It's Everywhere

As I search for my own mediated artifact, is hard to come across an object that doesn’t enforce our media-driven culture. Even objects once innocuous, pervasive in many regions of the world long before modern media even existed now serve to enforce its domination in our daily lives. The clock, for example, has been a staple in punctuating our behavior. However, it now serves as the backbone of media constraint, segmenting our lives and defining transitions between different media. We no longer read a clock, a clock tells us where to be, what to do and even how to live no that media keeps us connected at all hours of the day.

The advancement of modern media is in many ways very similar to House of Danger in its presentation of freedom and manipulation. An object like television advertises freedom of choice and an infinite variety of content. However, what we view on TV is manipulated by those who broadcast it and selectively filtered to restrict our choice to a handful of options, much like House of Danger, which claims to provide the reader with control over the story, but in reality only presents the reader with a few choices that lead to predetermined outcomes. Both forms of entertainment rely heavily, however, on the reader’s sense of freedom to sell and expand their popularity.

Expectations and Manipulations

            I woke up sick this past Thursday and missed the last class. After reading through everyone’s blog posts I started to notice a common trend, and knew that there must have been an assigned topic to blog about this week. I felt that it was my job to find out what that assignment had been. We are manipulated into following the instructions of our teachers. We’ve been warned from the beginning of the year about the manipulations that we are faced with day after day. Yet I still feel responsible to do as my teachers say. We learn from a young age that we must obey our teachers. We are taught that they are authority, and I have always associated authority with being correct, no matter the circumstances. All my life I’ve believed everything my teachers have taught me. I’ve sought to please them by following their assignments exactly as they have instructed me, never daring to take a leap and go outside the boundaries.

            Having been in this class for more than half of a semester, I now question so many things that I used to do without hesitation. Why am I waking up at 7 in the morning to run? Why am I studying for the three tests I have in one week? Why am I going to class? Why am I doing my homework? What is the purpose behind these actions? We have been manipulated into following our strict schedules and obeying the rules laid out for us in order to succeed. Yet although I do think twice about my daily schedule, I still perform the same things day after day. It’s expected of me; I’m expected to get good grades, play soccer, stay focused, and have fun. It’s all in the college experience, right? These manipulations do pressure me, but at the same time, they guide me and motivate me. Manipulations do indeed force us to follow a particular path, but this path could either lead you nowhere or to a whole new world; it all depends on how you take these manipulations. You can allow them to control you or you can allow them to encourage you to stay on the right path.  

Just an Example of Real Life Manipulation that I Recently Encountered...

            I figured I’d speak a little bit about something I came across on the internet a couple weeks ago. It is a book called Missing 411 by David Paulides, and it concerns strange and seemingly unexplainable disappearances throughout wilderness areas in North America. According to the author, he has tried to get information from the national park service about these disappearances but has been met with stern resistance. He thinks that the National Park Service is engaging in a cover-up, and that there is some sort of foul play or secret that they are hiding from the American public. I read excerpts from a couple stories, and they were frightening enough to give me the chills.

            Going through this information, this class along with the associated ideas of manipulation immediately came to mind. I personally spend all the time I can outdoors, often in remote wilderness areas, and often alone, so I was especially frightened. I vowed not to read the book, as I do not want to be scared and worried while venturing out in the wild.

            I realized that there are several layers of manipulation here. The NPS is manipulating the author by controlling the amount of information that he receives regarding strange incidents. Paulides has apparently attempted to bypass this by using dogged research methods and scrounging out all the information that he can get. In turn, Paulides is manipulating his readers by choosing what information to include in the book. Is being intentionally sensationalist to get better sales? Finally, I am manipulating myself by choosing not to read the book. I tell myself that mysterious incidents of this sort are just as likely to happen in urban areas. I tell myself that the percentage of people who venture into the wilderness and do not return due to strange circumstances is miniscule. Both of these are probably true. However, it is just another example of the complex web of manipulation with which we engage in our everyday lives.

            Here are a couple links to information regarding the book if anyone is interested. As I said before, I find them very fascinating but also terrifying:

http://www.amazon.com/Missing-411-Eastern-United-States/dp/1468012622

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbUsEBO6C2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAh02EB7SNI

The world around me

The advertisement companies are constantly manipulating their audiences with their products. However, the manipulation  done by these advertisement companies do not make any direct impact in my life. Rather, the biggest manipulation that I have found in my life has to be the manipulation done by people around me. The manipulation done by many people around me are not necessarily bad.  For example after the class last Thursday, my friend texted me to eat lunch at an earlier time because she was really hungry. So I changed my schedule to eat lunch with her earlier. Later after talking with her in lunch I found out that she decided to eat lunch earlier because she wanted to take a nap during our usually lunch time. She did not think it was a good excuse to take a nap to make me change my schedule. Little manipulation like this is constantly done around me that I may not necessarily be aware of but is constantly impacting my life.  

It's too big, it's too wide, it's too strong

We are manipulated most by our worst enemies. Everyone has one. A worst enemy is not limited to a person or even something tangible. It could be a person, place, thing, emotion, feeling, or desire. Some of my worst enemies include the things I cannot control, or at least what I believe to be out of my control. I justify these things by telling myself I can't control them, when really I can. Although everyone's worst enemies are specific to them, there is one I believe we all share. 

Our Ego. A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. Whether you're ego is way to big or way too small, it acts as your worst enemy by manipulating you. This goes along with the theme that we are our own worst enemies and I agree we are manipulated by our friends, family, environment and the media. However, the people, things, and ideas we surround ourselves with are a direct representation of how we view ourselves, or how we want to view ourselves...

Social media gives us the power to express how we are feeling, show the world what we ate for lunch and even keep in contact with long lost friends through posting on their wall. Yes these social medias keep us all connected but connected on what level.

I personally believe texting and Facebook chat have manipulated the emotions of individuals. It really annoys me when I am having a conversation with someone and they don't understand my tone or the sarcasm of what I am trying to say. It creates so much tension and then it needs to be explained what exactly I meant by what I said.

Also these new forms of conversation have manipulated the way we have a conversation. People don't spell out words all the way because it is more convenient. "LOL" "BRB" "TTYL" all have changed the way we communicate with someone. Imagine talking to your significant other and they respond with "ILY" instead of spelling out the words "I love you." It just amazes me how technology can change the way one speaks, even in real life conversations. I know I have the habit of responding to some people by using this new lingo. I will say kk instead of saying okay to someone.

It is amazing how easy manipulation occurs in the real world. This was only one small piece of a much larger picture.

The Paradoxical Manipulation of Social Media

When I think of manipulation, only one recurring “thing” comes into my mind: Social Media.  Now I love Facebook, Twitter, and the likes of them and I use them every day, but something needs to be said about the convenience of manipulation that is brought about by their existence.

A “chat” on Facebook and a “chat” in real life are two completely separate definitions of the word. In a face-to-face conversation, you cannot ‘control’ what is being said; it takes place in real time; there is a flow. Texting, posting and emailing allow us to present the self as we want it to be. We can edit; do and redo, all in an effort to show off what we want to show and hide what we don’t want to show. We can delete and we can add. We can manipulate ourselves into being someone that we truly are not. When you pull up my profile on Facebook.com, you see a John McGonigle from Atlanta Georgia who went to The Westminster Schools and was born in May of 1994. But is that true? You might know that it is because you know me. Someone that finds me and decides they want to add me as a friend only because my last name resembles, to some degree, the Professor in Harry Potter might not. But, none-the-less they assume that everything they read IS true because I have presented it to them as such. Regardless of veracity, I have spent hours on hours perfecting my profile, picking the photos in which I look the best and the phrasing and (order of) words in a message; All of which I do in an attempt to present a desirable image of who I am. It is done, honestly, to manipulate you and others into believing what I want you to believe – which in this case just happens to be the truth. Technology changes who we are, because we, the users of technology, have figured out that we can reinvent ourselves.

This idea is best summarized by: “I share therefore I am”

Now assuming all this is true and that social media indeed shapes who we are, this idea calls into question one vital paradox. Who then is really holding all the power, you or Social Media?

Life is a Highway...with 100 miles and limited exits

I feel manipulated by class registration. The stresses that enter my life around registration time are due to the overwhelming external pressure I feel. We are supposed to feel empowered by an open curriculum and the power to type and submit whatever classes we want, but is this really the case?  We all go to college with the illusion that you are choosing your destiny....but you cannot support yourself comfortably without a college degree. You can be anything you want to be!...but now pick from one of x majors. Take any class you want!...that fulfill your major requirements. There is no core curriculum!....now take three writing intensive classes and a QSR. These "buts" are endless. So I guess class registration is just a small part of my feeling manipulated in these cookie cutter life paths we all choose. How am I supposed to know what I want to do with my life for the next 40 years when I've only lived 19 and they have all been planned? I don't know what I want to major in or what career path I would like to take and everyone says thats okay!...but make sure you declare by sophomore spring!

Miss Malleability

            Let me start off by saying that my friends call me “malleable.” While this is not the most endearing label, I would have to agree that I am a person who is easily manipulated. However, I think there is a difference between being blindly manipulated and knowing that you are being manipulated. I don’t go off agreeing to do whatever my friends tell me to do. This is not the case at all. I realize when my friends are pushing me to do things that I wouldn’t willingly do on my own.  I am aware of their motives and I appreciate that I am constantly being pushed outside my comfort zone. They persuade me to try new activities, think in different ways, and open myself up more. 

            When we hear the term manipulation, we automatically attach a negative connotation to it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Who better to manipulate you than your best friends? As some of the closest people to you in your life, they have the power to influence you in the best of ways—and possibly the worst. You just have to be smart enough to know when to let yourself be manipulated. I know personally that my friends influence me to be more open, adventurous, and relaxed. They say all the right things so that they can get me to do the things I want to do, but am too scared to do. My friends are the ones who make me share my feelings, because they know if they don’t prod me into doing so, I’ll just bottle all my emotions up.  And they’re the ones who will stop me from studying and convince me to go rock climbing or go running in the Glen instead because they know I need to relax.  They manipulate me because they know they can bring out the best in me.

            And besides, what’s so wrong with manipulation if you are completely and totally aware of it? I can think for myself, but I also need manipulation in my life.  Why can’t these 2 concepts coexist?

College: The Best Years of Our Lives

We, as college students, are exemplifying one of the most prominent manipulations in our society, which is the expectation to go to college. I don't want to generalize, but I'm sure many of the students at Hamilton today never doubted that they were going to college. It could be just that they knew they had the grades and motivation to continue their education after high school, or it could be expected from their family. I am one of these individuals; I was fortunate enough to never have any doubt whether I was going to college or not. For a while I didn't know where I wanted to go or where I could go, but the thought of not going never crossed my mind. I think this is because many of us have been taught, or essentially manipulated, from a young age that going to college is the next step to becoming successful.

In high school, teachers talked about grades and classes required for college. First it was get good grades in middle and early high school to get into better classes, then get good grades in those classes to get into good colleges. Now that we're at college, for some there is still that pressure for good grades to get into a good graduate school. I think manipulation generally has a negative connotation with it. By saying the expectation to go to college is manipulation, I don't mean that college is a bad thing. I do not regret my decision to come to college at all. I couldn't imagine doing anything else after high school, or being anywhere besides Hamilton. So in most cases, I think the manipulation to go to college is not harmful by any means, because it really can make a significant difference in someone's life, but I know college is not for everyone.

Technology

We live in a time when we can be in constant contact with our friends and family. Even if we are not physically with them, we can talk to them. However, while this has changed our world for the better, we are constantly being manipulated by those around us and by ourselves to stay updated. We check our email, Facebook, text messages, etc all the time. Why? Because we have to? Sometimes the answer is yes, we absolutely have to be updated and be in touch with those around us. But do we really need to check social media every 10 minutes? Do we really need to be texting our friends every single detail of our daily lives? We have become accustomed to this lifestyle, but when we want to break away from it, we are manipulated to stay connected. Your friend asks you if you saw “that picture on Facebook” and if you did not, you must either go look or never be up to date with what has happened in the last 30 minutes. While it sounds ridiculous, this is what our generation has grown accustomed to, and we are manipulated by our friends and by ourselves into thinking that we must know every detail of our friends lives, even if it does not impact us at all. You could say no and stop checking social media, but you will always be pulled back to it in order to stay connected. I find myself wanting to put my phone away sometimes so I do not have to be texting people all day, but I know that I could miss something truly important and I do not want to offend anyone. This manipulation is subtle and at times does not seem like manipulation because we want to be in close touch and up to date, but we could not stop if we tried because we are manipulated, and we manipulate ourselves.

Is this external?

Amelia’s extremely well-written blog post about self-manipulation and trying to reach her fullest potential reminded me about how at college, I have tried to be the best version of myself as well.  It also reminded me about how over spring break, I felt I had reverted back into the less confident and unstable version of myself that I thought I had left behind in high school.  

As I talk to my friends from Chicago about this coming summer, and how much fun we are going to have, I feel a wave of doubt wash over me.  I worry that the source of my manipulation is going to come from my home and my high school peers.  I worry that instead of acting with more vulnerability and honesty, in the manner that I have been practicing at college and have slowly improved at, I will be manipulated to once again hide parts of my personality and passions in order to be who I used to be.  I seem to feel the manipulation to be the more insecure yet more comfortable version of myself to be coming from external forces, when in reality, as Amelia brought my attention to, it is really coming from me.   

I've got the power

I've thought long and hard about what I would write about in this week's blog. I've gone back and forth about what personal things I'm willing to disclose about myself, and which things I would rather no one ever knew. The truth is, there are far too many sources of manipulation in each of our lives to count, whether we realize it or not. My dilemma is that these influences have sent me to places I hope never to go back to. After contemplating what these issues might all have in common, I have come to the conclusion that I am my own worst enemy. The one source of manipulation in my life to which nothing else compares is my own self-critic. I am constantly thinking about how to reach my full potential. I am always searching for that moment where everything feels like it's fallen into place - the perfect balance. There is a constant desire for being physically, emotionally, academically, and socially stable. Whenever some of these things are going well and not others, I feel that void much stronger than anything else. As much as I am well aware that there is no such thing as perfection, there is such a thing in my mind as the best possible version of myself, which somehow feels more attainable. I sometimes wonder if what I am doing is a waste of time, or if I'm doing myself a disservice when making some decision or another. That is precisely what is holding me back.

Researching Manipulation

After Janelle gave us our specialized blog post assignment, I was on the lookout for manipulation in my life. I thought manipulation would be rare, something people only used “as a last resort”. However, this notion was completely obliterated after only paying attention for a few days. Even though my experiences with manipulation were vast, I will focus in on one that particularly annoys me:

            For my biochemistry class, each student conducts a three-week independent lab study using the techniques we have learned throughout the semester. Right before Spring Break, my professor told the class to start to think about which topics we would like to research for our projects. When we returned from break, my teacher spoke to us again about the research, but this time with a completely different tune. He said that if our ideas were too grandiose, he would shoot the project down. Even though I was a little mad that my professor made it seem like we could conduct whatever research we wanted, that was obviously not true. However, I understood that there were time constraints, and that this point probably would help us rather than hinder us. As my teacher continued to talk, he gave as a few ideas that were “good topics” that would be more practical to research. The one that he pushed the most was one of his research projects for the past few years. I feel as though my professor manipulated the class into thinking that his project was a good project so we could advance his research, rather than explore a topic that truly interested us.