The Practice of Everyday Media Life

It is incredible what technology offers us.  Society is able to access any information, purchase any need, be entertained, and most importantly, connect with people.  Instead of taken advantage of the vast library of the world wide web, a large majority spends their time on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace.

It's a great resource to connect with friends, or family who live far away, or who have been lost over the course of time. But honestly, why do we spend so much of our valuable time connecting with people through a monitor screen, when we could just as easily be face to face? Why is there an appeal to talking in isolated positions? There's been a loophole created to prevent us from socially awkward, or uncomfortable situations.  What will the result be of this new media life?
In my own prediction, isolation will increase dramatically.  There's already been an increase in public isolation.  When people are out alone in public, instead of striking up small talk with a stranger, people will pull out cell phones, ipods, or laptops to avoid talking to anyone.  This occurred even before the beginning of social media.  Will people now avoid going out and having a live conversation because there isn't a computer barrier to hide behind?

The other issue with everyday media life is the need to always be entertained.  With a few clicks, anyone can access any video, song, or movie in a matter of minutes.  These aren't necessarily activities that are interactive and involves talking with other people.  Once again, we come across another isolation factor.
My worries are that everything we could ever need could either be bought, or fulfilled on a computer.  In the future, will people ever need to go out into the real physical world? Or will the populations of 1st and 2nd world countries live in isolated pods?  The 20th and 21st century might be the beginning of becoming like a future society predicted in literature.  The strongest supports would be Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984.

With Brave New World and 1984 in mind, lets think about what will happen to art.  Art has received leverage with the internet.  The fact that anyone is able to see art has increased it's popularity. More people are studying art and design with the increase of visual domination. But will this destroy art? Not in our time, art will eventually lose it's value after too much molding around the world of technology.  There will be a climax and collapse in the beauty of art.  Right now, presently, art still holds onto most of its potential.