Module 7: Exploring Technobiophilia through Word Clouds

 

Before this assignment, I didn’t know what technophilia was, but my basic understanding is that it’s about accessing nature through technology. I believe my word cloud reflects my understanding of the readings well. Many of my words are variations on nature and technology, providing the foundation for technobiophilia as a concept.

I slightly disagree with the prominence of certain words in my word cloud. I wanted to leave it as is though, because changing my initial results feels like tampering. Virtual reality is front and center, which is surprising because, as I reflect on the assignment, I think I used more words that describe nature or technology. The frequency of “Nature” variants (ecosystem, ecology, biodiversity, for example) makes me think I watered down the results by using too many variations. Still, the core themes of the readings are there.   

Interestingly, there were a lot of words related to the health of the environment (eco-friendly, biodiversity) and our personal health (well-being, mindfulness) which I interpret as a positive correlation. One cannot truly thrive without the other, so words like symbiotic and connection are present. Finally, there are some interesting words such as interdisciplinary and interaction. My reflection on these words regarding technobiophilia is more about a state of being than anything academic. That is, we need to be able to appreciate and acknowledge both the technological and natural side rather than considering them antagonistic or diametric. I think more research needs to be done on technobiophilia before we can reach any concrete conclusions on how the virtual natural world affects us, but it sounds like a promising endeavor.    

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