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Look Up

Phones, computers, tablets, and all other forms of electronic wizardry
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bionicnacho
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Look Up

Post by bionicnacho »

"So look up from your phone, shut down those displays. We have a finite existence, a set number of days. Don't waste your life, get caught in the net. When the end comes, nothing's worse than regret." [media=youtube]Z7dLU6fk9QY[/media] I was going to write a whole article about this but midway through I lost my inspiration and my mind wandered off elsewhere xD

If you want to read an unedited, rough version of what I was writing, open the spoiler.
Spoiler
The topic of the video is definitely something that I've been told multiple times by my mother: "Get off the computer, you need to get out more!" or "You're driving me crazy by spending all of those hours sitting there!", she would say. We've all seen things on TV or even online about people saying how bad it is to spend countless hours using the internet or social media. As I rolled my eyes, I was told just the other day by my grandfather that he saw on TV that it can "produce cancer".

Yes, I'm guilty of sitting in my computer for hours and using my phone instead of maybe sitting down with my family for a chat sometimes. But the thing I think they don't realize is howuseful these things can be. I mean, just look at the irony right there on that video: It's got 40 million+ views on YouTube because people have shared the video with their friends. It's gone viral because of social media, the same thing the video is telling us not to do.

[QUOTE="Gary Turk"]This media we call social is anything but, when we open our computers and it's our doors we shut.[/QUOTE]

This video does raise some very good points, though. There are phone zombies everywhere and I just really hate when I'm out with friends and all they do is look at their phones, like if nobody was there with them. (...)
I wanted to bring this video here because, well, we are an online community and most of us depend on the internet for many different reasons.

So, OneMoreBlock Community, what are your thoughts?
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ThatOneFox
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Post by ThatOneFox »

Extremely passionate rant below. Not having a good day today. I'm one of the rare breeds of internet people who doesn't spend their day behind a phone screen, not only that but I actually have a go at other people who do it because it genuinely pisses me off. They have computers and laptops at home, and if they wanted to browse the internet and be antisocial they can fuck off back there. Plus they just clog up the corridors at college and I'm too shy IRL to actually tell them to move, so I just have to wade past all the phone zombies.

People have a go at me for spending too much time on the computer, but look where it's got me. I spend that time creatively making music most of the day, not just sat vegetating on some social networking sites (aka idiot breeding grounds). Granted, I leave websites like OMB and faffbook open just in case I need to actually communicate with people, but instead of updating my status to something like "Omg i just leik fkin took an instagram of my amazing coffee you should totally all look at it GIVE ME ATTENTION YOU PEOPLE", I just use it for talking to people and managing my pages.

This is probably gonna turn into more of a rant about social networking than anything else, but anyway... The most annoying things I find are two things
1- game invites
2- like bait pictures

Game invites are the bane of facebook. I could be getting a notification about something important IE label stuff, but instead some random swaggot has invited me to give my personal details to some company away for free in exchange that they get virtual credits for something which can be played for free and with no restrictions elsewhere. People who give me game invites = insta block.

I assume most people know what like bait pictures are. Things like "Like if you love your grandma, ignore if you want her to die of cancer". I just sit there looking at these photos in disbelief, and then I proceed to publicly humiliate the person who shared it, just on their own stupidity.

My alt account got banned today because I used a japanese name. A FUCKING JAPANESE NAME OF ALL THINGS. I'm guessing mark fuckerberg doesn't understand the term anonymity does he? A right wing hate group under the name of Britain First is left up, after posting multiple racist images AND using a dead soldier who's family are against his name being used to promote this shit, yet my alt account is banned for using an alias.

GG facebook. GG.
/rant
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Post by Miniike »

I lold the first time I saw this. Tis true though.
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Phantomboy
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Post by Phantomboy »

Actually, I agree with this video - in principal. Honestly up to the 2:30 point which it decides to switch to pathos to deliver its message are pretty thought provoking. I the think major stumble the poem makes is presupposing that casual use of technology we see in the streets is the only state of the people we meet.

Those critiques aside, I really do enjoy the message the poem means to state. While it targets online communities, modern conveniences, social media and oddly enough the use of technology around children, I think the message it wants to send is one worth sending. The hitches I catch with it are nearly all in the presentation of the argument, which I think distract from the core message buried.

Extra thought here. Well good intentioned and arguably true, this poem also is trying to instate its personal belief of how people should live onto others. So, while it is a political stance I generally agree with - I think it is important to recognise what it is intending to do.

Edit:
[media=youtube]EwKpOCFiDcI[/media]
I have found a response, that peaked my interest quite a bit. While the "new media is just people, and perhaps it's those you despise" line is incredibly powerful, I think the point he made how we are all itching to criticise our systems, our media and our inventions is very very true.
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papaya
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Post by papaya »

StreetLights wrote: GG facebook. GG.
/rant
when I saw the words extremely passionate rant, I thought you'd finally post something slightly agreeable in response to this turd of a video. Instead, well, you posted a rant - "I'm one of the rare breeds of internet people who doesn't spend their day behind a phone screen", I don't think it's possible to sound more elitist if you tried.

I'm not even going to bother picking it apart (because it's a rant and not an argument) but seriously if the most annoying parts of social media are 'swaggots' (wow people still use this term?) sending you game invites and someone liking a picture that says 'like this picture', then its logical to assume that facebook and social media are perfect. It isn't, obviously, but if those were the two worst parts of it then why is anyone making a video about why it sucks?
StreetLights wrote: I'm guessing mark fuckerberg doesn't understand the term anonymity does he?
holy shit dude
here, in the facebook terms and conditions that you accepted twice:
  1. You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
  2. You will not create more than one personal account.
yes, there's something on there about no hate speech, but both of you are breaking the facebook t&c, which is why your account was deleted. There's also definitely something on there about not harassing other users. Guess what you were doing?

--
anyway

as for the video, I feel like I've spoken about this video before
The simple fact is, social media and the internet and technology have done nothing but further us as a species. Why is talking to someone online or through a text not truly communication? People need to stop romanticising the past, as if talking to someone face to face is somehow more rewarding than talking to someone online.

Funnily enough, it's exactly like those like bait posts streetlight hates so damn much. They're there for people to repost, to like, to share, but never actually take into consideration. Sure, seeing a like-magnet post that says "save the children 1 like = 1 prayer" might encourage someone to donate money, just as seeing this video might encourage someone to put their phone down for a few minutes. But I'll be damned if it actually changes anything. People will watch it, nod in agreement then forget about it. I had, up until now.

does the fact that it's just another flash in the pan viral video mean we shouldn't consider its message? Absolutely not. But you shouldn't consider its message anyway because it's such a stupid one.
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Wowfunhappy
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Post by Wowfunhappy »

This is the kind of thing that gave birth to my Digital Imagery essay. This whole idea that interaction through technology is always going to be inherently worse than physical interaction is just flawed and close minded, especially as our technology gets better and better.

The guy in the video should continue spending less time on Facebook and more time on Skype. It's a much rich communication medium. Skype is by no means perfect of course, but that doesn't preclude it from getting better.

Here's the thing: if I'm sitting by myself on the subway, 99% of the time, the stranger next to me doesn't want to have a conversation. That's just as true now as it was 10 years ago.

Face to face interaction requires traveling. Traveling sucks. It waists our time and it's killing our planet, for god's sakes. Until we can create teleporters, the internet is the next best alternative. It's clearly where the world is headed anyway, and while I think this shift has implications on things like the value of authenticity, this idea that it's inherently terrible is dumb.

(not to self-promote too much but seriously, read that essay. It was written largely in response to things like this)
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Post by Phantomboy »

I was curious as to what there were in terms of medical discussion regarding human interaction. I found one short essay that I found brought up a good point. ValueOptions, accredited by the health utilization management, Ellen Gold wrote
"E-mail, video conferencing and chat rooms have allowed people to stay in touch with friends and relatives and even create relationships with people they haven't met. These cyber-friends can provide support, involvement and encouragement...Grandparents of many ages feel great satisfaction in "logging on" to talk to their grandchildren."

Which, whilst this may come off as me attempting to defend my personal use of the internet - I earnestly do believe there are benefits from keeping in contact via some medium.

Furthermore, I think one of the most interesting things about this poem is that so many seem very eager to criticise the comfort conveniences they utilise, perhaps the reason why is because many feel guilty that they utilise and take advantage of these luxuries without even noticing. So - I think it is one of those things people will nod and say "Yeah, I probably do spend to much time online" partially because it was presented as an issue and partially because they just hadn't thought about it, and that creates guilt.
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ElectroYoshi
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Post by ElectroYoshi »

While I do agree that people shouldn't be on their phones all the time just to be on their phones all the time--Phone Zombies get really annoying after awhile--I also think this video makes it out to be a bigger problem than it really is. For example, people have never gone out of their way to socialize with complete strangers they see in public. It's not because their phones are distracting them from doing so. It's because they just don't want to.

Phones are expensive, so people don't buy them just to have them. They buy them because they actually have a practical use for them. Need to Skype? Alrighty! Need to check your stocks? Sure thing! Need a GPS? No problem! My point is, people don't have phones just to stare at them all day. They have them for these sorts of things. They are just faster ways of getting this information, and there's no inherent problem with that. These things really don't get in the way of genuine relationships. I have never understood how talking to people online is inherently awful compared to face-to-face. There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking over Facebook, Twitter, Skype, or whatever. There's certainly room for all of these mediums to improve, but they accomplish what they're intended to accomplish.

Also, I think it'd be fair to mention that I spent most of June tutoring some fifth graders, and they didn't meet the standard the video conveyed. They weren't living like robots like the video claimed. They were certainly more interested in technology than I was at that age, but otherwise, they were just like me and my friends when we were that young. Some of these kids had some of these devices, but they were not totally obsessed by any means. This is just one example, I can't speak for every 10-year-old out there, but I feel like the video overstated it.
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Post by Entity »

ElectroYoshi wrote:Phones are expensive, so people don't buy them just to have them. They buy them because they actually have a practical use for them. Need to Skype? Alrighty! Need to check your stocks? Sure thing! Need a GPS? No problem! My point is, people don't have phones just to stare at them all day. They have them for these sorts of things. They are just faster ways of getting this information, and there's no inherent problem with that. These things really don't get in the way of genuine relationships. I have never understood how talking to people online is inherently awful compared to face-to-face. There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking over Facebook, Twitter, Skype, or whatever. There's certainly room for all of these mediums to improve, but they accomplish what they're intended to accomplish.
I have to agree with this, as it certainly applies to a lot of people. But then there are the 13 year olds who get phones to text their friends all day and instagram and tweet etc...
Wowfunhappy wrote:Here's the thing: if I'm sitting by myself on the subway, 99% of the time, the stranger next to me doesn't want to have a conversation. That's just as true now as it was 10 years ago.
This totally hit the nail in the head. In the Look Up video, he's implying that by being on your phone you'll miss out on meeting someone in public who could possibly be your wife or something. But think to yourself, when have you ever bumped into some stranger and ever corresponded with them again?

-----

It's really just the same old thing all over again, humanity has a problem: we're lazy. But rather than take responsibility for our laziness, we want to blame it on something, like technology. It's sorta like the gun argument. Phones aren't actually bad, the internet isn't actually bad, they're both just tools. They certainly give you the opportunity to be lazy, but that laziness was just in you all along.

It's a per-person thing.

Speaking about myself specifically, I think I do spend too much time on devices. I really think I do. But as a person with experience with and entering the field of software development, it's hard to know where to draw the line.
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Post by Miniike »

Also, I find it awesome that people used to be outraged that the telephone was destroying the fine art of letter writing. Now electronic letter writing exists, and it sucks because we're not talking to each other.
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Post by totaldile »

I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said.

Other than that, like always, people are opposed to new things because they contradict tradition :L.
Everyone loves using their cars, right? Isn't it convenient? Ah, yes, but you're missing out on all the fresh air you could get by walking or biking.

I'm too tired to think of better examples but I have a feeling you all get the point.

People are always going to be opposed to progression, because many people don't like change. This manifests as rejecting new technology, and an 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' attitude.

Humanity has turned out the way it is because we're lazy - that's why humanity developed cars, to make it easier, that's why we developed the internet, etc etc. Sure, we could all walk everywhere and writer letters and talk face-to-face and grow our own food and start our own farms? But really? That would take far too much time. Humanity became interdependent because intradependence was a lot harder, and required a lot more effort.

Personally, I'm probably one of those 'phone-zombies'. What am I doing, though? Usually, talking to friends who live in different countries. If you're going to tell me I'm being antisocial because of that, you need to define being 'social' better.

Even so, a lot of us aren't all that 'social' to begin with. I deliberately go on my phone on the train home because I don't want some random coming up and talking to me.
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Post by papaya »

totaldile wrote: Humanity has turned out the way it is because we're lazy - that's why humanity developed cars, to make it easier, that's why we developed the internet, etc etc. Sure, we could all walk everywhere and writer letters and talk face-to-face and grow our own food and start our own farms? But really? That would take far too much time. Humanity became interdependent because intradependence was a lot harder, and required a lot more effort.
this made me wonder (although its more a semantics issue than anything) - is it because we are lazy or because we strive to be efficient? No doubt cars have made transporting much easier, and therefore more efficient. What is the difference between efficiency and laziness?

nobody is going to argue that the internet, cars, whatever have made our lives much easier, but it's still surrounded with negative views because of this efficient = lazy idea.

i dunno, food for thought.
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Post by Entity »

papaya wrote:this made me wonder (although its more a semantics issue than anything) - is it because we are lazy or because we strive to be efficient? No doubt cars have made transporting much easier, and therefore more efficient. What is the difference between efficiency and laziness?

nobody is going to argue that the internet, cars, whatever have made our lives much easier, but it's still surrounded with negative views because of this efficient = lazy idea.

i dunno, food for thought.
I think probably the smart people create the things in the name of efficiency and then the masses of america use it to be lazy.
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Post by Wowfunhappy »

Entity wrote:I think probably the smart people create the things in the name of efficiency and then the masses of america use it to be lazy.
What exactly is the difference between someone who is being efficient and someone who is being lazy?
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Post by ElectroYoshi »

Wowfunhappy wrote:What exactly is the difference between someone who is being efficient and someone who is being lazy?
Someone who's being efficient wants to get stuff done with minimal wasted effort, and works in a competent manner. Someone who's being lazy wants to get stuff done without working at all.
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Post by Entity »

Wowfunhappy wrote:What exactly is the difference between someone who is being efficient and someone who is being lazy?
It's a very fine line :P And I was exaggerating quite a lot when I said that.

You could argue that efficiency is good, so there's no reason not to use a smartphone, which I guess is pretty true. But when you're just checking social media all day instead of doing your homework, for example, that's lazy.
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Post by papaya »

ElectroYoshi wrote:Someone who's being efficient wants to get stuff done with minimal wasted effort, and works in a competent manner. Someone who's being lazy wants to get stuff done without working at all.

I walk to college a certain way because it's quicker, so I don't get as tired.
is that efficient or lazy?
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Phantomboy
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Post by Phantomboy »

It is kind of a arbitrary line, you know? Similarly for someone who purchases, say clothing, second-hand. Are they frugal or cheep. Personally, if you are micromanaging your own schedule to save as much time as you can, I would say that would fall into the efficient bucket - even if that is an arguable opinion.
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Post by ElectroYoshi »

That's efficient. That allows you to get more done once you get there.

I'm the same way with my school. It doesn't start until 8:10, but I always arrive at 7:40 to get stuff done. Therefore I have more time to do what needs doing in my classes, during my free period, and so on.

Edit: Phantom ninja'd me. I'm addressing Papaya's point here.
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