#1.0 New Communication Technologies- The Big Sister I never Had

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Being fortunate enough to be born in Australia during the late nineties essentially demands a certain level of interaction with communication technology. From my first interaction in the form of emailing friends in late primary school, to my introduction to IM (instant messaging) via popular MSN Messenger in my early teens, the prevalence of new communications technologies in my developmental years has been vast. You could even go so far as to say that these new-aged communication technologies have been to me what I imagine it would be like to have a cool older sister. One who has aided in guiding my social interactions, my tastes in music, fashion and my ability to formulate a solid, tangible sense of self (shout out to Tumblr, Google and Instagram). To suggest that my current level of engagement with new communication technologies is immense would be an understatement. Within those born between the 90's and late 00's there exists an unspoken concord that social media platforms are the newly crowned demigods. This fact was reiterated in the first tutorial for this class, where we were told to remove our phones from arms reach for the entirety of the two hour tutorial. Having been bombarded with media messages suggesting that my generation is becoming increasingly reliant on technologically mediated communication, I prepared myself to dramatically drop to the floor and break out in a sweat as I dramatically gasped for air. However, I found the exercise quite cathartic, indicating to me that perhaps my reliance on social media isn't quite as potent as mainstream traditional medias would have me think. I look forward to further education myself on the intricacies of new communication technology throughout the course of the next twelve weeks and gaining both the theoretical and practical knowledge and skill-sets I require in order to navigate my daily interactions with communication technologies.