Always On

Our generation and the younger generations are always on. Meaning they are always on the internet; connecting in some way. We carry around cell phones and laptop cases because they are available to us. On the same note, the internet is available to us (in the United States) almost anywhere. Our coffee shops turn into hot spots, hospitals have community wifi, even some McDonald's are "always on" (connected).

Because of being on all the time, everyday public spaces become places for solitude. People want to be on their phones or laptops instead of interacting with other people face to face. Sherry Turkle writes, "a train station (like an airport, a cafe, or a park) is no longer a communal space but a place of social collection: people come together but do not speak to each other" (AT 155). We are glued to the instant access of knowledge and the interconnectivity of social networks, so much that we sometimes isolate ourselves in public, communal spaces.

This is not a new phenomenon, just a rapidly increasing one. At the beginning of the internet era, people began to see how a new identity could be created on the internet. Now, there are games like The Sims and Second Life, where people can create an alternate identity.

Turkle writes about the identities some people create in online communities: "Online, the plain represented themselves as glamorous, the old as young, the young as older. Those of modest means wore elaborate virtual jewelry. In virtual space, the crippled walked without crutches, and the shy improved their chances as seducers" (AT 158). Some people enjoy being on these types of games more-so than their actual lives.

Because of the increase in technology, people have become more efficient multitaskers. Turkle makes the point that grade school youth today are juggling a monstrous amount of technology compared to the children that grew up in the 80's (AT 162). Most of us, growing up in the 80's or 90's can relate to her comparison. Gameboy and homework or homework and music almost always went hand in hand growing up, but today kids have, as Turkle points out as well, calls, videos, texts, facebook, twitter, blogger, and many other distractions to juggle while working.

A lot of us are guilty of always being on, I know I am. I looked up 2 youtube videos, sent 2 text messages and one email, and checked my Twitter all while writing this blog in a room with two other people. Although accompanied by actual human beings, I chose to "be on" over striking up a conversation. Just keeping up with the times, I suppose.

COM 409 Intro and CH1

Well hello, we are back again. My name is Greg Aitken and I am a senior here at Reinhardt. I have family mainly in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, but other parts of the US as well.

I can not say that I am an early adopter as far as technology comes. I do not enjoy being on the computer, but I will admit that, once I got a smart-phone, my life was changed. Having that much information at my fingertips was truly an amazing experience for the first time. I feel like the next generation should be brainiacks. They are getting smart-phones at young ages, but I am not sure if they are being used to their

maximum potential.

I avoided Facebook and Twitter for as long as I could, but as soon as I bought a smart-phone, I was forced to give in. The inter-connectivity online is a remarkable aspect of the internet. Although I am not active on Facebook and am minimally active on Twitter, I find their services quite useful. I have been able to find friends from different places that I have lived and have been able to follow comedians and athletes on Twitter (@GregoryMcBeth).

Reading through the first online reading, I learned a lot about online cybercultures and what a cyberculture is. I interact in cyberculture all the time, but did not really know what it was. I am a member of xbox live, which is an online gaming cyberculture. You are able to create avatars which can represent you in the online world.

When I think of cyberculture I almost immediately think of the movie "The Matrix" and the concept behind that movie. In the movie, the fact that you can have a mental projection of yourself to plug into the matrix, the same goes with xbox live avatars. You can create an avatar to resemble yourself all the way down to its clothes.

Another topic and stat that interested me is that of the digital divide. The stats on population and internet usage and their correlation is fascinating because they do not go hand in hand. The countries with higher internet usage are not the most populated, in fact, the opposite is true in some cases.

Because there is internet usage, although not as prevalent in some countries and nations, there must be some kind of monitoring system to regulate cyberspace. There is a governing term which is used to describe the set of rules known as protocol.

A new term, cyberfeminists, stuck out to me as well. Cyberfeminists "seek to feminize cyberspace by ensuring that the technology is appropriated for their use" (CC 18). One website that is particularly geared towards women is Pinterest. This site seems like a cyberfeminists definition of technology appropriated for female use.

Cybercultures are popping up all over the internet. The interconnectivity of the internet and the ability to communicate over so many different mediums makes cybercultures more of a world culture than an internet culture. Although the internet is a global culture, it seems so much smaller and more connected than the actual world does.

People on the Move

Since people learned how to walk and wanted to explore, they have been on the move. Exploration is not the only reason people go on the move though. There are conflicts like war and struggle which cause people to move. Famine and food shortages or water shortages are other reasons why people move or migrate. Sometimes groups of people move to find other work or fertile ground. These are just a few of the reasons why people tend to leave their homes and land.

Where these people are going is a place where they feel they can be more successful. Not only financially, but easier to raise a family, find safer or better living conditions, and so on. The move is most likely made to make the situation easier on the family or group.

War or conflict has been the root of the majority of mass movements by a group of peoples. This was the case in Uganda as well. Civil war and struggle has caused a lot of people to flee their homes and possessions in search of a safer, better life. Full towns and camps have been created to accommodate all those whom are displaced by these conflicts.

These movements do not just effect the adults and leaders of the communities that are being displaced, they effect the children as well. This was especially true in Uganda. Because of the civil war that was occurring in Uganda, leaders of the opposing side instructed their followers to recruit young children, most of the time boys, to fight for their cause.

A group of Southern Cal film students visited Uganda, and were appalled by what they witnessed. Children were being captured and and given guns and alcohol. Some of the children who were captured played their roles to perfection; they accepted the loose regulations of the rebel armies and were given power which they never had before. Others, as expected, were terrified and many were killed during raids or times of conflict.

These students returned to the states and were led to create Invisible Children (http://www.invisiblechildren.com/homepage). This is a website that put the struggle in Uganda, especially the treatment of children in Uganda, on the map. The name is derived from the tactic some of the villages and children have undertaken. Because of the civil war and the snatching of children, villages have began to educate children at night. The term "Invisible Children" refers to the night walk, sometimes up to 20 miles, in order to get a proper education.

Since these students have made the Ugandan children's experiences visible to the world, there have been rallies and "night walks" to commemorate, and raise money for, those children who make the walk nightly. I participated in a "night walk" when I attended Samford University in Birmingham, AL.

The organizers planned to meet at one location (a school so people could park) and walk to another city park and stay the night. My friend and I decided to walk from our apartment, to the downtown school meeting center to meet up with the larger group, and then to the city park to spend the night. The experience, although it was nothing near what the children in Uganda experienced, was very eye opening.

This is just one instance where people have been forced to move because of conflict. People are being displaced daily, others are choosing to leave their home in search of a better life daily, the hope is, that one day, people will be happy where their are and with their neighbors.

Economic, political, and legal systems

The world is a very diverse planet. Aside from the giant numbers of insects, plants, and other animals, the planets population varies a lot just within the human realm. Each continent has countries or states, and in each of those countries or states are either states or cities which are all populated with very diverse cultures.

Along with the diverse cultures come diverse economic systems. Those economic systems seem to vary between continent, country, and even state. In the most primitive of cultures, the economic system is not as structured. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is that they are not sophisticated enough to use currency other than simple objects. Bartering and foraging are two economic systems that have been adopted by more primitive cultures.

In more advanced and more complex economic systems, there is a division of labor. This division is evident in primitive cultures, but not to the extent it is in more complex systems. There is an obvious gap between labor classes. Property rights also come into play in more complex economic systems.

Because different economic systems around the world hold different currencies as valuable, there are several different modes of consumption. Minimalism and consumerism are the two different types of consumption. Minimalism explores the idea of having less because the culture demands less. The opposite is the case for consumerism, or the way America is today.

Along with different economic systems, there are different political systems as well. Smaller cultures have very different political systems compared to larger cultures and nations. Small cultures may use tribes as a political system. Elders have the most say, hunters, and women and children may have the least.

Gender has always been a nasty bridge to cross, especially in the political realm. In some cultures, females are not allowed to participate in the political process, while in others, females hold the highest political positions.

Legal systems vary from culture to culture as well. Some have more extreme forms of punishment, while others are more humane and civil. A more primitive culture may have more extreme penalties for lawbreakers compared to a more civilized legal system such as the US.

Communication, religion, and expressive culture

Communication, religion, and expressive culture like art, written works, etc. are the basic building blocks to a culture. Each individual culture has their own ways of communicating with each other. Some cultures have a broad reach over territories, while other cultures may be more remote. No matter the size of the culture, each one will have different ways to communicate, different ways to express their religion, and each culture has many different forms of expressive culture, whether they be sculpting, painting, and so on.

Communication does not just mean verbal communication. Different cultures use many different forms of communication. Different cultures may have different languages, which is a different form of communication, but different cultures also have different representations for body and sign language. Certain hand gestures or body movements may mean one thing in one culture, and something completely different in another.

Different cultures not only have different languages and different meanings for body language and hand gestures, but they also have different forms of communication. In some cultures, spoken word is the only form of communication. In more technologically advanced cultures, however, people use computers, cell phones, pagers, and beepers to communicate over long distances, where a more primitive culture may have a runner who delivers the message by mouth.

Religion is another major component that helps define a culture. Different cultures practice different religions for the most part. Some share religions, but are differ in their practices. Different cultures feel that their religion may be more correct or is the "right way" compared to other surrounding religions. Different cultures also put more weight into religion, while others are not as active.

There are some religions that are more dominant than others. Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism are some of the major religions. They have a wide reach and each has a pretty heavy following in their respective geographical locations. Each of these major religions, as well as many smaller religions, have codes of conduct and moral codes. Religion is just as powerful of a tool as communication. Wars have been waged because of religious beliefs.

There are many different forms of expressive culture. Paintings, drama, sculptures, sports games, etc. are all different forms of expressive culture. Each culture determines the kind of expressive work that comes out of it. A more physically fit culture may put more weight in the sporting forms of expressive culture, while a more intellectually based culture may put more weight in the literature aspect of expressive culture.

Many cultures display their forms of expressive culture in the public eye. There are art galleries, there are staged plays, there are sporting events, there are book signings/reading, and so on. Not only are forms of expressive culture placed on formal display, some forms of expression are placed on bodies. Tattoos as well as make-up and costumes are also different forms of expressive culture.

Communication, religion, and expressive culture are all very important aspects to any given culture. Different cultures have different forms of each, and are practiced according to the importance stressed upon each within that culture.

A few more roots

My last post included a lot of information on my moms side of the family. While researching for my cultural roots paper, I found that I have a lot more to say about my dads side of the family. My moms background is a little more jumbled and different, where my dads background is more traditional.

His father, my grandfather, grew up in PA. My grandfather had a service station in the small town in which he lived. He had one of the only phones in town and was called several different occasions to pass on KIA notices. He was a stern man and a firm believer in working hard. When he moved his family to FL, he built a service building that is still semi-operational today. The building itself, other than the roof, has not been worked on since he put it up in the late 40's and early 50's, and the roof was only worked on because of hurricane season, which I thought was over.

My dad was born inPennsylvania, but, soon after he was born, his family moved way down South to St. Petersburg, FL. He has always been interested in tiny artifacts such as arrowheads and coins that he would find in random fields either in PA or FL. He continues to collect pieces of memorabilia that interest him.

My great-grandfather was born in Germany and fought in the Great War. My dad remembers him dressing in full pressed uniform, being clean shaven, and having his medals and belt buckle shiny. He would march and salute around my grandfather's living room in small strides and my dad and his siblings would get quite a laugh watching him "walk funny" and salute.

Later in my dad's life he became more fascinated with his German heritage and began collecting random German and Nazi memorabilia instead of American and Native American artifacts. This tradition is also shared by my Uncle Don. He has been collecting car parts, guns, arrowheads, etc. The service station that my grandfather built is still lived in by my uncle, and he also semi operates the shop. He will take care of friends and families cars.

My grandmother on my dads side was also from PA. Her parents were from Hungary, though. She was very active in the Methodist Church in PA and in FL once the Aitken family moved to St. Pete. I really do not know much about her ancestors, but one thing that I can tell you is that all her children inherited traits from my tall, lean grandfathers side of the family as well as the tall, stocky traits from my grandmothers side. Her body shape and height are almost identical to that of my aunt, and apart from being tall, my dad and uncles inherited her body shape genes as well.

At first, I thought the exercise we did in class about our "family" was going to be easy. I scribbled down my brother and my parents, their brothers and sisters, and then their parents and thought I was finished. That was my family tree, and those excluded were not considered family.

Then, as I looked around the room, I realized that my family tree seemed incomplete. Others around me were still working on their diagrams and adding cousins, nephews and nieces, second cousins, and so on. That made me think about certain holidays and what my "family" does to celebrate them.

My original family tree was as simple as it gets, but once I began to think more about my "family" and who I consider family, names and faces started jumping around in my head like freshly popped popcorn.

I spend my Thanksgiving holiday with my mom and "her side" of the family. "Her side" of the family is not just her parents though, who really aren't even her blood parents. My mom was adopted by my grandmother, which sounds strange because she wouldn't technically be my grandmother. But, she is my grandmother and she accepted my mom as family, and when my mom started her family, my grandmother accepted us as family, too.

Sadly my grandmother, Mary "Mimia" Ross, passed away a couple of years ago after battling dementia. Her husband, George "Papa G" Ross, is still living, but has recently moved to Birmingham, AL to be closer to his immediate family. Papa G still makes it to Thanksgiving with the other members of my mom's side of the family.

The other members on my mom's side slipped my mind completely when I was first making my family tree, but once I thought about it more the fact became clear that these other people are my family as well. My mom's cousin's, Sharley, house is where we all gather for Thanksgiving. Immediately I had to add her.

Instantly, with some thought, my family tree exploded. Sharley is married to Larry Gates. Larry is the man, added to the list. Sharley's daughter, Jennifer, and her husband Jim Cusick regularly attend Thanksgiving and other of my "mom's sides" events. Jim and Jennifer's kids, Jake and Caroline, are in high school and regularly attend family functions as well. They are defiantly added to my tree.

Already, I have added an entire family to my original family tree, which made me think, Who else am I leaving out? My mind began to race, and I instantly thought of others that have been family to me, but have passed away. Apart from Mimia and my grandparents on my dad's side of the family, Sharley's mom, Anita Panos, leaves a memory of a sweet and loving older lady. She was encouraging but if you messed up she would not hesitate to tell you how it is.

After adding several other deceased members of my family to my tree, I began to think about people I consider family even though they are not my "blood family".

My older brother, Jesse, has had a significant other for quite some time now. She, Erica, attends family functions with him all the time. They go on trips together and are a smart match. She has, more recently, reached out to my brother's family, me included. She is an incredibly sweet and smart woman, and I gladly added her to my family tree.

This brought up another issue in my faulty, incomplete family tree. Should Erica's family be added to my family tree? My brother is quite close with her family just as she is with ours. I am sure they will get married eventually, which will bring their family into my family and vice versa. I have met and hung out with Erica's brothers, twins, on many occasions. They are not blood relatives like Erica is not, but that sense of family overwhelms me when I think about them. Added.

After thinking about my "family" for a little bit, I realized that it is a more complex and full tree. Blood relations do not matter to our family. Well, they do, but if you are not blood related, does not mean that you are not a member of our family. My mom's side of the family is not blood related at all, but they treat us and we treat them like family. Also, my brother's girlfriend and her family, even though not blood related and not married yet, I still consider them part of my family.