The Burning Elmo

Today I watched a video of a young man pouring lighter fluid all over a Tickle-Me Elmo doll and light it on fire. To be honest at first i was amused. I laughed, in some strange way I found it pretty hilarious. However, after it had burned a considerable amount of time, I found myself pondering my thoughts of why it was funny. I really don't know why I think it was so funny. After the fur and goofy little Elmo eyes had burned away, all we see this the cold mechanics and machinery of the doll. It sounds weird but seeing the burned remains and robotic structure, this reminded me of The Terminator. The scene is where Kyle Reese uses the pipe bomb on the semi-truck, which the Terminator is driving, and it blows up. Well everyone assumes that it is dead, but soon you see the cold endo-skeleton rise up from the ashes. Now I'm not saying the burning of the doll was necessarily creepy but it lost it's comedic value after a certain time. I found that this seems to be a trend online that has been around for ages. I remember my dad telling me stories about him blowing up toy cars with firecrackers. Stuff like that and "Elmo Burning" have been around for a few years, but because of the invention of Youtube, it is more common to post these activities online. I guess people feel the need to post destruction on Youtube and other video sharing websites. I really don't know why, it can be funny or dangerous. I can't stop people from doing stupid stunts and posting them online, but hopefully people can grow out of that phase.

Digital Native or Immigrant: Which One Am I?

In order to understand the differences between a Digital Immigrant and Digital Native, one must know the meaning of the two words: Native and Immigrant. A native is one that is familiar with the ways of the land or a certain way of living. An immigrant is one that migrates to a new land or place; this is the difference between the the two words. In the reading Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky, the author describes the differences between those who have been born into the new "technological age"(Digital Natives) and those who have been born into "Olden days"(Digital Immigrants).

When asked the question, "which one are you?", I must reflect on my life. My parents were not rich, most people I knew that had computers had parents who were rich. At the time, computers were very expensive and we couldn't afford one. Well soon my school got computers and I was then classified as a Digital Immigrant. Throughout the years, even though I didn't have a computer of my own until 2003, I slowly was raised into the digital age and now I have my own laptop, iPod, and cell phone. I now consider my self a digital native, even though new technology is emerging I am still learning it very quickly.