Response 7 update

Just Do It® is the Nike advertisement slogan which catapulted the company into becoming the behemoth of the athletic-apparel industry during the 1990s (Wikipedia). Who can forget the famous Red Bull slogan, “Red Bull gives you wings”, as a daredevil jumps from a plane, jumps off a cliff, or over a ravine. While these slogans and advertising campaigns are specifically targeting sports activities, the message of embracing risk and immediate action for greater rewards cannot be denied. They are also embracing an alternative lifestyle from what may be considered traditional. How many people really enjoy jumping out of planes? A healthy respect of heights is normal human behavior. Yet, there are companies advertising to these daredevils and the counter-culture lifestyle they embrace.

Thomas Frank’s “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” argues the current political, financial, and social structure of our society has made radical change impossible. If neuroplasticity of the brain allows for radical, amazing changes within the human mind, it should come as no surprise this plasticity allows corporate America to change and adapt to the rapid pace of a society which changes at “…the speed of thought” (Bill Gates). Thus, “capitalism … is no longer about enforcing Order, but destroying it” (Frank). In other words, capitalism will accept, adopt, and embrace any revolutionary thought or idea which increases profitability. Radical dissenting views towards those profits will also be encouraged and embraced, but capitalist will find a way to profitably monetize those ideas. The dissenting view now becomes part of the capitalist culture and the firebrand who started it all becomes their new pitchman.

It seems, to me (and this is a gross over simplification), there are two thought processes within social media: one group is staying current with the fashionable trends of popular culture, and the other group has decided to differentiate themselves by going counter culture. This second group of people has generated a large following both online and offline, e.g., Tony Hawk and Rob Dyrdek. Large and small companies are trying to sell products to the most people possible. It’s only logical for them to embrace marketing to both pop- and counter-culture participants, as every corporation’s goal is to maximize profit.

I do see the conflict of interest which arises with this corporate influence. Radical ideas which have the potential to disrupt the profits of corporations will not receive corporate sponsorship; “The Revolution Will Not be Televised.” (Gil Scott-Heron) How can true systemic change occur in a society which controls the medium, message and money (Castells)? Worse yet, when the brilliant minds of rhetorical discourse and scientific community receive corporate sponsorship (grants), the conversations and research within academia have the potential of being compromised. This compromise will not only be limited to academia but to mainstream society as well. Whoever controls the ideas controls the mob. If the germination of ideas is then limited to a few entities, the greatest gift of humanity – diversity – is nullified. When a society cannot adapt due to a lack of ideas – its failure is already predetermined.

These are my two cents; I would appreciate any thoughts and criticism of my non-sponsored ideas.

Now, the internet has changed the way our society communicates, and interacts with each other. We have instant access to information and computation. Why memorize today what we can look up from yesterday? During this process, our thoughts and mind have physically changed due to neuroplasticity (Carr).

Most people (by that I mean my friends and family) find it difficult to memorize phone numbers. It is simply not worth the time to do so when a cell phone can easily perform the task far more efficiently. What about the text messages, tweets, Facebook updates or Instagram? How are they changing the human mind?

I imagine the short term memory for Internet users have improved due to the constant bytes of information received. However, long term memory due to deep concentration must be impaired if every five minutes a new topic is being addressed on the web.

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One Response to Response 7 update

  1. I think that many people view things such as peoples lack of remembering phone numbers as a full on negative but fail to see the logic behind it. It isnt that people are losing their memorization or becoming inherently lazier, but that we as humans are conditioned to find the most efficient way of doing things. Sometimes people mistake efficiency for being lazy. I think that if theres a way to not risk forgetting something and always having access to it, it is the best way to go about things.

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