PW 1

In Andrew Lam’s excerpt we see that he agrees with global editor of multimedia at Reuters when we mentions that “’Then entire world [has become] news gatherers – some of the most extraordinary events are reported by ordinary citizens.’”  A clear example mentioned in the reading would be the USC incident as well as the natural disaster in China.  In USC Professor Bill Nye collapsed as he prepared to give a lecture and the students instead of calling 911 for help, their first reaction was to take pictures, text, and tweet.  In Sichuan, China in 2008 a high school student recorder the scene of him running down the stairs while building collapsed.  His video had way more success than any other reporters who went to the scene.  I agree that people nowadays have become “reporters” themselves without even being aware of it.  Some people may decide to text their friends, but the easier way to do it where a lot of people can be informed is through social networks and blogs such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr etc.  I can definitely relate to this because when something goes on that may be big or considered important by other people, I am able to find out about it through Facebook.  This happens every time there is an earthquake, if it’s raining, if there is some type of tragic event in the community, sporting events, etc.  It is safe to say that people would prefer to share anything that may be going on in their lives and is considered important since it is so normal to do so.  At times it actually is beneficial to many of us because we would rather spend time on social networks than watching television and that way we kill two birds with one stone because we are informed about any important events going on while were socializing with others.

            Andrew Liam mentions that “They have been conditioned to invest the bulk of their emotional life in the virtual space.  And many have learned to split their attention, with one eye on the electronic mirror, and the other on reality.”  He is basically telling us that our generation has been raised with so much media that we have forgotten about everything else and we have relied more on media.  It is true that there are many who enjoy spending time using media whether its watching videos on YouTube or socializing on facebook but that doesn’t mean that we don’t do other non-media related activities.  I for one enjoy the media, but I definitely do not spend so much time on it.  I would rather be outdoors playing sports, hanging out with friends, and enjoying my weekend partying.  I am sure I don’t speak for myself.  Yes media does play a big part in our lives but we are not dependent of it.  As long as we are having a good time I am sure that none of that will cross our minds.