This is a gold ring purchased by my great grandmother from Cyprus in the 1940’s-50’s.
My family living in Cyprus were not wealthy, so this was a treasured item for them and it has been passed on through the generations of women in my family. Brought to Australia by my grandmother and passed onto my mother and now to me.
The ring has a leaf pattern carved onto it and an engraving was made on the inside of the ring which has faded.
An attention-economy business operates on a model which monetises the attention of consumers. That is, the attention of its users is the product and the source revenue for the company (Bhargava & Velasquez 2020). This week in Real-World Media, we explored how media platforms operate on this model attention-economy model and the implications of this on our own attention-span.
This week’s allocated reading by Susanna Paasonen (2020) explores this- bringing together a range of research to that explores how the speed of technological development and the strategies by social media platforms (like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram etc…) to capture and monetise our attention is “atrophying our attention” (p.12). Impacting our personal and social life and resulting in a “general disenchantment” (p.11).
In this fast-paced world, ruled by technology and social media, a great deal of us have felt the impact of this. This was highlighted for me in this week’s activity which involved sitting in silence for 10 minutes doing nothing. Although I was unable to attend class this week, I did the activity at home. An uncomfortable exercise that brought to light how my attention is ruled, and I am constantly surrounded by my phone and various technologies.
However, as Paasonen (2020) and a further reading from this week by Syvertsen and Enli (2019), suggests this practice of removing yourself and detoxing from technology and social media platforms is healthy. Enabling us to reorient our attention to the world outside of technology.
References
Bhargava, V.R. and Velasquez, M., 2020. Ethics of the attention economy: The problem of social media addiction. Business Ethics Quarterly, 31(3), pp.321-359.
Paasonen, S., 2020. Distracted Present, Golden Past?. Media theory, 4(2), pp.11-32.
Syvertsen, T. and Enli, G., 2020. Digital detox: Media resistance and the promise of authenticity. Convergence, 26(5-6), pp.1269-1283.
Activity:
Smart-Phone Photo Feed
I started using the platform around 2012/2013
Date: 12 April 2022
This was photo was taken on a spontaneous trip to Great Ocean Road with my friends. We left in the middle of the night and arrived at the beach in time for the sunrise. That morning it was freezing and we were sitting on the beach in our blankets and pyjamas watching the sunrise.
This first week in Real-World Media, was an introduction to the studio and what will be covered across the course of this semester. As described in the studio, Real-World Media is based around the question- do we need the digital to be creative? The studio explores a range of mediums to practice and create, both digital and non-digital forms of media. Designed to encourage introspection regarding our own craft- how and what we create, and our own relationship with and reliance on technology.
The studio began by focusing on what it means to craft or create art. This discussion was based around a paper by Tim Ingold, ‘The textility of making’ (2009). This paper considers two main concepts- the hylomorphic model of creation and the textility of making. The hylomorphic model describes creation as static and linear process- from the finished model to the intentions of the artist. Whereas the textility of making, an alternative to this model proposed by Ingold describes craft as a “practice of weaving” (p.91), of negotiation and “improvisation… to follow the ways of the world” (p.97). In contrast to the hylomorphic model process, the latter describes creation as “itineration” (p.97), considering it a journey from the formative stages to whatever the final product becomes.
The creative practice that we did as part of the studio was origami. On reflection this exercise allowed me to establish a link between Ingold’s textility of making theory and my own craft. Despite having instructions, I made errors, and the result wasn’t what I intended. I had to “improvise”, when creating the origami which formed my own journey from a piece of paper into a frog.
Reference
Ingold, T., 2009. The textility of making. Cambridge journal of economics, 34(1), pp.91-102.
What media do you use every day? List technologies and platforms and what you use them for.
Choose three out of your list and research them.
Spotify: Provides audiences a way to listen to music and stream podcasts for free (with ads).