The Intermedia Network as Nature

I also read this section of Part I. This isn't so much a summary of the reading but more of the thought that came to mind while reading it. It's interesting to think that this was written back in 1970 and the trend of media enveloping our lives has far surpassed saturation. When paralleling past and present ways of life, it is apparent and possibly saddening that, with the advent of media through technology, certain "good, wholesome values" have been thrown to the wayside. However, as part of the GenY crowd, I don't even notice it. Sure, the era of personal computers and the Internet came around when I was in elementary school, but I don't remember much before then so as far as I'm concerned, they've been here all along.

One thing I do find to be noteworthy, with regard to the author's mention of society being one of Pavlov's dogs, was living in a foreign country away from all the stimuli and propaganda. Living in Korea for 2.5 years, completely takes you out of your routine. You can't get American television, newspapers (other than Wallstreet Journal), magazines, only a few movies. So unless you are glued to the Internet, you fall out of the loop quite quickly. Koreans themselves are very media-centered, but as an ex-pat who didn't speak the language fluently...I felt very detached from the newest fads. Coming back into the States, required a lot of catching up. I feel people are inundated with information that they don't even realize it's ingrained in everything they do. It was sometimes difficult to have a current events conversation with some people becasue I had no idea who Taylor Swift was or those Kardashian sisters who are famous but I have no idea why. Extracting yourself from mainstream culture for a while puts a whole new perspective on your surroundings.