Yuhaen - Week 14: Collective Memory
Collective memory is defined as the shared pool of knowledge held by a group or society. This idea got me thinking: how has the human race’s collective memory changed over time?
Thousands of years ago, early humans made cave paintings in order to preserve their culture and retain memory of certain events. For example, early drawings in Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island depict animals and hunting scenes, which offer insight into the beliefs and behavior of prehistoric communities.
As we developed as a species, languages naturally developed, allowing for the transmission of complex ideas between different groups of people. Oral traditions became the primary means of passing down beliefs, customs, and knowledge to others and generations. In many cultures, oral traditions were found in myths, legends, and historical accounts. This form of communication ensured that collective memories were similar amongst a large group of people.
During the 20th through 21st centuries, the concept of collective memory underwent a drastic transformation as communication technology improved. The internet facilitates the preservation of information, culture, and experiences as social media, forums, and internet archives work to conserve information. Unfortunately, as short-form communication dominates the internet, collective memory is diminished as people forget and move on from popular media. For example, an artist who is at the top of the world one year may fall into irrelevance the next, which is largely due to the fast-paced nature of the online world. This can not be more true for online trends, which are usually the victims of short-form content overusing them.
Collective memories are a powerful cultural and social phenomenon that link all members of society together. They help connect and diversify the social landscape of America, bringing mutual peace and understanding to the world.
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Hi Yuhaen, your introduction of the evolution of memories is really interesting, and gives a deep perception about how and why we hold these memories as humans. Technology has also played a big role on this as you say that photographs and digital media helps us hold these memories, avoiding the loss of memories with short term memory. But this same technology can also speed up how fast we forget since we’re always moving forward, banking on these digital memories to hold what we used to hold in our brain.
ReplyDeleteThe point about how artists fall into irrelevance because of the short form content of TikTok and Instagram shows how these things can blow up rapidly but burn out faster. These platforms have changed the way artists produce music and what they intend out of their music, wanting to have short clips that go viral and base their work around that sole stanza. Some artists I would argue, still have their authenticity that many have lost. These types of artists might not make as much money or fame as the others, but regardless, they have true fans that value their music intents for truly what they are and not because they went viral.
However, I think these online communities are still cool. Things like fandoms, internet brain rot, and memes still bring us together and would be remembered for a ling time collectively by this generation. For example, I saw a TikTok where there was a caption of “POV: Gen Z with dementia,” and it was an animation of an old woman saying “skibiddi toilet rizz.” These types of memes make me really think that these types of trends will forever be in memory with our generation,
Hi Yuhaen! I think that your blog topic this week was really interesting—I never really thought about how our collective memory as humans has changed and expanded over time. I think it’s really crazy to see just how much we’ve advanced as a civilization, and I feel like we often take the technologies and knowledge that we have access to today for granted. I really liked how you portrayed this through providing specific examples of how our collective knowledge has evolved through the years; it made it a lot easier to understand the general trends of how our memories of past societies and information are retained and are still remembered today. However, I disagree with you slightly on your claim about collective memory being diminished in the modern day due to short-form communication and entertainment. I feel like this type of media has allowed for people to remember more information due to the vast amounts of different content they absorb on a daily basis. I think that our collective memory has therefore expanded because of the internet, especially since information is now always readily available for us to access and to learn from. I really liked the way you ended your blog through making a generalization about collective memory, and I enjoyed reading about your perspective on this topic. Thanks for sharing Yuhaen!
ReplyDeleteHi Yuhaen, I think considering all the knowledge that humanity holds as one big pool is a really unique perspective to have of our evolution, and I definitely agree that watching how much our collective pool has increased over time shows just how powerful we are together. I liked how you included one of the most significant facilitators of spreading knowledge today, the internet, and I especially appreciated how you were able to explain both pros and cons of the internet towards our collective knowledge pool. Reading your points about the internet impacting people’s memories both positively and negatively reminded me of social media platforms like Instagram, which most likely hold infinite amounts of information about our lives but have trained us to have short attention spans. I thought your blog was really insightful because it allowed me to look at society from a broader, utilitarian perspective. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello Yuhaen! Your Blog is extremely interesting and it was a fun read as well. I feel like collective memory is something that is not talked about as much and something that is a really cool process of the human body. It really comes to show how complex our mind is and the magnitude of how important of a role it plays in human beings and the experiences they have on a day-to-day basis. Individuals are bound to have various memories that allow them to form connections with one another, and I think that is something that is really special as it really showcases that humans are meant to be social creatures. Collective memory plays a huge role in how we experience things and also how we form bonds with other people as well.
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