Class Reflection

I really enjoyed this class. I was not sure what to expect when I first came, but after the first couple of classes it became the most enjoyable class of this semester for me. This is because I learned some interesting things that I didn’t know about something that I use on a very regular basis, CMC. And also, we got to discuss the different aspects of CMC, things we learned in our readings, and our personal experiences or habits using these communicating technologies. Not to mention watching all those funny, or touching YouTube movies, and You’ve Got Mail.

I learned that I rely on and use CMC way more than I probably have too. I check my mail, and facebook way more than necessary. Now that it is soon summer, my obsessive habits will diminish, mostly because I won’t need CMC as a distraction from my homework and I won’t be around a computer all the time. But to be honest, besides cutting back an extreme amount over the summer with my CMC use, when I come back to school in the fall, I will probably use this modern technology just as much as before. I don’t think I changed much as far as how I communicate using CMC, besides becoming more aware of it. I was constantly aware and listening to conversations and stuff about CMC habits, so I could find something to blog about and also just because this stuff became very interesting to me.

The ‘Oh wow’ moments this course had for me was the statistic in the reading that over half the worlds population has never made a phone call so therefore, well over half have never engaged in CMC. This shocked me, because here I am with so many ways of communicating, and they have never even used a telephone, which was invented so long ago. This is a way that has caused me to look differently at CMC, in terms of the digital divide. Because here with so many luxuries such as different forms of communicating via CMC, it seems hard to believe that there are others without these machines. We really do take advantage of what we have.
Another ‘oh wow’ moment for me were the statistics on online porn and things like that. One of these disturbing facts is that 55% of people in hotels order pornographic material. I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising, but it really is.

I believe that CMC will definitely be a big part of my future personal and career life. Especially since I am a communications major and this form of communication is a very popular way of communicating. Also, CMC seems to be changing everyday, so who knows what new machines and tools will be available in a couple of years.

I learned so much in this class that I don’t even know where to start, from online dating to the digital divide. It made me aware of many issues as far as CMC goes that I didn’t know before. I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this class at the beginning of the semester, but I’m glad it was what it was. I could relate or at least be able to discuss the issues and it was very informative.