http://amt.caltech.edu/resources/cartoons
The particular cartoon being observed here is one in which a woman is at a meeting discussing how long it has been since she sent her last tweet. This cartoon is an attempt to shed light on the problem that is coming from social networking, and that is addiction. The use of an AA meeting type setting pushes this idea to reality and highlights a key idea: that people need to recover from this addiction. Social networking has begun to separate people physically despite how much they may communicate via the internet, cell phones, etc. The AA meeting is an appropriate setting and is crucial to driving this point home. The realities of social networking need to be acknowledged. The artist uses a fair argument that appropriately draws on ones emotions and is especially effective for those who are experienced with addiction. I do wonder that some may find this comparison as a bit extreme, but I think that it is only because social networking addictions themselves have become extreme as well. Just as alcohol can separate one form their family and their occupation, social networking has shown to be no different as people are seen constantly using their phones and computers when interacting with others. I argue that an AA meeting is only a small taste of a comparison for the damages caused by social networking.
I would never think to compare alcoholism to social networking. But I feel like it is very true. The dependence people have acquired for social media is crazy! To think about how many times in just one day someone may tweet, text, facebook, or anything else is out of this world. The even worse thing is that people don't even realize they are doing it so much. They are so accustomed to social networking that it has become a second nature.
ReplyDeleteI think dependence is key and something I did not consider previously. People depend on the world to interact with them just as people depend on a substance. It really pulls at the emotional strings of the audience. At the same time it attempts to make a logical connection between addiction and how different types of addiction are treated.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this source and thought that it did a good job bringing out the impacts of not just social networking, but as addiction as a whole. Addiction is a world wide problem and no matter how people try to cope with it, it will always exist. The image of the support group (kind of like an alcoholic group session) automatically brought the issue of social networking to an extreme level and therefore brought the implications of the problems with addiction even more into sight.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's wrong to relate social media to something as serious as alcohol addiction. Social media addiction isn't something that is really severe and I think that there are many benefits to social media despite the "addictions" to it. Alcohol addiction can cause deaths and endanger lives, but social media doesn't do any of that. I think that the picture is really extreme and shouldn't be taken too seriously at all.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey,
ReplyDeleteI think you made a very worthy note about how serious the claim is in the cartoon. The author seems to be making an attempt to draw attention to social networking and how serious an addiction to it may be. I agree that their approah is extreme, however, it is extreme to show the author's feelings that maybe social networking can lead to the same problems as alcohol addictions. If the author did not take a strong enough stance the cartoon may not provoke such debate. Maybe the author is making note of what social networking can lead to before it becomes as serious as something like an alcohol addiction. The fact is, the world is still very much in the early stages of developing social networking. Just as was stated, there are many benefits to be taken advantage of with social networking and it is important not to lose sight of them.