Hi. Welcome to the blog for my IB English B class at Jur Hronec High School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Below you will find links to other websites and discussion questions. My students are required to comment on one of these postings every month and also respond to each other's comments. Feel free to add your two bits, but be aware that all comments are monitored before being posted.
Has the reach of modern technology gone too far?Are primitive cultures in danger of losing their integrity?What are the benefits and negative side-effects of globalization of this type?
We certainly live in a Facebook age, where we come home from hanging out with friends and then hang out with them some more. We cannot really imagine the world without the Internet, without "stalking" a new friend on Google, without an instant access to information, and without an instant access to stupid but satisfying fun. This wasn't really a fast transmission for our part of the world, we didn't really start to be this accessible from day to day, but some cultures, like the Insect tribe, have. But I do not think it is the worst thing that ever happened to that tribe.
The author of the article was very scared for the pureness of the tribe and was scared that by Facebook the tribe would change. I think it's nonsense to be scared for a specific group of people will change because of internet only because they didn't know arrows will fly straight with feathers. They are, after all, grownups, they have been hunting their whole lives therefore they must have seen some dismembered crocodiles and feral pigs, and there really isn't anything worse on Facebook. Moreover, it is a bit hypocritical to be afraid for their moral integration after you bring cameras and outsiders into their village and want to make a documentary about them.
Does connecting to Facebook mean the Insect tribe will seize hunting and gathering and just sit in front of the computer the whole day? No. Only us, Westerners, after realizing there are other ways to socialize than to actually go out into the horrible cold world, will stay in front of the computer. In our world we can order food right to our door, we can put a frozen pastry into a microwave and take out a delicious treat, in the worst cases we can go to the shop and just buy something and it wouldn't take us more than 10 minutes to get provision that can feed us for weeks. Tribesmen in Papua New Guinea don't have this advantage, there aren't supermarkets with always fresh crocodiles on ice in the rain forest. Therefore they can't stop hunting and gathering otherwise they would starve to death. Also, they don't need to connect to people that are in their own tribe, they probably connect with their relatives that got married in a tribe far away. Without technology they would never meet again, with it they may talk. What is so horrible about that? Why should solely tribesmen loose the advantage to communicate with the world?
I understand that the fact they hunt and gather isn't the determining factor of their culture. However the author himself said that they are communicating in their own language, even sharing photos of their family's scarification ceremonies. Language and ceremonies are surely the base on which you might build a community. Furthermore, they were in the western world, in Great Britain, and they kept on doing what they did before because they liked what they did. Yes, they improved their hunting technique, but that is cultural evolution, when a single mind makes a great discovery and the discovery spreads all around the world. It has happened before, the wheel for example, and it will happen again, although it is more possible that in this interconnected world it will be a group of brilliant minds than just a single one.
There are billions of influences on an individual, and Internet rules them all. But only weak minds get corrupted by them, and there is only a small percentage of weak minds in the world. I would believe that the percentage is even lower in a tribe that has to be mentally and physically strong to survive. The six elders proved that they are smart and that they would never do anything to hurt their tribe. Therefore, in conclusion, saying that multiculturalism will ruin this particular culture, is hypocritical, mainly from the guy that brought technology to the culture among the firsts.
Main problem discussed in this article is changeing Insect tribe culture to global. But what can we do about it? Forbid them from logging in? Disrupt their internet acces?
It is sad that every country in the world is slowly turning to global culture. It is due to massmedia, films... but that is a part of our age. Many say, that nobody is intrested in our ancestors ways of life, but I don't think this is true. I personally enjoy Slovak and Moravian folk songs and like traditional dances. I think that in Insect tribe it would be about the same - that many will change, but they will preserve their way of life for long.
The autor of article is scared that their untouched culture will become corrupt. I agree (partially), but what can we do? Global culture is Nash Equilibrium of our age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium). If they stopped using Facebook and interned, they would discard a great opportunity to make their lives easier. Village elders want nothing but best for their society - and internet provides advantage.
In our Slovak case, we had no other option than to acclimate, because we were in Europe, where undeveloped countries were raided by neighbour states. But Insect tribe is still isolated. They will not buy cars any soon, because they have nowhere to drive them. They will not buy meat in supermarket, because they don't have one. They will not stop living as they do just to live like us, because they would die.
Internet changes things. Somewhere fast, somewhere slow. Insect tribe will turn global eventually. But I think that Insect tribe will go on preserving their culture longer than we did.
This article caught my attention right when I spotted the first word of the title: Facebook. Facebook is the social networking service, on which I have spent an infinite amount of hours on. Unfortunately, Facebook became an everyday part of not only my life, but our lives. It’s a place where people communicate, share photos, videos, links. But most importantly, it is the biggest medium for sharing information. People use Facebook to interact with their community of people.
The article deals with the issue of people in insect tribes being logged on to Facebook. People from insect tribes, who seem different to us because of their lifestyle, manners and habitat, but they are not different from “us” in the urge of sharing information. The article clearly provides us with information that our human species, not depending on what tribe or country we come from, is hungry for more information and the sharing of the information. Considering this, why should insect tribes have taken away the privilege of having their own Facebook accounts? Every human has the right to make a Facebook account and log on to this place full of information.
On the other hand, globalization of interdependent tribes which are not a part of big societies, and lack everyday general information about the surrounding world, is a questionable issue. Insect tribes are so precious because of their isolation and differing lifestyle and manners. With Facebook, this isolation can be omitted because of its significant ability of sharing information among people. The people from the tribes can change, their behavior and lifestyle may start to be similar to “ours” because of the easy access to information from the outer world.
It is difficult to decide wheatear this change would be good or bad. In my opinion it is not our decision to try and force the tribes to conserve there isolation. All human have a right to freely decide for their own, even human living in tribes. In conclusion, letting insect tribes to log on to facebook is okey in my opinion. But yes, modern technology and globalization came too far, but it is impossible for us, individuals to try and change it. And why would we try to change it if our society seems so fine with it?
I agree with Nina that we shouldn’t be the ones to decide whether the integrity of a given tribe should be kept. However, I don’t think our fears for introducing so called “pollution” in their societies are well justified. In that regard, I don’t think Nina’s presumption that the tribes-men will become a spitting image of the modern Western man is well justified either. The Papua New Guineans being the proud people that they are, are more likely not to abandon their culture for no apparent reason even if they were presented with all the technological advancements of the modern day era. In fact, they should be granted unlimited access to the internet. However, this is not something we should be deciding for in the first place. Who are we to forbid them? In what way are we different from them?
We need to shake our pseudo-prejudices against these people off and let them decide for themselves what aspects of our culture to acquire and incorporate into theirs, as suggested by Nina. As long as opportunities for lifestyle improvement exists why try stifling and disregarding them?
I share the ideas that Nina and Lachezar said, because we really dont have the rights to tell other people what to do and where to sign up to which social site. It is up to us individually to decide whether we want to spend time on Facebook or not, so why should the other people be pushed away if they are only trying to fit into the new technology world? They need to "develop" somehow. In my opinion, Facebook can be really helpful to them in some ways. Keeping contacts with other people is really important these days. If social sites would not exist the world would not be that developed as it is now. However, it reached this stage very quickly and people, not individuals that don’t have power to influence as mentioned above, but people as a nation should take care of not letting the technology to "overdevelop" or to go further than it should go.
We certainly live in a Facebook age, where we come home from hanging out with friends and then hang out with them some more. We cannot really imagine the world without the Internet, without "stalking" a new friend on Google, without an instant access to information, and without an instant access to stupid but satisfying fun. This wasn't really a fast transmission for our part of the world, we didn't really start to be this accessible from day to day, but some cultures, like the Insect tribe, have. But I do not think it is the worst thing that ever happened to that tribe.
ReplyDeleteThe author of the article was very scared for the pureness of the tribe and was scared that by Facebook the tribe would change. I think it's nonsense to be scared for a specific group of people will change because of internet only because they didn't know arrows will fly straight with feathers. They are, after all, grownups, they have been hunting their whole lives therefore they must have seen some dismembered crocodiles and feral pigs, and there really isn't anything worse on Facebook. Moreover, it is a bit hypocritical to be afraid for their moral integration after you bring cameras and outsiders into their village and want to make a documentary about them.
Does connecting to Facebook mean the Insect tribe will seize hunting and gathering and just sit in front of the computer the whole day? No. Only us, Westerners, after realizing there are other ways to socialize than to actually go out into the horrible cold world, will stay in front of the computer. In our world we can order food right to our door, we can put a frozen pastry into a microwave and take out a delicious treat, in the worst cases we can go to the shop and just buy something and it wouldn't take us more than 10 minutes to get provision that can feed us for weeks. Tribesmen in Papua New Guinea don't have this advantage, there aren't supermarkets with always fresh crocodiles on ice in the rain forest. Therefore they can't stop hunting and gathering otherwise they would starve to death. Also, they don't need to connect to people that are in their own tribe, they probably connect with their relatives that got married in a tribe far away. Without technology they would never meet again, with it they may talk. What is so horrible about that? Why should solely tribesmen loose the advantage to communicate with the world?
I understand that the fact they hunt and gather isn't the determining factor of their culture. However the author himself said that they are communicating in their own language, even sharing photos of their family's scarification ceremonies. Language and ceremonies are surely the base on which you might build a community. Furthermore, they were in the western world, in Great Britain, and they kept on doing what they did before because they liked what they did. Yes, they improved their hunting technique, but that is cultural evolution, when a single mind makes a great discovery and the discovery spreads all around the world. It has happened before, the wheel for example, and it will happen again, although it is more possible that in this interconnected world it will be a group of brilliant minds than just a single one.
There are billions of influences on an individual, and Internet rules them all. But only weak minds get corrupted by them, and there is only a small percentage of weak minds in the world. I would believe that the percentage is even lower in a tribe that has to be mentally and physically strong to survive. The six elders proved that they are smart and that they would never do anything to hurt their tribe. Therefore, in conclusion, saying that multiculturalism will ruin this particular culture, is hypocritical, mainly from the guy that brought technology to the culture among the firsts.
Main problem discussed in this article is changeing Insect tribe culture to global. But what can we do about it? Forbid them from logging in? Disrupt their internet acces?
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that every country in the world is slowly turning to global culture. It is due to massmedia, films... but that is a part of our age. Many say, that nobody is intrested in our ancestors ways of life, but I don't think this is true. I personally enjoy Slovak and Moravian folk songs and like traditional dances. I think that in Insect tribe it would be about the same - that many will change, but they will preserve their way of life for long.
The autor of article is scared that their untouched culture will become corrupt. I agree (partially), but what can we do? Global culture is Nash Equilibrium of our age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium). If they stopped using Facebook and interned, they would discard a great opportunity to make their lives easier. Village elders want nothing but best for their society - and internet provides advantage.
In our Slovak case, we had no other option than to acclimate, because we were in Europe, where undeveloped countries were raided by neighbour states. But Insect tribe is still isolated. They will not buy cars any soon, because they have nowhere to drive them. They will not buy meat in supermarket, because they don't have one. They will not stop living as they do just to live like us, because they would die.
Internet changes things. Somewhere fast, somewhere slow. Insect tribe will turn global eventually. But I think that Insect tribe will go on preserving their culture longer than we did.
This article caught my attention right when I spotted the first word of the title: Facebook. Facebook is the social networking service, on which I have spent an infinite amount of hours on. Unfortunately, Facebook became an everyday part of not only my life, but our lives. It’s a place where people communicate, share photos, videos, links. But most importantly, it is the biggest medium for sharing information. People use Facebook to interact with their community of people.
ReplyDeleteThe article deals with the issue of people in insect tribes being logged on to Facebook. People from insect tribes, who seem different to us because of their lifestyle, manners and habitat, but they are not different from “us” in the urge of sharing information. The article clearly provides us with information that our human species, not depending on what tribe or country we come from, is hungry for more information and the sharing of the information. Considering this, why should insect tribes have taken away the privilege of having their own Facebook accounts? Every human has the right to make a Facebook account and log on to this place full of information.
On the other hand, globalization of interdependent tribes which are not a part of big societies, and lack everyday general information about the surrounding world, is a questionable issue. Insect tribes are so precious because of their isolation and differing lifestyle and manners. With Facebook, this isolation can be omitted because of its significant ability of sharing information among people. The people from the tribes can change, their behavior and lifestyle may start to be similar to “ours” because of the easy access to information from the outer world.
It is difficult to decide wheatear this change would be good or bad. In my opinion it is not our decision to try and force the tribes to conserve there isolation. All human have a right to freely decide for their own, even human living in tribes. In conclusion, letting insect tribes to log on to facebook is okey in my opinion. But yes, modern technology and globalization came too far, but it is impossible for us, individuals to try and change it. And why would we try to change it if our society seems so fine with it?
@Nina
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nina that we shouldn’t be the ones to decide whether the integrity of a given tribe should be kept. However, I don’t think our fears for introducing so called “pollution” in their societies are well justified. In that regard, I don’t think Nina’s presumption that the tribes-men will become a spitting image of the modern Western man is well justified either. The Papua New Guineans being the proud people that they are, are more likely not to abandon their culture for no apparent reason even if they were presented with all the technological advancements of the modern day era. In fact, they should be granted unlimited access to the internet. However, this is not something we should be deciding for in the first place. Who are we to forbid them? In what way are we different from them?
We need to shake our pseudo-prejudices against these people off and let them decide for themselves what aspects of our culture to acquire and incorporate into theirs, as suggested by Nina. As long as opportunities for lifestyle improvement exists why try stifling and disregarding them?
@Nina
ReplyDeleteI share the ideas that Nina and Lachezar said, because we really dont have the rights to tell other people what to do and where to sign up to which social site. It is up to us individually to decide whether we want to spend time on Facebook or not, so why should the other people be pushed away if they are only trying to fit into the new technology world? They need to "develop" somehow. In my opinion, Facebook can be really helpful to them in some ways. Keeping contacts with other people is really important these days. If social sites would not exist the world would not be that developed as it is now. However, it reached this stage very quickly and people, not individuals that don’t have power to influence as mentioned above, but people as a nation should take care of not letting the technology to "overdevelop" or to go further than it should go.