Reading Response for December 4th

Generation Why?

1. One of Smith’s main claims is the fact that we, millennials and students, are actually much better and more sophisticated than our software, more specifically, Facebook and the social networking platforms that we use.
2. Smith also seems to, in a round-a-bout way, claim that the movie The Social Network is pretty overrated, as is it’s stereotypical, nerdy, loner main character of Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg). He pokes fun at Zuckerberg throughout the movie, noting his typical nerdy walk and inability to make eye contact, which are all typical movie nerd traits.
3. She makes the comical claim that there are “1.0” people and “2.0” people, and that The Social Network is a movie about 2.0 people made by 1.0 people.
4. She also makes the claim that Generation Facebook tends to obsess over a “celebrity lifestyle.”
5. Smith also claims that movies tend to struggle to convey art, especially things such as the passion programming in an entertaining and understandable way.
6. Smith also cites Lanier, and mentions that we need to consider what, exactly, technology and software is doing to us,  as well as to consider a world “without files.”

I think that Smith persuades her audience successfully by using many specific examples as well as quotes from the film. She also utilizes humor in her voice, which I believe is a very persuasive tactic that readers can relate to.

I can draw a connection between this piece and Langdon Winner’s piece about politics and artifacts. When Smith cited Lanier’s idea that we need to consider what technology is doing to us, this reminded be of Winner’s point that technologies have actually politics and more of an effect on our society and lives than we really think.

I do utilize Facebook, and find myself agreeing with a lot of Smith’s points. More specifically, I can identify with Smith’s quote, “We know that having two thousand Facebook friends is not what it looks like. We know that we are using a software to behave in a certain, superficial way toward others.” As someone that does have a thousand Facebook friends, I can attest to this. Just because I have that many names listed on my Facebook profile does not mean that I have a large circle of friends. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I probably have a handful of friends. However, I do find myself crafting a picture-perfect life on social media in order to impress those thousand friends that I do not even know on a personal level. It’s the downfall of living in a generation fueled by likes and social networks.