Society Is Dead, We Have Retreated into the iWorld

On page 500 in the text A Meeting of Minds, a commentary written by Andrew Sullivan that was published in the Times of London in 2005 entitled Society Is Dead, We Have Retreated into the iWorld begins with a visual of New York City. Also known as the city that never sleeps, Sullivan creates a mental picture that something about New York City is different—it’s quieter. As the title of his article indicates, people have retreated into their individual technology bubbles.

We walk around with headphones in our ears, cell phones in our hands, and our eyes fixated on glowing screens. Because of this Sullivan draws the conclusion: “And so, bit by bit, you’ll never really know him. And by his white wires, he is indicating he doesn’t really want to know you.” (p. 501) What he’s saying is that all the people we come in contact with, in a sense, have walls of technology surrounding them. We have unintentionally cut ourselves off from the music of the world by pumping music into our ears from our devices; we have glued our faces to our phones and never bother to look around. The video link below shows a few examples of how wrapped up people get in their technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq_m-cMXPnU 

There is a lack of awareness, and based on Sullivan’s article a lack of tolerance towards others, “Americans are beginning to narrow their lives.” (p. 501) this means that people access news through blogs that agree with their point of view, they tune their radio stations to music that they like, and they access information that interests them. This day and age, technology is so effortlessly molded to our own personal preferences; we can easily tune out what we don’t like. Sullivan urges us to recognize this, take out our headphones, and listen to what’s going on in the world around us.

Is Being "Plugged In" Changing Campus Life? A Conversation

On page 495 in the text A Meeting of Minds begins an article published by the Student Affairs Online e-journal in 2002 entitled Is Being "Plugged In" Changing Campus Life? A Conversation. The article follows a conversation between University of Massachusetts students, Ethan Kolek and Meg Kluge, who have differing views about whether or not technology has influenced students for better or for worse. 

On one side of the argument is Meg who says, “Relationships mediated by technology don’t allow us to engage with a whole person—only what they write or what they say.” (p. 496) What Meg is saying is that our face-to-face interactions have been neglected in favor of interacting through media. In turn, students’ social skills are much less developed than they otherwise should be. 

However, Ethan counters Meg’s claim saying, “Anyone who works on campus knows that our students still date, still play intramural sports, still party together…” (p. 498) Ethan is not denying that students interact via social networking, but he sees it as more of an enhancement to communicating rather than a detriment.

Both Meg and Ethan make valid points. Media can both harm and benefit the social skills of students. In my opinion there is no right and wrong to the argument; it is a matter of balance. Avoiding technology altogether would be ludicrous, it’s everywhere we turn and quite frankly it makes day to day living much more convenient. The issue arises when and if face-to-face interactions are cut out completely; that is when social and leadership skills might decline. The key is finding a balance between the two. Its human nature to desire to be “plugged in;” we are social creatures, but there’s always something refreshing about leaving the phone at home and interacting with people without technology as a distraction.

Talking not Texting

Texting, going on Facebook, or using an iPod—24 hours ago my professor challenged the class to go without one of those three forms of technology for a full day. She laughed as my mouth fell open, and continued to explain that the purpose of this assignment is to show the extent of which we have come to rely on technology. Urged to give up the one we use the most, I decided to let my thumbs have a break from texting.

To fully understand why texting was so hard for me to give up, you must understand how vital it is in my day to day activity. Not only do I use texting to keep in touch with my best friend who lives in a different town, but it’s also so much more convenient to send a quick text than it is to make a call.

Despite all this, my texting fast began. Here is what I have learned:

1. When you can’t text, two minute phone calls can easily become two hour phone calls.

2. When you can’t text, the battery on your phone lasts much longer.

3. When you can’t text and you don’t tell your mom, you get in trouble.

4. When you can’t text and you have 30 minutes left until you can, time moves very slowly.

5. When you can’t text, you get a lot of texts.

6. When you can’t text, you get your homework done faster.

7.  When you can’t text, you pay more attention in class.

I successfully made it through 24 hours without sending a single text and seven valuable lessons came from this assignment. However, now that it’s over texting is once again a distraction as I opt for convenience and risk carpal tunnel.