In Greek mythology, there is something for everyone. So, a couple weeks ago, when I was writing my blog post about the digital
media, I started thinking about which Greek god would best represent the communication
technology of the 21st century. And, I had come up with Hermes, the
messenger-god, who is also the guide to the Underworld. I was saying that the digital
technology must be a product of Hermes since both carry very similar
characteristics; they both innovate and steal at the same time (see my previous blog post). When I was reading John Hartley’s Digital Futures for Cultural and Media Studies, I got very excited to
see that John Hartley made a very similar comparison in his book between Hermes
and the communication technology! Hartley says that “tricksters” are an
essential part of the culture and evolutionary economics, because only the ones,
who illustrate the creativeness and deceitfulness of Hermes, can “break up old
traditions and create new ones” (p. 201). Hartley adds a very interesting
perspective to my previous ‘Hermes argument’ by saying that when tricksters lie
and steal, they do not do it to get everyday beneficiaries, but instead they do
it to challenge the established system. That’s a viewpoint that I strongly
agree but also something that I had never thought of before. Tricksters
catalyze the change because they are not followers
in the established system but they are the leaders.
You cannot simply change the system, if you are passively following it. Therefore,
my discussion question for this week is: What happens when the established
system is protected by laws and regulations? For example, how do tricksters go
around the copyright or privacy laws? How do they lead when the pathways are blocked by the rule of law?
Children
in the digital era
Children have long been isolated from the political
discussion simply because they cannot vote. Better yet, their opinions did not
count for a long time, because adults always assumed that the younger
generation does not have the emotional stability or the cognitive maturity to participate
in policy-decision making. Hartley argues that, thanks to the digital media,
children have become, arguably, the most productive members of today’s
democracy. Polling reports illustrate that youth was one of the deciding
factors in the past two elections (Hoffman & Thomson, 2009). There
is an increasing amount of content crowding YouTube and social networking sites
created by youth, who discuss political, academic, athletic, and artistic issues.
According to Hoffman & Thomson (2009), late-night TV and local TV news had a positive, significant effect on civic participation. And, guess
which population do late night television shows (such as Colbert Report, the
Daily Show, or Saturday Night Live) target? The answer is the youth. Digital kids have become the participatory citizens,
raising their voices on almost every platform.
It is true that adolescents may have a different
understanding of ethics and values, and that their products may not always “impress”
the older generation. Nenand Sestan, from the
Department of Neurobiology at Yale, once said that it takes
time to develop cognitive maturity, and that’s probably why five-year-olds are more
likely to try bungee-jumping than adults (see my previous blog post). And,
that’s probably why the society has a set of rules for adolescents, banning kids from
certain activities such as driving or drinking, which
brings up my second discussion topic. What are the rights of kids in the digital
age? Where should we stop parental control, software blocking, remote control
and such?
(Obama-McCain dance-off; youth's perspective on political issues) |
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