What are the key issues in digital culture? I'm sure I've missed a few, but this list of 13 summarizes what we've explored in a semester of studying digital culture. What do you think? (Taken from the essay exam portion of my students' final for the course). See the questions in detail below the list:
- Connect or Disconnect
- Openness vs. Control
- Beta vs. Formal
- Public vs. Private
- Evolving Literacy
- Coping
- Creativity in the Digital Age
- Virtual Worlds
- Video Games and Gamification
- Digital Civics
- Identity
- Print vs. Digital
- Change and Innovation
A. Connect or Disconnect
We all know that networked information and digital media are tools that can be used for good or for bad. One area of great concern is the degree to which we are either connecting or disconnecting from one another. Rather than just accounting for how people are connecting or not (or just naming tech or tools), describe how the nature of connecting is evolving and how digital culture changes what connection even means.
B. Openness vs. Control
Does digital culture favor openness more or does it favor control more? Please consider both the technologies and the social customs that are part of the digital culture. Refer to historical developments or make literary comparisons or allusions. Consider answering this question in terms of whether the internet needs regulation.
C. Beta vs. Formal
What are the technological and social forces that promote the creation and sharing of content in “beta” rather than in a more formal state? What are the advantages and disadvantages of less formal / more formal publishing of content?
D. Public vs. Private
How does digital culture invite us to be both more public and more private? Do these two tendencies offset one another? What are the dangers (to oneself, or to society) of increasingly public or private behaviors made possible digitally?
E. Evolving Literacy
Literacy has long been considered basic to society. Techno-enthusiasts will argue that digital literacy is needed for people to function and thrive in our present world. Are they right? In your view, what are the core aspects of literacy needed in our digital world today? Or, does digital literacy compete with or threaten traditional kinds of literacy? (Please don’t simply identify components of digital literacy that have been taught in this class, unless you plan to critique or explore these among other ideas).
F. Coping
Digital culture requires us to deal with too much information, with novelty, and with distractions or worse. What are the best coping strategies for managing life when we are inundated with all of this? How can we make sure we do not become victims of digital culture’s influences (good or bad)?
G. Creativity in the Digital Age
What are the ways that digital culture promotes and encourages creativity? Give examples. What are some of the dangers to creativity in the digital age? Are there ways that we are becoming more limited or homogenized due to the forces of digital culture? How do we optimize creativity in the digital age?
H. Virtual Worlds
Through immersive online worlds or games, people are spending a lot of time detached from real life, with obvious potential problems. What are the current or potential advantages to virtual worlds in various fields? How might a hybrid arrangement of real and virtual worlds be a good arrangement? What needs to change or develop before virtual worlds are “virtuous” (in the general sense of being constructive)?
I. Video Games and Gamification
Rather than debate the good or bad of video games, describe how gaming is affecting different aspects of society and offering new ways of thinking, creating, or doing traditional kinds of both recreation and work. Name specific games and give personal experience if possible.
J. Digital Civics
How do aspects of digital culture promote democracy or democratic ideals? What are ways that our government could adopt various aspects of digital literacy to improve how it operates? How can modern communication tools improve how public policy is created or revised?
K. Identity
How do we know ourselves differently in the digital age? What invites or requires us to think about who we are or to present ourselves in new ways to ourselves or to others? How is identity being enhanced or challenged in digital culture? Do you think of yourself differently due to your uses of online media? Do others? Are we all headed for schizophrenia or psychosis, or self-realization of a positive nature?
L. Print vs. Digital
We often look at the advantages of new digital tools; what are the disadvantages of remaining in a print-based culture? How is print culture evident online (as in the “zombie web”)? Or, with all the multimedia and social media, are we being distracted from the substantial kinds of knowledge and communication made possible via print?
M. Change and Innovation
How do we cope with the onslaught of change that digital culture brings to us -- not just technological change, but social change? How do we productively innovate? How does digital culture promote innovation, and what forces move us toward innovation and what forces restrict it? Does digital culture promote more change for individuals, or for larger groups?
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