Visual Culture in Cyberyspace

Overall, I think that this weeks seminar was the most interesting and the one that I can most relate to. The theme being technology and how it has come about and how it has shaped the world. Personally, without the Internet I do not know how my life was complete. Although, this seems like a mere exaggeration it is extremely true. I can’t not remember when I did not have some type of Internet access. I have lived in what is called the “country” my whole life and the Internet access that I have had is not the greatest but I still had the Internet and I truly could not have lived without it. When I was younger I mainly used the Internet to talk to friends on ICQ, which was a basic chatting program that you downloaded on your computer. Most individuals now do not even know what that was or had it. However, this was my new source of communication. I loved it because I could talk to more than one person at a time. Now as a young adult I use the Internet for so much more. I use the Internet to go shopping, research, communicated with people hours away from me, play games, write on blogs like so, and more. Nowadays, my generation would not know what to do without technology. It is taking over the way we do everything in life. For example, we started talking in seminar about the different websites that would promote different events such as a slumber party; the website or blog would tell everyone to go somewhere at a certain time and then come in your pjs. To me this is an amazing new way to live life. However, I think that it is taking over people’s lives too much in some instances. Many young children miss out in going to play baseball, going camping, and going to amusement parks because they can do all of this at home with technology. For example, the new Nintendo WII that came out you don’t have to go outside to play baseball you can get the same affect by staying in your living room. The game controllers are no longer attached with long cords but they are objects held in ones hand and move around with the motion of ones body. It is extremely new and and advance but to most young adults it is a normal way of life. It truly intrigues me that the Internet was actually made for the purpose of the military and that it became such wide spread by university students. I think that most of us take for granted our culture because it seems so natural to us. We do not understand that not everyone is the world has the luxuries that technology brings. Moreover, technology brings visual culture into people’s homes that may not be able to go out and see pieces of art and who can not go and buy the latest Cd’s. I have had the pleasure of going to The Louvre and seeing the Mona Lisa. Although, this picture is priceless and an important piece of art work not everyone can go see this and therefore I think it is a good thing that replications are often made in a variety of different ways so that everyone can have this luxury of seeing this masterpiece. Some may say that this takes away from the piece of art but I believe that it adds value and character. A piece of art work can not be popular unless people know about it. If you have an extremely expensive piece of art work sitting in your house and no one knows about the creator how would anyone know that this indeed is a masterpiece. Basically, I think that art evolves through technology and that communication of art makes art more realistic and powerful. One could say that they saw the Mona Lisa in real life and someone may not know what they are talking about and they really would not care but if one knows what that is the will appreciate the art more when they get to see it. Overall, I think the use of technology has transformed the world into an information highway in a good way.