Category: Media / Sociology

I just had an interesting thought (I’ll admit, while reading A Consumers’ Republic by Cohen). A typical argument for privatizing a commons, like a road, hospital, network, or a public space, is that it will improve if someone can a buck off of it. For example, while the post office once was a place for people to meet and discuss issues of local importance (see John, Spreading the News), another more modern equivalent might be the coffee house or book shop (or WalMart, or Barnes and Noble). Yet, it stands to reason that people hanging around a place like this talking for hours on end will not result in the establishment earning a maximum profit. Instead, the emphasis on “buying things” at locations may tend to divide people rather than bring them together — thus preventing much of a public sphere from forming. To clarify, the profit motive of consumerism seems like it runs so counter to the ideals of a commons, that it may have an impact on the formation of the modern public sphere. I’m struggling for a defense of public commons here.
Looks like it’s back to Bowling Alone in the Offentlichkeit.

Another thing about “too much media” to experience. Browsing through iTunes looking for some music that’s appealing can be a tiring job. To what degree is it easier/better to get “suggestions” of what’s cool from a radio station (or even MTV)? Sure, there are playlists and podcasts that can help one dig up music, yet again they are nearly as numerous as the songs on them. Perhaps this is the essence of why editors are important. Even if a lot of truly good material is lost, it may be that an even greater amount of trash is filtered out.
Something must be said for the “thrill” of the hunt, but maybe I just want to experience only what matters to me.

When I think about how plugged in my day is, it’s amazing I can get anything of value done. Between the Tivo, iPod, Blogs, Newspaper, and DVDs I barely have time to really advance my mind by taking in something really stimulating. With all of this media around us, are we being distracted from reading or talking about something that has meaning to ourselves and to society. To make matters worse, the last 50 years have been an accumulation of so much material to read. As an academic, it seems like there is so much material from so many disciplines to read that there will never be a way to catch up and still keep current. Will we have to become so specialized that there won’t be any way to do valuable cross-discipline work anymore?