OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02: Product, Range and Distribution - Research

Studio Brief 02 

I started by researching into different topics I could produce my response to. I gathered a collection of different social, political and ethical topics, regarding the 21st century.

Social Media and Modern Day Technology

I noted what I was most interested in and decided to use this as the issue I was going to discuss as I feel picking a topic that I was passionate about enables me to naturally produce a more detailed and effective response. I had worked on previous design outputs on similar topics prior to this investigation, so my knowledge on the subject was intermediate. I wanted to build upon this and produce an effective detailed response in relation to modern day values.  

YouTube

Ironically, I found most interesting information via videos on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube. 

Key Points - How social Media Affects the Brain

• Social Media is used by 1/3 of the entire worlds, population.
• 5% to 10% of internet users are unable to control how much time they spent online.
• Psychological addiction. Brain scans of social media addicts show similar results to those of drug dependancy. Makes you crave more neurological excitement after each interaction. 
• Phantom Vibration Syndrome - Thinking your phone went of, but didn't. (89% of test studies, people said they had experienced this every two weeks) Experience an itch that feels like a phone vibration. Links to technology re-wiring our brains in a way they have never been before. 
• Social Media triggers a release of Dopamine (The feel good chemical) MRI scans scientists have found that these chemicals are much more active when people are discussing their own views via social media in relation to when listening to others, whereas 30-40% of face to face conversations involve communicating our own experiences whereas 80% in social media conversations

Key Points - Can We Auto Correct Humanity? 

Video discusses clear link to the change in humanity due to technology in a poetic manner.

• The Average person spends around 4 years of their life looking down at their cell phone. 
• Ironic how touch screens can make us, loose touch.
• In a world full of Imacs, Iphones to many I's and Selfie's not enough we's. Technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever, because while it claims to connect us connection has got no better.
• Anti- social Network.
• Whilst we may have big friend-lists so many of us are friend-less. 
• Use technology to measure self worth by numbers of followers and likes. 
• Ignoring those who actually love us it seems, we would rather write an angry post than talk to some one that actually might actually hug us. 
• Chats been reduced to snaps. The news is 140 characters.
• Studies show the attention span of the average adult today is one second lower than that of a goldfish.
• Precious moments should be experienced not spoilt by recording it on a phone.
• I imagine a world where we smile when we have low batteries, because that means that we will be one bar closer to humanity. 

Key Points - A Social Life - Award Winning Short Film - Social Media.

• Explains visually that social media is a constructed and distorted view of reality, where everything is not as it seems.