"But what all lonely people share is a desire not to be -- or at least not to feel -- alone." It's true. All lonely people desire to be loved, to be cared for. Or at least they have the desire to feel this way. Yet, all human crave it. We all need affection, love, and companionship. Someone to share our story with. I was also affected when Ebert said "We want to say "I am alive" in a billion billion different ways." We do. People want to be found, to be noticed, to be complimented. Through the internet we can be. Emails, tweets, facebook posts, blogging, online games, websites the list goes on and on. Here's the key I think; there are so many ways to be noticed these days without actually being seen. I'm not saying it's good or bad I'm saying it's true. And everything is instantaneous. We can communicate more efficiently and quickly now than ever before. As Ebert said, "The internet has isolated us in virtual worlds."The shy people and the loners can be loud and proud, can have a voice- in words on the web. Both of Ebert’s articles really got me thinking. The man sure is very good at evoking thought from his readers.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Ezra Klein/Roger Ebert Reading Reaction
First I just want to say that all three articles were very interesting. I was able to take something away from each of them when I was done reading. The three articles I'm talking about of course are Ezra Klein's Being "Fully Human" Online article (If you haven't read it Click Here) and Roger Ebert's articles All The Lonely People and A Meeting of Solitudes (Click Here to read Ebert's articles). My initial Ezra Klein’s article was that I never realized how big the internet is to some people. Sure I know we live in the "Internet Age" or "Technology Era" or however you wish to name the beginning of the 21st century, however I never realized just how big the Internet is to some people. The story in the article about Jason Rowe was quite touching to me. The article, combined with the term "avatar" in the article made me think of James Cameron's AVATAR. When thinking about Jason Rowe playing his Star Wars Galaxies and feeling powerful, strong, and free I couldn't help think about the beginning seconds of the intro in AVATAR when Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is soaring high above the trees (in his dreams of course). Jason Rowe opened my eyes when he said "The computer screen is my window to the world." After reading the article I thought about what it would be like to be severely disabled. To be crippled. To be a loner. Thinking about it heavily, I realized that the internet would be my sanctuary. I could soar zip around on an Imperial Speed Bike or race around in an online NASCAR game. I would surf the web for movies, pictures, articles, information, anything! And of course i would be in the safety and comfort of my own home. Obviously I can and do some of these things already. But if I was living under different circumstances, yes the internet would definitely be my window to the world. I was also impacted by Roger Ebert's articles. I was forced to think when Ebert said
"But what all lonely people share is a desire not to be -- or at least not to feel -- alone." It's true. All lonely people desire to be loved, to be cared for. Or at least they have the desire to feel this way. Yet, all human crave it. We all need affection, love, and companionship. Someone to share our story with. I was also affected when Ebert said "We want to say "I am alive" in a billion billion different ways." We do. People want to be found, to be noticed, to be complimented. Through the internet we can be. Emails, tweets, facebook posts, blogging, online games, websites the list goes on and on. Here's the key I think; there are so many ways to be noticed these days without actually being seen. I'm not saying it's good or bad I'm saying it's true. And everything is instantaneous. We can communicate more efficiently and quickly now than ever before. As Ebert said, "The internet has isolated us in virtual worlds."The shy people and the loners can be loud and proud, can have a voice- in words on the web. Both of Ebert’s articles really got me thinking. The man sure is very good at evoking thought from his readers.
"But what all lonely people share is a desire not to be -- or at least not to feel -- alone." It's true. All lonely people desire to be loved, to be cared for. Or at least they have the desire to feel this way. Yet, all human crave it. We all need affection, love, and companionship. Someone to share our story with. I was also affected when Ebert said "We want to say "I am alive" in a billion billion different ways." We do. People want to be found, to be noticed, to be complimented. Through the internet we can be. Emails, tweets, facebook posts, blogging, online games, websites the list goes on and on. Here's the key I think; there are so many ways to be noticed these days without actually being seen. I'm not saying it's good or bad I'm saying it's true. And everything is instantaneous. We can communicate more efficiently and quickly now than ever before. As Ebert said, "The internet has isolated us in virtual worlds."The shy people and the loners can be loud and proud, can have a voice- in words on the web. Both of Ebert’s articles really got me thinking. The man sure is very good at evoking thought from his readers.
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Here's the key I think; there are so many ways to be noticed these days without actually being seen. That is true but I think sadly the hallways of our school and any place in the world there are so many people suffering in plain sight aw well. Does not some of this tech allow us to create even better masks to hide behind? Heck, I have 177 followers on twitter - some of whom think I am a good teacher!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point re: lonely people some even pretend it was their choice when in fact they have no desire to suffer as such.
POINT OF ORDER - remember your readers may not now the articles - give a touch more background!!
You make some good points Mr.Campbell. There are people suffering all around us. People are building barriers between themselves and others/ the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Those of your followers who think so are clearly mistaken. Ha.
P.S.S. Re: POINT OF ORDER- I'll work on it. Will do.