Everything Broken

Do you feel that technology is changing the way you live your life?  Certainly I know a number of people who have major concerns about how social media is growing and how experiences and relationships may be being usurped by an obsession with the number of friends people have on Facebook or how many followers on Twitter.

I had high hopes for social media – that it would be a companion to real life rather than a replacement.  Yet for increasing numbers of people it is becoming something akin to an addiction and its pursuit an auxiliary to the real interactions of daily life.

This double-edged dagger is shown in Everything Broken, a visual metaphor written, directed and edited by Basil Iskandrain and featuring himself and Kimberly Ann Cook (above).  Whether or not you agree with his position – that the hollow fulfillment of social media is never an adequate substitute to our real-life experiences – is, of course, your prerogative.  Without any irony whatsoever (ahem) I look forward to reading your opinion via your Facebook comments and tweets!

Online Now

One of the news headlines in the UK this week was that more people are now likely to text someone rather than phone them or meet up face to face. With that in mind, Online Now by Pocket Jakes (the creative partnership of directors Jake Dolgy & Jake Ross) seems prescient to say the least.

It explores the way that people conduct their relationships online through social media and the impact that living lives in this manner has on those involved.  You might expect it to be all bad news – but it isn’t – even though this very entertaining video shows a number of methods of harassment and bullying that some think they can get away with online.

It certainly gives food for thought.  This video would be an excellent starting point for a class discussion around online habits for a group of older teenagers, for example.  Can you see yourself anywhere in this video?

A Postcard from Egypt