Week5

This week Paul was talking about simulacra and how we live our lives through a virtual world and how our own real life has sort of become secondary to the virtual world that we live in. He also talked about the non-virtual simulacra; these lifestyles that are happening daily all over the place and Paul used women as an example. How women look at magazines and they see celebrities’ lifestyles and fashion choices and try to copy and be like them, attempting to live in a fantasy role play in a kind of a way. They think if they do this or look like this then they could have this that or the other, which seems really stupid. If you asked a group of people they would probably agree, but many continue to believe in the fantasy. It’s like it is kind of programmed into our minds that we can cross over in this simulacramatic (if that even is a word) lifestyle and think it's normal. Paul then went into more areas that are based around the simulacra such as public and private e.g. Facebook. When we use Facebook, we think that what we upload is private, but it's not because it is on a public area and everyone you have on your friend's list can see. Not only that, but depending on your privacy setting's, total strangers can go onto to Facebook and see your profile and what you have been up to. It is true what Paul said, he could probably name the things that we would go and do later and they would probably end up on Facebook. For example, the morning after a night out, there is drunken photos of us with friends doing all sorts, things we wouldn't show any of our parents, but we would show the rest of Facebook; and anyway, our parents could probably easily go and see for themselves.

I myself have experienced this before with my dad seeing one of my photos on Facebook and then him having a go at me for it. This led me to changing my privacy settings, but saying that we still think that the pictures of us on drunken nights out are fine to put up because “only my friends can see it”. This brings me back to a point Paul made last week, about how Facebook sells our info on to other companies. We assume it's private and safe but god knows who is viewing or is able to. It's like how he mentioned CCTV and crime. Today, CCTV cameras are everywhere and we are being watched 24/7 in this sort of real life big brother simulacra, yet crime hasn't decreased that much. To be honest I think it just makes it more thrilling for the criminal doing the crime as it gives it more of that movie like feel if you get me. That sense that they know they are being watched but they will be able to get away with it because by the time it is picked up on camera and reported they will be gone. Another thing Paul talked about was that how we go about daily things such as reading papers and magazines has changed as well, instead of going to the shop and buying it you can just go on your computer, mac, iPad etc. and just download it at a click of a button. Personally when this was being discussed I thought that yeah it is pointless however when he mentioned about kids and how they can interact with them, I did think that was a new way forward. It would be far more exciting for a kid to read and be able to touch and move things rather than just a book sitting in front of them. Yes if it is a story you may not be able to move things about but this technology could allow you to if something was created, and this would make reading more interactive, especially for kids and it would be a great way to learn, never mind the massive market the companies would have. In summary we are technology, we live with it, work with it, use it, create and build it and we do all this in real life but at the same time still living in virtual simulacra.