Research Paper On Media Blackout

After observing the 20 minute video of myself on the computer, I noticed a number of things. Firstly, my posture was somewhat awkward than I had expected. I had a slumping posture or a forward head posture where my ears were not directly sitting on my shoulders instead they were forward of the shoulders. I think this forward head posture is the reason behind my constant strains on my head, neck and shoulder that at times become painful.
According to studies, this posture is the most common in computer users worldwide. Pundits cite that with every inch one’s head posture shifts forward, the head ultimately gains 10 pounds or 4.5 kilograms in weight. The upper neck and neck muscles ‘forces strain to keep one’s chin from dropping onto one’s chest. Studies further explain that with one’s muscles in constant contraction to attain this, nerves at the base of the skull are exerted pressure which can translate to headaches. My posture, I observed, was as a result of responding from the light stimuli generated by the computer screen. I was slumping towards the screen in order to view it properly.
I observed from the video that I maintained a number of interesting facial expressions. I had a focused facial expression that at times would break into a cheerful one. The facial expressions were mirroring my response to my immediate environment such as the computer and my mobile phone. My focused expression was greatly determined by my need to concentrate on the contents on my computer’s monitor. Save for the distraction from my mobile phone, a better part of my time was spent paying attention to the computer.
I further noticed that my breathing was much strained during the 20 minutes due to my head forward posture which strained my respiratory tract. From the video, I looked detached from everything. I seem as if am in a trance which once in a while was brought short by text messages on my phone. I also noticed that my mother had to call out to me over three times before I responded which I did so without shifting from my working space at the computer.
In the Sherry Turkle Connected but alone Ted Talk video a number of things highlighted regarding the exaggerated attachment to human beings to technology at the expense of their own socialization. In her talk, many valid points are expressed regarding human behavior and the emergence of technology as an essential tool for proper living. She cites that in our rush to connect using technological platforms such as social media we end up being alienated from each other physically. Mobile phones, for instance, have become part and parcel of our daily lives. We browse and endlessly chat with our friends whom we make less effort to meet and actually have a physical interaction. I agree with Sherry Turkle on how technology makes us alienated from others. Judging by the 20 minute video, I can tell that once am engaged with my personal computer my immediate physical world becomes non-existent. I feel much more at ease chatting with my friends online rather than making the effort to visit them from time to time. My social media accounts are all active and addictive at the same time with much of my time spent on Facebook and Twitter in order to connect with even my friends a few blocks away. I have become a sociable robot as Sherry Turkle says. I am investing much time in technology to escape from my loneliness by being in control of intimacy and socialization.

Works Cited

TED Talks. "Sherry Turkle: Connected, but Alone? | Talk Video | TED.com." TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. TED Talks, Feb. 2012. Web. 8 Feb. 2015. <http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together?language=en>.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. N.p., 2011. Print.