HW # 12: Feed Ayyyyya

From the first chapter, Feed by M.T. Anderson has done a good job of using a futuristic analogy to show comparisons between how the digital interference has effected this generation.

Titus and his friends possessed an attitude that reminds me a lot of my peers and I, especially when we're together in cliques or groups. Groups of teenagers travel in packs, partying, experimenting with drugs and participating in latest trends together, relying on one another for approval and recognition.
As a generation, we like to speak as a whole and usually reference broad things with one subject. For instance when Titus says "everything at home was boring." It is such a teenage attitude to be increasingly bored with the same old thing, growing tiresome of routine and repetition.
Its also common for people, especially young Americans these days, to dislike countries or continents as a whole, not referencing on specific city or aspect they disliked. This in a lot of senses makes us somewhat ignorant. For instance, when Titus says "Yeah I've been to Mars... it was Dumb"

The way the Feed customizes people's "personal profiles" in order to know what they like and dislike reminds me of a computerized program called "cookie"; information that a web site stores so that it can remember something about you at a later time. Basically, it is information for future use that is saved by the server on the client side of communication so that they can suggest similar sites they think you would enjoy. A feature in the new nano iPods called genius remind me of this too, since when you buy one song, iTunes refers you to several other songs just like it.
It makes me think of how everything is a marketing opportunity thanks to all the digital representation, even when we're not looking to be pitched to, we subconsciously are. Everything is a marketing opportunity and in order to make this economy go around nicely we must be good little consumers and be up to date with the latest trends and must need fads to spend money on. Everyone wants to mimic someone else, just like Quendy got the Lesions all over her body because it was considered "hip". To me, piercings and tattoo's are the lesions of today, holes and scars inserted all throughout our bodies to prove how retro and hardcore we are.

Like Violet mentioned in reference to the feed, our devices are coming to know us better then we do.

One of my favorite quotes was when Titus discussed Violets opinion about apprehension and valuing what doesn't come easily. "She said she had a theory that everything was better if you delayed it. She had this whole thing about self-control, ok, and the importance of self control."
I think there isn't a better way to describe how much this generation needs to practice doing this. It seems to me a lot comes to easy to people, whether its money, information or communicating. We mostly expect things to be fast and efficient, yet what its not we grow increasingly frustrated and impatient. One quality a lot of people these days lack is apprciation, because a good thing can't last forever... "It makes good times even better when you know there going to end."

The most obviously tragic part of the book was how Violet- the rebellious outcast- only got the Feed with intentions of leading a more normal life, only going to the moon to fit in with what society considered hip. What made it a tragedy was that the one person who valued the feed the most was the very same one who died from it.

What makes matters worse was that because of the Feed, Titus was unable to fully be in touch with his emotions and therefore lacked the sensitivity needed to help Violet through her last days. It wasn't until she had completely malfunctioned that he understood Violets struggle and how she was ultimately defeated by the very thing she was trying to resist.

Its ironic how Titus said in chapter one how he's "hoping to meet someone one the moon." He did, and he lost her just the same.