While reading the essay “Postmodern Virtualities,” I could finally understand what the author was saying (I think). At the beginning of the piece, I liked how Poster gives the historical analogy of technological advances in the middle ages. While reading this section of the essay, I was able to agree with Poster that technological advances can shape a culture and dictate the way that people communicate with each other. With Poster giving examples of the ways merchants in the middle ages communicated due to their access to “new technology,” it made me think about how our culture and communication techniques today are shaped due to our access to technology. In today’s society, everything we own is digitalized. For my generations specifically, we grew up on computers, and most of us had a smartphone by our teenage years. Since we had access to this type of technology, our communication with the world has broadened. Back in the middle ages, Poster discusses how people valued face-to-face communication. Now, our generation communicates via text messages on our smart devices or direct message on our social media outlets. With seeing these differences between the two technology times, I am not sure if our generation has an advantage or disadvantage. Of course, my generation can contact people across the globe and can become immersed in different cultures with one click, but what is happening with our human interaction skills. As a member of the millennial generation, I feel like we lack these face-to-face communication skills that were valued in the middle ages. This then makes me think about and question if the Postmodern era is better than the modern era. I am not sure if this could be an argument, but I see some pros and cons with each one.
I know in the past the I wasn’t really understanding other Theorist “theory talk”, but I appreciate how Poster presented his argument. He wrote in a way that I could understand, so I appreciate that. Also I feel like this article was easier to read because I could relate to Posters predictions about the future of technology since I am technically living in it right now.
Tianna-Marie,
ReplyDeleteI highly relate to your response to this reading and how it’s all finally starting to click in a really tangible and applicable way in your understanding, I’m right there with you as I feel like the past two weeks I’ve received the readings in a more straightforward way. I also really like how you explored the communication shifts in culture with new technologies and used the readings to explain your experience with these technological advances. I also wonder about the shift in value from face-to-face communication to that mediated through screens and technology. I wonder if it is an advantage or disadvantage much like you expressed. I’ve kind of landed on it’s a different set of disadvantages and a different set of advantages. Viewing both face-to-face communication and communication through tech as having ways they can be used for empowerment or limitation of the human experience. This makes me think of the somewhat cheesy but adorable ride at Disney called the carousel of progress, and how it too ends on the progress of the early 21st century but alludes to what’s “around the corner” or the “next light of day.” Although this ride leaves its viewers with a blindly optimistic point of view, I think Poster paired with the understanding of an ever-evolving wheel or carousel of progress can provide a helpful critical lense to progress as a whole.
I truly believe that Poster was really on to something profound in this work and his predictions, as you said, are the realities we are living today. Hitting the core of critical media and cultural studies I found his theory extremely valuable as a CMC student and in understanding the other theorists within cultural application today.