Raise the Hammer

so true Jenny. Great piece. I've always wondered why anyone cares that their friend just ate a peanut butter sandwich or that they are "ready to go to work".
Computers have their place and it ISN'T as the dominant form of entertainment or conversing in our lives.

I'm with you, Jenny. Plus, I never turn down an offer of tea and cookies...never.

I think a big part of it is having the freedom to pick and choose. I had a very early Twitter account, as news spread quickly of this great new technology among the online training/education elite. It even got to the point that most of them stopped updating their thoughtful, well-written blogs and replaced them with 140 character tweets. So I don't twitter anymore - and I didn't follow celebrities, I followed learning theorists, and found the discussion equally repetetive (TWitter is great!) and meaningless. Meanwhile, I'm a facebook addict - it allows me to keep in touch with people far away that I haven't seen in years, and admittedly, it gives me a chance to fool myself that I am witty and urbane with my regular status updates. Similarly, I love blogs, but never quite got into youtube.

So I think if you view technology as a tool, and take what you need, and discard what you don't want. At least until the power grid becomes unstable due to peak natural gas, and the internet becomes a luxury. (Just thought I'd throw that in there to stir up some trolls!) :)

Jenny, I take your 'luddite' status...and raise it a few chips.

I agree with (and laughed at) what you wrote. I've tried to explain some of these online goings on to my father, but it's tough; much of this is generational. And as Ryan pointed out, it runs the gamut. (For an intriguing insight on Facebook, there's a film coming out called 'Social Network', written by Aaron Sorkin ('The West Wing') and directed by David Fincher ('Fight Club'). I've read the screenplay and it really puts into perspective just how much things have changed since the turn of the millennium.) What's most difficult is trying to explain why, if the Internet is capable of bringing the rest of the world so much closer, have we collectively developed more isolating Life-patterns. Never mind a blurring of context regarding what 'friendships' and 'relationships' really are. (There's an essay in this from my POV, but I'll not weigh down the discussion with it. That just wouldn't be good Netiquette, now would it...?)

I said I'll raise you a few chips because my slant about 'modern electronic culture' includes seeing mobile communication (cell phones) as the biggest drug the general population has been introduced to...since cigarettes. And again, propriety has me leaving it at that...and going outside to chat with my neighbour.

Jenny,

As someone who is a little above average in the techncial saavy department (I can assemble and troubleshoot a computer.) I nevertheless agree with you 100% about the use of technology in moderation.

I don't have a fancy cellphone that plays videos and music, in fact, I don't even have a cellphone. The number of times that I've wished I had one have been minimal, and in most cases there are pefectly acceptable alternatives in place. My opposition to them is not some kind of opposition to technology in general, as I've mentioned I'm very tech saavy. However, I don't want technology to intrude on my life in a way that will impact negatively on the quality of that life. I have a telephone and an answering machine. If people want to get in contact with me, that's not an issue. I don't believe there is anything time sensitive enough that it can't wait until I get home. Same with e-mail - I don't need a blackberry to check it, I'll look at my messages at the end of the day and get back to you then.

Technology can truly invade your life and make you a slave to the device. You see people with bluetooth enabled blackberries who HAVE to check it at every slightest beep and rumble, so much so that I've seen people checking it at every traffic light in their car. While theoretically these devices can increase the speed of communication, all too often they're used to just distribute unnecessary communication. Things that would not warrant a phone call suddenly become text-worthy. As a society we're generating an obscene amount of information - and most of it is trivial and not worth our time.

People wonder how we ever got along without cellphones and blackberries? It was by limiting communication to the truly important things, and not being copied in on useless e-mails or texted meaningless messages.

We may have been less connected, but when we did choose to pick up the phone or send a letter, the connections were much more meaningful.

A friend of mine was a university basketball coach. And we were talking about the upcoming season, training philosophies, team dynamics, engendering both individuality and esprit de corps. And one thing that he said surprised me...and yet didn't. He joked that he was going to have to have a talk with the athletes about cell phone use. Not during games or practices, of course, but more in a general sense: it's quite evident that 'many people' (sorry, Ryan; I don't have the actual figures... LOL), many students are so attached to their electronic existence that they can't/won't wipe their backsides without texting someone first.

This is the world we've created.

And support...and rave about enthusiastically.

And I can't help but see it as more than a little sad. Because really, it's not like relationships are, across the board, better than they were ten years ago. So we really can't look to cell phones (and other forms of electronic communication) as being mechanisms for 'improving the general lot, bringing people together, enhancing relationships', can we?

Mind you, we now have a set of brand-new industries that we need to keep supporting, just as they support our new value system fixation.

You know; just like the one the automobile/rubber/petroleum industry created almost a century ago...the one we're fighting so valiantly to break ourselves away from, both individually and societally.

Funny, that.

Luddites unite eh? You guys should start a Facebook group.

but never quite got into youtube. - jasonaallen

I do like youtube... the old music videos/TV performances/movies are great. Paul Butterfield live at Monterey, Stevie Wonder doing "Superstitious" on Sesame Street, Ike and Tina doing "Get it On", Husker Du videos, etc, etc… there's some great stuff on there you'll probably never see anywhere else.

But I can't be bothered with Twitter and mainly use Facebook to keep in touch with friends overseas.

We may have been less connected, but when we did choose to pick up the phone or send a letter, the connections were much more meaningful. - Robert D

Well said Robert.

Back when the word "friend" meant something.

You know; just like the one the automobile/rubber/petroleum industry created almost a century ago...the one we're fighting so valiantly to break ourselves away from, both individually and societally.

Funny, that. - Schmadrian

Our society basically demands that we keep spending money on something.

Ever notice that you rarely hear mention of the 3Rs anymore... you still hear about recycling and reusing but REDUCING seems to have been given the shiv in a dark alley somewhere???

Well, don't get me started on the inherent fallibility of the consumer society. (Which rejects the notion of 'reduction' out of hand. Except when there's a downturn. And people can't consume as much. sigh...)

Yeah... I sort of have my own issues with it. But the experience you create, no matter how artificial it is, is created (for the most) part by you and the other people on this planet. So it can be a good source of info. It's nowhere near as good as a forum, or even posting to a blog to be honest... but hey... it's addictive.

That being said... I was basically addicted to pacman growing up. It doesn't take much to keep me entertained.

Now if anyone can score me a ride up to crown land where they're setting up a three day, that will most certainly pry me away from the suburbs.

I don't think people are saying the world's better/ relationships are better -- the world has just changed because of what's possible. Articles like this don't mean much to me and the kids I know-- "just pick up the phone" when not one of us has landlines (why pay for a new number every time you move?) and cell numbers change but facebook profiles stay in place; "just go talk to your friends face to face" when there's no way of knowing where they are unless you text them (or they've told you via fb, etc.) and they're likely in another city/province/country but are still dear and still have things to share. I love letters, I still send them, but if I want to have a conversation with someone I can choose to do that, too, and just as cheaply. I sincerely doubt that quality of relationships have suffered or the meaning of friendship is lost (give us a LITTLE credit; also know that one word can have more than one meaning in different contexts)-- I will give you that technology has allowed us to not be big planners.

Well said. These things are so "in your face" all the time. It is good not having to resort to a telephone booth because I have a basic mobile I occasionally use, but Twitter/Facebook and "communities" and the proliferation of gobbledigook are beyond parody.