Catfish

We get to watch the best movies in Social Media & Culture. Last week on the docket was Catfish- a documentary about a guy's relationship over the internet with a woman he think he knows. The main theme is we never really know who we are talking to when we use CMC. It was a gripping documentary, well done, funny, and endearing at some parts, creepy as hell at others. Would recommend. Also made my profile more private on facebook after watching.

Anyone else watched this?

XOXO

Is Friendship Dying?

Reaction to the interview with Danah Boyd and William Deresiewicz on Friendship.

With social media, is friendship becoming more surface level or shallow? Are we associating the word 'friend' with acquaintances, is the line blurring, or is technology enhancing our ability to stay connected and allowing us to become more connected to people? Is Facebook causing a false sense of intimacy with people?

Digital natives are used to friendships establishing over the internet while the non natives bring a whole slew of expectations to establishing and maintaining friendships that is not always translatable in computer mediated communication. 

Are we losing face-to-face encounters and the soft social skills that come along with them? Parents are having less face time with offspring because they are plugged in to their own social media sites or on mobile phones. Are we teaching our children how to have appropriate, effective face-to-face encounters or are we showing them how to be plugged-in and value computer mediated communication over face-to-face encounters?

While weak-ties are important for professional reasons, is it encroaching on other sections of our lives? Linked-in is a professional website that links professionals from similar occupations with the ability to recommend candidates, post job openings, or engage in mentor seeking. While this can be important professionally does it hurt our social lives to create and treat weak ties like true friendships?

Is Facebook a way to mark friendships? Just like friendship bracelets or necklaces we wore and got our best friends to mark who we were friends with when we were in  grade school, Facebook has become the new way to mark who we associate with as an older generation. It is a way to create a social hierarchy of who knows the most people, or the 'best' people and to create an almost voyeuristic interest similar to what we have with celebrities but with our own friends or social groups.

So is friendship changing? Yes, it's becoming more connected while becoming less connected. More about online and virtual reality than face-to-face intimacy. More about who is around when I'm bored than seeking others out to spend time with friends on a mutually agreed upon time. Instant gratification comes to mind again when I think about Facebook and all the different ways we can communicate through media interface.

What are your thoughts?

XOXO

Sold.

I watched this video and was so engrossed I didn't realize it was a commercial. Awesome.

XOXO.

The Facebook

Watched the Social Network the other day and really liked it, and was surprised I liked it. 

It was interesting to learn, while dramatized, all that went into creating what I probably waist the most amount of time on. It was also fun seeing the Harvard campus again since visiting the east coast for the first time last year on Fall Break via train. It made me miss the east coast and want to go back as well as get excited for fall! 

Have any of you seen it?

XOXO

Anthropology & Youtube

Last week in Social Media & Culture we watched a Youtube video on the Anthropology of Youtube. A social scientist decided to study the creation of culture and community online through the uploading of videos and responses to those videos. To say I was flabbergasted at the extent of drama, flaming, posting, support, and overall community created on this site is an understatement. I had only used Youtube to watch viral videos, laugh at covers of popular songs, or watch other people's funny pets do odd things. I look at Youtube a little differently now that I know there is a much deeper side than just the surface level I had been scratching. 

Take a look yourself and see what you think. How do you use Youtube? 

XOXO

Evolution of Dress

So I studied Interior Design and Art History as an undergrad and a part of our program was Textiles coupled with evolution of interiors, dress, and design. A growing interest of mine through study is seeing how the progression of one style of dress can lead into another, recycle itself, or shift gender (such as high heels were originally worn by men).

When I came across this video thanks to my Social Media & Culture grad class I loved it and thought I would share. 

Enjoy.

XOXO