Blog Posting #7: Battling the Temptation of Virtual Games...

Hurray; I love the snow, and Fort Wayne has received an exceptional amount overnight and through the day. How does technology relate to this? Well, I live in an apartment complex and the snow plows barricaded my car in with snow. Therefore, I had to dig myself out with a shovel just to leave my apartment. I guess we have it well nowadays, because technology has made us lazier, more dependent, spoiled, and luckier in having it. (I really have no idea how I went get out of my apartment complex if we did not have snow plows).

So, my boyfriend is trying to convince me to purchase “World of Warcraft,” so that we can combat creatures together. As enticing as that really sounds, I really do not think that I should. I mean, I only allow myself to play “The Sims” when I am on breaks from school, because I know that it sucks one’s life into a virtual world. I have played “World of Warcraft” at my boyfriend’s before, and it really is something I think I would like to play on a regular basis, it is just that I hate feeling unproductive when I need to get things done. I am not saying my boyfriend is unproductive, because he is not; it is just that I allow myself to feel guilty for playing games like that. Wow, I sound entirely too based in business. Maybe I should allow myself to have virtual fun once in a while.

Besides, I promised myself I would spend my free time writing and reading for fun. In doing so, I feel better about technology, because I do not have to spend every waking hour utilizing it. This is exactly why I write in a journal and refuse to use a computer when recording entries.

Blog Posting #6: Cyberchondria: Is the Internet Creating More Neurosis for Worrywarts?

Not too long ago I read an article titled “Internet Makes Hypochondria Worse,” which I thought was very interesting; therefore, I decided to post a blog about it this week. My friend from Chicago sent me this article, because I was telling him about people with certain personalities and how information can drive these types of people crazy. Yes, I am referring to the “information” that is being posted on the Internet and how people believe it to be the ultimate truth about their medical conditions.

For example, someone with a headache may visit WebMD to see what is causing this condition. The user of WebMD types in “headache” in the search engine, and a whole range of conditions like cancer, tumors, aneurysms, sexually transmitted diseases, sinus infection, MRSA, etc. pop up in the results. The person doing this search on their medical condition tends to think “worst-case scenario” and has now convinced himself or herself that they have brain cancer (because of what WebMD said).

The article states “the easy availability of health information on the web has certainly helped countless people make educated decisions about their health and medical treatment, but it can be disastrous for people who are likely to worry. Hypochondriacs researching an illness used to have to scour books and ask doctors for information. Now a universe of information is available with a few mouse clicks.”[1] Of course, this has proved to create more poison in the minds of people that are inherently worrywarts. Have people that naturally tend to worry lost their minds because it is easier to diagnose themselves on the Internet instead of letting a professional do it?

It is overwhelming to look at one of these “diagnosis yourself sites” and to see all of these virtual identifications that are retrieved by typing in something general like “joint pain” or “headache.” Many of these sites do have reputable doctors giving their feedback and diagnosing based on symptoms, but how can this really be done in the virtual world? I do not mean to be negative about technology these past couple of weeks it seems like it has done more damage than good. Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that we are too bored, so, we put miniscule problems under a microscope to further scrutinize. I guess there is a lesson in all of this: the Internet cannot diagnose one’s physical ailments; go to a doctor!

---

[1] “Cyberchondria and the Internet on MedicineNet.com,” http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51845

Blog Posting #5: My Whiny Blog Posting...

This week I feel disappointed with myself because of technology. Of course, it has only really come to a head this week, but I have finally realized what has been vexing me for quite awhile now. Ever since I was fifteen years of age, I have devotedly kept a journal, but as of the present moment, I have not made an entry for the past five months.

I am the type of person that needs to write; it allows for me to disperse myself of negativity, elations, emotional poisons, etc. However, it seems like I spend all of my time in front of a computer now: I do homework in the morning before I go to work at 3 pm, then, I go to work and stare at a computer screen for eight and a half hours, and finally, I go home to stare at a computer screen for a bit longer before trying to go to bed. My schedule is so diligent anymore that I really do not have time for anything but sleep, homework, reading assignments, and work.

Of course, all of this will officially end in a couple of months, and I will find myself feeling unproductive (and probably wanting to go back to school again). I actually complained to my mother a couple of weeks ago that “I no longer write,” and I remember her telling me “it is probably the last thing you want to do after staring at a computer screen.” I used to write all of the time, and I found great pleasure in doing so. Now, though, I feel like my brain has been sucked of every creative undulation and my mind is going to start speaking in binary numbers (probably not).

Blog Posting #4: Overachievers, Please Try Harder!

I took the title of this blog from the band, Camera Obscura, and flipped it around (instead of using underachievers like they do for the title of their album). So, this week has been pretty interesting in terms of technological feats. Yesterday, I deleted my whole webpage and decided to start anew. Of course I decided to do this after I spent the whole morning cracked out on coffee and in my pajamas, putting up images. I always tend to do things like this; do more work than necessary (oh, the life of an overachiever).

I remember when it happened: I was unlocking my apartment door yesterday evening, and all of a sudden it clicked. Yes, this was the moment when I decided that the topic for my website assignment was too broad and would require more work than it needed. It is amazing how these epiphanies hit me all of a sudden, and then, I have to start all over again.

This, too, can be applied to technology. My iPod will no longer download playlists, podcasts, or anything else I have put on it recently. Therefore, I am thinking of erasing the entire contents of my iPod, and starting over. Of course, I will not erase my entire music collection, but something is missing from it. Perhaps, my technological and mental philosophy this week is to “throw it out and start all over.” Is that ever a good philosophy to have when it comes to technology, though?

I guess what frustrates me is that if something does not work; I just want to erase it all and start again. Now, though, I am finding it hard to believe that I erased my whole website; I put many hours into it already! To think that all of those late nights after getting home from work, staring at a computer screen for a bit longer, has been entirely deleted from my computer! Maybe I will get over my neurosis later…

This weekend I went to Michigan for an evening, and brought along my iTrip for my iPod. The iTrip is an interesting contraption, because you have to tune it to your radio, and it picks up its frequency. I usually turn my radio up louder when my iPod is connected to the iTrip, but when it picks up the frequency of another station it blares piercingly. Other than that, I would strongly suggest purchasing an iTrip if you have an iPod!