Tony Beatty's Comm 4330 Blog

New Media Applications

I remember the feeling of uphoria I recieved when I opened my new iPhone on the day it was first released.  My adrenalin raced as I saw my dream of the untimate digital tool comingto florition in my hand.  In that moment I was the man.  I felt like I was somehow in partnership with Apple and that they were using my thoughts and ideas as their platform for research and development of a product that should have included my name.  The new medium of communication.  

Soon I was alianaing my friends and family.  I was spending so much time planing my effective life on my new effective tool that my personal productivity ceased.  I was becoming an productivity junkie.

New media enable us to communicate but.....  it replaces face-to-face time with others and impedes having real connection.  Children develop in the context of a relationship. Emotions drive behavior when people are together they feel the emotions created through their connection. These emotions are central in all relationships and give feedback toward a heightened self and social awareness, promoting thinking, reflecting and an understanding of what is going on within and between us. These are essential skills all lacking in digital communication.  It appears that the more elaborate our means of communication, the less we actually communicate.