M1.2.2 COMM
2F00 Convergence
My father-in-law, Jack, used to state that this current generation thinks differently than ones in the past. He
was born in 1920 and grew up on a farm, and then he himself became a farmer in
rural Owen Sound. He saw a big change in the use of technology and always felt
that he just could not keep up with the pace of change. Jack always felt that
people were ‘thinking faster’ than his generation had. Jack’s own father saw
the advent of electric lights in the town and the first man walking on the
moon; he saw horses and oxen being used on the farm to plow the fields and then
within a few years went to watch race cars at Varney Speedway (Varney Speedway, 2013).
Both Jack and his father saw a convergence of change in technology, the old way
of doing things meeting up with new thoughts and processes (Merriam-Webster, 2013).
The advent of the internet is a convergence of technology and ideas, some from the 1970’s Hippie culture and
some from the military thinkers of the time, both forming ideas at a pace
faster than Jack had ever imagined when he was a young child. Commentaries
state that many people either bemoan the lifetime that was lost, or think that
current or future technology will bring in the Utopia that the 1970’s promised (Barbrook, 1995).
Perhaps what was difficult for Jack was making the transition from a culture in which he did participate to
one in which he didn’t. Participatory culture is dialogic and hopefully leads to
greater understanding for a larger pool than mere interactive technology (Jenkins,
Purushotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robinson, 2006). But if that
culture moves at a pace too fast, you may feel like you are on the outside
looking in.
If Jack could see his grown grandsons, he would be amazed at what they know and discuss via social media, blogs, apps,
mainstream media, and more. He might agree with Jenkins et al. in hoping for full participation because of equalized access, transparency, and ethical training for any and all cultures. Or, he might shake his head and wonder if there really is more knowledge because of the greater body of users. Still pondering the convergent streams, Linda.
Barbrook, R. &. (1995). The Californian ideology. Mute, Issue 3, Autumn.
Retrieved from Barbrook, R., & Cameron, A. (1995).
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M.,& Robinson, A. J. (2006).
Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the
21st century. Retrieved from www.newmedialiteracies.org:
http://bit.ly/YLd5xH
Merriam-Webster. (2013, September 5). www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convergence.
Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
Varney Speedway. (2013). www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com. Retrieved from
www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com:
http://www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com/index.php
2F00 Convergence
My father-in-law, Jack, used to state that this current generation thinks differently than ones in the past. He
was born in 1920 and grew up on a farm, and then he himself became a farmer in
rural Owen Sound. He saw a big change in the use of technology and always felt
that he just could not keep up with the pace of change. Jack always felt that
people were ‘thinking faster’ than his generation had. Jack’s own father saw
the advent of electric lights in the town and the first man walking on the
moon; he saw horses and oxen being used on the farm to plow the fields and then
within a few years went to watch race cars at Varney Speedway (Varney Speedway, 2013).
Both Jack and his father saw a convergence of change in technology, the old way
of doing things meeting up with new thoughts and processes (Merriam-Webster, 2013).
The advent of the internet is a convergence of technology and ideas, some from the 1970’s Hippie culture and
some from the military thinkers of the time, both forming ideas at a pace
faster than Jack had ever imagined when he was a young child. Commentaries
state that many people either bemoan the lifetime that was lost, or think that
current or future technology will bring in the Utopia that the 1970’s promised (Barbrook, 1995).
Perhaps what was difficult for Jack was making the transition from a culture in which he did participate to
one in which he didn’t. Participatory culture is dialogic and hopefully leads to
greater understanding for a larger pool than mere interactive technology (Jenkins,
Purushotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robinson, 2006). But if that
culture moves at a pace too fast, you may feel like you are on the outside
looking in.
If Jack could see his grown grandsons, he would be amazed at what they know and discuss via social media, blogs, apps,
mainstream media, and more. He might agree with Jenkins et al. in hoping for full participation because of equalized access, transparency, and ethical training for any and all cultures. Or, he might shake his head and wonder if there really is more knowledge because of the greater body of users. Still pondering the convergent streams, Linda.
Barbrook, R. &. (1995). The Californian ideology. Mute, Issue 3, Autumn.
Retrieved from Barbrook, R., & Cameron, A. (1995).
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M.,& Robinson, A. J. (2006).
Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the
21st century. Retrieved from www.newmedialiteracies.org:
http://bit.ly/YLd5xH
Merriam-Webster. (2013, September 5). www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convergence.
Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture
Varney Speedway. (2013). www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com. Retrieved from
www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com:
http://www.varneyspeedwaymotorplex.com/index.php