Technology List

Technology and it’s affects on our lives:

· Automobiles- one of the best inventions but cause hundreds of thousands of deaths yearly

· Computers- have advanced our society greatly but cause unnecessary expense and complicate normal tasks

· Cell phones and I pods- helps us to stay in contact with people that we normally would not and entertain ourselves but promote alienation from our generation

· MRI Machines- help to diagnose individuals but are expensive and radiation could pose a serious threat

· Oil Drilling- makes it possible to run machinery but destroys the environment

· Fire arms and ammunition- security is at one of it’s highest in history but when we do fight we kill more people due to our advanced weaponry

· Factory machinery- speeds up all production but replaces a lot of human jobs and are merciless if you get caught in one as a worker

· Artificial intelligence- performs menial tasks that are very tedious for humans but may become too advanced for human control and also replaces many jobs

· Satellite dishes- makes technology possible but will crash into random planets

· Space travel-able to know our earth and it’s surrounding planets better but the discoveries may become more harmful than useful, hard to complete successful missions and expensive

· GPS devices and chips- easier to find locations and people, there is a threat of abusing powers and tracking anyone you please

· Animated films- provides better entertainment but directs people away from communicating with one another and demotes realism

· Lasik Eye Surgery- helps people to see, can permanently maim and injury people and their retinas

· Air travel- faster and more convenient, those screaming babies aren’t fun and accidents are part of these advancements and limited due to weather conditions.

· Computer Courses- ability to finish your education sooner, you loose the tangible aspect of writing and learning, less human interaction

· Mass distribution of popular commodities- more people have the ability to possess objects however, things lose their value

· Utilizing Earth’s natural resources- we are able to use more of our natural resources but deplete the earth’s supply

· Video Games- They are good entertainment, but they can distract you from what is really important in life.

Cyber culture

Cyber culture has all but consumed other forms of culture that were once prominent in modern day society. Our communication style and even the form in which we communicate have changed drastically. We define ourselves as a society online through applications and websites. If I were to apply these changes specifically to my life I would have to say that it has changed my way of communicating and interacting with others drastically. In addition to changing my way of staying in contact with others, cyber culture has changed my writing methods and knowledge channels. My first true experience with culture came with email. I began to stay in contact with my friends and family by email and instant messaging. These forms of internet connection led me to join popular social connection applications such as Facebook and Myspace. The positive effects I can see by modern day cyber culture is my ability to stay in contact with my friends and family. The negative effects I see that is associated with cyber culture is the rapid diminishing of my ability to spell and the possibility of identity theft during my internet use. Cyber culture brings its negative and positive effects and overall has led me to support it.

Popular Culture Assignment

The second assignment calls for a blog of 200 words about popular culture and how it has affected my generation. When I stop to think about how popular culture and how it shapes me I first think of how many decisions that I make are affected by what is "in". Perhaps even subconsciously, I will make a decision based on what is the "norm" instead of doing what is best for me at that particular point in time. For example, if I am particularly hungry and do not have very much time to eat on that day, I might go to McDonald's because it is well advertised and convenient. This specific example shows the unfortunate effects of popular culture on my life. While I am no longer hungry, I filled my body with a very unhealthy food choice because it is popular in the society I grew up in. If I were to say that popular culture has not shaped every aspect of my life at least in a very minute way, I would not be telling the truth. It has shaped the way I dress, the car I drive (or at least the way I talk about the car I drive), the activities I participate in with my friends, the particular songs I listen to in my favorite genre of music and the people of my generation. The friends that I choose to spend time with are, to a certain extent, affected by popular culture but not as drastically as when I was in high school. Peer pressure does not affect me nearly as much now that I am in college. My choice of music is greatly affected by popular culture due to the fact that I listen to the radio quite often. My clothing and transportation are no the most fashionable items of my generation but are not frowned upon either. My generation is almost driven by popular culture. Ipods, computer technology, steroids, rap music, expensive cars, and new fashions can be seen on every street in every city. Many advancements have been made in my generation but we have lost the interconnection with other people we live with. So much time is spent on technology that we forget to advance ourselves as people. I believe what we should fear is becoming victims of our own popular culture.

Biography

Assignment number one calls for a biography of our personal lives. I would have to start out by saying that my personal life is a very interesting one. I was born in California, in the High Mojave Desert to be more exact, and lived there for the majority of my life. My siblings and I were raised in a farm environment with many forms of livestock and a Pistachio orchard. We worked on our ranch everyday. I did not grow up knowing computers or video games or even television, but rather the way of the land. Horses are, was, and always be my favorite past time. I moved to Indiana three years ago due to a career opportunity for my mother. Upon moving here I finished high school and started attending Purdue Calumet. I am an English/Philosophy degree and hope to eventually get my PH.D in a subject I have yet to define. I have worked many jobs here and am currently a Resident Assistant at the Purdue University Calumet Village. I love my job and am always looking forward to meeting new people. I am very people orientated. My favorite things to do when I am not working or going to school is reading, writing, and exercising.

A new semester has begun...

By golly it has begun again. New overdrafts fees due to purchasing the revolutionary text books of today. Welcome to classes, and to a new year full of opportunity. Every new face holds something great for future America. Fear not the potential assignments, and remember that sleep can come later. Much later. I hope that your break was refreshing because you are going to have to get back into the groove. Grab something, it has only just begun!

Charlotte Allen
Future Something of America