Over my eighteen year lifetime, I’ve seen my share of media. As a four year old, I would record movies off the TV using a VHS. I can remember having several VHS tapes of all my favorite Disney movies. I owned cassette tapes of sing-alongs. I remember using a floppy disk for a project in the second grade. My parents upgraded the TV to include a DVD player and we started buying DVDs. I was given a CD player to listen to my sing-alongs (and later and MP3 player). I had a flash drive by the time I was in the fifth grade.

Truly it is amazing to know that I am a part of the generation that lived through the shift in media. We were the ones who saw the changes in technology. We weren’t immediately born into it. We were introduced to different aspects of it and were able to appreciate them both.

Apple’s release of the iPhone 7 and wireless earbuds made me realize that corded headphones will soon become obsolete media. I personally appreciate corded headphones and their ability to not be lost or easily broken; however, Apple sees the corded headphone as a hindrance and therefore must be replaced by wireless ones. Of course, Beats made wireless headphones popular as well, but with the iPhone’s exclusion of a headphone jack, the wireless headphone craze is bound to pick up speed. Truly, corded headphones will soon become old media.

It is interesting to look at the shifts between new and old media and how they’ve been such an important part in this generation. We were the kids who went from watching “Hercules” on VHS to watching “Mean Girls” on DVD to watching “Twilight” on Netflix. Times are changing, and luckily we are that bridge to keep both the old media and new media alive.

When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with reading. Every month my mom would have to drive me to the closest Barnes and Noble so that I could buy a few new books. When I finished reading those books, I would set them on my bookshelf and then have to go back to the store for more. I think my mom eventually got tired of driving me to the bookstore so often, so she instead went and bought me a Kindle so that I could just download the books I wanted on this digital device. This seemed so easy and convenient, and I could now read more books without having to worry about when I would be able to go to the bookstore next. But the reading experience on a Kindle was completely different than reading from the actual book. There is something about holding a paper book that makes it so much more special than reading it online. While holding the actual book, I felt more connected to the story that the author had written about. After some time, my love for reading began to dwindle, which I think is due to not only the fact that I was getting older and busier, but also that I didn’t enjoy reading as much on the digital device. Even though I do not read as much today, I still hate having to read anything online. If a teacher assigns a reading of an online article (like the reading for this week), I have to print it out and read it from the printed copy, which isn’t as convenient. This is one legacy media that I feel I will not be able to let go of. It seems like there are less actual bookstores today because less people are using actual books, and if they are, they just order them online. It is sad to see that something that was such a big part of my childhood is changing so much.

We might think of older media in a number of ways: as residual media (as opposed to media that are dominant or emergent in a particular place and time), as legacy media (we’ve inherited them from previous generations), or as obsolete media (ouch!).

Write a blog posting that focuses on your own experiences with residual, legacy, or obsolete media—or with one old medium in particular. Did you ever have to struggle with an older medium, perhaps because your assumptions had been shaped by newer media) ? Did you grow up with any media that hardly exist anymore? Did you come late to a medium that was already on its way out? Do you carry a torch for a legacy medium?

For class on 9/12, read “The End of Legacy Media” (WWW) (…but make sure you check out the date!)

Handwritten letters are becoming a thing of the past, and after this assignment, it makes me a little sad. I was originally worried when I heard that I was going to have to hand write a letter because I had no idea who I would write to nor what the letter was going to be about. I decided to write to my younger brothers because they are who I miss the most from home.

Nowadays, a reason it is harder to converse with people via mailed letters is because it takes a while for them to receive them. This could be due to long distances, wrong addresses, or a mailing mix up and that makes it less dependable than a text message or phone call. Technology comes with its own set of problems, such as dropped calls, no service, and wrong numbers. Even with these technology cons, its easier to communicate because it is much faster. By calling/texting someone you are able to reach them within seconds and when the matter is urgent or time sensitive, that is crucial.

With all of that being said, a letter is something special because it lasts forever. I still have memorable birthday cards or letters from loved ones because they meant something to me so I kept them.  I was able to think about what I really wanted to say so that it would mean something to my brothers. Not having spell check was a struggle at times, but knowing that I was writing my brothers a thoughtful letter made the ideas flow. I think this exercise is important for any millennial so that they can be reminded of how important it is to keep handwritten letters around.

To begin, I’d like to apologize for this rather tardy blog post. However, my tardiness is going to further my point.

When Dr. Menke wanted us to write a letter, I was originally excited. I never get to send letters because everyone is typically used to text messages. Most of the people I talk to are just a click away so I tend not to send letters. However, given the excuse to send one, I was ready to jump at the opportunity.

However, I soon became consumed with too much work and stress from other sources that I actually forgot about the letter. When I realized I had to write a letter in a couple of hours before class, I freaked out. How in the heck could I have forgotten.

And that’s the point: In this generation, we’re so consumed with everything else that we forget to do the things that actually take time and are important. Even if we are originally excited about them, most of them soon take the backseat to other outrageous events that force themselves into precedence. It’s important to remember that the things in life that take more time and pay homage to those ways before us are still important. If they got our ancestors through life, they obviously aren’t too bad. Of course, we don’t have to go back to carrier pigeons or the Pony Express, but it is nice to know that we still have letter writing as an effective method of communication…even if it slips our mind until an hour before class.

There are several different media platforms in which I can send a friend a message. I could go through Facebook, Twitter, call them over the phone, or even by sending a simple text message. However, writing a letter is still a decently common form of contact between individuals. Now a days, people get excited over a letter in the mail. When I open the mailbox and see an envelope with my name on it, I am excited to see what the envelope has in store for me. I feel as if this creates a feeling that a text message just doesn’t create. I also believe that writing a letter is more personal. It shows that you took the time to gather the materials and put aside a few minutes to write out something meaningful. I wrote my letter to one of my closest friends who I haven’t seen since I went off to college. We will be seeing each other this weekend as we fly to Philadelphia together to see Rihanna and Coldplay perform, so I hope she will receive this letter before we head out. While I haven’t written a letter in some time, it didn’t feel the least abnormal to me. I assume this is because it’s similar to sending a very long, personal text message – which I frequently do send. This probe showed me that writing a letter may be outdated, but it has remained an excellent way to let someone know that you’re thinking about them.

A good friend of mine, Shivani, is attending Georgia Tech as a freshman this year. One of her favorite things was to send people mail. From care packages to letters, everything. So when Dr. Menke told us that we’d be writing a letter to someone, I knew I had to write one to Shivani.

I’ve never actually properly written a letter before. I would only write a few sentences on a card. Something along the lines of a “Happy Birthday! Have a great day!”. But writing a letter is so much more different because it requires a lot more effort than a simple pre-messaged card. I found that writing letters was a lot more extensive than sending a text or video calling. I had to think about what I was gonna write and how much I could write before I couldn’t write anymore. I couldn’t attach funny memes or post links for good songs.

As a very sentimental person if I were to receive a letter, I’d keep it for a very long time, reading it over the years. Because of this, writing the letter struck me differently, in a good way. It was a completely different experience and I might actually take it up as a regular habit.

When I first heard about this assignment I really had no idea who I was going to write to.  I only live about an hour away and talk to most of my family on a daily basis through texts, so I wasn’t really sure who I wanted to write.  I ended up writing to my boyfriend who I don’t get to see or talk to as often as everyone else.  It was a lot easier than I initially thought it was going to be.  I thought it was going to be a really awkward letter full of me just rambling on about random stuff that has happened during these past few weeks, but it turned out a lot better, and easier than I thought.

After writing the letter, I found myself somewhat frustrated; that’s the best way I can describe it, but I wasn’t upset.  I  was just so excited for my boyfriend to read the letter, but I knew I was going to have to wait about a week for him to even get it. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise of me writing the letter either, but I felt so weird writing all this stuff down to tell him and then having to wait more than two minutes for him to read it and respond, but I still enjoyed it.