One of the promises of technology
is that with it you can never truly be alone. Avoiding embarrassing
situations, such as sitting alone at a bar, becomes less challenging with a
phone in your hand.
Indeed, having a smartphone has helped me overcome my
self-consciousness in many circumstances. However, today we are living in a
society where technological devices are so overused that they are physically
isolating us. Despite the many advantages possessing a smartphone or a laptop has, the
inconsiderate use of these gadgets is leading us to slowly give up personal
interaction.
In today’s world, we
live in a society that is so dependent on technology that a detachment from it
is utterly unthinkable. Prior to books, knowledge was local and communication
had a place. Today, technology is everywhere and communication has lost
context. The same phone that allows us to communicate worldwide is making us
physically isolated. As the number of apps increases, the amount of things we
do without technology goes down. New technologies have
become extensions of our body. Without them we feel lost and disoriented.
Today, technology really is everywhere, and society should be
fighting against those barriers created by phones and other digital gadgets
instead of promoting them:
TASK: Keep a diary for two weeks and take note of every moment you use your phone
(even just to check the time!)
“Discovering My
Worst Buddy”
If anyone had asked me two weeks ago
whether I considered myself to be smartphone dependent, I would have said, of course not! When I
started this assignment, I honestly thought that, unlike most of my peers, I
used my cellphone in a constructive and favorable way. However, it only took me
one day of being actually aware of my smartphone usage schedule to realize how
far off from the truth I was; at least, for what concerns the time consuming
part of having a smartphone.
First of all, it turns out I check
Facebook messages, text messages and/or whatsapp, way more often than I thought
and than I need to. Even though I should have expected it, it has surprised me to see how much time I spend procrastinating (literally looking over and over the same
news feeds/messages with no particular purpose) on these apps. I appear to be
almost “obsessed” over whether I have received a new Fb notification, a text
message, an email or who knows what other notice from any pointless app I am
subscribed to. Unfortunately/thankfully, the camera of my phone broke a while
ago, otherwise I am positive I would be an Instagram addict by now.
Additionally, not having discovered the wonder of Twitter, Snapchat and/or
Spotify yet, I still get to enjoy some time without having to rely completely
on my phone for entertainment.
I have love/hate feelings towards my
phone. Yes, I have to admit that it has been with me through thick and thin,
saving me from hours of math calculations and allowing me to last longer than 5
minutes on the treadmill without giving up out of boredom. It has also been by
my side every time I needed to avoid embarrassing situations and, moreover, it
has permitted me to keep closer friends and family I have made from all over
the world.
Likewise, having a smartphone is time saving. Whether
you have to check an e-mail, book a last minute ticket or look for the recipe
of an international specialty, there is no faster way than relying on your
smartphone. Well, this sounds a little contradictive, doesn’t it? Smartphones
are both time consuming and time saving. How can this be? Smartphones could be
a person’s “best friend” if only they were used in a more practical way. They
allow you to connect with people worldwide and simplify multiple tasks, not to
talk about the countless additional apps I still haven’t learned to take
advantage of. The problem lies in the fact that having a smartphone has become
such a huge part of our life that we do not even realize whether we are using
it or not. It has become like drinking coffee in the morning or brushing teeth
before going to bed: it is a mechanical, almost instinctive action. My
smartphone is not just part of my daily routine, I would dare to say that most
of my daily activities revolve around it. It has taken over different sorts of
entertainment I used to enjoy. As Cheskin explains, due to digital
revolution, “all devices converge into one central device that {does}
everything for you”. My smartphone has become the new play station/television/computer/alarm
clock/mp3 etc. That is why I am not that shocked by the amount of time I spend
using it.
“Dependence upon technology changes
the character of an entire society”. In fact, with technological progress and
faster devices, our expectations have changed: we want immediacy. We want to be
able to do as many things as we can at once, and we want to be able to do them
everywhere. Smartphones give us this immediacy that has become a necessity in
today’s society. If we want something now, we will get it, as long as we are
near a hot spot or a Wi-Fi area. Smartphones allow us to multitask and easily
access information. They make communication across countries and even
continents possible. Indeed, these devices can empower us. If used properly,
smartphones’ interconnectivity and speed of communication can allow us to do
more with less effort and in less time. Our phones can make our
life much easier and spare us much useful time if we learn to take advantage of
them without letting them take over our life. The readings throughout the course have made me much more aware of the implications of the devices that I had always considered mere neutral tools. This technology change has given me a practical example of how real these implications are. Technology is political, it has the power to "enslave" us to a certain extent. However, as sociologyst Barber argues, “if it enslaves us we will have chosen to act (or not to act)
in a fashion that permits our enslavement.” (Barber, 190)
Do I regret having a smartphone? No. What I do regret is spending the time that having a phone saves me, interacting with the newest, trendiest app on the apple store instead of enjoying the beauty of the life and the people around me.
To watch!
Technological change results: Ever since I started the diary, I have grown much more aware of the time I spend using it, and, consequently, I have tried to reduce the usage of my smartphone, and so far it has worked!!!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
The Illusion of Choice
Who has control?
My smartphone enables me
to keep updated on the latest news, and, therefore, to get more involved in the
events happening around me. However, I am well aware of the fact that my gadget
is not unbiased and that much information that could be “uncomfortable” for the
capitalistic titans that control our media system is lacking. My smartphone
runs on the android platform. Android is advertised as a very open system that
gives customers greater freedom for what concerns the smartphone services.
Android’s popularity lies mostly in this idea of being open, whereas Apple,
which runs the Apple iOS operating system, is a closed one. Each owner of an
Apple device must rely on iTunes to download applications, and even though most
applications require Android users to have a Google account, there is still a
greater variety of choice. Although the Android
system gives us the illusion of freedom and interactive choice, Google owns it
and therefore, as a private company, whether we see it or not, controls what it
is we are allowed to use and download. The fact that the Samsung I own uses an
“open” operating system makes me often believe it is a participatory device,
one that allows you to make choices and in this way empowers you. However, as
Barry emphasizes, these phones simply “allow [consumers] to select from a
predetermined set of options. Far from providing the possibilities for
experimentation such interactive devices merely serve to create the illusion of
choice.” (Barry 173) Google is not publicly owned. The apps android devices are
allowed to download are predetermined. Our phones as any other technology
embody “the values and thought processes of the society that makes them”
(Economics as if people mattered). They are programmed to make the user
unconsciously enter the cycle of capitalistic societies where citizens are
constantly reminded that consumption is their “duty”.To be a truly
empowered citizen, you need to know what your choices are. In some ways, our
phones, especially those that use an open system like android seem to be
leading us towards a scenario where technology’s main use is that of keeping
citizens informed. Of course, information has come a long way since the
invention of printed press, as digital media now allows for a greater variety
of opinions to be distributed. Our smartphones with their easy access to the Internet
have, indeed, made greater communication possible, among and between citizens,
and they have contributed to guarantee almost equal access to information to
anyone that can afford it. However, it should not be forgotten that the web,
which used to be much more open and without restrictions, is now more
privatized. Google users are only able to access certain sites and, often,
these sites are placed strategically for us to be seen. As Sunstein emphasizes
in his article “Citizens”, by putting certain ideas and opinions in a
favorable light, mainstream media can affect citizens’ choices, preferences,
and desires. The same happens with our smartphones. The problem is not the lack
of a large variety of opinions, but the fact that certain opinions are intentionally
put under the spotlight.
