I Was Forced to Give in to the Twitter Hype

Since the second day of class, I have been the owner of a Twitter account. This may be hard to believe because ever since October, my friends have been trying to convince me to open an account. Out of 5 of us, I was the last one without a Twitter. This media class is the only reason i would ever even consider getting one. I could not figure out what attracted so many people to this particular social site. What was so interesting about knowing exactly what your friends were doing every 10 seconds? I didn't even think I had the energy to update a status that often; plus, I already have a facebook and was more than content with it. A Twitter is required for this class, however, so I had no choice. The first day, I could not bring myself to like it even after following some people and personalizing my page. A couple days later, after following more of my friends and having more of them follow me, it began to interest me a little bit. Today, with a steady number of followers and tweets, the site has somewhat grown on me. I can definately see what David Carr was talking about when he mentioned Twitter's enduring attraction. It's extremely easy to use, and tweeting could very easily get out of hand and become addicting. Some people hold conversations through tweets, so this could lead to an individual feeling the need to check their Twitter constantly; this way, they never miss an update. I don't update it religiously like some individuals, but I'll add my thoughts or random song quotes at times throughout the day. It's just another way to stay constantly connected with people, whether or not they are physically close to you. It's not so bad I guess, but I still prefer my facebook account.

Digital Nation !

Ugh so this Sunday was my first without TV. That meant no Keeping Up With the Kardashians :( Honestly, this week being deprived of television wasn't that bad. At first, I really did not know how I would get through it without cheating. I normally watch TV all the time, I even fall asleep to it. Since I couldn't constantly have it on, however, I realized that I actually got a ton of school work done early for once. I didn't stay up late writing my papers after my shows were over. Procrastination is my middle name, but I was actually so much more relieved after getting everything out of the way. I'll definitely be cutting back on my TV hours Monday-Thursday at least. On another note, in media class we watched this super long video titled 'Digital Nation'. All I can say is WOW. The video shows how people are affected by technology, especially video games! One part showed a young boy who was actually sent, by his mother, to a camp-like place in order to treat his video game obsession. He played for hours everyday, and when asked if the break from games had helped, he replied that it just made him miss it. Another part of the video focused on multi player virtual games such as World of Warcraft. Surprisingly, most of the World of Warcraft players were adults! They were just as obsessed with the game as any teenager would be. It was sad actually, to see that full grown people would indulge in a fantasy world so intensely. Some players actually found significant others through the game, which was kind of cute, but also kind of sad. Instead of meeting with people in person, these players interact through the game, using their avatars as representations of themselves. I'm not going to lie, I can't live without my blackberry; it's always on and I even sleep with it right under my pillow so I can easily answer texts at all hours. Even though I love my blackberry, I could never ever see myself being extremely addicted to a video game. A cyber world just does not compare to the real thing.

First Day Without TV

Technically, this is my third day without tv, but it's the first time I'm blogging about it. Yesterday was tuesday and if you have any type of life whatsoever, you'd know that tuesdays are BGC nights. BGC stands for Bad Girls Club and if you didn't know that, just close my blog now please and thank you. I didn't think this sacrafice over very well obviously because for the first time this season, I couldn't watch BGC :( It was extremely tempting considering that everyone in my room was counting down the minutes until BGC came on. I had to leave and actually study in the lounge for an hour. The only other thing I think will pose a problem is Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It was the only other show I would watch religiously every week. This kind of really sucks now that I think about it. :(