{"id":482,"date":"2018-02-03T08:46:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-03T16:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/d1moffatt\/?p=482"},"modified":"2018-02-19T17:29:32","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T01:29:32","slug":"the-new-normal-and-frogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/d1moffatt\/the-new-normal-and-frogs\/","title":{"rendered":"The “new normal”, media shock and…frogs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Little Miss Sunshine? Photo cred: DLM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s amazing how many times in the past year I’ve used the phrase “new normal<\/em>“. Whether it’s managing intense change resulting from an\u00a0“<\/span>acceleration of the acceleration”<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0as David Taras author of <\/span>Digital Mosaic, Media, Power and Identity in Canada<\/em><\/a> puts it, <\/span>or feeling unsurprised by the latest headlines following a twitterfest, “normal” feels like it’s in a state of perpetual redefinition. Some things deserve to be normalized, and media’s influence (particularly in digital spaces) is helping that to happen. It’s also becoming clear, however, that there are a great many aspects of our society that are becoming normalized<\/a> in concerning ways. Are we living out the <\/span>myth of the frog and boiling water<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n

As the myth goes, a frog dropped into boiling water reacts to the danger by immediately jumping to safety. Place the frog in tepid water and slowly bring it to a boil, however, and the frog boils to death, unaware of the danger slowly building up around it. Science has disproven this myth<\/a>, but it’s an effective metaphor for how insidious our environment can be if we’re not paying attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taras’s Digital Mosaic<\/a> brings a balanced but deservedly critical approach to the topic of media, power and identity from a refreshingly Canadian perspective. In addition to the positives of our digitally connected world, Taras helps shine a light on the dangers of what he calls “media shock”, hiding behind a veil of convenience designed to entertain (versus inform), with the ultimate goal of keeping our attention<\/a>. The normalization of ever-increasing digital consumption – with all of its algorithms and big data – is taking its toll.\u00a0 When we lift the veil, what do we find?<\/p>\n

It’s impacting what<\/em> we think about, when<\/em> we think about it, and how<\/em> we think about it.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Listen to what former Google ethicist Tristan Harris has to say on this. The first few lines of Harris’s talk sound like they are straight from an Orwell novel or dystopian movie, not real life. Yet, it’s normalized<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n