Smarter Than You Think
Ambient awareness is a term dubbed by social scientists to describe a new form of peripheral social awareness (Wikipedia, 2015). This awareness comes from constant contact with people via social networking platforms like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blogger, etc. We see this term being a big part of Clive Thompsons book Smarter Than You Think and is an essential element to understanding technology today. According to Thompson, ambient awareness is “almost like being in the same room as someone and picking up on his/her mood and thoughts by the stray signals he/she gives off” (Thompson, 2013). He continues to say that ambient awareness is like a type of E.S.P. where “you create a picture of someone else’s internal state gradually, actually unconsciously,
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by assembling many small observations”. Whether it is updating a twitter status or searching through your newsfeed, Thompson believes that ambient awareness isn’t going anywhere and is a catalyst for users today. These small ways of interacting with others through clicking the ‘like’ button on Facebook or retweeting a tweet create this feeling of closeness and attraction to others.
Sharing our thoughts, our feelings, our actions, gives others the sense of knowing you on a personal level and essentially creating a digital friendship with you. Thompson believes that this results in meaningful positive changes in how we interact with each other. This interaction can occur online and Thompson explains that when cruising his newsfeed, “it’s his (my) personal interest in his (my) friends that makes their newsfeeds meaningful. If you were to glance at the people he (I) follows you would just see disjointed info” (Thompson, 2013). Each individual is different and the more exposure to another person through these constant updates, can increase this sense of “social proprioception”. Basically, it’s the impact that status updating is having in your life and implements this perception that what they are saying is somehow crucial. Social proprioception is one of the numerous outcomes of ambient awareness and is a powerful thing. It is all about slowly amassing an enormous, detailed context for others through these online settings, which has a large potential value for “real life”
interaction. Though ambient awareness is something that is progressing each and every day, that doesn’t mean it is all bad. Thompson believes that it can result in collaborative cognition and can give rise to astonishing acts. This awareness is more powerful than we thought and has the ability to alter the way we interact with others physically, which through more communication online and less communication in person, results in more productive tasks. This is not to say that ambient awareness doesn’t have issues. In the book we read that “technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral” (Thompson, 2013), because it is such a complex subject and has the ability to be problematic and helpful at the same time. With these constant advancements in communication methods, it continues to provoke panic throughout those who were born in different generations. Historical patterns show us that the addition of these new tools in society, cause people to respond negatively due to their lack of having a progressive attitude. There is always a con side to something as great as technology.
Not only is a new form of communication frightening to people, but so are the abilities each and every one possesses. The book says that social media is making the “previously invisible visible” and I completely agree. It is hard to post anything somewhat controversial online anymore without being shred to pieces by so-called activists and hypocritical liberals. Practically everything you post online or send to others is out there in the unknown universe of the internet and there is a danger to that. Who knows what kind of stuff is stored and saved online; not to mention, who can see all of the things we post? Technology is becoming risky and is also changing the way we prioritize things today. There is a big danger to modern ambient contact because to us, arriving right now is more important than paying attention to our past (Thompson, 2013). There is this obsession with the present and this leads to people being too interested in the online world; almost like an addiction. I know of people that use social media platforms constantly throughout the day and they just let life pass them by. I know that I have to control my exposure to social media and all of what it entails because I have seen the damage it can have on people my age and I do not plan on being another statistic.
Overall, ambient awareness is becoming a way of life and is something that is going to gain growth with the next few years. You can get to know someone on a personal level without even leaving your computer screen and I tend of think of that as amazing and worrisome all at the same time. This awareness has a potential to change the way we interact through the use of short-form status updates and tweets. These weak ties we make with others online can expand our ability to solve problems and be productive. With both pros and cons on this subject, it’s not going away any time soon, so get used to the tweets about food and weather because there are going to be a lot of them.
by assembling many small observations”. Whether it is updating a twitter status or searching through your newsfeed, Thompson believes that ambient awareness isn’t going anywhere and is a catalyst for users today. These small ways of interacting with others through clicking the ‘like’ button on Facebook or retweeting a tweet create this feeling of closeness and attraction to others.
Sharing our thoughts, our feelings, our actions, gives others the sense of knowing you on a personal level and essentially creating a digital friendship with you. Thompson believes that this results in meaningful positive changes in how we interact with each other. This interaction can occur online and Thompson explains that when cruising his newsfeed, “it’s his (my) personal interest in his (my) friends that makes their newsfeeds meaningful. If you were to glance at the people he (I) follows you would just see disjointed info” (Thompson, 2013). Each individual is different and the more exposure to another person through these constant updates, can increase this sense of “social proprioception”. Basically, it’s the impact that status updating is having in your life and implements this perception that what they are saying is somehow crucial. Social proprioception is one of the numerous outcomes of ambient awareness and is a powerful thing. It is all about slowly amassing an enormous, detailed context for others through these online settings, which has a large potential value for “real life”
interaction. Though ambient awareness is something that is progressing each and every day, that doesn’t mean it is all bad. Thompson believes that it can result in collaborative cognition and can give rise to astonishing acts. This awareness is more powerful than we thought and has the ability to alter the way we interact with others physically, which through more communication online and less communication in person, results in more productive tasks. This is not to say that ambient awareness doesn’t have issues. In the book we read that “technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral” (Thompson, 2013), because it is such a complex subject and has the ability to be problematic and helpful at the same time. With these constant advancements in communication methods, it continues to provoke panic throughout those who were born in different generations. Historical patterns show us that the addition of these new tools in society, cause people to respond negatively due to their lack of having a progressive attitude. There is always a con side to something as great as technology.
Not only is a new form of communication frightening to people, but so are the abilities each and every one possesses. The book says that social media is making the “previously invisible visible” and I completely agree. It is hard to post anything somewhat controversial online anymore without being shred to pieces by so-called activists and hypocritical liberals. Practically everything you post online or send to others is out there in the unknown universe of the internet and there is a danger to that. Who knows what kind of stuff is stored and saved online; not to mention, who can see all of the things we post? Technology is becoming risky and is also changing the way we prioritize things today. There is a big danger to modern ambient contact because to us, arriving right now is more important than paying attention to our past (Thompson, 2013). There is this obsession with the present and this leads to people being too interested in the online world; almost like an addiction. I know of people that use social media platforms constantly throughout the day and they just let life pass them by. I know that I have to control my exposure to social media and all of what it entails because I have seen the damage it can have on people my age and I do not plan on being another statistic.
Overall, ambient awareness is becoming a way of life and is something that is going to gain growth with the next few years. You can get to know someone on a personal level without even leaving your computer screen and I tend of think of that as amazing and worrisome all at the same time. This awareness has a potential to change the way we interact through the use of short-form status updates and tweets. These weak ties we make with others online can expand our ability to solve problems and be productive. With both pros and cons on this subject, it’s not going away any time soon, so get used to the tweets about food and weather because there are going to be a lot of them.