Global Digital Postmodernity

This website examines the dangers of sexting and just how this phenomenon of sexting has rapidly developed over a short period of time. It shows that the majority of the problems lies in the fact that this sexting is occurring between young adults or teenagers. What is most notable about this site is the connection it makes between sexting and a component of postmodernity. The website views sexting as an act of isolation and detachment which is often considered to be a major aspect of postmodernity. These teens that are engaging in sexting perhaps feel that this act of sending lewd pictures, texts, and videos poses less of a risk and emotional attachment, thereby contributing to this idea of isolation. Another key component of this website is that it looks at the idea of pornography and how our digital age has allowed it to grow and prosper among the younger generation and in doing so, it emphasizes the negative side effects to such a tremendously technological advanced society.

This website looks at the beginning of post modernity and how it has come to define a rather complex society. In order to show just how complex post modernity can be, the website tries to simplify it by first looking at how it was first applied in architecture. It also regards the importance of post modernity in art and how it had a fundamental impact on philosophy where it led to the development of new ideas. It tries to make clear distinctions, though a difficult task, between modernity and postmodernity. This site also emphasizes key components that define post modernity such as fragmentation, blurred boundaries between right and wrong, and complexity. It further goes on to discuss how this fragmentation is seen in the relationship between culture and media, and how that affects the society at large.

This article deals with the latest phenomenon of sexting which the author considers to be the post modern form of flirting. Sexting seems to have not only shaped the younger generation but it has played a part in how younger kids regard erotic situations. It also examines the ways in which the technology advancements of today have shaped the way the younger generation approaches pornography and how the mobile ability of cell phones makes it so much easier to engage in such activity. "21st century media technology makes everyone a moviemaker, distributor and presenter. Sexting makes everyone, including teenagers, pornographers." This alone shows how post modern sexting is in that there is no longer a hierarchy. Now the masses have the control and are able to decide what the content is which affirms the idea that everyone, by way of user generated content, is able to do what they please and even have their fifteen minutes of fame or in this case, fifteen minutes of exposure.

This is truly a symphony for the new millennium. YouTube, a global property, asked the musicians of its community, of which there were plenty, to send in videos of themselves playing a certain audition piece. The best from around the world were flown in to play a concert at Carnegie Hall. Submissions were received from every continent (except Antarctica), digitally, and the traditional hierarchy of trained and professional musicians was disrupted. The YSO: the Postmodern Symphony Orchestra.

This is a great site to start at if you're looking to learn more about postmodernism. The site provides useful definitions of postmodernism from trusted and well nown dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster. The site also explains several ways in which the term is used within literature, drama, architecture, etc. There is a lengthy and highly informative section on the history of the term postmodernism as it was first used and continues to be used. Although many use the words postmodernity and postmodernism interchangeably this site clearly explains the difference between the two. There are also sections devoted to postmodern architecture, postmodern music, and notable philosophical and literary contributors; as well as deconstruction, social construction, and criticisms of postmodernism.

"The Po-Mo Page: Postmodern, Postmodernism, Postmodernity" provides a concise yet substantive introduction to postmodernity, differentiating between the historical condition and the intentional movement in arts, culture, philosophy and politics. Quoting some major theorists (e.g., Lyotard, Jameson, Benjamin), the author illustrates how the term "postmodern" has been used in various fields (history, economics, politics, art) with particular attention to uses made by Frederic Jameson. Most helpful is the table of "contrasting tendencies" which, while admittedly a very modernist approach, identifies two dozen ways in which postmodernity seems to have features that oppose or contradict tendencies that have been recognized as hallmarks of modernity. Created by Martin Irvine, the Founding Director and Associate Professor of the Communication, Culture, and Technology at Georgetown University, the visually appealing webpage has no links to other sources, but is one link among several grouped on his faculty webpage under the heading of Media Theory.

In the beginning of this article, the author gives a little background as to how postmodernism has emerged, she feels, starting in the 1980's. She thinks that the very general term of Postmodernism is hard to define, because it is a concept that appears in a wide variety of disciplines or areas of study, including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, and technology. She feels that there cannot be just one definition to the term "postmodernism", and that there needs to be separate definitions for each discipline. Next, she tells you that she thinks the easiest way of trying to think about postmodernism, and what it really is, is by simply thinking of it as coming after modernism. After that, she tells you some of the basic characteristics of postmodernism, specifically as applied to literature, and makes it relatively easy to understand.

This website discusses what post modernity is as well as the various perceptions that different point of views have on the subject matter. The website talks about how the term first came to be with architecture in 1971 and from there has spawned a whole new genre of books, movies, art, and many others. The main points of view the website contains are the Marxist point of view, the non-Marxists who are critics of the idea of post modernity, and the sociologist who see postmodern aspects of everything around them. It then goes into describing how post modernity influences subjects such as post structuralism, which involves the books having meaning beyond that which the author meant it to have, and many other aspects of human life such as society and politics. The last section deals with why post modernity is a problem because it can be argued that post modernity puts an end to progress. Overall, this website gives an excellent look in to the depths that post modernity can reach in all aspects of life and whether or not such a change will be detrimental to our society.

In most recent episode Post Modernity is addressed. It features and man and a woman, who are obsessed with looking and acting just like Ken and Barbie. They have both even gotten their nipples removed in their attempt to be as close to their plastic counterparts as possible. They refer to this relationship as the "post modern couple." Apparently the post modern couple does not engage in any sort of physical interaction, leaving the emotions to solidify what is lacking physically. It's always fun to see topics incorporated into the mainstream media, especially with a show that errs on the side of vulgar. Once the male "Ken" realizes he is gay, he finds another doll-enthusiast, who models himself after G.I. Joe. They again refer to themselves as the "Post-Modern" couple. Perhaps this is in reference to them being gay. Homosexual relationships are gradually becoming more and more accepted as each day passes. And maybe nipple-removing, doll-emulating people are the perfect example on just how strange Post Modern, without limits, can get.

The article "Postmodernism in Poetry" starts off by giving you a little history of the idea of postmodernism as applied to poetry by saying that it began in the sixties, when there developed on both sides of the Atlantic a feeling that poetry had become too ossified, backward-looking and restrained. Next, the article delves into the 4 characteristics of postmodernism which the author feels are most relevant to poetry, iconoclasm, groundlessness, formlessness, and populism. Finally, a very detailed explanation as to why all four of these characteristics are important for poetry is given. At the very end, a list of about 15 authors who are considered to be postmodern poets is given. Personally, I feel that this is very important because it is hard to determine what is or isn't postmodern, so having a list of authors is helpful for someone who wants to be sure that they are reading postmodern poetry.

This article goes into detail regarding Post Modern thought in Poetry. Citing a backlash of the overly-processed, restrained poetry dating before the 1960s, Post Modern poetry was a backlash. Post Modernity has little to no boundaries, it makes sense to see it occur in Poetry, which also can come in many different forms. Poetry can be extremely structured or rambling and incoherent. It is described as "free-wheeling creations constructed of a language that largely points to itself." There are four aspects of Post Modern Poetry listed within. Iconoclasm, groundlessness, formlessness and populism. A sub-category under Iconoclasm would be "contradicts the expected, often deliberately alienating the reader." Nothing better than feeling alienated when one is reading what is written to be read. Also "subverts its sources by parody, irony and pastiche" and "denounces ethnic, gender and cultural repression." Groundlessness includes "regards both art and life as fictions, sometimes mixing the two in magic realism or multiple endings" and "argues that meaning is indeterminate, denying a final or preferred interpretation." Many scholars would love the idea of multiple endings, while getting headaches from the fact that there may not being one single interpretation. Formlessness includes aspects of poetry that have been seen many times lately, "fragments texts, turning them into collages or montages." Populism is what makes these forms appealing to the masses. These poems reject elite thoughts, and often focus on ideas that go across a wide spectrum. It "avoids the serious and responsible, promoting the arbitrary and playful."

Being skeptic of the supernatural, i.e. God, is considered a Modern aspect. Taking that a step further, Postmoderns are "skeptical of any and all claims to an authoritative comprehensive worldview, absolute truth about reality, and an overarching purpose to the human story." They're basically saying that they dismiss too much structure. The Church, as an institution, would be far too structured, on top of the idea of a supernatural God. There are too many pieces of life that are connected, even controlled by the presence of a religious establishment. The theory of how we were created, for what purpose, how we should lead our lives, and what happens to us at the end of our lives would be too much for a postmodern thinker "In short, it could be said that religious metanarratives were dismissed by modernism. Man-made ones are dismissed by postmodernism." Therefore it is easy to see, via this article, that without Modernism, we would have no Post Modernism. Though this seems basic enough, and simple to understand, one must realize that in order to determine what is Post Modern, one must always consider if it is Modern first. This is a very hard thing for people to grasp, but this article does make it a little clearer to understand, and does lay things out to make it a little easier. This article also goes about trying to determine where Modernism began and ended, and where Post Modernism did the same.

This article on JSTOR seeks to define the line between Modernity and Post Modernity...without calling it a line. "On the one hand 'post-modernism' is seen as abstract, exotic, fanciful: on the other, it is everyday, experienced, intimate." The abstract from the article itself claims that it argues "that such polarizing metaphors are distinctions that cannot be made without self-contradictions that would make even a post-modernist blush. Instead, we must deconstruct the notion of boundary or border…" Most important to this journal is the idea that there are no boundaries or borders because simply naming things as such is not Post Modern at all. The Modern way of thinking is just in love with categories and lists and the like, whereas to put Post Modernity on one side of a list or the other would negate the idea of studying Post Modernity. "The ambition of the article is to explore a way of deconstructing the unspeakable 'slash' between modernism/post-modernism that can model how similar arguments may be deployed against a wide range of educational topics where questions of identity and difference are brought to the fore, such as equal opportunities, special needs, antiracism, as well as more mundane categories of pupil or teacher-or researcher-identity."

Post Modernity, though a seemingly ambiguous term, has been applied to your everyday lives in this article. The phrase "after modernity" makes it seem as though it is impossible to be used in any sense other than a futuristic one, but as this article shows, it can actually be applied to history, biblical interpretations, and today's healthcare. There are nine listed topics: Education, healthcare, history, religion, literature law and government, biblical interpretation, science, and, psychotherapy. This page on the site makes Post Modernity relatable outside of a philosophical, highly intellectual atmosphere. According to the document, the post-modern thinker does not need to accept or follow or even believe in any religion, but will stop any one religion from silencing another. Everyone has an equal chance. The topic on Education claims that teachers no longer hand out information, but merely give children the means to gather information themselves. This is incredibly true. The article claims that Post Modernism will be encountered by everyone on a daily basis and gives the nine examples to prove it.

The youtube channel of the internet sensation Miranda. A fictional character created by a college theatre major searching for her big break, Miranda has become an internet celebrity seemingly overnight, with her outrageous performances of popular songs and delusional instructional singing videos. Since the character was created over a year ago, she has since booked concerts and appearances all over the world, thanks to the technology of youtube, facebook, twitter, and a lot of shameless self promotion. She's become a viral video phenomenon and an excellent example of the fifteen minutes of fame in the postmodern era.

In this article, the author looks at a recent incident in which students of Duke's business school were caught cheating on a take home final exam. In doing so, the author brings morals and values into question. The school defends this take home test collaboration as a new system of wikilearning, working together as a collaborative force to come up with the best and most descriptive answers as they would do if they were making a Wikipedia page, hence the name of this type of learning. The author, however, views it quite differently, sees it as more of a moral issue than anything else. With that said, the author does make it a point to graze the idea of morals these days, and how lines can be blurred when discussing good and bad and right and wrong, which happens to be a fundamental component of post modernity.

This article is written by an English professor with the intent of simplifying the definition and components of post modernity. While defining post modernity can be difficult since it is quite an ambiguous term, the author comes up with a list (which isn't necessarily postmodern) to show the differences between modernity and post modernity to break down both the confusion and complexity of it. He claims that the very fact that defining post modernity is such a difficult task helps make it post modern in of itself. The author further discusses post modernity and applies it to specific areas like human nature and art.

What is more postmodern than being updated on multiple people's lives in a matter of seconds. Twitter is a site that allows just that. Users are allowed to share what they are doing with their lives in 160 characters or less. The posts are instant and gives people the possibility and knowing a person's every move. This site depicts how communication and the value of privacy have changed within the postmodern era. As a postmodern concept, face to face communication is obsolete. Why talk to someone to find them when their Twitter gives second by second updates of their entire day? More importantly why is this person posting this information and why do so many people follow them to discover what the posts will say? These are questions that do not need to be answered in a postmodern society because they are the norm.