Volume 124 Issue 84
kansan.com
Friday, January 27, 2012
the student voice since 1904
Tapas on Mass seeks to offer unique flavor on busy street
PAGE 3
For our generation, the thought of going without the constant media accessibility that we grew up with is frightening. After we were born, we were consumed by Nintendo 64 and CD-ROM computer games. By the time we were 10, we graduated to the Play Station and by junior high most of us had cell phones. In high school we updated to smart phones and a laptop was a necessity before we went to college.
These students' opinions are proof that our generation is consumed with all the different technologies and media that we have at our fingertips. And as there are benefits of constant connectedness,media and internet experts also believe there are disadvantages. It's difficult to project whether these disadvantages will affect our social or mental capabilities in the future.
The assignment in the course Media and Society at KU required students to go without all kinds of media for 24 hours, including cell phones, Internet, books, television and print media. After their attempt to fast from media, students were asked to blog about it
Barbara Barnett, associate dean of the School of Journalism and professor of the class, says a trend among students' blogs was language associated with addiction.
Students blogged, "My day phoneless, computerless and musicless almost made me feel handicapped. I felt naked without using any type of media."
"Media is like the air I breathe; it's just a part of the natural flow of my life."
"I have come to realize that five minutes without checking a text message is like the end of the world."
KU students' responses to the media fast mirrored responses from students at the University of Maryland, where in spring 2010. students in a journalism class were asked to spend an entire day without media and blog about it. The fast included cell phones, iPods, television, car radios, magazines, newspapers and computers.
The compiled blog posts from the students at the University of Maryland was equivalent to a 400-page book. The feedback the lecturer and teaching assistants received shed light on the impact media has on our generation.
Jessica Roberts, Ph.D. candidate and lecturer at the University of Maryland,says the responses from students surprised the staff."What we were most impressed by was the hugely emotional reactions that people had," Roberts says. "It was the isolation and loneliness and incredible emotional reactions that were remarkable to all of us."
Many students also reported that they felt panicked because they lost the connectionness that they were so used to having at their fingertips. Many of the students did fail to abstain from media. Roberts says
Barnett says most of her KU students failed as well, but not unexpectedly, because media is what they know. "You grew up with it," Barnett says. "For you it's the norm, and for my generation it's a novelty." Technology has become intertwined in our generation's everyday lives. It's natural to crave social connectivity, according to technology researchers such as Nicholas Carr.
Carr, technology write and author of "The Shallows: What the Inner net is Doing to our Brain," says that people today are drawn to technology for a number of reasons. He says that we have a social need to engage and communicate with others and that we feel social pressure to know what everyone is saying all the time. We're wired to seek new information.
"There are brain studies that show that when we find a new piece of information, dopamine, a chemical that encourages us to do things over and over again, is released. We get pleasure from finding new information," Carr says. This can benefit people by expanding knowledge and increasing social activity. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center from Los Altos, Calif., says that the benefits of media are huge.
"You have access to people, information and resources far beyond geographical and temporal constraint," Rutledge says. "You are no longer just a recipient of information. You can pass it along, you can choose it and create it."
The knowledge and connectivity we can gain from media seem limitless, but experts debate whether or not media affects us negatively. Rutledge says the disadvantage of media is when people aren't media-literate. They don't take the time to understand the implications of media and they don't think critically about information sources.
She says that because information is essentially unlimited on the Internet, people need to be educated about how to use it and be unbiased in order to receive the full benefits that media offers. "It's a downside when people haven't learned to be good digital citizens because there aren't differences in communications where you have such a broad platform like you do on the Internet," Rutledge says.
The Internet is becoming increasingly personalized depending on what we search and it's remembering that information to market to us and to help us filter through the Internet. This allows people to see information on the Internet through a minimal spectrum, shielding them from other irrelevant information. Gunnar Garfors blog, "The Major Minor Details on Media, Technology and Travel," says that the Internet's personalization can be a bad thing in many settings. "People buy or watch certain newspapers and TV programs based on their preferences." Garfors, CEO of Norwegian Mobile TV Corporation, says. "But two persons buying the same paper will at least be presented the same information in the same manner and in the same order. With the Internet, this is no longer necessarily the case."
Another disadvantage of constant connectivity and so many forms of media is multi-tasking. A 2009 Stanford study found that people who frequently divert their attention between different information on the Internet can't control their memory or pay attention as well as people who zero-in on one task at a time. The Stanford researchers are still studying whether regular multi-taskers are born with an inability to concentrate or if they continue to shorten their attention
span by willingly taking in a lot of information, but they do believe that multi-taskers' brains aren't working as well as they could.
Media and Society freshman Grace Stanfield admits that she constantly has multiple Internet windows open on her laptop and she frequently shifts her attention back and forth between them. "I think it's feeding this ADHD-like personality so many people our age are starting to demonstrate," Stanfield says.
Carr, the technology writer, also believes that multi-tasking isn't good for our brains. Carr says that when we jump from one website or medium to another, we can't fully absorb all the information we take in and grasp its entire meaning. He says that multitasking is beginning to narrow our definition of the ideal intellectual life because of the way we process information.
"I think that people are getting accustomed to getting distracted and being
interrupted all the time," Carr says. "As we train ourselves to constantly shift focus, we become less-capable of meditated, deeper forms of thinking. In some ways we're broadening certain aspects of thinking, but we're also becoming superficial."
While media obsession presents possible disadvantages, there isn't enough research yet to determine the outcome of our generation's close relationship with media. Without a doubt, media has become embedded in our generation's everyday lives and will be in future generations.
After reflecting on her experiences and struggles of media fasting assignment, Kirsten Stelsad knew why the challenge was so hard to overcome.
"The truth of the matter is, I tried to live in a technological world without any technology," Stelsad says. "If everyone around me is as equally submerged in media as I am, when I try to pull myself out, it's harder than I could've imagined."
What is the media device you use the most and how much time does it consume of yours each day?
"My computer. I spend about two or three hours on it each day." -- Julia Miggins, senior from Tulsa, Okla
"My iPhone. I spend probably about eight hours daily on it. My friends say it's excessive." — Nathan Miller, junior from Wichita.
"I use my phone the most. I have all of my emails linked to it, so it makes it easy to keep up with what I need without having to lug around my laptop."
—Aaron Elston, senior from Mulvane
"My iPhone. I spend about two or three hours on it." —Josh Kozberg, senior from Minneapolis, Minn.
"The media device I use the most would be my cell phone, since I have the iPhone it holds all of my music, a lot of my pictures and different applications. I use my phone to check Facebook and Twitter. I have my phone with me probably 24 hours of the day, but only use it probably 8 to 10 hours of the day." —Katie Wells, sophomore from Overland Park.
1301
26
12
DUDE.
WLING
face.
"I wasn't meeting people," she said. "I was kind of going through people withdrawals."
Determined to overcome her situation she turned to the Internet. Jankord began to scour through blogs and websites in search of a solution to her problem. Her search first brought her to the 365 Project, an initiative in which participants take one photograph each day for an entire year.
"A lot of people I knew were doing the 365 Project so I decided to do something more original," she said.
Relentlessly, she continued to search until finally she came across something that was new to her and grabbed her attention.
Unlike the 365 Project,100 Strangers is a project that requires socialization. The first objective of
class," Jankord said. "An elderly couple that I met by Potter Lake told me their life story."
She had hoped to be admitted to the School of the Arts to study photography, but was declined. 100 Strangers became an opportunity for her to pursue her love of art as well as to build confidence and overcome the difficulties of meeting new people.
The second half of the project is taking the photo (with permission) of the strangers who shared their story. While meeting new people and collecting the stories of strangers was appealing to Jankord, it was the second half of the project that intrigued her most of all.
"This project stood out to me because I wanted to do something that involved photography," Jankord said.
"It really helped me get out there and meet people," she said.
Setting out and onto campus
Often times it is this fear of rejection that stunts our bravery and keeps us from meeting new people. Overcoming her nerves, Jankord has continued to collect strangers and has now documented the photographs and stories of nearly twenty strangers.
"I think what she's doing is pretty courageous, daring." Teron Gaumer said after sharing a story with Jankord and becoming one of her strangers.
"It was when I got my first rejection that I first got nervous," she said.
Jankord is not the only student on campus participating in the project.
She remembers not being very nervous in the beginning.
Collin Baffa, a senior from
Index
Baffa, much like Jankord, began the project as a way to grow as a photographer and to break out of social timidity.
"In day to day life you walk past so many people and you just have a brief encounter, you don't even notice them," he said. "Now I'm stopping people and getting to know them and it's interesting because they're often a lot more friendly than you would think."
According to the 100 Strangers page on Flickr, there are currently more than 7,000 participants.
from them."
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 4
For more information about 100 Strangers, including portfolios of the project's participants, you can visit www.100strangers.com and www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
Edited by Anna Allen
Kody Collins, a sophomore from Overland Park, enjoys a non-alcoholic White Russian while dressed in character as "The Dude" during The Big Lebowski night at Jaybowl on Thursday. Students enjoyed free popcorn and bowling while watching the movie
SPORTS 8
SUDOKU 4
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
They've got shoes, but if you've get your own, bring 'em. Cosmic bowling at 10 p.m. at the Jaybowl in the Union.
Forecasts done by University students. For a more detailed forecast,
see page 24
Break out those wellies!