Michael Wesch- Toward A New Future Of Whatever

After watching Michael Wesch's video, I felt that he was summing up my generation and my daily life. Too often I see the people with the "Whatever, I don't care" attitude as well as those with the "Whatever, I do what I want" attitude. These are both selfish ways of thinking and these attitudes lead to lifestyles of narcissism and no compassion for others. I think that people today are focused on themselves, their own goals, their own lives, and getting ahead, instead of helping others achieve their goals and helping others with their lives. We are seeing fragmentation from this type of self- centered lifestyle. Because of text messaging cell phones and computers, there is less and less human interaction, which people are enjoying because it gives them more time to focus on themselves. However, Michael Wesch does make a good point by saying that even though there is less face to face real conversations, people reveal their most private thoughts and feelings on the internet through communities like YouTube. Through these personal expressions, people are learning more and more about themselves and not just about each other.

Though I do not personally like the fact that media interaction is replacing person-to-person conversations, I think that good things can come from these media communities. I agree with Mr. Wesch that it does allow for collaboration. Because of instant access to other people and media resources, we are able to share more with a large audience easily and learn more from a variety of people. I think that it is great to be connected with many other people and work with them. I really like the free hugs video as well as the hand messages video because I love to see many people working together to send a powerful message. We need more people that are willing to try to make a difference. And I realize that would not be possible without those social communities created on the internet. I also thought it was a great point about how we learn more about ourselves through our interactions with others. Those YouTube videos were perfect examples of that. This talk made me realize that I am part of a selfish generation. However, that does not mean that I have to be like that. Change always starts small, and it looks like some people are already doing their part to send a call to action, like those on the hand messages video. One of the main reasons I want to be a teacher is to help others, and I hope that by doing that, I will become more about community and less about self. I want to have the future "Whatever" attitude that Michael Wesch discussed: "I'll do Whatever it takes by whatever means necessary."