Journal 8: Computers

"I had been in the game itself only a matter of minutes but I already knew that the people who played this game played it seriously. They were willing to dedicate hours and hours of their real lives to enhancing their virtual lives." (Hall 404) This is a statement made by Hall pertaining to the Second Life video game. Hall makes a valid point when it comes to technology. People can become obsessed when it comes to technology. As he states that people will sit in front of the computer or video games for hours, or writing their blogs, or finding the latest music, or researching for homework, or even reading news. The internet has become the worldwide place to access an infinite amount of information. A person does not need to leave their computer to watch a TV. show, work on homework, read the news, or play games. I agree with the two authors, because as technology has developed so has the form in which text, and literature is presented. Such as the bible, which was first hand-written, then printed in a book, and now many verses can be found electronically. The most culturally worldwide accepted method to obtain literature, and or text that is newly or historically written is the internet. The internet can sometimes be more successful in conveying a text than any other method. WebPages provide a more "sensual" approach to text. A person can upload songs to their webpage or blog allowing the sense of hearing to interact with the sense of sight. This can engage the reader to take a more active role in visualizing a narrative or factual storyline. A person is forced to associate a sound with a particular statement putting certain emphasize on the storyline.

I think that the use of technology has helped in this class to influence what I think, because I have been able to access other websites. This helps me to think in a more open manner, because I have to be able to adjust to reading my textbooks, or homework online in college. This class has helped me, by forcing me to read more articles, and examples of literature online. Moreover, I have been able to become a more technologically advanced individual. I have learned how to create my own text and manipulate it so that when a reader reads my piece they will have a better feel for the mood and tone I am trying to portray in my literature/ composition. The computers have influenced my writing by allowing me to see another form in which to present the text or composition. I only believe that computers have hindered my writing because the writing is more informal then formal. Therefore, there is less emphasis on grammatically correct sentences and more on the statements and presentation of the text. However, this can be made into a benefit, because I have learned how to better arrange my paper to flow more easily, and alternative ways to create a text that can be made to be universally read to people at any point in time or place.