Wednesday, 23 September 2009

Don't live too publicly?



'We live in Public' doesn't come across as pleasant or comfortable viewing, it does however pose a few questions about the domination of the internet in our everyday lives. How necessary is the world wide web to us and how influenced are we by what we view? Since moving to Bristol, I have slowly began a natural transition to reduced internet usage. Choosing to read books, walk, hang out locally and pick up the phone to friends, rather than sit for hours at a time interacting via the web. My internet consumption flitted between keeping up with what everyone else was doing, documenting what I was doing, or rather how well I was doing for the purpose of self-promotion and whether I was missing out on anything. Take a step back and can see the bubble for what it is, a self perpetuating machine that distracts you from life. Consider how important being in the bubble actually is, what you gain and what you lose.*

Media feeds us a belief that being happy is measured by commercial successes heavily linked to fame and wealth. The film explores the concept of broadcasting entire lives over the internet from taking a dump to having sex, every aspect of ones character is uncovered to the nth degree with bleak results... the film provides a moral tale for an ever developing modern society... you can see more recent comparisons to the initial project Pseudo by exploring reality TV (more notably Big Brother), celebrity magazines and to an extent social networking sites.

* disclaimer, the internet is a valuable research tool which I use daily, I have however modified how I use the web, choosing to find a more healthy balance in its usage.