Project Description

The topic I have chosen for my paper is: 

IMPACT. Examine a particular area / discipline in which the new media have had an impact.  How have the new media affected this area? How is this area likely to be affected in the near future? 

Is technology improving our social lives or blindly taking ours away? 

Technology is impacting and penetrating almost every aspect of our lives. New media and social networking devices are starting to affect our generations social and communication skills. 

The next time you are at a restaurant, take a look around and find a table that consists of younger people (age rand 18-30). Notice how most of them will have their cell phones, PDAs, blackberries, iphones, etc out on the table in the middle of the meal. Texting, emailing, and even answering phone calls in the middle of the meal while they are trying to carry on a conversation with their friends, family, acquaintances. Can they not put their phone away for that short amount of time while they are at the restaurant? 

Lets take a party scene- say a sweet sixteen or a 21st birthday bash. How many people are on the sidelines on their cell phones? Or even worse, ignoring the people that are talking to them, not socializing with the people at the party, because they are so consumed by their communication device. 

To take it one step further, more and more kids are getting cell phones at even younger ages. How will they be acting and behaving? Will they ever get the chance to be free of their cell? 

Unfortunately, it is not only cell phones and other handheld communication devices that are affecting todays generation, its also social networking sites such a facebook, twitter, and other online communication sites. People become so obsessed and consumed by these sites that they end up loosing touch with the actual people. They will have hundreds, maybe even thousands of friends on facebook, they will twitter a thousand tweets a day, but when was the last time they had a substantial conversation with one of their friends face to face? We are becoming so accustomed to communicating online that we are slowly forgetting what it means to confront a person face to face.