An increasing reliance on technology.
I was recently reading something on CNN about Apple's new iphone. I would just like to comment on the cell phone craze that seems to be sweeping the western world. It's really amazing to me that almost 10 years ago not many people, except for wallstreet business executives, owned a cell phone. In 2007, it's hard to find someone who doesn't have one. These phones are becoming increasingly more complicated and complex as well. They don't just make phone calls anymore. They can take pictures and videos, play music, connect to the internet, send email, and probably do a lot of other theings that I don't know about. Last summer my cell phone was stolen and I think I went a good few weeks to a month without one. It was kind of weird to see how much I had come to depnend on such a small communications device for a number of different things. It makes me a little bit uneasy to think about how dependent our society has become on these things.
posted by Kellen at
1:38 PM
7 Comments:
Technology is now also about conveinence. The smaller and more compact it is, the more appealing it usually is to customers as it is easier to carry with them. I agree with message that our whole lives seemed to have gotten wrapped up in our cell phones and other methods of technology, however this seems to be the direction that the world is moving in. I have had conversations with people that were in the room next to me about minute things (i.e. where to go to lunch) over email or text messaging, because it was easier than simply getting up and going into the next room to have the actual conversation.
Yea, definitely- that kind of relates on how I was saying in class that our dependence on machines/tech could lead to a catastrophic incident of some kind. As far as cell phones go, mine broke one weekend and my replacement phone didn't come for a week and a half, not really a long time, but the results were ridiculous. I have a job where I need to be in constant communication with corporate and although email substituted ok, it was a nightmare overall. Also, think of campus, who actually has a room phone? Even so, they aren't suppose to be for outgoing calls. If an area cell tower went down everyone on campus would be virtually stranded!
intereconnectivity means that without our phones and texts and emails, progress slows down. as we get more advanced everything happens faster, a 10 minute wait at the tavern is considered inconvenient to the 1 minute @ mcdonalds. waiting 30 seconds for cisco is considered a huge problem compared to the 4 minutes spend modem-dialing in with AOL back in the 90's. We quickly forget what was as we get accustomed to what is and take it for granted.
Not long ago I lost my cell phone on the metro. I didn't have it for about two days, around only 48 hours, and it shut down my entire life.
On top of the social factor, (that is, that I rely on my phone to coordinate everything), I learned that I also depend on my phone for the time, reminders, and alarms.
I can not really describe the feeling, but the fact that their even is a unique sensation for losing my phone shows how dependent I was on it.
I too rely on my phone as a clock, alarm clock, and main means of communication. However, I think that I could survive since we have IM, Facebook, and email.
Although survival is definitely possible without a cell phone, college makes it increasingly necessary to have one. I don't think that dorm landlines at AU even connect to non-AU numbers.
What amazes me is how tiny cell phones have become over the years. They originated as car phones, and then shrunk down to the size of a small remote control. Now my friend's mom has one from Japan that is smaller than a Post-it note.
The over reliance on technology will be the downfall of mankind.
I do not really see any legitimate fears behind technological dependence. There is no likely, or even feasible situation where every cell phone just stops working. If anything, these new technologies are significantly more reliable than what we as a race have used in the past. Sure a cell phone tower could go down, but again, thats much less likely than with previous technologies, where small physical damages to landlines could cut off an entire city.
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