Lecture 7: Digital culture

"We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us" 
-Marshall McLuhan 1911-1980

We have started to create more and more tools that are helping us with our daily lives, but they are beginning to shape us as humans. It is thought that we are creating a global village, due to connectivity across the globe. McLuhan argued that we need to research more into the media and its historical context so that the relationship between politics, society and culture continues to work. The messages in media and their impact on society need to be used correctly to make positive difference, taking into consideration what would happen when the limits are broken/pushed. 

The new aesthetic
Touchscreen technology has changed the classroom environment and allows everyone to work in a way that best suits them. It enhances the interactive learning environment which enhances the students' engagement as they can learn the same content in the best way that suits them. The digital aesthetic is the unique look that is linked to the digital platform. The numbers are formed on the grid in a neon blue/green colour, making it impossible to be used in traditional printing methods. This has lead to the experimental combination of digital animation with the real world e.g. Paddington Bear. The use of this digital animation in a lot of media related outputs has lead to the argument of nostalgia vs. innovation and how the user often prefers the physical things rather than the digitalised version of something. The fact that traditional methods are more engaging is shown to be evident when looking at clocks. It is thought that we find it easier to manage our timings when using an analogue clock rather than  digital one as we have to cognitively process the passing of time.

New technologies 
I found it interesting to think about how things that we dreamt of using 30 years ago are now part of our everyday lives such as the bluetooth earpiece. The majority of the younger generation now did not experience the digital revolution as they were born into a world of advanced technology. It has been found that a feeling of distantiation has started to occur as people feel an emotional distance from the digital content such as a webpage, compared to something that is physically printed such as a book. I think it is important for those designing all of this technology to step back and think about the negative effects it is having on society by connecting people, but leaving them to feel socially isolated.