About a month ago, the show Nick News With Linda Ellerbee came out with an episode called "Middle School Unplugged". In this episode, three technologically attached middle school students took on the challenge of staying "unplugged" for a whole week. When I started the first chapter of Amusing Ourselves to Death, this episode instantly popped into my mind. Like Postman, Linda Ellerbee calls this generation the "most connected generation ever". She also stated her concern over the youth of today who confuse technology with real life and as she puts it, has become "a tool of (their own) tools". One of the teenagers who was under this experiment, a fourteen-year old named Wade, admitted his addiction by saying that "technology is part of (his) identity".
In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman states that the technologies of today has not only become our form of conversation but the language of our culture. Like Wade, has the culture we exist in formed us into a technology-reliant people? Has technology become the only medium of communication that we possess? Postman argues this position, and as much as I hate to admit, I do agree with him. If the entire world made a decision to "unplug" itself, a state of chaos and bewilderment would fill our lives. Our world would be in disarray. All that we know, through the power of technology, would be lost. So the question I ask is this: Without the aid and power of technology, what would we become?
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"Without the aid and power of technology, what would we become?"
ReplyDeleteI asked a similar question in my blog post but I've got no one to hook and sink. Hahaha, but I know what you mean. If I instantly rid of my computer and maybe my ipod I'd lose it, as much as I hate to admit it. We've grown too accustom to these aids that we, quite frankly, can't imagine a world without them. The Nick News special you talk about reminds me of a media fast I did and discussed on here about almost a month ago; it was hard but I only did ONE DAY! These kids did 7 days; insanity. I think everyone should try it though because you'll get a lot of things done the adequate way; not just a bum rush job so you can get back to Facebooking or video games. However Angel Mae, I am with you on this. That guy Wade pretty much speaks for most of my peers. I can honestly say that not one day goes by where I don't see someone touch their phone or get distracted by media while I am having a conversation with them. My mom texts at the wheel, my dad watches T.V. at dinner, my cousins text--cutting me off--while I ask them a question. Will it get any worse?
I agree. Our generation has taken media to the extreme. When my friends get their phones taken away or their phones break, they go insane. When I got in trouble once and got my phone and cable T.V. taken away, I felt like I was going to die; It was for 3 MONTHS. I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. I started becoming desperate and would use my friends' phones. BUT I got over it fairly quickly. I started doing things that I hadn't done in forever, like read one book in two days or hang out with family and play board games. It really isn't that bad. You start seeing the real things that are important. Why do people need to be connected at ALL times? Have space for yourself and have alone time for once.
ReplyDeleteAnd to answer your question: Yes, I'm pretty sure it will get worse. Top companies of electronic devices are inventing way more advanced things, and people are just waiting to see what they come up with next. Even books have been replaced with things like The Nook. Will media replace books? You could always read the book on Google or download it into your Nook, right? Will the news and internet replace newspapers? You could always turn the television on to the news, right? Terrible.
I think that if we all decided to "unplug", even for a day or a few hours, everyone would freak out. We would unconsciously try to log onto Facebook, just to find out the Internet is down. Just thinking about not having that simple connection to everyone is freaking me out. The sad thing is, just a few years ago, when you wanted to talk to your friend, you got your lazy butt up and walked a few blocks to get there. Everything was more intimate then; you talked to people in person, only using the phone when far away from somebody. What's really sad is that just talking to people on the phone seems way too personal in this generation; everyone texts now, and if one of your friends says they don't have texting, the words sound foreign and scary. Since I'm not a very big fan of advancing technology-I think "Terminator" and freak out-I would love to do a permanent "unplug", or media fast, though it would take me awhile to get used to it. I think it's great that Postman's message is spreading, even to Nickelodeon, so it can get to the next few generations before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Although my "addiction" is not as bad as others i noticed how much I depend on them. Like when we have to take that dreaded benchmark test for chemistry or math and we can't use a calculator, I think it is insane! Even during the test i still reach for a calculator to punch in some numbers even though it is not there. We expect technology to just be included in our lives. I sometimes listen to my dad tell stories from when he was younger and it is still shocking to me that most the technology we have today was not available back then, and when it was it was something considered for the "rich". Nowadays its become normal. The standards to obtain technology seems to be lowering too. I got my first cell phone at the age of twelve, just the other day however my 7..thats right 7, year old brother received his first cell phone. I was bewildered and puzzled as to why he needed one because he is always with us! Nevertheless, there are still things coming out today and each year a younger generation is getting the things that we are barely getting as sixteen and seventeen year olds. So it makes me wonder, in a few years will four and five year olds have their own personal laptops?!
ReplyDeleteFor people to say that technology is part of their lives, is a huge problem. We don't realize that there are SO MANY people who are like that. We let television become part of our culture. Sooner or later we are going to be more dependent on technology than we are now.
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