Eye Opening Experience

The process for me of gathering information and preparing for my comm analysis was very unique.
Before I prepared for this presentation I actually came upon my own idea similar of Media Ecology. One day I was going out to eat with friends of my friend, so nobody that I knew, when I realized that my phone was dead. Now usually I have a car charger to charge it back up, but for some reason it was no where to be found. After being frustrated that I didn't have my phone, we proceeded by walking into the restaurant and saying hello to everyone. These were people who my friend had known, but who I had never met before. After about 30 minutes of being there and conversing I see everyone reaching for their phone and checking their devices. This left me just looking around with nothing to look at. At one point of observing, cause I had no phone, everyone at the table was not actually talking but rather hooked on their phones looking at Instagram, Facebook, etc. The lunch had went on and at the end we all said goodbye and went our separate ways.

This is the moment where it had come to me. The devices such as smartphones or tablets are changing the way that people interact. We are no longer relying on each other for conversation or entertainment, but rather getting it from these devices. Even in scenarios where we all come together to talk, we still have to be on call to the devices that we have. After sharing this idea with a friend we had constant talk about it for days. Because I had not had a device at that lunch I was like an outsider looking in. I was able to see what was consuming everyone in a short amount of time. Once I opened my eyes up to this idea I started to see it everywhere I went. This is the moment where the light bulb clicked on and I remembered Media Ecology. From that point on I knew what I wanted to use as my artifact and theory for my comm analysis project.

Fast foward to getting ready for my presentation... As a preparation for my comm analysis poster session I decided to present all of my research, and it's application to my artifact, to a group of my friends. I wanted to do this to make myself more prepared for any questions that students might ask, as well as just becoming comfortable talking in front of  a group of people. Public speaking seems to be one of my biggest challenges as a communication major. When I am not completely confident with what I am saying I tend to stumble upon words and repeat things that I had already brought up. This is why I knew that I needed to practice. Because this theory had become something that I truly believed in it was easy for me to talk one on one with somebody and explain what I thought, but I needed to remember to apply certain details about the actual theory.

Once I got my poster put together I was ready to present. It actually made me more nervous to present to my friends than actual strangers. They tried to ask me very in depth questions to see if I knew what I was presenting. I succeeded by answering most of their questions with full detail. To me, it was surprising to see how much they actually learned from me. I assumed that they would not have such an interest in this topic like they did. I received very positive feedback and also tips to use when I presented in class.

From this experience it not only opened my eyes to this theory, but also about my self. With this theory I learned about our society today along with previous eras and their technology. I was able to see that the technology that we have helps us communicate with others, as well as communicating a message in itself. We need to step back and see the things that it is doing to our society and to our people. We have this assumption that these devices are helping our life when in fact it is hurting us. Along with learning the theory, I also learned a lot about myself. Sometimes I am scared to approach people about important things so I will do it over text message or email. I learned that this is not something I should be doing. If I cannot face things that are going on in my life now, then it is only going to get harder. As I use my device now I am more conscious about where, when, and how I use it.