Feed

When I began reading the book "Feed" I was immediately drawn in by the unique language choice and that fact that for once, I had to interpret the language much like the elders of today have to do when they hear us speak. I liked how the book gave little details in the beginning so we had to use our imagination to picture the moon and what it would be like if we had the feed. In our imagination, I thought it sounded great. Look at an object and the feed brings up the specifications of it. Titus and his friends seemed very much like how we are today; only caring about ourselves, not worrying about the past or future, the laziness, etc. This made me reflect upon how our society is and similarities between them.

It is only when the kid's feeds get hacked that you start to realize how much better things are without the feed. They play a game in the hospital where they throw needles at a model of the human body. In my opinion they were having more fun than they ever did with the feed. This is when how I looked at the book changed. I immediately started to look at the negative impact of the feed, from the lack of social life to the fact that it can never turn off and if it does. . . you die. You have to wonder how corporations were able to come up with such a technology. Sure we love our computers and they certainly expand our horizon on what is possible to do without even moving, but do we really want them interfering with every part of our life?

There are serious problems in the world in "Feed" and we can only hope that things aren't taken that far. However, with the common sense that lacks in our government, it seems inevitable that our world could resemble that of "Feed".

The Dumbest Generation?

Though it seems logical to think that because all this technology can help us perform tasks easier, we are dumber, there is more to the argument. As technology keeps becoming more widely available to us, I believe we need additional skills to be able to use it. Just look at the jobs that have been created. Instead of having to buy or inconveniently find a newspaper to read, which again in my opinion, few under the age of thirty would do, we can set Google news as our homepage and get those headlines the second we start up an internet browser. Its convenient and because everything is right there, some of us might actually take advantage of this.

However, I have to agree with some of what Mark Bauerlein said in "The Dumbest Generation". I think he was spot on when he said how much our generation is only interested in each other. Surveys don't lie and the facts show that our generation is falling behind. But you have to ask yourself, how is this my fault? In my opinion it is the parent's responsibility to educate their sons and daughters of culture, arts, history, so that their children have some knowledge before they enter public education. This leads me to my next point. Though some parents may be at fault, clearly our public education system needs a revising. You barely need to try anymore in high school to pass and the only reason to be in high school is to get out of it. This is even true in college which most kids go to just to get a degree. Few actually pay thousands a year because they want to learn something. We basically only care about what we think is important.

Ads

Modern day advertising is not just about selling a product but is about selling the image along with it. Though we may forget what that Calvin Klein ad said about the jeans, we will remember the image it was projecting. This image is stored in our subconscious and is what makes us buy those jeans or ‘outfit’ as we try to become that image. The problem here is that it is almost impossible. The people shown in fashion advertisements can all be described as perfect, something only achievable in what is known as ‘fantasy land’.There are also issues with how women in advertisements are displayed. They are constantly seen as ‘sex objects’, non-human, and only there for the sake of men’s entertainment. The demoralization of women is also being shown in modern ads. Rarely do you see an ad where the woman is looking down on the man. It is almost always the opposite.