My Digital Story

I go a long way back with digital media. In fact, I can hardly remember what it's like to be completely disconnected from the digital world. I've been exposed to digital media since long before I can remember. The days before I had a computer, or even a cell-phone, I was still exposed to both of these devices. I can vividly remember the old, thick, and slow computer that my parents "recycled" and passed onto me and my sibling. They placed it in our playroom and we all would fight over who gets to use it. We would sit there and play games after game until we got yelled at. The computer looked something like this.....

A couple years later, my parents got the house a Mac desktop computer. Compared to the last one, this one was shiny, skinny, and speedy. We were now a couple years older and instead of playing games, we would AIM our friends, take photos and videos on PhotoBooth, go on Facebook, and still play the occasional game of Bubble Trouble or Webkinz. This computer was used solely for personal and leisurely purposes.

A couple years later, I got my own MacBook. This computer not only signified my maturity, but it also signified that I was going to have to grow up and use my computer for different reasons. I had to start writing papers, researching, and utilizing this form of digital media to expand my knowledge. In my high school, every student is given a MacBook Air. At this point in my life, I had a two MacBooks, an iPhone, a desktop at home, and an iPad. That's five devices that I had access to. Each device was used for different purposes but each device was an essential part to my everyday life. I needed my school computer during classes, my phone for constant communication and social media purposes, my personal laptop for all the websites that my school computer had blocked, and there was really no need for the desktop or the iPad.

To date, my digital life has undoubtedly changed and matured. However, my life revolves around the digital world more than it ever historically has. Spreadable Media argues that "Culture is becoming more participatory, the rules are being rewritten, and relationships between producers and their audiences are in flux (35)." I do not go anywhere without my iPhone. It's actually scary when you think about it. If my phone dies, I immediately feel panicked and distant from the rest of the world. I'm constantly checking Snapchat and Instagram. I posted my very first Instagram on March 26th, 2012. It's been four and a half years since this post. That's four and a half years of constantly checking this application. That's pretty scary. My first post was a picture of my dog. Now, my posts generally consist of pictures of my friends and me. Regardless, it's still a critical component of my life.

Even apart from my personal life, the digital role plays a prominent role in every aspect of my life. I use it to read the news, apply for jobs, search for jobs, study for interviews, study for school...the list is endless. In fact, I have a huge interview this Thursday with one of the top banks in New York and this interview was scheduled by email. I applied for the internship through the computer. I have not once spoken with someone orally. This goes to show how important the digital world is in this day and age. I would be nothing without my phone or my computer. I wish I could succeed without these devices, but it just does not seem to be possible right now. Often times, I try to remember life without a cell phone and how you were disconnected at the time but you didn't feel that way because you didn't know what it was like to be connected. Jenkins, Ford, and Green argue that "This shift from distribution to circulation signals a movement toward a more participatory model of culture, one which sees the public not as simply consumers of reconstructed messages but as people who are shaping, sharing, reframing, and remixing media content in ways which might not have been previously imagined (2)." I am contributing to this every single day, whether I realize it or not. We are all shaping the prominence of the digital world through our small actions with these devices.