Rip Mix Feed – Information Gluttony?
Although at first this image might seem overly critical, (and there is definitely an element of satire), I intended this image to represent several aspects of Internet and social media use, both negative and positive.
A couple weeks ago I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts from Freakonomics Radio (based on the book Freakonomics by Dubner and Levitt), hosted by Stephen Dubner, titled “A Better Way to Eat”. Although there are many very interesting talks by Dubner concerning education, it was this particular podcast about eating contests, that I chose to focus on. How does this relate to technology?
The more overt commentary seen in the image above is that of ‘consumption’. How, as humans we consume and connect with an exhausting amount of technological stimulation, mainly through our attempts to form relationships, identity, and interaction with the world around us (as addressed by Boyd). Though the image would suggest that this communication is false/negative or presented negatively in terms of information and social media ‘gluttony’, it is intended to also display the farce behind blaming social media and technology (especially information based) for the downfall of human relations. The man holding the champion belt in the bottom right corner of the picture is Takeru Kobayashi, a hot dog eating world record holder. Kobayashi is the subject of the podcast, and it was his description of his approach to winning an eating contest that is the reason I chose to base my project on this podcast. When asked to describe why/how he become so successful (eating 50 hotdogs in 12mins, beating the previous record of 25 and 1/8) Kobayashi explained that he simply approached winning by viewing eating (consuming) as a sport, and so training specifically as an athlete would. This is the message I intended to display: that in order to filter through the mass amounts of data and constant social interactions from the Internet and social media, we need to ‘train’ ourselves to learn how to filter what is necessary from what is just information.
I used piZap to make the collage and add the text. I changed the light filter to make it almost uncomfortable to look at, so that it would hopefully come across that something wasn’t right in a sense. The picture with the Apple icon (in the upper left corner) was a bonus and was why I tried to make that image one of the main ones. Hope this all makes sense and you get at least something from it.
The images were taken from Flickr, Wikipedia Commons, and Google Image (all with usage rights).
Social media icons collage [photograph]. (n.d). Retrieved from:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2424/3925513417_a8f116fe4e_b.jpg
Takeru Kobayashi holding belt [photograph]. (2009). Retrieved from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/20090928-kobayashi.jpg
Nathan’s hot dog eating contest billboard [photograph]. (n.d.) Retrieved from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Nathan’s_Wall_of_Fame_by_David_Shankbone.JPG
Crowd at eating contest [photograph]. (2006). Retrieved from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Nathan_2006_Kobayashi.jpg
Competitors in eating contest [photograph]. (2009). Retrieved from:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Celebrating_Labor_Day_2009,_Guantanamo_-d.jpg
Girl eating hot dog [photograph]. (2012). Retrieved from:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8335/8133598970_859498f9d2_b.jpg
Cartoon hot dog [image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://happyweeble.blogspot.ca/040702_Hotdog.jpg
I agree that there is a certain amount of “gluttony” involved in information and social media consumption and your choice of hot-dog eating is a great metaphor. I think you are right that there is an aspect of training, or sport, involved in filtering out what we don’t need. Without it, we would all be information gluttons addicted to the constant incoming flow.
Hey Mary,
Thanks for your comment! I am so glad that at least something from my image made sense to others:)
What a great way to present your idea! I think you’re absolutely right in that we must learn how to navigate the vast amounts of information available to us and “digest” what is pertinent. Before reading your commentary on the image, the notion of over-consumption also crossed my mind in that some people can become consumed by social media and technology in unhealthy ways (Internet and social media addictions for example).
Awesome! The unhealthy factor of social media is on my mind a lot. I am not on Facebook and never have been and honestly, it’s because I know that I would not handle it responsibly. I would probably compare myself to others on their too much (though I realize we all only present our best or ideal self) and I believe it would affect me in an unhealthy way. Thanks for your thoughts Rachel!
oops, on *there..
Very interesting look at this topic, Rochelle! I love the analogies you drew but also that you focused on both positive and negative aspects of connectivity. This fits really well with the technological gains and losses theme that has persevered throughout each of our course content modules.
Hey Victoria,
Thanks for your comments! It was a fun project and as always, there are positives and negatives to many issues with technology use, as we try to find the right balance.
Thanks for this awesome post! Lately, I have been feeling like the Japanese hot dog eater, but in a negative way! I feel like I am trying to spit out all the food I do not need and I am getting fatter and fatter on empty calories from the barrage of information being pushed at me, but by me! I am force feeding information hot dogs to myself at an astounding rate, trying to catch myself up with digital technology, yet simultaneously trying to spit out what I don’t need or want. It’s as gross a process as eating and spitting out hundreds of hotdogs in a condensed time. And the condiments on the hotdogs are abundant too! Oishii Kata Ja Nai! Yada!
I fear I am getting sick from my endeavours lately, and now I have a very powerful metaphor to go with it. Thank you as metaphors can really help us sort out our lives!
Cheers,
Pamela