Free Willy, Free them all.

When I hear the word ‘Wildlife Documentary’ I straight away think of David Attenborough and all the documentaries he has created. Documentaries at their best are raw and unflinching. They offer us glimpses of the world that we don’t normally see. These documentaries of animals shows us just how clever animals are.

When we are children, we depict animals to be like what we see on cartoons and Disney films. For example; If I see a lion with a black mane and a scar on his face I know he is the bad lion who killed his brother. Madagascar introduced a whole new meaning to ‘going to the zoo’. The lion is the King of the jungle (and the zoo) and in an ironic world he is best mates with his dinner.

But as we get older we start to decipher animal groups. Movies and documentaries play a huge role in this. When watching Jaws it makes you terrified to enter the water and when watching King Kong you feel sorry for the giant Gorilla. But what about the movie Free Willy? Did you feel sorry for the whale when he was separated from his family or did you feel happy from him when he made a friend?

There has only ever been one recording of a killer whale who ‘attacked’ a diver in the wild [2] but those figures are vastly different when compared to Orca’s in captivity. Over four people have died from a killer whale attack at Sea World and over dozens injured.

Orca’s are known as Killer Whales due their fierce reputation. They are known as ‘wolves of the sea’ because they hunt it packs [1]. After watching the documentary Blackfish, you don’t realise how upsetting it is to see these large dolphins locked in a tank for half their life. The story evoked empathy and tells the story of Tilikum, the Orca, as a victim and not as the killer whale he is known to be. It shows how money was more important than an animal’s life and the trainers well-being. The PR team of Sea World were hiding the true facts about Tilikum so well that the trainers and staff did not even know the full extinct. The beginning scenes when Tilikum was stripped from his mother and family were just so confronting it made you angry and when a trainer was harmed you felt sorry for the whale. You can see why the whale did what it did in the most extreme cases. But on the other hand, we have this sense of hurt and sorrow for the trainers.

 

The film March of the Penguins sets itself as both a documentary and a ‘love story’, which assumes that penguins experience love, as we do. It allows us as the audience to sympathise with the penguins and relate to them on a personal level. I find it a little odd that they take real animal footage and intertwine it into a human narrative. I can see the angle they wanted to create however, what about issues of global warming and issues of reproduction for the penguins. What about their long-term issues. Although, this film was well put together and deserved to win an Oscar (who doesn’t love a Morgan Freeman’s voice), I was expecting something a little different.

This movie sparked debates over whether or not penguins were a suitable model for human family units and values. The filmmakers say they “did not consciously avoid those topics of global warming and evolution, they say they are strong believers in evolutionary theory, but they add that they wanted to create a film that would reach as many people as possible”. [3]

From these documentaries and movies we see about animals, it is evident that animals have feelings, they have sense of being family oriented, they protect their babies, they eat, they sleep, they are just like us. It is inhumane to place a large animal in a large tank, who is known as a killer, for it to do tricks all it’s life just to please humans and make money from it.

This topic is one of those difficult ones to discuss. I hate seeing an Orca in a small pool and I hate seeing a polar bear not in the snow but I also love going to the zoo and seeing a lion, elephants and giraffes. After watching these documentaries from both different angles, one being a helpless Orca forced to perform and another seeing Penguins in love and protecting their young in their natural habitat, it seems unfair that we have these animals locked up in zoos and aquariums. The circus’ have said goodbye to their animals so it’s only a matter of time before there is no such thing as a zoo or aquarium. If roles were reversed, would be like to live in cages and in captivity whilst animals come to look at us?

Documentaries are a voice for the animals, but when making a documentary it’s the producers who get to pick what we can and can’t see. It’s hard to say if the implications for this are positive or negative. I guess it’s easy for us to sympathise with the animals when there is a narrative structure. Nature films presents to us what we want to see and what we might not want to see. It’s hard to believe that behind the scenes there is torture on animals. It are these documentaries that make us step back and realise the true nature of what is right and what is wrong.

Reference List

[1] Silverman, J 2008, ‘Why are Ocra called Killer Whales’, Blogpost, How Stuff Works, 10 July, viewed 30 March 2017,<http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/orca-killer-whale.htm>.

[2] Kirby, D 2012, ‘ Did a Wild Orca Really Attack a Diver in New Zealand’, Takepart, 24 February, viewed 30 March 2017, <p://www.takepart.com/article/2014/02/24/did-wild-orca-really-just-attack-diver-new-zealand>

[3] Miller, J 2005, ‘March of the conservatives: Penguin Film as a Political Fodder’, The New York Times, 13 September, viewed 30 March, <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/13/science/march-of-the-conservatives-penguin-film-as-political-fodder.html?_r=0>. 

Saddening Truth about Poverty

When looking for a definition to define poverty, I realised it was hard for me to either agree on one or to actually find one that summed up exactly what poverty is to me. Through research I realised there are different types of poverty; absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is defined as lacking the basic needs to survive whilst relative poverty occurs when a family’s income and way of living fall below the general standard of living defined by its society (Richmond Vale Academy, 2016). When thinking of the topic ‘poverty porn’, I interpreted that to mean the confronting  stories and images of poverty that is happening around us and affecting a vast majority of people.

If we look at absolute poverty, these are the people who suffer from extreme lack of basic food, clean water, poor health and no shelter. These are the children we see on television who need our help, these are the children who are exposed to malaria and are dying by the minute. These are the people who live in countries where poverty is their lifestyle, they know no other way. No education, no clothing, no families and no help.

 

This is the kind of poverty I would associate with being ‘extreme poverty’. It’s upsetting to think that there are people out there who live in the same world as me but have nothing and meanwhile I have a roof over my head, clothes, clean water and a variety of different foods. I’m a 21 year old who feels helpless in these situations. I could buy a charity bag or a bottle of water for an extra $2 when I shop at Factorie or Cotton because apparently that money will go to help these people but how do I know that. I guess it makes me feel like i’ve done something to help.

But aren’t all types of poverty extreme?

After taking the time to watch the SBS 2015 documentary, Struggle Street, it is evident that there are so many issues around this category of poverty. These are the people who have hit ‘rock bottom’ and have lost hope. From hearing their stories on the program, a majority have tried to succeed but due to life events, such as illnesses or disabilities, they have given up and either turned to drugs or alcohol because that’s what makes them feel a sense of relief (Eschool Today 2010). When I walk down the street and see children and teenagers yelling, swearing, drinking and smoking it’s like you want to shake them and say “you can do better” because Ibelieve in some way, some how they can turn their lives around. But how do you pick yourself up when you have nothing? What annoys me the most is that the SBS program has made this type of poverty almost a mockery for people struggle, it was based on humour rather than the true struggle.

The face of a happy Mother who is trying.

When I was growing up, my Father had an operation on his spine which forced him out of this job and for my Mother to take on more than one job for survival. My younger sister and I were still in school, we still had our lunch and recess, we still had our school clothes, we still had normal clothes, we still had dinner on the table… we were still living like everyone else. Except we were limited to what we could buy. We never asked for a lollie or chocolate when shopping for groceries because we knew money doesn’t grow on trees. I remember when Mum got her christmas bonus and we were allowed to pick one treat because she had extra money to spend on groceries that week. I remember picking a tub of ice-cream because that way everyone could have a treat. Mum was our chef, our doctor, our tutor, our hair dresser… she was everything!

So when I read Jack Monroe’s blog, Hunger Hurts, I could only feel for her and her son. I felt more sympathy for her over the extreme poverty and struggle street poverty because i’ve been in a similar situation. This is where I want to help, those people trying but still getting nowhere fast. I grew up knowing the value of money which has helped me to do this day.

In contrast with Jack Monroe’s blog, The upsetting reality of Modern Day Poverty, by Kathleen Kerridge, also touches my heart in that it speaks the truth.The reality of poverty is saying sorry I can’t afford it, the reality of poverty is buying groceries with silver coins instead of notes, the reality of poverty is going to the grocery store 5 minutes before they close so you can buy all the cheap stuff that will be out of date tomorrow, the reality of poverty is choosing to be warm on winter and have no food or cold in winter and have a bag of potatoes and sausages on a plate.

I started this blog with not knowing how to define poverty, but after reading blogs and research about poverty I have a good sense of what I truly believe poverty is; Jack Monroe (2012)  says, “Poverty is the sinking feeling when your small boy finishes his one weetabix and says ‘more mummy, bread and jam please mummy’ as you’re wondering whether to take the TV or the guitar to the pawn shop first, and how to tell him that there is no bread or jam.”
I couldn’t agree more.

References

Eschool today, 2010, ‘World Poverty’ BusinessGhana.com, viewed 24 March 2017, <http://www.eschooltoday.com/poverty-in-the-world/types-of-poverty.html>

Kerridge, K 2015, ‘The Upsetting Reality of Modern Day Poverty’ blogpost, Kathleen Kerridge, 30 April, viewed 24 March 2017, <https://kathleenkerridge.com/2015/01/28/the-upsetting-reality-of-modern-day-poverty/&gt;

Monroe, J 2012, ‘Hunger Hurts, blogpost, Jack Monroe, 20 July, viewed 24 March 2017 <https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2012/07/30/hunger-hurts/>

Richmond Vale Academy, 2016, ‘Types of Povery’, Richmond Vale Academy, March 15, viewed March 24 2014, <http://richmondvale.org/types-of-poverty/>.

Powerful Selfies

 This topic on selfies is a difficult one for me, simply because I just don’t care what people post on their social media sites. Let’s say Kim Kardashian uploads a selfie and someone asks me “how does that make you feel?” I feel nothing because it is simply none of my business and has nothing to do with me. Sounds a bit arrogant hey? It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I’ve just learnt to accept that people will now post whatever they want in order to feel good, raise awareness or just to simply make a point.

When talking about this topic I feel like one comedian gets what I mean. Everyone needs to follow Celeste Barber (if you don’t already). Her selfies make everyone feel good, they raise awareness and they make a point about something in a way that is humorous. Celeste has over 1 million followers who all admire what she uploads. Due to her positive nature and attitude, people support her and what she is doing because she isn’t so harsh on herself.

 

How many times have you taken a selfie and stared at it over a hundred times, adding a filter or photo shopping it and then deciding nope, I don’t like it i’m not going to upload it.

I just feel like the selfie has developed into a judgmental image. People are either going to like it or critique it. If you are looking good and feeling great then by all means, upload a selfie and chuck a filter on it to bump up your likes. That’s your choice, who am I to criticise what people put on their sites.

Maybe I should look at this topic from a different angle: The power of a selfie

So we all know that taking a picture of ourselves can make us look good and Instagram and Snapchat have filters so we can change the way we look to suit what we want to look like etc, but what about those selfies that are uploaded to raise awareness.

This is where celebrities have the power to make a statement.

When the US election was on, a number of celebrities joined forces and shared a post-voting selfie with pride.

Patton Oswait

They ultimately shared their selfies in order to show they have fulfilled their duty by voting in the election and encouraging others to do the same.

The selfie has also become a hallmark for many fundraising events such as:

• Decembeard – which help raises awareness and funds for bowel cancer

 

• #Skulfie: to raise awareness for organ donation

• #Movemeber: Raising awareness and funds for men’s health

 

• #CHECKYOURSELF: Woman uploading selfies to remind other woman about checking their breast for breast cancer.

These seflies are deemed powerful because they raise much needed funds and awareness about important issues that are happening around us. With the power of social media our seflies can be just as powerful. How long did it take everyone to change their profile pictures to rainbow in support of gay marriage.

Communities come together at times when there is a crisis or issue that needs our support. These are the selfies that I admire.

I guess when starting this blog I thought I didn’t have an opinion but through research and reading up about ‘the power of a selfie’, it is evident that I can agree that a selfie is powerful.

To end my rant, here is a video of Kurt Colemans selfie tips. Enjoy

 

Digital Story Reflection

Introduction

Throughout this semester and my previous blog posts, I could see a theme occurring and that theme revolved mostly around the use of mobile phones in the media space which made me curious into finding out the reasoning as to why people constantly use mobile phones. I thought that I needed visuals to depict my idea and story so I chose to use Pinterest as I could ‘pin’ the ideas of others as well as my own ideas in order to create a mind-map and an online storyboard. Pinterest was also another media platform for me to use to ultimately get my blogs out there for other people to read and being able place my Pinterest site on my WordPress site was an added bonus. I am not that ‘tech-savvy’ so using Pinterest was the most comfortable solution for me in order to create this digital project. I enjoyed this research task as I connected more with the people in the media space and valued the views and opinions of others to ultimately come to a conclusion as to why this is. I did a vast majority of primary and secondary research which gave me a story and a research piece to write. I hoped to achieve just a basic reason as why we are constantly using our mobiles phones which I believe I successfully did.

Methodology

Through setting up events so I could monitor people using mobiles in the media space, conducting interviews and capturing photographs, I found pros and cons in directing this research piece.

The pros being:

1. Having a small group of people that let me interview them, take pictures and to observe them whilst being in the media space, it was easy for me to gather information and to sought through what was valuable to use and what was not. I found I could do this on time, following along with my time-line I created, to complete this task.
2. Having a small research task allowed me to seek more secondary research to ultimately find a conclusion.
3. I was able to use another media platform which helped me to depict my research piece and with the permission from others I could use photos to convey this.

The cons:

1. If I had more time I could have interviewed more people or constructed my own survey and reach out to a wider group.
2. I wanted to compare mobiles phones now to 10 years but decided to keep it short due to the amount of time I had and the resources.

I shared my project on my WordPress site as a blog and on my Pinterest page as well as twitter to share my research piece with fellow students and others who may be interested in this topic. I could have created a video which would have visually depicted my topic more but felt like images were still just as useful and more simplistic for me to use.

Learning and Development

From this experience I have gained more practice in interviewing others and reaching out to people in the media space. I gained more insight into this topic, I chose, due to the secondary research I conducted and gained more understanding in regards to the opinions of others and how they felt.

Thus far, my collaborators who were known as A, B and C have given me positive feedback towards my works and I look forward to hearing the comments and opinions of others.

I would have liked to utilise Pinterest more but this is still a developing site, therefore, I can ‘pinning’ about this topic and keep updating it.

Now what? Looking ahead…

I still have one year left of University so I feel that this research piece will help me with future research tasks and future developments towards being in the media space. I feel like my skills have improved from undertaking this particular task and I have more experience with conducting my own research and seeking out help from fellow students.

The benefits from this task allow me to now think ‘outside the box’ dig deeper with finding answers to more questions or in other words, finding some sort of conclusion to certain topics.

Although my research skills have development, there is still more skills for me to learn and more benefits for me to gain with future research tasks.

This task can be useful to others who have similar ideas about this topic or who have similar views with my collaborators which can ultimately start an online discussion because let’s be honest, there is no right or wrong answers when looking at topics like this.

My Digital Story:

My digital story

Follow my Pinterest page as it completes my digital story visually. My Pinterest page is also featured on the left hand side of my blog site —>

Before we begin my digital story, I just like to point out that I have permission to use the following photos and the responses from the people who helped me with the research on this particular topic. I haven’t used names but I have used the images of the people in this story who I have permission from.

Smartphones have become a major part in our lives in many ways. Whether you’re working in your office, walking down the street, or eating in a restaurant, there’s usually one common factor: people are looking at their phones. We rely on our smartphones for news, updates, calendar reminders, and to just socialise. I conducted my own test and chose three people, who are just like you and me, to be my guinea pigs for this research piece. I decided to monitor and interview three close friends of mine who constantly have their mobile phones with them. We will call these people A, B and C for their own privacy. I wanted to see how mobile phones are being used constantly in the media space and to find a conclusion as to why this is. As well as writing my story on my blog, I have created a Pinterest page where you can follow my story visually and pin your thoughts and other images about this topic to create an online presentation and a mind-map to this idea. Through my own research and research completed by others, I have created a conclusion as to why this might be.

Firstly, I invited A, B and C to three different events; a movie night, a lunch date and a casual stroll along the beach. After these events, I asked A, B and C questions to help me depict reasoning as to why they needed to use their mobile phones.

The movie night

Throughout the movie it was evident that A, B and C all used their mobile phones more than once. Scrolling social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, numerous times throughout the hour and a half movie; indicating to me that they weren’t interested in the movie I chose or it has become a habit to constantly be on our mobiles. According to a research report, 87% of consumers use more than one device at a time (Flomenbaum, 2015). I find this percentage quite high but I can see why it is such a high number; our phones are glued to us.

After watching the movie I asked A, B and C to answer some questions and their responses to some of the questions were:

Did you have your whole attention to the movie?

A, B, C: No

At what point did you first pick up your phone:

A: As soon as the movie started

B: Quickly checked it before the movie started then checked it again about 10 minutes into the movie

C: About 10 minutes into the movie

What were your mains reasons for checking your phone whilst the movie was on?

A: I received a notification and once I checked it, I just started scrolling through Facebook.

B: Some parts of the movie were boring so I just picked up my phone until something interesting happened.

C: Just checking my phone.

If we move onto the lunch I had with A, B and C, it was clear that our phones were once again with us and were constantly being used.

Lunch Date

We ordered and sat down outside. I remember so clearly ‘A’ saying “did you see that Facebook event”. Our conversation started immediately with something they saw on their phones. Immediately everyone grabbed their phones to check out a Facebook event that was created. I thought it was quite funny as once upon a time the conversation would have started with “How are you?” or “what have you been up to?”; a usual conversation starter. Throughout the lunch time experience, we were all checking our phones constantly but no one thought it was rude and we were still engaging with each other. We have become so used to our phones being with us, that it doesn’t seem to bother other people when using these devices in front of them.

Once again, I asked A, B and C to answer some questions. The main questions  I focused around were if they realises how many times they were using their mobiles:

Did you even realise how many times you used your phones?

The answer from all three were no.

Where you still engaged with the conversation happening around you?

A: Majoirty of the time

B: I was until I recieved a text message or notification then my attention drifted to my phone

C: I like to think that I still gave my full attention to whoever was talking and my phone was second priority. I can reply to a text message at any time but I cannot reply to someones converstion 10 minutes after they finish talking, to me it would be rude.

In society today we don’t even realise how many times we pick up our phones. A study was conducted on people aged between 18 to 33 where an app was restored on their smartphones to measure how many times they used their phones. The study discovered that the average person checks their device 85 times a day or more (Woollaston, 2015). Throughout the study, Dr Sally Andrews has said “’People have very little awareness of the frequency with which they check their phones, this is the first study to objectively demonstrate that some of our mobile phone interactions are habitual” (Woollaston, 2015).

From monitoring and observing not just A, B and C, but also observing the people around me, I can see how habitual it’s becoming.

Beach Walk

We all put our joggers on and went for a walk along the beach. A’s phone was in her hand but B and C’s mobiles were in their pocket. For the duration of the walk, C and B did not use their phones, but A stopped numerous times to take photos and still managed to walk and use her phone. Does this come down to who can multi-task more? Or maybe because the men weren’t interested in taking photos of the waves. After the walk I asked them several questions about their use of mobile phones.

A, why did you keep your phone in your hands whilst walking?

A: I didn’t have pockets for my phone to fit in and I was texting someone. I also like to take photos of the beach because I rarely spend heaps of time at the beach.

B and C, when your phones were in your pocket I noticed you didn’t use them. Why was this?

B: I didn’t need my phone, I might have dropped it if I was to walk with it or I could have walked into someone.

C: I was with friends on a beach walk so I didn’t need to use my phone.

If we compare the beach walk to the movie night, I found that when we were physically doing something then mobile phones weren’t really being used, but when we were sitting and not physically moving around then the mobiles were being used constantly. This brings me to the question why, why do we constantly pick up our phones. The answer to this is because we just enjoy it. I found a video from Business Insider (2016) explaining why we are ‘addicted’ to our screens.

(Business Insider, 2016)

A chemical called ‘dopamine’, which is a pleasure chemical located in our brain, is released when we find new information or when we talk to someone via mobiles. From the activities we do on our phones, dopamine is released as we either enjoy those activities, such as Snapchat, or people feel like someone is caring about them when they text or call (Business Insider, 2016).

In conclusion; the more time goes on and the more updated our phones become, I can safely say that our phones are not going to be too far from us. If you look at yourself now, maybe you’re reading this from your phone, or maybe your phone is sitting right by your side, or maybe you just recieved a notification so you’ve aboned reading this and you’re currently too busy with your phone. Whatever the sitution is, we all rely on our phones. We would honestly be lost without them. Research has even confirmed that the reason to being glued to our screens is because we actually enjoy being on our phones, indicating that the 21st century revolves around our devices. I will finish up with one last video full of facts and figures about social media which shocked me but when I think about it, maybe it’s not so shocking.

(Equalman 2015)

 

Thankyou to those involved in this research piece.

References

Business Insider 2016, Here’s what happens to your brain when you check your phone and why it’s so addicting, video, Youtube, 18 April, viewed 25 October 2016, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_XMTVHjJU >

Equalman 2016, Social Media Revolution 2015 #Socialnomics, video, Youtube, 26 January, viewed 26 October 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jottDMuLesU&gt;

Flomenbaum, A 2015, ‘Accenture Report: 87% of Consumers Use Second Screen Device While Watching TV’, Lost Remote, 20 April, viewed 26 October 2016, <http://www.adweek.com/lostremote/accenture-report-87-of-consumers-use-second-screen-device-while-watching-tv/51698&gt;

Woollaston, V 2015, ‘How often do YOU check your phone? Average user picks up their device 85 times a DAY – twice as often as they realise’, Daily Mail, 29 October, viewed 26 October 2016, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3294994/How-check-phone-Average-user-picks-device-85-times-DAY-twice-realise.html&gt;

Reflection

What a long nine weeks it has been. If we take a moment to review my blogs over the past nine weeks it is evident that there is a theme occurring. This theme can fall into the category of ‘Media Space’ which I have repeated and talked about in my past blogs. The topics covered and key points that have been focused on, which can be categorised in a few simple points, is how technology has changed the way we live, how we now use and rely on technology, the rules, and regulations and of course the research behind these key points. These topics are all involved with this idea of ethnography, which can be defined as how we look at people and their cultures from monitoring and engaging in their customs, habits and mutual differences (Anderson 2009). To break in down simpler, ethnography is simply researchers trying to work out how people live their days on a day to day basis.

When I think of media space I think of the people around me and the people who are all connected through the web, for example Facebook. By observing and engaging with the people around me I have completed, both, secondary and primary research in order to successfully write each blog task. From interviewing friends and families, starting discussions about certain topics, taking images and exploring these topics through research, I have managed to gather my own thoughts and conclusions in order to be one step closer to my final project. My research, throughout the nine weeks, consists of using relevant articles, other blog posts and the opinions of others to gather my ideas. I also look at the articles and documents that are accessible and provided to me as those articles and documents are usually related to the weekly topics.

I guess I’m still a little shy when it comes to blogging, however, this time around I have read fellow blog posts from students as well as made an effort with tweeting to get my blogs out there and to see the opinions of other students who are faced with the same topics. I have found that class discussions have also helped me with getting my thoughts together and to see ‘the bigger picture’ of these topics. Making an effort to comment on others blog posts are something I am working towards also. By creating an online discussion, I believe I can extend my own thoughts and compare my thoughts with the opinions of others.

From past feedback it is evident that grammar and punctuation need more attention and I’m sure all of you reading through my blogs now can notice a few mistakes. I am definitely working towards focusing more on these mistakes and improvemnts, especially when it comes to my writing, however, sometimes I just think it sounds and looks like everything is fine. I always find feedback is important in assessments in that I can work towards better marks for the next assessments and be able to pay close attention on any errors or improvements that arise.

So far I have had no problems with gathering information but now that my next assessment involves taking and using images of others, I expect that there will be some problems that arise. If someone isn’t happy with me taking photographs of them, I will not use those particular images. Although I have other assessments for other classes due around the same time, I will make a conscious effort and be sure that I have enough time to construct and successfully complete the next assessment task with detailed blogposts, research and images/ videos.

My strategy for my next blog is to work on engaging more people by commenting on their blog posts and keeping everyone up-to-date by using social media sites, such as tweeter, to inform people. If I use images of people I will ask permission and explain where and why I am using these particular images. It is important to respect the privacy of others and to not take images of inappropriate actions or any images that damages anyone or anything. However, I intend to be creative and go ‘outside the box’ with this assessment to show inventiveness and do something that captions the attention of others and for other people to engage with my story. I find using images and maybe even videos the best way to capture the attention of others.

In conclusion, this idea of media space has been portrayed through opinions, experiences, examples and a little bit of theory in order to tell a story and share this story in my final project. Through images and blogging I will set my main themes and discuss my findings and achievements, keeping with the idea of media space and the vast changes to ours lives, my digital story telling project will compare these changes. Whether I use Instagram to help portray my images, i’m still unsure but as the due date for this next assessment is approaching fast, the ideas are becoming bigger.

Stay tuned for my final project.

References

Anderson, K 2009, ‘Ethnographic Research: A Key to Strategy’ Harvard Business Review, 15th March, viewed 3rd October 2016, <https://hbr.org/2009/03/ethnographic-research-a-key-to-strategy&gt;.

Have you been paying attention

This week we were asked to come up with our own attention test to show how long a person can pay attention for whilst there is or isn’t a device near by. My test would be similar to this…

I did not see the guy dressed in a bear suit.

I then decided to create a little test in my own home and and have my roommates be my guinea pigs. Every Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday we all get together and watch Survivor Australia. As we all sat in the lounge room I chose to sit behind one of my roommates and decided to put a dot on a piece of paper every time she used her phone. This  resulted in my roommate picking up her phone 37 times in the space of an hour. I also observed what she was actually doing on her phone (she was sitting on a cushion in front of me). Through every commercial break, my roommate picked up her phone, clicked on Facebook, scrolled for a bit then exited out. She would then click on Instagram and Snapchat until she was up to date with posts. However, if she got a message or notification once Survivor was back on, she would look at her phone but not reply or open the notification until it was the ad break. Which got me thinking, maybe we pay full attention to something if we enjoy watching it or playing it or being apart of it.

I then decided to keep observing once Survivor finished. After Survivor, we watched Off Spring and the same particular roommate used her phone 87 times in the ad breaks and whilst the show was on. She paid less attention to Off spring then she did Survivor. According to certain research conducted by Microsoft Canada , in 2000 a persons attention span lasted 12 seconds compared to 2013 when a person attention span lasted 8 seconds (Microsoft Canada, 2015). Technology and our devices play a huge part in this. I even have a bad habit of keeping my phone near me and looking at it every 10 minutes (especially if I have an assessment due!), I am even distracted by my phone right now as I write this blog.

On the National Geographic channel there is a show called ‘Brain Games‘, which is designed to mess with the human brain by doing all different kinds of experiments to people. Whilst the experiments are happening, these people are being filmed and the results are mind blowing and shocking. It is fascinating that our brains can be tricked so easily.

If we continue with this idea of media space, when I look around now, people either have their phones in their hands on placed directly in front/ beside them. When I go out for lunch with friends, I even notice that they will pick up their phones if there is a notification and either forget what they were telling me or ask me to repeat myself. We are all so distracted by our phones that we have trained ourselves to almost rely on them, even if we are giving our full attention to something it may only last a short amount of time.

So what about the times I don’t have a device with me? I find if i’m reading or writing, my mind quickly drifts off and I start thinking about other things which, automatically, switches my attention to something else that is on my mind. If we look back at the research conducted by Microsoft Canada, this is normal for our brains to switch off and to start focusing on other things (Microsoft Canada 2015). Stress, tiredness, feelings, anxiety are all things that can relate to the way we think. If I am super stressed or tired, I am aware  that certain things (such as uni work) will not get my full attention.

I’ll finish this blog with one last video to trick your brain or maybe now you’ll be aware and try to focus.

References

Microsoft Canada 2015, ‘Attention Spans’, Consumer Insights Microsoft Canada, viewed 29 September 2016, <file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/microsoft-attention-spans-research-report.pdf>.

My preliminary proposal for my ethnographic or narrative research project

I know it’s week seven but I still don’t know exactly what I want to do for digital story telling. Digital storytelling is a movement that has been evolved from being socially aware of people stories around us.  The aim of this storytelling is to express what we see around us and recreate that in a way others can vision what we see (Couldry et al., 2015,p.2)

A good starting point for getting my mind around this upcoming assessment is to answer to following steps. Kind of like making a mind map.

What do you want to know more about?

I guess for me, seeing the changes in technology from 10 years ago until now I find interesting, so following those lines and learning more about how the changes have really impacted us in the way we think, we do things and ho we now communicate with each other. I will focus on comparing the differences between how we relied and used on technology 10 years ago and how we rely and use technology now.

Who will your collaborators be?

I will work closely with the people around me, the people who are in the media space and practice the steps in engaging with these people. Obviously following the rules and regulations that are in today’s society and making sure I do not diminish or offend anyone whilst taking images or watching the people in the media space. Close family and friends are also good collaborators as I can show the differences from then to now and show just how life has changed for certain people and how we have involved into this technological world.

What kinds of digital platforms might help you explore and present what you find?

As I have Instagram displayed on my WordPress site, I was thinking of using that particular media platform to show my story as well as using my blog to keep my viewers updated and following up with my research. Making an Instagram account and taking images of people using their devices in the media space and comparing it from years ago is a way I could tell my story and depict what i’m trying to show then explain it on my blog and go more into depth about my findings. If I don’t use Instagram, I will have images on my WordPress site of how we use media now compared to 10 years ago, in order for people to see my story visually and read more about it on my blog.

References

Couldry, N, MacDonald, R, Stephansen, H, Clark, W, Dickens, L, & Fotopoulou, A 2015, ‘Constructing a digital storycircle: Digital infrastructure and mutual recognition’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 1-30.

Personal Devices in the comfort of your own home.

I find taking a photo of someone and asking for permission to use it is quite confronting and awkward so I chose the easier option and found a photo of my family.

Firstly, I asked my younger sister and her boyfriend (who are over the age of 18) if it was fine to use this particular photo and it is. The child in this photo is my nephew and my other sister was absolutely fine with me using this photo, of him, so before I begin I have permission to use this photo from all involved. I had showed all involved in this picture the photo that I was going to use and informed my sisters and my sisters boyfriend that I would be using this particular photo for educational purposes only and that it would be uploaded to my WordPress site. I have chosen not to use names of the people involved for privacy reasons especially because of the child in this photo.

This photo was taken at Christmas time, just before lunch was served. As I looked over, I noticed straight away that my nephew was mocking my sister and her boyfriend which is funny because they never get off their phones! I guess I was just as bad because I had my phone close by as I was the one who took this photo? Anyways..

Focusing on this idea of public spaces as an ethical dilemma, especially when taking photos of people without their permission, I ask the question is it acceptable to take a photo of people without them even knowing? Even if it is your family?

According to the Arts Law Center of Australia (2016, p.1) and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, as long as I had permission from a parent or guardian for the infant then taking this photo was fine.  Whilst reading this document about the right of street photographers, I noticed a few key points that struck out to me. There is no actual law in Australia targeting the use of unauthorised images, although, there are specific circumstances in how we can use these images we take. For example, if we look at the image I took, I am not damaging any property and it’s not damaging or injuring my reputation or others involved but this photo can be tested on if the publication of the photograph is defamatory (Arts Law Center, 2016 ,p.2)

Another interesting key point, I noticed, from reading this document is that I wouldn’t need consent before capturing an image of someone or something as there is actually no general right or privacy in Australia (Arts Law Center, 2016 ,p.2).

If we think about the actual laws and rights in Australia about this issue, there really isn’t any which is actually quite scary to think. The thought of a stranger having photos of me on their devices that I don’t know about is terrifying to think. However, if it was my friends or family then I don’t mind. Maybe this comes under trust? I read an interesting article written by Sophie Wilkinson, which turns out to be her story of what happened to her. A man took a photo of her eating and posted it to a Facebook group, without her permission. Her friend emailed her saying she saw her photo on the Facebook. It wasn’t so much the photos that upset her but more the comments people were posting. She contacted the person who took the photo and contacted Facebook asking for the photo to be removed.

After reading her story I honestly felt upset for her. Having strangers comment rude and diminishing things about her, when they don’t even know her, because she was eating. It’s an act of bullying that people don’t even realise they’re doing.

My opinion… the photos we are taking of people (whether we know them or not) is only acceptable if we don’t offend or upset the feelings of the person/ people in the photo. I do have embarrassing photos of friends and family members but I would never put them on social media sites knowing it would upset them.

I recommend reading this article by Sophie Wilkinson.

References

Arts Law Centre of Australia  2016, Street Photographer’s rights information sheet, Australian National Community legal centre of the arts, viewed 1st  September  2016, <https://www.artslaw.com.au/info-sheets/info-sheet/street-photographers-rights/&gt>

Wilkinson, S 2014, ‘Stanger Shaming: How being a woman eating on a tube got me 12,000 online haters’, The Debrief, 2 April, viewed 1 Septemeber 2016 <http://www.thedebrief.co.uk/news/opinion/i-faced-so-much-online-abuse-for-eating-on-a-train-i-m-now-too-afraid-to-eat-in-public-2014058998&gt;.

A cinema experience

The last movie I remember watching in cinemas was Mother’s Day. I must admit I love going to the cinemas and watching movies on the big screen. Popcorn, a giant coke, the big screen and some comfy chairs to sit back and relax for two hours…what’s not to love!

Every time I go to the cinemas I feel like their a certain rules to follow. Rule number one is spending big. It’s so expensive to go to the cinemas but I feel like we are all paying for the experience. Rule number two is that no one likes to sit near other people. I have been to some cinemas where there is ‘assigned’ seating and other cinemas where people just sit wherever they want. On both occasions it is obvious that people don’t like to sit near other people (I am totally one of these people). Rule number three is mobile phones must be switched off or to silent. There is really nothing worse then someones phone going off whilst watching a movie. I find that this is one time I will not look at my phone until the movie is finished. I guess having the cinema room so dark and my phone light being so bright usually helps this. Finally, rule number four is no talking out loud. Everyone wants some peace and quiet whilst watching the movie on the big screen.

If we look at Torsten Hagerstrand’s study on how people behaved and acted in society we can see three limitations and constraints in regards to geography.

The first limitation being the capability constraints. People consider how they are going to get somewhere and back with or without any limitations or constraints. For example, when I go to the movies there is always someone who has their license and a car so there is never a hassle getting to the movies and getting back (unless the car breaks down). When I go the movies I also prefer night time and usually at a later time as I find that it is normally quieter and a less busier time to go which also means more parking spaces. As the movies are also quite expensive for some (especially poor uni students like me), I always go when I know I can afford to go which is another capability constraint mentioned and described by Hagerstand.

The second limitation being coupling constraints. This constraint is all about timing and whether a person can get somewhere at the right time. As I am new to Wollongong, I only know two cinemas that are close by so I usually pick what cinema I go to depending on the viewing times. As I prefer going late at night, I then usually decide to go to the closets cinema as it’s more convenient.

The last limitation is the authority constraint. A person’s age, closing hours, certain rules and regulations can all be factors. When I was watching Mother’s Day, the movie was MA+ meaning that anyone under the age of 15 wasn’t allowed to watch the movie unless they where accompanied by an adult. I am 21 years old so I didn’t have a problem with being able to watch the film and the closing time is when the movies are all finished so once again that wasn’t a limitation for me.

Applying Hagertsand’s constraints to situations just proves there are limitations to be able to do simple things. Due to my age, location and preferences I always have a good movie experience.

References

Corbett, J & Donald, J (eds) 2001, ‘Torsten Hagerstrand , Time Geography’ Center for spatially integrated social science , 25th August, pp1-4