer questions for ourselves and having to investigate for the truth. We can just type our question into the computer and we will usually have the answers we are looking for. Agger says that on the other hand these technologies are empowering people. The technologies are enabling us to become more active members in society. People that

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ordinarily would just read the news are now becoming authors and bloggers that are working for a better world.

            Ben Agger believes that there is a huge potential for our virtual selves. We have the ability to put our thoughts on display for the entire world to see if we wish. We have the power to take on some of the bigger problems in the world, like the problems that are going on in government, by joining together virtually. All of these things should be bringing us closer together, but in a lot of cases they are doing the exact opposite. With all of the information on hand at any moment, it is making us less able to think for ourselves and make us more dependent on technology to get us through the day.

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Works Cited

Agger, Ben. "Everyday Life in Our Wired World." The Virtual Self: A Contemporary Sociology. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. 1-41. Print.

Arguments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ1AWw8ktLQ&feature=related
In this short 30 second commercial, They are comparing the Mac versus the PC. First off they start their argument by having a "cool" looking person argue in favor of the MAC, and then they have a dorky geek arguing in favor of the PC. The specific argument that they are trying to make in this commercial is that Mac is better, because it is a faster operating system. One of the ways it is faster is by not putting all the useless programs already loaded onto it. Mac says that they only put the stuff that people really want like iphoto and such. Mac is appealing to your emotion here, by saying that if your tired and frusterated with PC because it is so slow, than you should get a MAC.
Apple also does a very good job at advertising. Most people are unable to explain why they are even fans of MAC's. It is just the fact that Apple says and makes you beleive that apple is the cool thing. Instead of having a plain old PC you could have a more functional MAC, that is way cooler also. They are appealing to your emotion by making you think that you will somehow be cooler if you own a MAC. Somehow Apple has won this argument, because MAC's is the most popular computer on the market today, and that all the people that own one are cool.

infosphere

Michael Vlahos wrote "Entering the Infoshpehere." In this chapter of the book, vlahos talks and describes what an infoshpere is. He says that " The Infosphere is shorthand for the fusion of all the world's communications networks, databases and sources of information into a vast, intertwined and heterogeneous tapestry of electronic interchange." Vlahos thinks that the Infoshpere has potential to bring everyone together into one place. The infosphere is changing us through a strange combination of technology and culture, Vlahos says. We are quickly moving to the infoshpere, even though it is a distant reality. We are entering the infosphere through an object. That object being, usually a pc or a new mac.
Michael vlahos idea of infoshpere is very interesting. I think that he is making a very valid argument in this chapter. By saying that our culture is moving faster and faster and faster and faster into a technologically advanced world, we are moving farther and farther and farther and farther away from what we Americans think is the good life. For example all of the technology could be taking time away from our families. We spend much more time buried in the internet or maybe a game that we forget that what we really long for is personal social interaction. Vlahos brings up the argument that all of this new technology could actually bring us closer to our family or friends. By making our work life easier, where we don't have to travel to talk to other companies. We might not even have to leave the comfort of our own homes to go to work every morning. We could just as easily do our work online and over the phone. But I feel as though this argument is very false. This technology has been out already for a number of years, and if it was going to bring us closer to our families than it would have already. But it is only distracting us even more than we already were. We are to focused on all our new shiny technology that it distracts us from the people that are supposed to be closest to us, which is our family and friends.

Ideal writing enviornment

             My ideal writing environment, would definitely be in the most quiet place I could find. For example, the library, in an empty room, outside in a calm park. After I have my perfect spot I need some motivation to actually write, so preferably I would like to write before I was going to do something I actually like doing. When I know that all I need to do is write one little paper and then I get to go play football, racquetball, or go out with friends, I become highly motivated to do the work I need to. When I have the perfect spot and the perfect time of the day, I need a certain type of music going. It can't be some loud rap or hard metal music, It has to be soft and soothing. For example I love to listen to some Coldplay or Mumford and sons on a very low volume so I am still able to concentrate. The music thing just sets the mood and lets me really want to focus in and get it done. After all that is set and ready I would definitely need to be just a little bit hungry, like the kind you get in between meals. Then I would need a cold beverage on hand, doesn't matter what it is, could be water could be a beer. Then a nice full filling snack, like some trail mix or cheese crackers that i can savor for the length of my writing time. After that I am set to write!

The Great Seduction Response

https://oc.okstate.edu/content/enforced/627074-J_ENGL1113TH_111_116/keen.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=c9dq8AyJllkXVEJE14j8aKw2wQA
              Andrew Keen, a British author wrote a book called "The Great Seduction". He starts off the book by talking about his supports of the internet and how he thought it was a very useful tool. Andrew said that in 2004, after two days in a camp called FOO, he had totally changed his standpoint on the matter. At the camp he was introduced to the idea, Web 2.0. Tim O'reily, one of the heads of the camp, said that it was going to change everything.  After the camp Andrew decided not to participate in the new and improved internet, but he was just going to take a back seat and watch. After two years of watching what Web 2.0 was doing, Keen said that he was appalled at what he had seen. Keen addressed in his book that one of the new goals of the web was to "democratrize". Democratizing to Andrew was basically the web's undermining of truth, and belittling expertise, experience, and talent. Which in turn would threaten the very future of our cultural institutions. Keen said that Web 2.0 was shattering the world into 1 billion personalized truths. Keen argues that the more the web grows, the less and less revenue is made from it all. The mass quantities that all this information and entertainment are being produced make it seem harder to get more people to watch and read it all.
             In this chapter of Keen's book I feel that he is making a cause and effect argument. He is saying that because of all the different facets of the web, it is making it easier for people to make up their own truths by piecing together a hundred of other peoples pieced together opinions. Also he is making a subtle proposal argument, that if we continue to use and abuse the internet like we do it is creating less culture, less reliable news, and a chaos of useless information.