Brad Paisley says I’m cooler online!
January 15, 2009
Well first off I have to say it is very hard for me to sit down and listen to an entire country song with out getting annoyed. For some reason it is just hard for me to stomach country music. But, I was able to watch the whole video a few times in order to complete this week’s assignment.
The characters in the video seemed to be ordinary people who were embarrassed by who they really were in the world. The main dude was not a super good looking man, and he did not seem cool or hip. But once online he thought that he was like Brad Paisley. He imagined that he was a super cool dude with star status. He pictured himself as a rock star with cool cars, notoriety and beautiful ladies by his side when online. All of the characters in the video seemed to have a different persona once they were online and in fantasy land. Their personality changes once online because no one can see who they really are. When on the internet the characters are free to be who ever they want to be and can act in any way they feel will make the look “cooler”.
Basically one can see that the internet can be a release from everyday life and an outlet as well. After viewing the video you can see that people may not seem or be who they appear to be in real life. People can be who they want to be and can have a kind of alternate personality and persona from who they really are.
In one of the reading from the text the writer explains that the “history of computers is a narrative of human beings seeking to employ technology to alter their worlds.” And in the music video that is easy to see. I also remember reading that the internet and technology enables us to create our own kind of world away from the real world and society.
That being said it seems as though technology gives many of us a way to escape from our normal lives. Online we are able to act and be someone who we may not be in public or face to face. The internet lets us be anything or any one we want because who will really find out who is behind the typing or technology. Our society is beginning to move away from face to face interactions and toward technological interactions where we can hide our true selves. I read a study a few weeks ago about how teenage kids are becoming to involved in non face to face interactions through the internet and text messages. These kids are losing the important skills needed to communicate with others face to face.
Jared
I agree with the country music comments. I enjoy “some” country typically the more upbeat songs. I try to avoid the depressing “my life sucks” variations! I noticed you pointed out the fact that we can “present” ourselves online in a way that may or may not be the “real” us. I have noticed this while interacting on myspace ad facebook. I will have to admit that I upload the photos that are a bit more flattering and defiantly don’t point out all of my flaws on my profile. Technological advances have opened the doors “wide open” for us to meet and interact with people offering so many options for expression. On myspace we can now add our favorite songs and profiles etc. that represent “our” styles yet it’s hard to really know if we are meeting the real person or just a drummed up image of who they wish they were!
Ok! I have to disagree with you on country music. I love country music and Brad Paisley, but that could be that I am a Southern girl and can’t get enough of it. Putting that aside I have to agree with your analysis of the video. I too decided to use this topic for my blog and found many of the same concepts that you stated. While I believe it to be a shame that people are communicating less face-to-face due to the many technological advances made in today’s society there are a few benefits. I agree that the people in the video had a personality change, but not until reading your blog did I realize the perk that myspace has for people who appear to have low self-esteem and few friends. The perk is they too now have a place where they can go express themselves and not feel embarrassed because they do not fit the standards set by society. Much like you said no one will find out what they look like so they can make their appearance online be as they wish they could be. They have the outlet that you mentioned which is good because everyone needs to feel as though they have someone to talk to that won’t prejudge or judge them before they convey what is on their mind.
A relation that I found between the video and the message you and I seem to agree on relates to Wood and Smith’s form of mass medium. The mass medium characterized in the video is that of a one-to-many relationship (40). In the video the man sends messages through the myspace network to several people trying to find friends that he can relate to. He attempts to fit into the standards of society by altering who he his (his looks, popularity) to make friends that he might otherwise never get their attention. Unfortunately, it is sad that people are not interacting with people face-to-face because they are fearful that they will not be accepted. While technology has many benefits, one being it allows people to express themselves in ways they may never have done before, it also has drawbacks. It appears eventually we will become a society that forgets how to communicate in public and resorts to communicating through cyberspace.