I am going to be completely honest about this as there is no point in attempting to stretch the truth. I do not have a virtual mentor. I know that many people have one, but I just do not see a reason for one.

I do follow some interesting people on social media and YouTube. Most are critics for media such as TV, movies, and video games. Then there are others who do food related videos such as cooking and candy. However, I have never felt the desire to look up to them for what they do. To me, I find that being a mentor requires you to look up to them and requires them to be experienced with what they do. With all the people and sites I follow, I cannot see someone who is that experienced enough to be someone that I would follow for everything they have done.

The closest to following someone is Eatyourkimchi. I see them as a mentor for some on Korean culture, but I don’t see it applying to me.

I might have the definition mentor wrong, but to me I just do not have one.

Yes, I like Star Trek. I could have chosen Star Trek Insurrection and give a discussiong about how a future society on another planet can reject technology, but I’m assuming it has to involve technology and what our future looks like…

Star Trek II shows us the society that the Federation has created. It shows us weapons, teleporters, and spaceships. But the most meaningful piece of technology is the one that is the main focus of the movie: the Genesis Project. Designed by Kirk’s ex-girlfriend, this “weapon” is actually life. Life can be created out of nothing. Plants, animals, fruit, etc. can be created and formed on a deserted planet. The Genesis project shows us how in the future, we can be God basically. We can choose to create life on any planet, and we can choose how we envision new life.

At the same time, the project shows us the desperation and evil. In the movie, Khan wanted the Genesis project. It is seen as a way of revenge after being left on Ceti Alpha V, and the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI caused Ceti Alpha V to become a barren wasteland. It was established in the show that Khan, was a powerful, alpha male conqueror from 90s who was deposed of and hunted down to remove the alpha males. With the Genesis project, he would be capable of becoming a conqueror once more, and expanding his race of superior human beings. However, in the movie, he took the device into a nebula. With the device in the nebula, the Genesis Project became a weapon and became a threat to the Enterprise. As a result, the device changed from a way to create life, to a way life can be destroyed.

In the end, the Genesis Project reflects how society would react to this device. Some will want to create  life on barren land and promote a new place to life. But, some will use it to create their version of life that is cruel, or use it to destroy life..

Facebook, Twitter, and online forms are sites we use everyday to the point it becomes part of our lives. But, at the same time we take them for granted. In the book, Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger discusses about the importance of forgetting and that without the ability to forget, consequences can occur. This book also allows the audience to look at the way technology has changed how we remember and forget information and, how there are ways that can help to re-integrate forgetting into the digital world. However, the most important concept is about forgetting. In order to look into this concept further, there needs to be an understanding of why this is important and how it affects us in our daily lives. The concept of forgetting has changed in the digital age but according to the author, there are steps to ensure we will remember how to forget in the digital age. (Mayer-Schönberger ,15) The importance of deleting is necessary to prevent ourselves from going into a path of ignorance and regret.

In the book, Mayer-Schönberger makes the argument about why forgetting is important in the digital age. He discusses about how with digital media becoming prominent in remembering our information, we need to be careful with what we decide to have out on the Internet. In my opinion on the concept of forgetting, I agree with the author’s argument that forgetting is an important concept to understand in the digital age. While we are constantly putting information out on the Internet, we tend to forget that the Internet will save whatever information that is posted and, will not remove them from their digital storage. An example given in the book was how a student would not be able to become a teacher due to a Facebook picture of herself as a “drunken pirate.” (Mayer-Schönberger, 1) Even though this example shows how pictures are saved for people to see, it does not discuss about comments or posts one can make. For users of Twitter, many people assume that they are able to post whatever they think is appropriate. However, many do not realize that even if they are able to delete their tweets, users are capable of sending these tweets to employers or shame the person for writing inappropriate content. This example is used as a reason why forgetting is important. He also discusses about how not only is it necessary in the digital age, but in our physical selves. Without forgetting, we would have many memories of our past. However, we would be constantly thinking about the past if we did not forget. As a result, we would continue to think about the past instead of moving forward with the future. Forgetting is important for us in reality and the digital age.

The author gives points as to how we can resolve the problems remembering data has while at the same time, re-implementing forgetting. One of the solutions included expiration of information. By doing so, personal information on some sites will be removed after a certain amount of time. While I do agree that we need to re-implement forgetting, we need to address the need to implement common sense before giving out our information. Even if the solutions he mention work, it does not change the perception of the personal and the private sphere of the digital age. With digital media, it is easier to post messages or pictures of content that you would not be proud of sharing in reality, but would be comfortable sharing online. For example, I have seen photos on Facebook of people that are questionable content and may get them in trouble. It is apparent that people do believe that they can write and post whatever they feel is acceptable under Free Speech. However, they do not realize that even if they believe that their accounts are private, this information is spread throughout the Internet and can never be removed. So, while solutions may exist to allow forgetting in the digital age, it does not change how many act or think.

While the digital age has become more prominent, we need to understand that we live in a society that will not forget. While he Internet can store all our personal information, it can store information of us that we do not want others to see as well. At the same time, we need to use common sense. That way, we prevent ourselves from giving unwanted information to this digital storage. In the end, forgetting and using common sense is necessary or we will pay the consequences.

Bibliography

Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor. Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age.      Princeton: Princeton UP, 2009. Print.

My name is Kirsten Hong Tai and I am a third year student majoring in Political Science and minoring in Technology and Society.

The reason for taking this course, is that is is necessary to minor in this field. However, the reason I am minoring in technology and society is that I do believe it is beneficial to my degree.

I am interested at how technology affects political thoughts, political activities, and communication between humans. For example, I have noticed how voter turnout for certain elections appears to get lower or remains at a standstill. I do believe that the problem lies within political candidates who only appeal to adults who have knowledge of past policies and read news articles instead, of young adults who focus more on their devices.

I would like to focus on the effects of technology on our way of thinking. For example, how we become narcissist or dumber with the use of certain technology.