I had countless nights seeing the clock going past 3:30 a.m.; dim lights emitted from my devices are invigorating yet soothing my nerves at the same time.<\/p>\n
Upon reading the chapter "My Laptop" by Annalee Newitz, I instantly feel connected to the topic. Yet to describe it to the most accurate extent, it is better to say that my evocative object is not only limited to a single laptop, but all electronic devices I own.<\/p>\n
Yes, all my devices \u2014 the omnipresent yet pathetic extensions of my existence.<\/p>\n
Laptop is the object I feel the most connected to out of all the given chapter choices of the evocative objects, at least I can guarantee that to myself. Maybe I could even assume it to the entire Gen Z generation.<\/p>\n
I was almost bred up by devices. I’m also lucky to say that I have responsible parents, and overflowing and chaotic internet memes and cultures didn’t get to slam an injuring crater on my brain.<\/p>\n
But they mean something else when it ultimately comes down to socializing.<\/p>\n
Growing up as a city boy, I didn’t get any chance to experience any kinds of "socializing" that I would perceive as "normal" in a common sense. Almost all my social activities have been moved online, whether it’s just asking a question or sending out hang-out requests to a classmate in middle and high school. I didn’t have any neighborhood friends that I can hang out with, nor any buddies or pals either; I didn’t have any classmates asking me to go get drinks with them after class; I didn’t have any moments as seen from books or TV shows that I thought I would have……All that’s left are encounters, whether with people online or online contents \u2014 the encounters as mediations of my hopes and dreams; the encounters that remind me of my reality ;the encounters that send out all the glow from my devices.<\/p>\n
That inundating, clogging, torturing, soothing, colourful, plain, and infinite-to-nothing glow.<\/p>\n
I can still remember the last time where the glow shines my tears.<\/p>\n
\n"My laptop computer is irreplaceable, and not just for all the usual reasons. It\u2019s practically a brain prosthesis. Sometimes I find myself unable to complete a thought without cracking it open and accessing a file of old notes, or hopping online and Googling a fact or two."<\/em><\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014 Annalee Newitz (page 88, "My Laptop")<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Newitz’s words at the start of her chapter naturally presents a slice-of-life observation which bears resemblance to my socializing experiences. After having all my connections on my devices, my overthinking and anxious would sometimes presume that someone’s dead if they haven’t been active online; I often feel scared to imagine what would happen if I’m totally detached from internet while all the social presences are deeply tied to the online realms. However, her words still hit on points that connect back to another work by Sherry Turkle, the author of this chapter collection book. Her book Alone Together<\/em> provides valuable insights on the interesting dynamic between technology and societal loneliness. In the Chapter 9 Growing Up Tethered<\/em>1<\/a><\/sup>, Turkle discussed the effect of technology on loneliness through different interviews with high school students. The main idea behind the chapter is generally about explanations behind this influence through sociological knowledge. Although it would be immense to use the entire chapter to frame the entire idea for my evocative objects, it is a precious piece of material that you can’t ignore to understand the everlasting impact of social media on psychological development. As complex, high-dimensional real-life social interactions are constantly mediated into compressed, low-dimensional formats online, the study of social media and interpersonal connections should not be only limited as one of the fields in media studies, but rather to be regarded a pressing global issue.<\/p>\n
\nMaybe I hope that this simple blog article could change something. Maybe it wouldn’t.<\/p>\n
Or I hope that the glow could be less clogging perhaps.<\/p>\n
Works Consulted<\/h2>\n
Newitz, Annalee. \u201cMY LAPTOP.\u201d Evocative Objects: Things We Think With<\/em>, by Sherry Turkle, The MIT Press, 2007, www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt5hhg8p.14<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together : Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other<\/em>, Basic Books, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central<\/em>, https:\/\/ebookcentral.proquest.com\/lib\/ubc\/detail.action?docID=684281<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n Footnotes<\/h2>\n
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The Chapter 9 spans across pages 197-213. ↩<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had countless nights seeing the clock going past 3:30 a.m.; dim lights emitted from my devices are invigorating yet soothing my nerves at the same time. Upon reading the chapter "My Laptop" by Annalee Newitz, I instantly feel connected to the topic. Yet to describe it to the most accurate extent, it is better … Continue reading To My Online Self \u2014 My Evocative Object(s)<\/span>