Hw #6: Video Assignment

Sorry this is late, it took all night to load.

In my video I tried to incorporate how I am often not only engage in one digital distraction but several at once. I realize that even when I am looking a a computer screen, texting or listening to music my face is still quite blank and emotionless. There are some instances where I smile at something funny, but it never seems to last that long and my original stare returns and makes me look half asleep. Its as if one distraction wasn't enough to keep me engaged and entertained.

Looking at my posture and how my hands always have to be fidgeting with something- whether that's typing on the laptop or playing with the remote- I realize how unaware I am of anything but what screen I am focused on. It sucks me in and only takes another electronic gadget to tear my eyes away from the first. There have been many instances where I am so absorbed in a T.V. show or AIM conversation and I completely neglect the people and world around me.

I would hate to see my future children acting like this. Its rude and juvenile to need so many devices to get though a night at home.It makes me realize how much I blow off my parents and sister because the screen seems more interesting then they are. Its hurtful to shut out the people around you, and puts a strain on the relationship that are more dependent on human interaction.

The difference between my conversation with ali on facebook chat and how I'm perceived typing to her in the video is that I am so sucked into my online world that I completely forget about anything else. When the conversation died down I instinctively reached for my iPod instead of pondering what she said like I usually do in person. I look awkward and bored most of the time which wasn't how I felt. Its weird how all other senses are tuned off-and sometimes your brain- when your sight is set on something so consuming. I hate feeling like I'm doing nothing, so I rely on having my phone, iPod and computer close by... such as propped in front of my while i watch t.v.

Gaming systems like the Wii and perhaps DDR are meant to help you become more active when your attention is being completely drawn into a digital representation device. These days when the thought that your bored pops into your head, you automatically reach for you iPod, unwrap the headphones stick em and decide what song your in the mood for. You act without really having to think. That can be the same concept as the Wii, where your so focused on whats going on on the screen that you instinctively know how to move your body, your just moving more then you would with a xBox. Its still meant to make you addictive, but appears less damaging to your brain if your physically active while playing it. Kind of like a compromise between going out and having a life and giving into playing a game you've played a thousand times before.

Huh.....