Digital Media and the Human Condition

As this is my final blog post in the final week of class, I feel like it is appropriate to think on the class as a whole.

During our conference, I was struck by a reoccurring theme during each of the presentations- the human condition. In one way or another, we all talked about how digital media and how games affected the way we move through our space. Some pointed out very human emotions felt while playing games while others commented on the societal implications media has created.

I found this to be most interesting because, looking back on the class, every theory we discussed all related to how humans relate to the field of digital media- more so how it makes us feel. Although it was not explicitly stated during every class session, I spent the majority of my train ride home thinking about how I could apply the theory we discussed in relation to my life and how it would affect me. It was easier to make real life connections for some our theories than trying to work within the abstract.

Obviously, it’s easiest to relate to one’s self, but while I was listening to each presentation, it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one who found the humanity in the digital media theories. From guilt and shame to sex robots, we all found a way to make the theoretical humane; we found the common theme of humanity in the digital.

As long as we have digital media studies, we will have to think of it in conjunction with humanity and our emotions, that is until the sex robots take over.