First assignment

I. List of digital communication/information devices
personal computer
cell phone
television
dvd player
telephone
playstation 2
ipod
alarm clock (electronic, satellite based)
radio (am, fm, online)

II. List of devices available to my parents (when they were twenty)
television
telephone
radio
alarm clock (electronic)

III. Differences between then and now
1) Access to sources?
Now, with the continous expansion of information on the internet alone, the number of sources of information and entertainment has risen exponentially as compared to thirty years ago. At that time my parents relied on information, news, and entertainment coming from television, movie theatres, and newspapers. Today we still turn to television, movies, newspapers, and magazines, but we have so much more of a variety to choose from, many of which can also be found online.

2) Perceived Quality (true/false/biased)
Because of amazing technological discoveries in the last three decades, the quality of information and entertainment has definitely improved. While it may also be easier to provide biased information these days, we can also check news and information we hear from one source simultanously with as many other sources as we want. This allows the reader to have a better assurance that a piece of information is in fact true. This touches upon what Prof. Cronk was talking about in lecture on Tuesday. Back in the seventies, the number of news sources (my parents were affected by) was far less than today. This probably meant that they generally trusted the majority of news they were hearing on a daily basis, since there were only so many news agencies. Now we are experincing a massive influx of news and information daily, making it hard to know who to turn to. In addition, many scandals within news agencies involving false stories/sources has hurt the credibility of journalists and the companies they work for.

3) Ability to create content for these diverse media (myself now vs. my parents thirty years ago)
These days, it is possible for any internet user to contribute information for all to see. So many forms of this now exist (podcasting, blogs, personal webpages, newsgroups, message boards, etc.). I have actually taken part in each of the forms listed, whereas my parents would not have been able to when they were my age. Back then, my parents would have probably had to been a journalist, writer, or television personality in order for them to contribute content for print media or television. The good thing about new forms of media is that age is not prohibitive on who can produce content, so my parents could contribute if they so desired.

4) How does this affect what I know vs. what my parents know.
I think one of the biggest differences in what I know vs. what my parents know is how to filter and seek out information. I have grown up with the internet (a user for over nine years), which has taught me useful ways of finding whatever it is that I need. I am also an student in the School of Informatics, which has taught me even more on filtering through the extreme amounts of data and content we all see every day. My parents both use the Internet, watch television, and communicate like any one else. However, they did not grow up with such a reliance on these things, which has made them not as inclined to learn as much about these forms of media and communication like I have.

IV. How do my parents think new communications technologies are afecting the world they live in?
My parents both feel that new technologies are making it increasingly easier to get ahold of people whenever and wherever, in a more intrusive fashion. Phones now have camera/video/internet capability, and millions of people now carry some sort of mobile communication device.

My ideas on communication are similar to my parents' ideas, with technology having both good and bad effects. The good effects are that it is now easier to communicate with whomever we choose, but bad in the fact that it is increasingly easier to be tracked and have our privacy compromised through all of our electronic devices.