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Critical Response

When I Die, Please Let Me Die.

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Spoilers for the show Pantheon and Upload

Throughout Allie Demetrick’s blog post titled, “ Pantheon: Authenticity, Perception, and Embodiment” there is an exploration of definitions and potential human authenticity of digitally uploaded consciousness. In this critical response post, I will be comparing Allie’s insights of the show Pantheon with various plot points from the show Upload. Thus, ultimately deriving a potential answer to Allie’s question of “if our consciousness is not attached to the material, what still matters?”

The Amazon Prime series, Upload, similarly to Pantheon, explores the implications of a digital afterlife, where human consciousness can be uploaded to a technological interface to elongate their life on Earth. Allie analyzed Walter Benjamin’s idea of aura and mechanical reproduction of which to upload someone to the digital afterlife, their physical body is destroyed. Thus, reproducing the human and destroying its natural aura. This manipulation of the natural to live in a simulated life, parallel to reality, is by definition means to live inauthentically. Thus, resulting in the conclusion that these “uploads” are not real, they are artificial experiences, mutable, and simulated. 

The evidence of the extreme mutability of these digitized consciousnesses is the malleability of time, as described in Allie’s analysis. As George Orwell states in his book 1984, “Those who control the present, control the past and those who control the past control the future.”  In Pantheon, Allie’s blog post describes time as flexible, where the perception of time can be manipulated. Digital humans can experience a year in a day or a day in a year. These false perceptions of time are evidence that these uploads have lost a stable perception of reality, thus having an artificial perception. The capitalization of time represents an extreme control of power over these digital people. This results in a complete loss of agency over the perceptions of the Patheon uploads’ environment.

In Upload, characters have a somewhat static purview of time. This point is emphasized by the lack of evolution the characters face. For example, a plot point in Upload was about a 10 year old boy, who had died and was uploaded. The boy’s parents decided to never upgrade the image of his body thus keeping his physical appearance as a 10 year old. In the show he had been uploaded for eight years, meaning his mental age was eighteen. The boy grew frustrated over his lack of growth and seeing his peers who were still alive pass him by affecting his mental health. This lack of autonomy over one’s own body resembles the character Claudia from the book Interview with a Vampire; an adult woman trapped in the body of a five year old. These characters grew distressed, angry, and discouraged about living, because there was no guaranteed end to their suffering or variety to their lives. There was no foreseeable change that they would experience physically and were surrounded by people who were growing older. Thus, the uploads were essentially objectified, expected to stay as they are. This led the capitalists of the series to strategize that these digital consciousnesses are just objects that can be used for their own gain, digital slavery.

Though I established that these digital uploads were not human because they lacked agency and evolution, I did not argue that they were not conscious. These digital consciousness have thoughts, and feelings that can develop relationships because they have the context and memory to grow them. This is one of the only real human characteristics these digital beings have. It is what makes people vulnerable to attachment to a simulated version of their loved one. 

In the show Upload, there was an evolution of relationships, Nathan Brown (the main character of Upload) experienced a blossoming love story with a woman who was alive, Nora. Yet, his relationship was only tested when there was a risk of it being lost. Nathan’s consciousness was almost erased on several occasions. After each close-call or rebooted memory, Nathan always chose to love his partner, Nora, again. Xelena Ilon brought up a great quote in her final presentation that contributes to a definition of AI and consciousness: 

“That’s what AI can’t yet offer: the friction that fuels growth, the silence that begs understanding, the feeling of being loved by someone who could walk away, but doesn’t because they choose you day in and day out.” – Cathy Hackl 

Nathan not only fought for Nora when he was at risk of being lost, Nora fought for him. Their relationship was not a confirmation of Nora’s being or opinions, the couple grew to understand each other and truly love each other. Thus differentiating Nathan from AI. 

So if these digital consciousnesses are not human, but not really generated AI, what are they? 

Well, what does it mean to be a digital conscientiousness, are we still that person even if we are digitized? The aspect that makes a human conscious, human, is the mortality of consciousness. Mortality is what makes people human. A looming presence of death makes people want to live. In digital spaces that is not an expectation that is guaranteed. If one’s consciousness is digitized it is presumed that it will be there forever, or at least well beyond their kin’s lives. It is not until the digital landscape is at risk, that there is realization of mortality again. In conclusion, it is not the immateriality, necessarily, that makes a human experience not authentic, it is if there is a  looming sense of death or a complete agency of one’s perception of their environment. 

Citations

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Penguin Classics, 2021.

Rice, Anne. Interview With the Vampire. Ballantine Books, 1997.

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Guys, He’s Literally Me.

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“And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable… I simply am not there.” – Patrick Bateman (American Psycho, 2000).

Alison Landesberg suggests in her essay Prosthetic Memory: Total Recall and Blade Runner the experiences an audience member has watching a film is equally impactful and informative as lived experiences. These simulated experiences cultivate identity and these memories without the lived experience encourage the formation of new opinions. Landesberg explains that these memories build empathy because they give opportunity for audiences to visually put themselves in others’ shoes. However, these movies do not just induce empathy, but encourage confirmation biases and inspire toxic behaviors as well.

Confirmation bias is defined by the Northeastern University Library as “the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs.” Therefore, if a man believes that they are exceedingly charismatic but utterly self-reliant they will only experience information or experiences that will affirm these self-proclaimed behavioral traits. 

Top of the corporate ladder, disciplined, in a relationship with an heiress, and does as he pleases with others, the dream life. Just one character flaw, if you would call it as such, he likes to “dissect girls”. Hello Patrick Bateman, the poster boy of the Sigma Male.

 A Sigma Male can be defined as a lone wolf, someone who is defined as the “rarest of males (Rose, 2024)”. They are essentially better than everyone, they are logical, confident, women love them and they don’t care; they are not just better than everyone they are above. Sigma Males can be a form of narcissism. Men watch American Psycho and internalize the experiences Bateman lived and say “I could be as successful as him, he is literally me.” Landesberg states films induce empathy from a viewer. However, if one is empathizing with Patrick Bateman and seeing similarities I do not think they are digesting these films critically. While films can promote empathy, there needs to be a recognition of audiences that are not looking to empathize with another person’s lived experience. 

The book American Psycho was written by a queer man Bret Easton Ellis, and the film was directed by a woman. It could deduce that this film was not trying to establish this character that depicts masculinity, rather the opposite. One could say that Patrick Bateman is a satirical depiction of the greed of climbing the ranks of capitalism, as well as the deliberate overlooking of warning signs of dangerous men. “White men can get away with anything. Though that is not what the self-proclaimed Sigma Males take away from the narrative of American Psycho. They see Bateman’s confidence, his logic, his class and not just strive to see themselves in his character, they see themselves as Patrick Bateman (minus the murder tendencies). There is a confirmation bias men use when watching films that highlight men without looking at the deeper meaning. Their analysis is surface-level because they are just looking at themselves. Audiences that see the socially toxic parts of themselves can perpetuate social oppression. These narratives men take away from American Psycho can often be harmful for women. 

Another archetype of men that has been formally labeled via digital media is the “Nice Guy.” Many men try to separate themselves from the “common.” That is why Sigma Males try to emulate the “lone wolf”, someone who does not need anyone. While Nice Guys differentiate themselves from other men, they hear the gross behaviors of other men and act opposingly. However, because they recognize these traits, they believe women owe them the attention because “they are not like other guys.” An example of this would be the male lead of 500 Days of Summer. Though the female lead of the film established many throughout the term of their relationship, the male lead thought she owed him a relationship because he invested so much time with her. Many audiences empathized with the male lead and villainized the female lead. Thus, perpetuating the harmful narrative that women should give in to something they do not want because a man wanted.

Landesberg does clarify that she wants to emphasize that audiences should take away the sentiments of films rather than unquestioningly validate their own pasts. Just like any experience, it could be collective yet the individual will form a unique perspective. While movies are a beautiful way to view a new narrative with a moral that needs to be emphasized, many should realize that they can be just as harmful as they are helpful. Landesberg does a great job describing the positive effects of films yet her argument lacked a contrasting point. Films and media have hyperbolized and affirmed a spectrum of behaviors. Which has radicalized and divided as much as it has connected communities.

As a filmmaker I believe that films can create a narrative of empathy that connects the world, yet there is a need in the world to study context as well as the film itself. There are identities being built from the prosthetic memory received from film, Landesberg emphasizes empathy and I emphasize systematic oppression. There is a trend where viewers of these Sigma Male films are alienating themselves from others and they are developing a disdain for others. Audiences are not seeing the larger picture, they are perpetuating the thoughts that are internalized not just in them but in societal systems.  

Works Cited

American Psycho. Directed by Mary Harron, Lions Gate Films, 2000.

Fake News/Misinformation/Disinformation: What is Confirmation Bias?. Northeastern University Library, https://subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/fakenews/bias.

500 Days of Summer. Directed by Mark Webb, Fox Searchlight Picture, 2009

Landesberg, Alison. Prosthetic Memory: Total Recall and Blade Runner.  Columbia University Press, 2004. 

Rose, Steven. The sad, stupid rise of the sigma male: how toxic masculinity took over social media. The Guardian, 12 Jun, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/12/the-sad-stupid-rise-of-the-sigma-male-how-toxic-masculinity-took-over-social-media.

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Escaped Hell by the Skin of my Teeth: Semiotic Systems and Context

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“Uh- Just the usual. Totally wing it, risk life and limb escape by the skin of my teeth.” – Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) 

If one imagines “by the skin of my teeth”, literally, a visceral image can be imagined. Usually, it is not taken as a literal term and is only used as an idiom to describe something else. The saying “by the skin of my teeth” is usually spoken as an expression to describe a narrow escape. However, this idiom is only the latest iteration in the evolution of the term. The original term “I escaped with only the skin of my teeth” was first used in the Bible, in the passage Job 19:20, where he was left with only himself and gained nothing. “By the skin of my teeth” and other idioms pertain to the study of semiotic systems, systems of signs and symbols (language), which can apply Roland Barthes’ concept of denotation and connotation in semiotic systems.

Denotation

In Roland Barthes’ book Elements of Semiology, Barthes describes denotation as the literal; recognizable images that consist of the literal object. Thus, when using the idiom “by the skin of my teeth” as something literal, one may imagine an image like this: 

[imagine a photo of a layer of skin over a set of teeth]

image created by Bridghet Wood

Gross, right? For Barthes, denotation was the first step in a semiotic system of a two part model which describes a transformation of messages (Griffin, 2012).  A denotation is a single-step process from an object to its literal meaning, the signifier to the signified. It is a sign that requires a minimal amount of context to understand. This object is called “an apple” and it is accepted. However, it starts to get more complicated when the literal words start to mean something different. 

Connotation 

Connotations are the second part of Barthes’ two-part model, where the already signified object is reinterpreted as a signifier, which ultimately makes a sign (Griffin 2012). In other words, there are initial signs that are literal, which mean the definitional meaning of the signified, and signs that represent a meaning in the actual-use of life. This is the progression of denotations and connotations. Therefore, when the term “by the skin of my teeth” is used, it is not about gums, but it is about a narrow escape. The different meaning is a result of overlapping perspectives that a semiotic system, of which a community has in common, provides. One cannot differentiate a literal meaning of a term versus an ironic one, unless there is context that provides the knowledge to know how to differentiate the two. 

Systems of Context 

What is the process where detonations become connotations? The Bible depicts the tale of Job, a righteous man that lives a privileged life. It is not until Satan challenges God to test Job’s faith, where Job loses everything. Through the trials, Job has lost his wealth, his health, and his community around him. Job pleads with God that he has nothing left to give. “I am nothing but skin and bones. I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth (Job 19:20).” “Skin” is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “an outer covering or surface layer.” Teeth, notably, do not have an outer layer, and if they did it would be so thin it would be unnoticeable. Therefore, the skin of his teeth meant Job had nothing. 

While there is no event that can be pinpointed when and where the Bible verse of Job became an idiom, there are theoretical processes that could explain how the term’s new meaning came to be. The Henry Ford Museum defines an idiom as “non-literal expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the true meaning of its individual words (2022).” As it has been stated, the origin of “by the skin of my teeth” originated from Job, and the new meaning means to escape by a narrow margin. So, it can be assumed that a community used that term in the context of an escape where the chances of success had a margin of almost nothing. It must have been a community because as stated in class lecture, a language of one is not a language at all. This is because, if only one person speaks a language then it is not a shared system of communication that is used to mediate signs to others. Therefore,  “by the skin of my teeth” is most likely a term that was popularized by others because of the perpetual use, thus changing the meaning from the origin.

Conclusion

Roland Barthes’ two-part model of the analysis of semiotic systems reveals that denotations invoke the creation of connotations. Communities take literal meanings of signs and use them in the context of their own culture and events, resulting in new meanings. Semiotic systems are systems which are ingrained in a society’s lives, signs and symbols are actively used and manipulated to fit in certain contexts in the pragmatics of a society. The only way to understand those pragmatics is to understand the context of that system. If one is not a part of a system, then they cannot make use of it. However, one does not need to know the origins of a sign or symbol, there just needs to be the context of how it is used in that system. To use “by the skin of my teeth” as an example once more, many people hear this term in daily-life or in pop culture and understand what is being referred to in that conversation. Not as many people know that term had originated in the Bible. Certainly, this illustrates that it is how the term is used in the semiotic system that one is privy to, where it actually carries meaning. Ultimately, showing the evolution of denotations and connotations and how they are used in a person’s everyday life and solidified in the pragmatics of a society.

Citations 

Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology. Translated by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith, Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1967.

Exploring the Origins of Idioms. Henry Ford Museum, 25 February, 2022, https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/exploring-the-origins-of-idioms/.

Gnomeo & Juliet. Directed by Kelly Asbury, Walt Disney Studios, 2011.


Griffin, E.M. “Semiotics of Roland Barthes.” A First Look at Communication Theory. 8th ed., McGraw Hill, 2012

“skin.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2011. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skin (5 November, 2025)

The Bible. International Children’s Bible, 1981.

Feature image is from Gnomeo & Juliet (2011).

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Media is like being an athlete, to move forward one must be the most popular. : The Umberto Eco Reflection

During a rewatch of La Biblioteca de Monde, I could not help but relate the theme of media and memory to the current political extremism throughout media and erasure of common knowledge. Throughout the film, Umberto Eco emphasizes the importance of memory; he states that humans who live in time cannot build a future without memory. He compares living in time to being an athlete, “to spring forward, we must back up first (Umberto Eco).” In the film, Umberto Eco initially establishes different kinds of memory: organic memory, vegetal memory, and mineral memory. Eco describes organic memory as the one in our brain and vegetal memory as books and physical understandings, a parallel to organic memory. Mineral memory is memory that is kept in the “silicon of our electronic devices (Umberto Eco).” The interesting dynamic Eco points out, however, is the effect that mineral memory has on the other two. Because humans can offload our memory to external resources, Eco believes we are essentially choosing not to remember. The structure of memory is a paradigm of social structure and, if memory is offloaded, then there is no space for human connection to others and to one’s own mind. Thus, using digital technology as a crutch or replacement for memory is putting functioning society and our organic memory at risk of loss.  

In parallel with Umberto Eco’s concept of media and memory, Caroline Jones in “Evocative Objects: Things We Think With” shares concern with the reliance on technology to that effects memory (pp. 232–43). Jones recounts her experience with a painting in her attic, one of which she made and emphasizes that a physical memory’s medium narrows the scopes of perception via the technology of which that is created. Using Jones’ example, her painting purposefully excludes her sister and creates Jones’ idealistic version of her family. As the maker of this piece of art, she controlled the image that the audience would see. Technology and mediums of correspondence have the ability to capture all parts of the picture, yet it is the user’s responsibility to include or omit any information. The autonomy of technology has even grown autonomous outside of human interference within systems that are growing more advanced as time moves forward (Ellul). For example, AI has replaced the strenuous process of writing a cover letter, to an extensively narrower process; replacing 10 steps with one. 

After the publication of the medium of communication, it is up to the viewer’s interpretation of how the message is received. In Jone’s case, the medium is her painting, and her older self is the viewer, so she is interpreting a false representation of her family as true because there is no context except her own. Ultimately, Jones is warning readers about how when authors use technology, they can control perceptions which can narrow perceptions about the entire reality of a situation. 

 The painting in the attic was used to reload this memory in the mind of the maker. It was not until Jones revisited the painting that she realized a different perspective (Jones). The internet can be used as a tool to record, essentially, an infinite number of texts; however, it has oversaturated the world with information. Umberto Eco states that the functions of memory consist of (1) preserving memory and (2) selecting memory. Memories are preserved and selected, and the rest are filtered out for being too useless or too complicated. Due to the internet, information is now dispersed and abundant with little to no filtering. Eco states that the effect of the lack of filtering is overloading information to humans, which is promoting the use of mineral memory, which, in turn, is erasing organic memory.  

A physical representation of the overloading of the human mind using technology would be the employed content moderators. In Casey Newton’s article “The Trauma Floor,” there is a recount of the working conditions and traumas of the content moderators employed by Cognizant. In the article, Newton describes the graphic memories that the employees must keep and preserve, to filter the internet for every other user. The Cognizant content moderators are a real-life comparison to Funes el memorioso, the anecdote Umberto Eco used in the film to represent how the surplus of information can drive one mad.  

The internet has created a mechanism for a mass dispersion of information, which has led to an erasure of common knowledge within a society. In result of the erasure of common knowledge, Umberto Eco states that there can be no human relationships. “There is a virtual change that 6 billion people on the planet surfing individually on the net could come up with 6 billion different opinions on what knowledge is, which could cause a communication black out.” This reliance on digital media as a news source has created a digression in politics because of extended sources of information. Currently, there is no more concentration of information that generates common knowledge amongst society. Walter Benjamin’s theory of Cult of Mass Distraction articulates the point that a distracted audience is not one substance (The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction). In political media, the tsunami of information has desensitized audiences which has resulted in apathy or extremism from audiences. Amongst extremists, there seems to be a migration of groups that hold power in the spreading of information; people are looking for community in the age of information and working in numbers is the most effective (Michael).  

The issue of these groups forming that control information is that there are no more individual thoughts within those groups. Having shared common knowledge does not mean that opinions are the same (Eco).  Because of this information that is being flown in the wind, there is no time to critically think. Thus, our memories are not holding anything but attaching to one that creates the most commonality. There is now no communication among others, but movements of ideologies. Media has become the method of communication that political parties use to create their image of iconography. It has been weaponized and a source of attention grabbing, where world leaders are chosen by popularity. The only resolution is to convene information so that people can share knowledge and develop individual opinions (Olanrian & Williams, 2020).  

Ultimately, Umberto Eco has highlighted the importance of memory and has demonstrated how media has affected the processes that affect our memory functions. History tells us how to move through the future effectively: information historically was preserved in vegetal memory and physical memory, which is how information was passed. Humans were accustomed to offloading and spreading knowledge. However, because of the digital age and the internet’s seemingly endless memory space (mineral memory), humans have offloaded too much memory to the point where so much memory has been almost lost. The results of the loss of memory have seemingly taken effect in today’s political media. The desensitization of media audiences has resulted in audiences that cannot learn from history because there is too much noise to form an opinion. Humans cannot handle every point of information; there needs to be a filter to determine what to preserve in organic memory or vegetal memory to pass information. Information has been used as a tool for growth; now it has been weaponized as a tool for power. The only resolution that is reasonably attainable is a reconvention of knowledge and a safe space for opinion.  

Works Cited 

Cover Photo is the poster from Umberto Eco: La Biblioteca del Mondo.

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, translated by Harry Zohn, Random House, 1936, https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm.  

Ellul, Jaques. “The “Autonomy of the Technological Phenomenon.” Philosophy of Technology: The Technological Condition – An Anthology, edited by Van Dusek, Wiley Blackwell, 2003, pp. 386-397, https://nissenbaum.tech.cornell.edu/papers/autonomy.pdf. 

Jones, Caroline A. “THE PAINTING IN THE ATTIC.” Evocative Objects: Things We Think With, edited by Sherry Turkle, The MIT Press, 2007, pp. 232–43. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hhg8p.31. 

Michael, George. Extremism in America, edited by George Michael, University Press of Florida, 2014, pp. 1–14. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx079sk.4.  

Newton, Casey. The Trauma Floor, The Verge, Feb 25, 2019, https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona.  

Olaniran, Bolane, and Indi Williams. “Social Media Effects: Hijacking Democracy and Civility in Civic Engagement.” Platforms, Protests, and the Challenge of Networked Democracy 77–94. 27 Feb. 2020, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-36525-7_5. 

Umberto Eco: La biblioteca del mondo. Directed by Davide Ferrario, archival interviews with Umberto Eco, 2022. 

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Portal Into my Mind and Barrier to the World. “AirPods”

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My Evocative Object: “AirPods” 

 Humans need ways to be distracted. As a baby you are given rattles to numb the need for mental stimulation and the woes of being a baby. When you clock-out of your nine-to-five you turn on the TV to decompress from your workload. Since childhood I have struggled with chronic anxiety. My thoughts have flooded my mind with seemingly no way to channel (unless I resort to insanity).  The best tools to combat my anxiety have been distractions. I have many hobbies to distract myself from day-to-day. However, as far as I can remember I have had a growing addiction to technological distractions, specifically ones with sound mediators (i.e. dialogue, music, etc.). I would watch a movie, and headphones would allow me to be in my own world. I found that I needed headphones to be able to distract myself while pursuing other distractions. My Spotify playing would be parallel to my drawings, while also having a tv show in the background. Now I cannot even write a paragraph for school without having another stream of noise in my mind. My need for distraction is the reason why I can always be found with my wireless Bluetooth headphones, my AirPods.  

As I step onto the bus to go to class, I am comforted by the little pieces of plastic and wiring in my ears. My small white AirPod case can always be found in the front pocket of my backpack. If I leave my AirPods at home, I am devastated because it is nice to not have to hear my own thoughts. It is almost a necessity if I would like to have a quiet ride. My AirPods allow me to be alone. In Bernadette Wegenstein’s chapter “Body” in the Critical Terms for Media Studies she emphasizes the distinction between body and embodiment. Wegenstein defines embodiment as contextually dependent on the environment in which the physical body is. By this definition of embodiment, Wegenstein also establishes the fracturing of embodiment with the increasing technological use of society. People split into multiple selves when using the various interfaces of technology, the technological barriers somewhat protect people’s dignity thus allowing them to perform.  

Using AirPods, to me, is like a term that was used in Sherry Turkle’s Evocative Object, “brain prosthesis”. The distraction in my mind by the dialogue of whatever is coming from my mind allows me to relax and “perform” in social interactions in a way that is comfortable. The barrier of the media as a constant white noise in my mind protects me from the version of myself in my mind, thus allowing me to be more present in the moments with others. Technology has become an embodiment of myself. My comfort in technology could be an example of a parasitic reliance of new technology, or it could be symbiotic relationship to use technology as tools of self-realization. In my opinion, I believe using media technologies in this reliant form has given me a sense of control over my mind. 

In Caroline Jones’ chapter “Senses” in the Critical Terms for Media Studies, she explains that technology has trained our minds. Endless scrolling has affected our attention span. McLuhan insights in the “Senses” chapter states that media technologies have become extensions of man thus, extending our senses and supplemented our way of thinking. However, one of the dangers of using technology as an extension is the narrow scope that technology has. It is inherently biased because of our own perceptions and for the communities that do not have access. If we solely use technologies, then we are only perceiving reality through the layers of interfaces of technology rather than firsthand experience.  

This isolation of my thoughts using media technologies could be like the Evocative Object “My Laptop” and the attribution of “brain prothesis” the author, Annalee Newitz, gave to her laptop. Wearing AirPods, the Bluetooth aspect allows me to complete my tasks. I am impeded from my tasks without them in my ears; this highlights my need for distraction and the reliance I have already. I have noticed that whatever is playing in my headphones determines my mood and productivity. I even use my AirPods as a channel to convey my emotions to my own body. If I am on the edge of a good mood I will play something that reminds me of a happy moment to supplement my mood. The state of myself in which I feel the most comfortable, is a state where I am an extension of myself who is constrained by a medium.  

A mindset that I use to justify my overuse of this technology is that not only do AirPods allow me to have access to my own knowledge of my mind, but also access to music, and knowledge of others through podcasts. I use these objects as a medium to myself. To me they represent my expression of my feelings to myself. If I am feeling incredibly overwhelmed, the heavy metal in my ears reflects that.  My AirPods have given me the perspective of the world with autonomy over what noise I hear. Perhaps this lack of control I have felt over my own body has inspired my ideology of the importance of autonomy in my own mind. This may have caused my attachment to this technology. My fear of loss of control may have also stemmed from the helplessness I have experienced with my own body. My day-to-day tasks are constantly mediated by AirPods and afforded me focus, however they have also been a barrier for human interaction because I have to tune myself out. Ultimately, AirPods are a medium of communication and perception in a digital interface, however, impedes my perceptions and communication of reality without technological interference.  

Written by Bridghet Wood  

Image by Bridghet Wood 

Citations 

Jones, Caroline. “Senses.” Critical Terms for Media Studies, edited by Mark B. N. Hansen, University of Chicago Press, Chicago [Ill.], 2010. 

Newitz, Annalee. “MY LAPTOP.” Evocative Objects: Things We Think With, edited by Sherry Turkle, The MIT Press, 2007, pp. 86–91. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hhg8p.14. Accessed 30 Sept. 2025. 

Wegenstein, Bernadette. “Body.” Critical Terms for Media Studies, edited by Mark B. N. Hansen, University of Chicago Press, Chicago [Ill.], 2010.