WITWC2. (What Is The World Coming To?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIUcRJX9-o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psj2gQ6KaZk&feature=related

A few years ago when these two commercials were popular I found myself laughing. However, after completing my summer homework, I realized that these commercials present a visual of what our society could eventually become. Postman talked about how technology, specifically television, has impacted our methods of communication. He mentioned how technology has brainwashed us and that ideas change as methods of communications change. Even though Postman does not specifically talk about cell phones, wouldn’t you agree that out of all the means of communication we have today, cell phones have impacted us the most? I know that this is a topic that has already been mentioned on the blog, but I believe that it is appropriate to bring up in a different way. In these two commercials, we see how different generations have been influenced by text messaging. Although the producers of the commercials are trying to make the viewers laugh, I personally find it a bit extreme. I often find myself talking to people who say things like “omg”, “idk”, “fyi”, and “btw” in the middle of a conversation. Do you think our formal language could be forgotten about or completely changed because of texting?

Can't live without technology?

I recently tried going 24 hours without my phone, iPod, computer and TV. I admit I couldn’t complete it, only because my mom was trying to call me; obviously I couldn’t ignore her. I didn’t want to do it on a day that I would be home. I preferred on a day when I was out, just to experience it completely. My trick was to only keep my phone on me and put my parents ringtone to a certain song then turn off the ringtone for a text message. I didn’t look at it until my mom bombed it with calls. The point is I know technology sometimes has a negative effect on us but we all know it also has many positives to it. I understand we shouldn’t be hooked to our electronic devices but they do come in handy. We’ll only get more advanced in the field of technology so we should learn how to balance it and not be too attached to it. In conclusion, we all could live without our televisions, iPods, and even computers but I won’t admit that we can live in our society without a cell phone; it’s too engraved in our daily life. Disagree?

Even Nick News is Amused to Death

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?

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Please read this article by Nicholas Carr entitled Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Erich Phinizy just told me about this guy's new book, and so I ordered it: The Shallows.