User talk:Ania-polish accent

Hi Ania StineEliseJ (discuss • contribs) 13:40, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ania! Hope you got back to Edinburgh on time on Friday night! George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 12:30, 23 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ania! Hope all well with you. Did you get Aj's message about our meeting on Monday 31st March at 1pm in the library? You can add things you want to talk about during the meeting on my user page - three things on it so far.George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 11:12, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi everyone! As you know this is my discussion page. Feel free to make your own points or any changes....thanks(Ania-polish accent (discuss • contribs) 21:30, 25 March 2014 (UTC))

Hi Ania - I like the bit about the psychological aspect! Will you be putting it on the main page at some point?George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 14:27, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ania, I'm from Group X. I noticed you've done stuff on boyd and was wondering if you could take a look at what is on my discussion page and comment/make suggestions on it. Thanks! SiobhanDMC (discuss • contribs) 17:00, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ania, you've got some great information! Have you transferred it to the main page yet? Amandajayner (discuss • contribs) 20:34, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Hi guys! I am now finished, and I have posted my contributions on the main wikibook page! StineEliseJ (discuss • contribs) 12:34, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you! I wrote all of her section that's on the main page at the moment, but adding that bit seems interesting. Quite a good discussion point when comparing it to what Turkle believes about the media. SiobhanDMC (discuss • contribs) 21:57, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

=Always-On=

Danah Boyd about 'Always-On'

The common assumption of the term ‘always-on’ means to be connected to online activities twenty four hours a day. It’s like a never ending machine which consumes our life. For some people it’s like that, however Boyd’s theory suggests that being ‘always-on’ doesn't signify someone who is always available online. Boyd underlines that her ‘always-on-ness doesn't mean that I am always accessible to everyone’. She is not a prisoner of constant online activities; it’s not about physical presence online. It’s more about being always connected to the network. As Boyd says ‘it’s no longer on or off reality. It’s about living in the world where being networked to people and information wherever and whenever you need it is just assumed. I may not be always-on the internet as we think of it colloquially, but I am always connected to the network. And that’s what it means to be always-on’.

Boyd argues that the boundaries between reality and virtuality have become blurred, and that the division which was once there perhaps does not matter as much in this day and age. She states that people who have adopted an "always-on" lifestyle are interested in living in an "augmented" reality which features alterations in their original life to fulfil needs and desires which may not be possible without the use of technology. (Boyd, D. 2012. 'Participating in an Always-on Lifestyle'. pp. 74 - 75) GemmaMiller (discuss • contribs) 14:07, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

Being always-on is strongly connected with the availability of technology. Boyd mentions that ‘online is always just in the corner’. That’s when she came to conclusion that even while going about her offline activities such as shopping, meeting friends face to face and etc. the technology is always there to be use. She can, anytime and anywhere connect to the network for example via her phone. This leads to her argument that the distinctions between the virtual and the real are so weak, that users have to declare "off-time" to let everyone know they will not be "always-on" and contactable (E.g. Facebook holidays), otherwise the user's friends and family will suddenly become worried about the individual due to their lack of connectivity. (Boyd, D. 2012. 'Participating in an Always-on Lifestyle'. p. 71) GemmaMiller (discuss • contribs) 14:07, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

According to Boyd being always-on is like being a part of the online community where people are connected to each other through layers of information. She calls it an ‘ecosystem in which people can stay connected to one another through a variety of microdata’. That’s where she made interesting point about online addiction. Some people see being always-on as an obsession; a virtual sickness which destroys lives. Boyd argues that always-on has nothing to do with technological addiction but more to do with the passion that people have for information and the lives of others.

Whilst Boyd seems to make a relevant point that our online lives are as ‘real’ as our offline lives, more could be said about the significant difference between these two aspects of our lives, in particular how we behave online versus how we behave offline. Suler (2005) makes the point that when we communicate online, our input comes after some delay, perhaps minutes or hours or days, and this affects what we say, in text form, and how we say it. Importantly, he asserts that when we communicate face-to-face with others, “moment-by-moment responses between people powerfully shapes the ongoing flow of self-disclosure, usually in the direction of conforming to social norms” (p. 185). If this is the case, if an increasing amount of our time is spent online this could perhaps leave some people struggling with face-to-face social skills necessary to fit into a particular environment, such as that of an organisation with a clear expectations of cultural behaviour, or to succeed in particular roles where face-to-face interaction with people is necessary. George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 22:36, 31 March 2014 (UTC) • contribs) 10:42, 26 March 2014 (UTC) Technology is only a new way to satisfy those needs.  Boyd doesn't completely deny that being ‘always-on’ doesn't cause issues however It can be sometimes overwhelming; that’s why it’s extremely important to keep the balance and have a healthy approach for using technology. Everyone have to find their own way to be connected to the online community.

Psychological aspect of ‘Always-On’

There are some psychological issues related to being ‘always-on’ such as:


 * ‘Being drop into a mode of permanent online activity’. Constantly checking messages on the smartphones can lead to the point that there is no break whatsoever. This situation can create lots of stress which finally makes people to feel overwhelmed, depressed and in some cases makes them even commit suicide.


 * The pressure of being ‘always-on’ is huge especially in the work place. There is confusion where the media demands stops and where the life starts. ‘Work and life are blended into a stressful soup of endless demands. In many workplaces, switching off is seen as uncommitted, even unprofessional’. Many people are place in the situation that the demands from the work place take over their personal life.  (The Telegraph, 2 April, 2014) (Ania-polish accent (discuss • contribs) 12:38, 2 April 2014 (UTC))

=References=


 * Boyd, Danah (2012) ‘Participating Always-On Lifestyle’ in Michael Mandiberg (ed.) The Social Media Reader, New York University Press,p.71-76
 * Suler, J. (2005). The online disinhibition effect. International Journal Of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 2 (2), pp. 184--188.George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 22:38, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * The Telegraph (2 April 2014) 'The always-on culture: smartphones, stress and suicide'.(Ania-polish accent (discuss • contribs) 12:48, 2 April 2014 (UTC))

Comments:

Thanks George I will do more research about it. (Ania-polish accent (discuss • contribs) 11:41, 30 March 2014 (UTC))

Gemma thanks for adding more information. They are good points...(Ania-polish accent (discuss • contribs) 11:48, 30 March 2014 (UTC))

After today's meeting, we decided for now to use APA style for referencing and information about that can be found in the module handbook. Also, for citing, Gemma found this article which is very helpful: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/RefCodeHandout.pdf Amandajayner (discuss • contribs) 16:05, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi Ania - at today's meeting we thought your suggestion about the psychological aspects of Always On were valid. If you put some content down on that we also agreed to go in and make contributions to it. George Berrie (discuss • contribs) 16:41, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

Hey! I found some great disadvantages when researching Sherry Turkle that I briefly mentioned. Ideas like the break down of communication, such as children struggle to form conversations etc. She mentions this a lot in her 2012 Ted Talk. In an article in the New York times she quotes a 16 year old that says: “Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation.” The full article is: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/the-flight-from-conversation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. This may help for some ideas. Amandajayner (discuss • contribs) 10:53, 3 April 2014 (UTC)