Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My Montagnard Documentary in COMPLETETION


Here is my DMA Documentary on how American culture has influenced traditional Montagnard Dega music and dance since coming to the US. ENJOY!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Is digital media bad for us?

If taken too far, I do believe digital media can be potentially bad for us. As human beings, we born with curiosity, and these days with all this new high tech equipment we are able to develop our curiosities further, and dig deeper into what is of interest to us. There is so much information posted on the internet that one can easily investigate what would normally be a hard to find topic.
This can be potentially dangerous politically because people can start to become influenced by the many extremely biased political opinions and thoughts posted on the internet. Instead of being out in the world, forming one's own opinion the worry is that people will rely on these internet posts to make their political decisions.
Digital media can also be potentially dangerous interpersonally from online social networks, but has also shown good results in it's connection to face to face social interaction. If used in the wrong way, I believe social networks can be very dangerous (ex. sex offenders targeting young children through online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook). But if used cautiously, studies have shown it helps people become more social, not only online, but also in everyday, face to face interaction.
Emotionally, digital media can be dangerous in that it can become very addictive. Just look at the online game World of War Craft; a game in which you can find many teens, as well as adults, spending the majority of their time playing. It is a perfect example of how the internet can be extremely addictive.
There are also cognitive worries that digital media is making us rely too much on it, thus reducing our mental capacities. I think this is a very legitimate worry. One can easily access so much information, and answers, through the internet. The internet acts as a universal brain, holding endless amounts of knowledge that is far too easily accessible. I could see how, if used in the correct manner, digital media could be used as a very beneficial learning tool. But, I think many people take advantage of, and abuse, the endless amounts of information on the internet.
In conclusion, I believe digital media can be a very beneficial tool, if used in moderation. One cannot allow themselves to rely too much on it, or become addicted to it; these are both the real dangers. If one is aware of these dangers they will be fine! Just sit down and enjoy this fancy technological advancement of our age... but not too much time!