What does it mean to say that our relationship to reality is mediated - Essay Example

?What Does It Mean To Say That Our Relationship To Reality Is Mediated? By Insert Module Relationship to reality through Mediation Introduction Our relationship to reality is mediated. When one hears such a statement, confusion may be visible. However, to a great extent, this is the truth. Reality is defined by Poslad as the state of the actual existence of things in the physical world where they exist in time and space. These are experienced by a conscious sense of presence of a human being and are situated and embodied in the physical world (Poslad, 2011:25). Everything that one can possibly experience and conceive is actually part of their representation of reality and not reality in itself. Therefore, the world that one experiences can only be known as it appears to them and not as it actually is in itself. This implies that there is a certain degree through which one’s experiences and social world act as mediators in the way one perceives and conceives the world around them. Inevitably, one’s desires and life attachments act as distortions of the reality one perceives, and this determines how one interacts with the environment. Sociologists argue that the current trends within the globe and the continued existence and development of the internet have led to a greater distortion of the reality. This has led to different attitudes towards attachment, security and conduct. For instance, reality television has made people change the way they conduct themselves especially the youths. Security has also been distorted by the use of robots and other sensory devices that have given security a virtual attribute that was previously non-existence. In the future, robots are expected to control much of the human life, and that is actually being witnessed with the increased number of films produced based on this reality. The new attachments and security definitions affect the way everyone conducts themselves under certain situations. The world is thus surrounded by different personalities and convictions which help an individual to create their world without fear of revealing their age, gender or creed. Thus, the world has turned into a virtual reality where identity is created from what is seen through the media, and more so the digital media. These creations have a greater emphasis on emotional and vicarious involvement in what the media terms as collective and personal identities. Popular culture has recast the meaning of social relationship into a resource that individuals need to use for their daily livelihood. These are some of the concepts that will gain preference in this report with explorations on the implication of mediated reality on attachment and how individuals react to ideational systems of mediated social constructs. Attachment: An Overview Beginning at infancy, people rely on attachment figures when they encounter threats, disappointments or stresses. Attachment in this case is defined as the close relationship that one has with partners who provide protection, support and comfort (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:2). These figures and encounters with them are internalized as mental representations which may be defined as working models by attachment theorists. These models represent a great deal of the self, key relationship partners and principal interactions that take place with the partners identified. Goals, motives, and particular emotions are associated with memory and eventually form what is defined as a person’s attachment style (Mikulincer and Shaver 2007:5). These attachment styles are seen to develop through a combination of conditioning and cognitive representation. From that statement alone, one sees the truth of the initial argument: Our Relationship to Reality is Mediated. It is through such conditioning that an individual can turn on the reinforced attachment figures in the long-term memory and use them to reduce anxiety or stress as the case may be. Televisions and Virtual Reality The television is one of the greatest innovations of all times. The continued development and advance of the television sets in the world has enabled as many people as possible to own some. The infiltration of TV programs into the livelihoods of many teenagers and even some of the parents has also acted as a source of attachment appraisal with the continued airing or reality programs distorting the way people view their surroundings. The reality is thus changed by a graphical representation of the world as it is and people form their views based on this (Poslad, 2011:28). Previous conditioning experiences are then embodied in these misconstructions of the reality and the relationship is a distorted one. The world is therefore left to balance between two major dimensions of attachments based on their conception of what reality is; attachment anxiety and avoidant attachment. The former type deals with insecurity about partner availability and self inherent values while the latter deals with discomfort with reliance on and the closeness with a partner. The relationship is thus defined as satisfactory if one scores lowly on these two dimensions and may be seen as more adaptive in coping with stressing situations and reflects the a resilience resource that reduces the likelihood of developing psychological orders (Mikulincer and Shaver 2007:10). Mediation: Concepts It is also necessary to recognize the core attributes of the aspect of reality and how attachment may be related to the concept of mediation. Mediation, or the relationship between two worlds, regulates and empowers an individual through the theory of attachment and/or detachment. First, the experience in social worlds has to be mediated to people and learned from the people within the societal constructs. The concept of mediation is the actual social relations that are maintained through these senses and the way that people express themselves through and in the material world (Du-Marie, 2010:1). The mediation process is thus an invisible one so to say and occurs in the background of societal functions. However, the invisible aspect can be conceptualized only through the notion of a medium which embodies the relations in reality. The medium in this case permits, in a particular manner, information relating to the interacting subjects, convey between them and hence act as a mediator with the subjects being ‘mediated’. The mediation may occur in any of the four broad types of media of social relations: sensate, ideational, technological and abstract systems (Du-Marie, 2010:2). The television set can thus be stated as part of the media that affect how the social constructs and inherent creativities are adapted to. It shows how a society may be regulated through the programs they are and how empowering these programs can be for an individual who has no other source of information such as the internet. The mediation in itself captures both the mind and the body and then affects the way an individual acts. This leads to an attachment that redefines the constructs that one grew up accustomed to (Du-Marie, 2010:2). The reality television programs currently aired show the different implications of attributes such as over-eating, lack of exercise, grooming and managing personal relationships and issues such as social education. These concepts have different effects on the mind and the body with the human as the meditational device for all emotions felt by either the mind or the body. An example is the feeling of solitude which is felt in the mind and the case of intimacy which is felt by the body. To uncover the underlying theories as well as pragmatic ideologies that define the concept of mediation in relation to attachment theories, the system to be used will be the ideational system. This implies looking at issues from the perspective of impact rather than creativity (Du-Marie, 2010:3). Through great research and observation of ideological precepts, the structure of ideation used to interpret the world is seen to dictate which features of social reality that one can focus on and the logic that one can use to analyse the problem at hand. It further shapes the goals that one perceives to be in their favour. This is to say that an action is shaped by an individual’s choice of a means of interpreting and organizing information. This subsequently will drive the individual in committing an action (Poslad, 2011:30). As such, the TV uses its virtual reality capability to influence one’s experience in their physical world. As a result, the concept of presence is introduced where it refers not to the surroundings as they exist around an individual but to the perception of those surroundings as mediated by both controlled and automatic mental processes (Poslad, 2011:34). In relation to what Du-Marie suggested on the aspect of ideation, virtual reality has a greater semblance in the way an individual’s mind and body function based on what is perceived as the reality, whether virtual or real or hyper-reality (the lack of distinction between abstract and what is real). The incorporation of virtual reality provides a perception of two separate environments simultaneously, that is, the physical world that one is actually in and the other which exits through the medium observed. Reality TV shows have increasingly been seen as great determinants of human behaviour in the world. The concept of presence is thus an increasingly adopted concept that helps in handling communication and user experience with the television acting as the medium. However, a range of social norms become part of the projected end results as a result of the transference of attachment and detachment attributes through social interaction. The television in this case creates new norms that tempt individuals to practice. The resultant developments change the social perceptions and this affects how each adapts to the new settings. Attachment to the new rules and regulation offers new perceptions that change how one relates to their environment (Poslad, 2011:35). This ensures greater commitment from the individual’s side, creating a better understanding of the world they live in. instructions and grooming accelerate the rate at which these realities are fathomed, inculcated into behaviour and replicated in relation to the social environment that an individual creates. Mimesis From all that confusion, the concept of mimesis or imitation arises. Nature is well known to create similarities with the human being expected to mimic to their highest capacity. Nevertheless, the truth regarding mimicry is set apart by the gift of man to see greater resemblance as a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like someone or something else. The essence of mimicry is replicated throughout one’s life, playing a very decisive role. The television offers a great setting to project mimicry and accentuate the exhibited environment as the necessary utopia that man ought to pursue (Du-Marie, 2010:8). Such philosophical attributes entail greater and deeper entrenchments of social values as a relative description of what one sees as compared to the conceptions that one had while growing up. It is these types of deliberate mimicry that lead to attachments which in turn strengthen the need of media such as TVs and hence an endless cycle of repetitive processes. Furthermore, the self has internalized positive representations of others (as being likely to provide assistance and the required comfort) and the self as more deserving of love and support from others. Whatever is presented as being close to this through the media is mimicked with great emphasis paid to the effects that one anticipates. Continuous interaction with such positive, sensitive and responsive attachment models will play a great deal in shaping how an individual behaves at the end of the day. This changes the perception one has of the way they deal with their environment (Du-Marie, 2010:8). The new perceptions create better attachment conceptualizations about their environment. The new perceptions create new relationships and new interaction models that suit their intentions. This is the same process that has been applied in therapy sessions as the therapist works on the emphatic construes that helps build reliable relationships between the doer and the recipient of the actions. The new attachments help the patient revive their previous constructs and work on their recovery. People thus place an attachment on the way it impacts their body and mind and how they are bound to respond to the integral part of human agency as an overall (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:18). From these, one can conclusively deduce that the mediation devices, whether non-human or human, exist solely as a social-construct to bring forth and work together from having the dual needs of the body and mind to consider. The mediated thoughts and actions relate to the type of explorations that one engages in as they choose between the different environments they are in, or would like to be in, and make a choice based on the information acquired from the mediating device (Poslad, 2011:37). It will thus mimic that which is perceived as closer to their intended feelings and emotions. Needless to say, the TV programs aired currently have doctored several areas of reality with applications developed to either add content or remove some, hence manipulating what the audience views. Such misconstrued realities are a common attribute of the current generation of communication media. Alterations have thus led to more technological mediation with the impact being immediate on its audience, provided the presentation fits their age-group as well as their economic and social status quo (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:20). Attachment after Mediation What comes up after dealing with issues of mediation especially in regard to attachment is the fact that an individual has to be fully involved in the processes. The repetitive nature of the tasks ensures their internalization which in turn becomes the behavioural nature of the individual henceforth. The ability of the TV stations to manipulate content aired has different effects on the individual. Some of the content that is presented affects the way the teenagers view the world around them with violence affecting their relationship with others (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:24). The parents are also affected as they are introduced to new parenting skills that may not be applicable in their setting due to the variables therein. Teenagers believe that violence is the best response they can offer when faced with extreme situations or even resort to truancy as a way of coping with the stresses within their environment. However, there are some programs that may really assist each party in coping with issues arising at home. Popular TV hosts such as Oprah Winfrey have been known to change perceptions on life for both parents and adolescents through their educative programs. Such content has been more approved by both parties with such hosts being idolized for their assistance (Poslad, 2011:38). The basic components of any attachment as stated by Mikulincer and Shaver delve on four key components (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:25-27). First and foremost, the individual in question must have a safe haven. This is where one runs to for solace when they feel threatened or under stressing situations. The second component is a secure base. This is the realization that the only place one can depend on when they want to explore their talents or inner skills, which may be human or non-human. For instance, the caregiver offers a safe and dependable base for a child to explore their strengths. The third component is the proximity maintenance where the individual seeks to stay near their safe haven or secure base to ably harness their inner strength. The last but not the least component is the separation distress. This means that when one is separated from their secure base, they feel upset and may result to brooding which may hinder the realization of their dreams or goals. Satisfying these components ensures an individual’s psychological and social cognitive development. Therefore, any attachments that are mediated alter these components which one grows accustomed to. The individual creates new boundaries which may either be destructive or constrictive depending on their source of inspiration. On the other hand, the TV has replaced the natural caregivers that were traditional adored for their steadfast assistance and helpful education on strategies of coping with life. This means that the new mode of knowledge transfer has been left to the upcoming technology with parents having little influence on their children. Thus, attachments have now shifted towards the technological aspect with the impact felt later on (Du-Marie, 2010:9). The high rate of mimesis amongst the current crop of youngsters is worrying though. Many women have become anorexic as a result of imitating dietary regimes that do not fit into their overall cultural and physical constructs. Men on the other hand have been more attracted to violence as an imitation of their favourite TV characters that are depicted as heroes. The traditional morals and norms have been eroded with new ones gaining favour (Poslad, 2011:42). New avenues for personal security and safety are attained with the individuals hanging on every word that their favourite actors or show hosts utter. This denies them a chance to utilize their childhood attachment conceptions and relate more with those they find quite applicable in their day-to-day life. For instance, divorce cases have increased with many more people remarrying as a result of the Hollywood debacles that have made great news articles all over the world. Others engage in premarital sex as a result of the many adulterated sites and information present everywhere. Violence has been glorified with terrorists being praised in some avenues. These distortions of the reality have formed the new adult definition with many more finding new means of identifying with themselves and their situations (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007:29). Conclusion The impact of mediation can be witnessed everywhere. Apparently, each individual creates a different picture of the same situation based on their circumstances and fears. This leads to new attachments that offer solace in times of threats and uncertainties, doing away with traditional role models for the new crop of models. This has affected the social constructs, creating gaps between children and their parents with individuals picking on lifestyles oblivious of the effects on those around them. The TV shows have set the new interaction standards with new ideals being propagated. These create new attachments and desires which in turn blind the viewers from differentiating what is real and what is fiction. The mode of mediation of the human beings as devices of mediation and the TV shows as the source of the information to be mediated, the social codes operated in the background are attuned to fit the new world order which is all in the mind of the individual watching the shows. Therefore, the whole relationship with reality is mediated by that which one construes as a conveyor of the ideals they need to follow for full gratification. (Word Count: 3,068) References Du-Marie, M. (2010) How does the concept of mediation help us understand how social worlds are made? New York, NY: Open University. Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007) Attachment patterns in adulthood: structure, dynamics, and change, New York, NY: Guilford Press. Poslad, S. (2011) Ubiquitous computing: smart devices, environments and interactions, London: John Wiley & Sons. Read More