Ali Johnson

The hyperconnection we are seeing creates for us a massive amount of choice, which, in turn, has an impact on our relationships. How many of us have been frustrated in a conversation with someone who’s picked up their phone to check a text or an email that has just arrived? Hyperconnection is the experience of having too much control, literally too many choices, in our interpersonal connections. If a computer is overloaded and running too many applications or programmes it will grind to a halt. Human hyperconnectivity has a similar effect as we become lost in a sea of connections. Many times our relationships fail due to our inability to ...

A college student, when I asked her how she was, responded by saying “check my Facebook status”. We live in a ‘hyperconnected’ world, a world in which many different means of communication are used; more specifically social networking sites. You are never more than one click or tap away from millions of people all over the globe. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Emails or some other form of connectedness, we are bombarded with connections. We are famous in our own world. We want people to ‘like’ our statuses, retweet our tweets and reply to our emails, in a way that has never been seen before. With the rise in smart phones our level of connectedness is only going to increase. We ...

Five minutes goes by and I get out my Iphone, open up my Facebook app and check if I have any new wall posts, hoping that someone has sent me a message or ‘liked’ my status. What did I do before Facebook? How did I stay in contact with my friends before I had them all at the click of a mouse or the tap of the keyboard? Have you ever missed an event or not turned up to something because it wasn’t on Facebook. I even rely on Facebook to tell me when my families’ birthdays are. Social networking sites like Facebook have changed the way we live our lives. ...

I read a book a while ago called "The Death of Outrage" by William Bennet. In it he discusses the impact of Bill Clinton and the failings in his morality, politics and  character. I was struck by this book, because as leaders we have choices to make. He says  "The accomplishment of Bill Clinton is that he has made the country into one large lawyer-joke. Clinton has marked off the record of an incorrigible liar, faithless to his wife, who cannot be trusted to honor any law beyond his own interest”and the public says, “yes, but what is the problem?” (129). By the choices we as leaders make as an impact ...

I saw this article "Facebook 'sex chats' blamed for one in five divorces" in the Daily Mail all about Facebook being blamed for a rise in divorces.  After my reading and studying of Facebook recently, I was struck by this and realise that one of the dangers of Facebook is that you can take away boundaries and allow for much more of a hidden conversation. When you don't see people reactions you can create a different persona because you don't see uncomfortableness or embarrassment. You are connect in away that has never been seen before. This danger is being lived out by so many people. I wonder what we can ...

For those of you that haven’t heard of Second Life before, it is a virtual world where you can explore and do anything you desire, from scuba diving to exploring the moon and even owning your own nightclub all from the comfort of your own home.  You are able to take on any persona you wish in Second Life, many people use it to escape their real lives and become the person they have always dreamed of being. The only problem with having a world where you can live out your deepest desires though is that not all desires are good ones; it is well known that a lot of people use ...