different types of tech?
Posted by: Andy Hieb, TMS on: May 1, 2009
great stuff, guys! the 2009 tech turn-off has been fun to watch.
this is the previously-mentioned Mr. Andy writing, and i hope Mr. D won’t mind my taking the liberty of writing another post like Mr. Rhys did.
i must admit that i have a general gripe with how Mr. D frames this project: in my opinion, he does the project a disservice by lumping all “tech” together. when we put television, radio, games, the Internet, and mobile communication under the same umbrella, we’re ignoring some big changes that have been occurring in the past couple of decades: most importantly the “read/write” nature of the Internet, as opposed to the one-way, receptive nature of previous industrial-era media.
in fact, many argue that newer networked technologies are facilitating the emergence of a new folk culture where we can all create and distribute our own work, comment-on and deconstruct other cultural products, and provide real-time, “word-of-mouth” feedback. indeed, at our best we are able to express our most creative selves, and exercise our most critical thinking in this setting.
don’t get me wrong: i think we’re wise to question our total “screen time”, and i spook myself with how difficult it is for me to be away from my computer for too long… but i would draw a line, maybe arbitrary in some respects, but also indicating these crucial and substantial differences, between e.g. television and “the Internet”.
how many of you publish on the web? write on blogs? upload photos and videos? “remix” or explicitly comment on existing cultural products? does this feel different to you than watching TV?
(and an aside: what about advertising? how aware are you of ads on television vs the Internet? how do they seem similar? how do they seem different?)
lastly, my vote is that Mr. D looks much more handsome cleanly-shaven. that’s just one man’s opinion, though.
keep up the good work!
43 Responses to "different types of tech?"
May 3, 2009 at 12:12 am
Well you bring up a point with how all of these media allow us to get information almost seconds after it happens but allow me to defend my clean shaven teacher. The point of this assignment is to turn away from the aspects of media that provide us watered-down entertainment and hinder our need to create our own reality and our own entertainment. Because although it is true that these are all ways of communication, it’s very easy to forget who you are talking to rather than just having a text conversation with your phone.
And as far as blogging goes, on any degree, it is a cheep form of human interaction and gives people this false sense of a “fourth wall” where they can feel protected and the feeling of immunity from whoever they may be speaking about. People who choose to engage in the Myspaces or the Facebooks put themselves at risk of serious character assassanation every day. Even with publishing things on the web. To me, it just seems another means for people to sit around and be lazy lazy things.
Advertising is a direct attempt to brainwash people and strip them of their identity by making them feel that they are not good enough. While marketing may be less abrasive on the web than on the television, it’s still all a dastardly plot to buy just one more car or one more tube of toothpaste. They’re different in that the ones on the internet don’t have the advantage of a time slot or moving pictures and word. But in the end, they’re all the same.
May 4, 2009 at 1:30 am
I understand that this is an attempt to stop wasting time on watered down technology. Hence the reason why I spend little time watching news stations. There is much more reliable information on the internet if you know where to look. If you like, I would be more than happy to provide you with a couple news internet sites. I think you will find the bloggers a little more intellectually interesting.
I agree that social networking sites are absolutely pointless. However, the internet provides more information than any encyclopedia can provide. Scientists were the first few users of the internet which allowed their new developements to spread faster. Help was more available much sooner than in previous times too.
The complaints about the advertising industry is a double edged sword. If you eliminate advertising, you eliminate revenue to TV or even internet sites. Without those sites or stations, information reaches a choke point where little to no information can be accessed.
I think the advertisers are geniuses how they play to our subconsciouses. Those advertisements provide jobs for the advertising company and the company selling the good. We are still in a recession and do we really want more unemployment?
May 3, 2009 at 12:58 am
Terrific! Mr. D here–you know, the clean-shaven teacher.
This is a great debate. I may orient the class around it for the final assignment. Well done Morgan and Greg. (By the way, your writing is particularly good here–nice work.)
And it’s magnificent to be visited by Mr. Andy also. He and Mr. Rhys have been integral to the development of my thought on these and many other issues–right up there next to Huxley and Postman, etc.
Mr. Andy, I have a response to your post, but I want to see where the class might take this discussion first. Perhaps Sunday, when I post the next assignment, I will respond to your argument about my “lumping” these various media together.
Until then…
Mr. D
May 3, 2009 at 2:00 am
Great stuff here, all. And Mr. D. is right; nice writing demonstrated by the students. And maybe more important than your good writing is the good thinking behind it. So here is my two cents worth to the conversation: Is there a distinction that needs to be made between the technology as a delivery system of information and the quality of the information that it contains?
In other words, what’s the real issue here, the media or the medium?
Think about this example (admittedly overly-simplistic). Student one is “reading” The Brothers Karamazov on his Ipod touch as a Google book. Student two is reading Mad magazines which have been bound together as a leather hard back copy. So what’s the important factor here, the Ipod or the content on it?
I’m glad that the clean-shaven Mr. D is challenging you to analyze and examine your world; it is, after all, a world that you are creating for yourselves. This reminds me a bit of Socrates, who claimed that books would rot the minds of the youth of Athens, as they would not have to memorize anything. As such, their minds would lack the rigor necessary for the contemplative, philosophical life. Regardless, keep examining your world—like Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Mr. Porter
May 3, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Sorry Mr. D for not being up to date on all of the blogs…I have been very sick since Friday and am still trying desperately trying to get over it.
Technology has its benifits and then it doesn’t. I have to say though when you are sick, technology really does help because it keeps the mind of of what is seriously wrong. HOwever, there is no need for it other than for school work and research most of the time when one feels okay.
May 3, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I believe that Mr. D has clumped all tecnology together as a whole just to show us that it is prevalent through everything we do in life. I do understand that all tecnology is not bad and itn fact it has helped to truly bring our world into the twentieth century, but as of the basic tecnologies like tv, ipod, etc. our world greatly over uses these and relies on them way to much in life. I dont think it is fair to clump all tecnology into the same category, but i think most people in the class understood what types of tecnology Mr. D was referring to. I believe that people sitting around publishing things on websited and other forms of tecnology is just another way for them to waste away their days in order to “relax” as people like to say. It is dispicable how over used our tecnology is in the world.
May 4, 2009 at 4:03 am
As I have said before, technology is what we make of it. I am a strong supporter in personal freedom which is why I believe that no one should be forced to change their habits unless they truely want to change. Sometimes people need a helping hand to change some of their habits which is what I believe Mr. D has been doing in this experiment. Mr. D clumped these technologies together so that we do not spend that free time on another technology. Even though I do not like facebook and myspace, I will not tell anyone not to do that as I expect no one to tell me how to live my life.
There are some websites that I frequently visit to stay up to date in current events that do have blogs. I find that the bloggers come up with as many good ideas as the author of the article/editorial. Many debates are enlightening too because there are other people who have a better understanding of the concept and both sides of the issue are exposed. Technology can either help society or hinder it. I believe the choice is yours.
May 3, 2009 at 11:03 pm
No technology is not evil. I feel that it’s necessary for me to say this because I know that in most of my posts I have given off the air that I believe this to be true. Technology is just a tool. It’s kind of like a hammer. Hammers have been used to kill people, but we don’t get rid of them because they can create amazing things as well. Each tool will either create or destroy based on who uses it. Technology is nothing more than a tool. Now, the question is, does it lend most of its aid to doing evil things? All tools can be good. Guns for example can feed people by hunting animals for dinner. Unfortunately, guns tempt too many people to commit evil acts of violence. Each tool places a huge amount of responsibility to use it wisly on our shoulders. When most of society can’t bear its weight and fall to temptation, the tool should be eradictated to save people from themselves. Life would be harder without certain technologies, but I don’t think that’s bad.
T.V. is a technology I think should be destroyed. It has become a tool mainly used to worship sex and shopping. Too many shows are dedicated to humilate people. The perfect example is “I love Money”. “Let’s worship money and destroy ourselves in the process while we set an example to millions of people to be spoiled and destroy others so that we can make money. Yay!” Seriously?
The internet is a different story I think. I don’t really know because I don’t use it a huge amount of the time. I know it can be used for good and to do good things and that’s great. But I also have heard guys my age and older weeping as they confess to a huge porn addiction that they can’t break but want with all their hearts to stop. Technology has done great good and it has done great evil. I think I would be happy if I had to die at the age of twenty for bad health if I never had the ability to make my sister cry the way I have. My life may have been short, but it would have been good.
I know I’m a hypocrit because I have used T.V. and the internet in not so good ways myself and have yet to get rid of them. But I will hold to this belief that if the tool can’t be stopped from doing mostly harm, get rid of it. To live a whole, wonderful life, knowing that in my conscience I am free from the guilt that tends to eat at me when I do wrong is more wonderful to me than using technology to find the cure for cancer which I may one day contract.
May 3, 2009 at 11:21 pm
tv is kind of a stupid form of entertainment, i enjoy movies, but tv is a waste of time. but i agree i don’t think the internet should be placed in the same category as tv it is a form of communication, and yes there are definitely some stupid stuff on the web but it allows us to see the world in a different type of environment. the internet is more of an information center. i avoid myspace and other such web sites but i us the internet for the news and to find information for school and just to learn something new. the internet i believe is a great resource.
May 4, 2009 at 12:02 am
Technology is NOT the bane of existence, it has made out lives easier and better. Also, there’s no such thing as different types of technology, tech is tech, period.
May 4, 2009 at 2:26 am
I agree with BMcCormick3, technology is technology. Whether it’s screen media or a microwave..it’s still technology. However, some are more beneficial than others, that’s obvious. The microwave for example, is beneficial, though it made family dinners easily avoidable, so maybe not. The iPod is definitely crossing the line..it’s gone from just music to music and a few games…and now it’s a mini computer. But anyway, when it comes down to it, technology is technology, and that is that.
May 4, 2009 at 2:34 am
It is clear that the attempt to foist all of these technologies upon us is poisoning our existence. While some of these technologies may be beneficial, all they REALLY do is give us all reasons to be lazier so we lack the passion to stand up against anything. The other thing these technologies do, which may the most toxic, is they make us dependent on technology instead of ourselves and our own creativity. And, in no offense to anyone in anyway, why do you think there are so many more obese people in our world…
May 4, 2009 at 3:00 am
I agree to a point. However, our generations use of technology can still be way out of control at times
May 4, 2009 at 3:09 am
I am really wondering if I am going to make it these last three hours and I’m leaning towards a no on that. I will at least make it until after I post this comment 
. I feel it’s gotten progressively harder not having what you could call a haven to retreat too.
I think this different types of technology makes sense and I agree. I personally feel as though the social aspect of the internet makes i very different from just t.v. i also feel the same way about video games and movies. I feel as though t.v is the most “evil” of our technologies because of it’s addictiveness to nothing and the fact that every 5-10ish minutes you’re forced to watch these ads unless you change the program or leave for the commercial. This still trains our brains to pay attention for only a short amount of time before switching off and then back on again after the commercials. Where as in a video game you have to decipher the path/plan of action taken by the character and a movie is going to go on uninterrupted by commercials and you will most likely pay attention the whole time instead of just every other 5-10ish minutes.
May 4, 2009 at 4:16 am
I dont think that we should put all of these technologies under one umbrella because really they are all never evil it is the way people obsess and surround themselces with technology that is negative. I mean dont get me wrong the advertising on the television is horrible but i feel that is whole other road to walk down. For instance an ipod is very helpful that music helps me get pumped and music is poetry so what is the big deal if some apple guy decided to make it easier for me to carry around my favorite music?
But Mr d. put it all under one umbrella so we could come to the realization of how much we really do use technology and it is hard to escape i mean some people didnt even try this challenge because they couldnt live without their precious phone(hich i would have to say was the hardest to sty away from) and i am not saying i didnt cheat because i definitely watched the nuggets game…sorry lol but we all need to find a good balance between technology and other things.
May 4, 2009 at 4:27 am
I agree with Greg.
The “human interaction” we have on these websites such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and etc. are cheap ways of hiding behind the computer screen.
In that comfy chair you’re reclining in as you click away on the keyboard,
You can disguise yourself to be any person you wish to be.
I will say, though I do not like the impersonal interactions of these websites as well as text messages,
They are a great way to keep in touch with those who live far from you.
And yes, I will agree with Greg that blogging does give people “this false sense of a ‘fourth wall,’”
But I personally love blogging for certain reasons.
Some people take it too far,
Posting silly entries that are guaranteed a response from their fellow bloggers.
But as for me,
I use it as my own little internet diary where I can vent my emotions.
Yes, some people may say that it’s a risk of privacy,
But I don’t post personal information into these blogs,
Just my poetic feelings.
I want people to see how my mind works.
But I don’t know,
That’s just me.
Yes, some people can take these technologies too far,
And yes it is potentially brainwashing us,
But you’re the one allowing it.
Free will can be argued, like I have talked about before,
But if you’re aware of it and are sick of it,
Turn off the T.V.!
Everyone on here is victim to the media brainwash,
So why don’t we all take a stand like Mr. D wants us to!
May 5, 2009 at 3:06 pm
i would personally know about chynna’s poetic blogs on myspace, i read them often and i’m blown away by how she writes. and i think blogs are a great way to express your self with out letting people get too close. i follow along with blogs of a few band members of New found glory off of tumblr and i’m facinated to see what a different life style they have. it really is interesting to see the variety this world has and to see what others want to say, especially when you can relate to them.
i use myspace and facebook to see how friends are doing and to see whats going on in their lives. i still have the oportunity to talk to these people if they don’t have texting, which i think is another good way to communicate although sometimes people do not respond back. but mostly it gets the job done.
its a lot different than tv. you can’t talk to someone through a tv, but you can through the internet. you can surf the net and search exactly what you want to look at. the internet is another way to receive information, news and facts about whatever, and you don’t have to wait through the commercials. this is why i prefer the internet because i can interact with other humans, i can look up whats going on with my favorite band and i can shop for the things i want.
D
May 4, 2009 at 5:03 am
I agree, it’s only made our lives easier and theres not much we can do about it. Oh and yes, I do upload photos and write on other peoples walls but its so I can keep in touch with my friends and what there doing too. I dont know, the internet helps alot. To be honest, living without internet would be impossible for me.
May 4, 2009 at 5:21 am
Hehe. I use everything from Twitter, To Stickam/JustinTV, Youtube, Blogs, Myspace, Facebook! The whole lot.
And I do it while watching tv.
I think that the internet and social networking websites are much different than just television.
With Justin.TV and Stickam you are allowed to watch something/ someone and have a conversation, you have the ability to interact and thats pretty cool!
I love being able to create an identity and see peoples reactions to it. (I have an anonymous youtube and blog(not the same identity) that allows me to experiment with peoples reactions on different topics)
And I would have to say I am very, very aware of advertising online and on television- I am an intern at a marketing and promotions firm
Advertising on the internet is crazy creative and really competitive.
If your band/video/music gets just a little mention on one little thing on the internet you could be huge. (Check and see how many people harass Perez Hilton to have him talk smack about them on his blog) or even to be featured as a top friend on someone importants myspace
Technology is definately not evil.
It’s like everything else, in moderation its not that bad
May 4, 2009 at 5:30 am
Oh yeah btw!!!!
The tags are awesome
I disagree. I miss Mr. D’s Hair. It was rad. He no longer looks like the the guy from ‘City O’ City ” :’(
May 4, 2009 at 5:32 am
I use Facebook. And have been more often recently to contact and get to know a little bit about my roommates for my first semseter in college coming up in the Fall.
My dad says he would be nervous if he didn’t know anything about his roommate before they moved in and that I’m lucky to have facebook and emailing. (He and his brother were roommates all through college)
I agree that generalizing all technologies together is presumptuous and somewhat ignorant to certain types of technology that have been socially beneficial to our society.
May 4, 2009 at 5:33 am
I’ve gotta say a few things here. I do see the clear distinction between useful and pointless technology advancements that we have taken, but to me, they are both necessary; one is just becoming over-used
I have noticed the shear amounts of advertising that is appearing on the web. Heck,one tome while using Myspace’s music player I unknowingly walked away from it for half an hour and the shear amount of advertisements it downloads somehow caused my computer to crash.
and YES there are diferent types of technology, different types of tool advancements which help increase the quality of our life. calling all tech the same is like saying a car is just like a computer (ignore that fact that some are computer controlled) while they are both advancements, they both increase the quality of life in different ways.
May 4, 2009 at 1:02 pm
when it comes to information the internet can be more reliable than tv. i think that television is so competitive, the news stations all just want to be the first ones to get breaking news out there. in the end they are all just repeating themselves because they have no real news at all.
i think the tv is good for entertainment purposes though. at the same time i think internet is a waste of time when trying to be entertained. that is one conclusion i have come to this week. i watch tv because its entertaining. i play on the computer because i have nothing else to do, to waste time.
its not that any technology is evil, they just have their good and bad.
May 4, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I believe that while some think the internet is just a bad place to be, and it’s full of filth and nonsense crazy people, there is also much more to it. Now, there is much of the above out there, but, it’s also a great way to stay informed about current events, get the news as soon as something happens, respond to it with your own feedback, and, check hundreds if not thousands of sources rather than just a few TV programs. Some argue the TV is biased, and if you truly research something on the internet, you’ll get more or less a more complete story.
As far as advertisments on the web go, I’ve noticed some of them, and once or twice clicked on one, but mostly I’ve blocked them.
May 4, 2009 at 1:59 pm
And in response to Mr. Porter’s question:
I believe that the content is much more important than the medium. If you were listening to Lord of the Rings as a book on tape, versus reading a magazine, then the LotR book on tape is much more enriching. Even if you were to compare reading LotR versus listening to it. I believe that both are equally beneficial. Now, you might be able to read more efficiently after getting through LotR, but I don’t believe either of the two presents a greater opportunity for imagination. If anything, I would say the book on tape leaves more room for imagination, because instead of concentrating on the word on the page, you can close your eyes and think about and imagine the story more.
PLUS, more people can enjoy a book on tape, thus promoting social interaction.
So, moral of the story, we should not be forced to read books, but listen to them.
May 4, 2009 at 2:31 pm
excellent! this is really interesting stuff.
for full disclosure, i have a bit of an interesting “tech profile”. i’m a web developer by trade, so i make a living building web sites. i really never watch TV, though, and am only a reluctant mobile phone and “gadget” user. in summary, i spend a lot of time in front of the screen, but am generally resistant/skeptical of the “latest and greatest” technology…
as for Mr. Porter’s question, my initial reaction would be this: i’ve never read The Brothers Karamazov and i can’t wait to do so, but it’s inconceivable to me that i will do so on an Ipod touch or as a Google book! i do think a given technology will inherently interact with people in certain ways, and lend itself to certain types of content. (this is essentially McLuhan’s idea that “the medium is the message”.) a 19th century Russian novel and a small digital reading device feels like a complete mismatch to me.
now Mad Magazines bound together as a book, that sounds like good times!
May 4, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Pretty much everything useful has been said here, so I’ll reply to the advertising on the web.
I feel that the internet is useful for many, many things. Staying in contact with people, checking the news/weather, and spreading content and opinions around.
However, the one thing internet does not have an advantage on, is advertising. Advertising on the web these days is just plain annoying. The advertisments pop up over content you are reading, some play sound, some flash around, it’s just annoying. There are ways out there, especially on Firefox, that you can block these advertisements. Where as at least people are forced to sit through commercials on your television. Some are unavoidable, like in videos, but websites try to capitalize on a system where each click on an ad earns them money. The worst thing is, these sometimes work. Why??? Why would you click on something that you know isn’t going to benefit you. Especially the stupid ones like “Click Here and Win NINTY BILLION DOLLARS!!!!!”. Really? People fall for that? I guess they are just capitalizing on the percentage of the internet community that is stupid. Once people do figure out how pointless it is, the advertising business will go down, as will the cost of running a website. But until then, just keep using your adblocking software, because this advertising industry is pointless.
May 4, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Internet use and TV is diffent for me… I usually use the computer to do homework, which is in no way a comparrison to TV, and to socialize. By socialize i mean things like myspace. There i upload photos write little blogs and what not every once and while. Just an electronic journal or something i guess. something about the technology thing that is way better than pencil and paper. THus causing me to become more dependant on TECH. its a hard cycle to break after 18 years of tech usage. Now even the myspace thing and downloading songs is stuff i do for me to enjoy my creative side and stuff, but with TV thats just entertainment in another form. Its other peoples work that is enjoyible to me. Now when i watch TV i watch ESPN… thats all facts and knowledge. there isnt anything wrong with that. So the 2 (TV, Internet) are different types of enjoyment for me and niether is better or worse for me in my opinion
May 4, 2009 at 7:28 pm
All right, young people, here is my response, broken into three parts, one part for Mr. Andy, another for Mr. Porter, and the last for my class:
1. How did these technologies all come under the same umbrella in my turnoff project? Well, as Mr. Andy may remember, my first swing at the turnoff was actually called the “TV Turnoff,” and it was indeed focused primarily on the “one-way, receptive nature of…industrial-era media.” But I realized quickly that turning the TV off had very little effect on my students’ modus vivendi–already, the internet and ipod and everything else were gobbling up most of the students’ time. But my students were not greater students or minds, for all that. The “‘read/write’ nature of the internet,” admittedly in its fledgling form, was not producing a greater capacity to think, as far as I could tell. If anything, kids seemed more distracted–more consumed than they were even five years before. This year, in fact, I have had several students say that they “actually did homework” instead of turning to these technologies, or talked to their parents, or played Cribbage, the differences between the lumped technologies, notwithstanding. In other words, all the reasons to evaluate our adaptation to the “message of the medium”–the modal dictates of the medium with which we most commonly interact and to which we thereby adapt our minds–those reasons weren’t only still there–they loomed even larger. Hence the “Tech Turnoff.” Ultimately, I am hoping my students gain insight on the message of the medium, whatever that medium may be. Perhaps my message is lost, and Mr. Andy’s gripe is a good note to self. The truth is, a book turnoff, or lecture turnoff, or traditional classroom turnoff could do as much if they were all the craze also. But, sadly, they are not. My students, like most students, I hazard, are primarily and habitually distracting themselves, and this “emergence of a new folk culture” seems to be antithetical to the manifold purposes of the classroom… What do you think, Mr. Andy?
2. Mr. Porter alludes to Socrates’s resistance to books, and if I may be so bold as to draw the link he wants to make with it, I am definitely flattered. I remember once conceiving myself as the silent philosopher, Mr. Andy might remember. Certainly, there is an inevitability, also, to the total absorption of our culture into the technologies of today and tomorrow, and my resistance to it might one day be a quaint footnote too. But here is my quibble: the fact that books became culture-defining in the millenia following Socrates does not mean that Socrates was wrong, or that something vital (albeit, subtle) about his sensitivity was not lost with that new culture. That is to say, the naivete may not be Socrates’s. Enter: Huxley, Postman, and Bradbury, and the 21st Century it is all the hype to prepare our students for. I do not believe resistance to our cultural tendencies–to what Huxley called our “almost infinite appetite for distractions”–I don’t think resistance to a fearful world is made somehow obsolete by the fact that that world may be inevitable. Like Kent in King Lear, we pedagogues must also not forget our allegiance, even in an upside down world. Mildred from Fahrenheit 451 and Lenina from Brave New World are not, and should never be, the types we mean to emulate, however unavoidable they may be–however much we are interacting with them presently. Call it my naivete, but I still think we may do something to shape our worlds and selves more deliberately. As always, Mr. Porter, here, at the foundation, we agree. In light of this naivete, let me offer a real-life allusion to counter the Socrates one: Clair Patterson. Have any of you heard of him? I hadn’t either until a week ago. Apparently, “his efforts led to the introduction of the Clean Air Act of 1970 and finally to the removal from sale of all leaded petrol in the United States in 1986.” I’m quoting Bill Bryson. In his A Short History of Nearly Everything, he explains how Patterson, on the wrong side of rich corporations and powerful people, kept to his studies despite every attempt to discourage or derail his efforts. I don’t know anyone else who knows his name. But I do know everyone, including the people who were so adamant against his efforts, breathes cleaner air…
3. As has happened every year, the tech turnoff and our discussions, class, have turned to the question of whether or not I am saying technology is evil. Of course, technology is not evil, especially when you consider a book or chair as much a technology as an ipod or computer. That said, class, I hope you are not saying that you should feel fine about playing video games all night because penicillin helps people… Here’s the simple point, no technology is altogether bad or good, and technology as a whole is far from any such distinctions. In fact, McLuhan, the person who first spoke of the message of the medium–he said, “Technologies exist to invest our lives with arbitrary values.” Anyway, it makes no more sense to say that computers or the Internet is evil than it does to say that cluster bombs and IEDs are good. All technology is a “Faustian bargain,” as Postman calls it. Each technology gives and takes. The morality behind the giving or taking is beside the point. How to approach the bargain, how to think critically of the unadvertised effects of the next gadget we might buy, how to decide whether or not it’s really worth recreating ourselves to fit its demands–these questions are more to the point. MorganC3, it’s unfortunately not just how we use technology–it’s also, and much more significantly, how it uses us. How does it change our habits of being? What are we becoming? How does it compare to what we were? You all basically resisted the Brave New World? But how can you resist becoming the Brave New World unless you can open your eyes to the give and take of new technologies? You have all admitted that we are much more like the Brave New World today than we once were. What should we do about that? And MichaelG3, you say you value personal freedom, but is Lenina free? Is the kid who walks down the hallway listening to his earphones free? Is the family taking a road trip while it watches TV in the van free? Is the kid playing video games until the morning free? The question isn’t whether or not you are free; the question is what your freedom looks like. Is Linda dying in soma holiday free? Is she even dying? She is already dead.
I want you, all of you guys and gals, to be more aware, and therefore more deliberate about the technologies you use–about how much you use them. Think, again, about the evolution of family rooms. How did they become TV rooms, where people don’t interact at all–family members or friends? What was lost in such adaptation? Counting our losses, what can we do to counter other such losses in the future? That’s what this is all about. What if you could take my class from home. Would you do that? What would be lost? What would be gained? It’s not about some moral high ground. Perhaps it is about asceticism and autonomy, or maturity, in the way John the Savage understands it–but not moral weakness. Lenina isn’t a bad person–and neither are you…
Mr. D
May 4, 2009 at 10:35 pm
The only time technology becomes evil is when it is used in excess. Technology has improved our daily lives in many ways. We can communicate more easily and are able to access information much quicker. However if all we do is use technology this is a problem. we need to use it in moderation to prevent it from becoming too great a part in our lives.
May 5, 2009 at 2:41 am
I basically agree with ZackC2. Technology has improved our lifestyle. Even though the Greeks seemed to have done pretty well with the simple technology they had. But with technology we have saved lives with medicine. Then we have Astronomy and the telescopes. We have learned alot from technology. We no longer think the world is square and we have names for our illnesses instead of just a “curse.” I have to admit though the more and more people turn into their phones and Ipods the less sociable friends are, they almost seem apathetic since all they can here talking is themselves.
May 5, 2009 at 2:45 am
The comment about the student reading a book on his iPod, and the student reading a magazine sticks out in my mind. I believe that when technology is used correctly- and by correctly I mean in moderation, and for wholesome use- then it is not an evil whatsoever. The problem is what people are making available on websites etc. When a student spends hours on the computer researching for a project, or reading articles and such, then those hours are not wasted. However, it’s when students spend hours on the computer doing nothing but games is when time is wasted. Though it has been said that such games “improve reflexes”, so does soccer. And it won’t strain your eyes.
May 5, 2009 at 3:50 am
i feel that technology for the most part is an addiction that people cant get rid of. i kick myself everytime im trying to have a conversation and a text message disrupts either me or the person im talking to, and people who spend countless hours on the television look paler then ghosts… TV for my family is a way that we all kinda get together after dinner, but often times, no one talks and everyone is completely absorbed into the screen. Technology is one of the those things that you cant live with and you cant live without i feel
May 5, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I didn’t make it today!! I gave in to the ipod and the phone. I was at a jass choir festival and on the way home i couldn’t stand the loud noises from people screaming on the bus so i put in the ipod and fell asleep. The phone….i just gave in when I wasn’t talking to anyone in person.
May 5, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Technology is part of everyday life, there’s no doubt about that. Just limit your leisure time on video games, social networks, ect. People use technology for there jobs, and for some people that’s what they “love” to do. Just as Mr. D’s passion is to teach, perhaps another persons passion is to create programs. Technology is not evil.
May 6, 2009 at 12:13 am
I think the internet is much different from television. Personally, the only time I ever watch tv is when my favorite show is on because I am completely obsessed with One Tree Hill =) I feel like theses soaps or whatever they should be called, is compared to a book. Except its the MUCH easier and lasier way and this is why people watch them. Just like movies, they tell you the story and let you watch it instead of having to actually use energy to read. The interent is good and bad, I mean it definitely lures people in. I could be on the computer for hours and not even realize how long I’ve been on it, its unreal. It helps alot though for homework, research, talking to friends, pretty much everything. I dont know, I just feel like the internet has more significance than tv.
May 6, 2009 at 2:24 am
I definitely agree that there are technologies that are actually helping us express our creativity more easily. Just about anyone can poublish their own writing, art, or just about any other creative medium nowadays. It makes interacting with news or any other type of media much more personal. I guess there is a downside to having everyone have that ease of publication. It makes finding reliable research sources hard to find, because anyone can claim they are on expert. You have teacher tell you all the time not to use Wikipedia. Why? Because anyone can write that information.
As for the other screen technologies, yes, they can become very mind-numbing if over used, but like I’ve said in an earlier post, they can also help people be more creative, just like blogging can. In reality though, I believe that all technology is okay in modeation, just like everything else in life. People just need to find a balance in how they choose to relax or even get work done.
May 7, 2009 at 1:28 am
Facebook is essential to many people. I upload photos and write on walls just like everyone else. Although facebook/myspace can be used for spying on people and such, I feel many more people use it for fun rather than cyber stalking or something creepy like that! The good outweighs the bad and therefore, its awesome!
May 7, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I feel that all technology is different, some is for entertainment, some is for work and other could be just to waste time. Now one sites like myspace and facebook you can socialize with friends and family in ways that you really never could before. People use the computer for work everyday while, not many people feel their work is to sit at home and watch tv all day. All of these technologies are just more intriguing ways of doing something. Something that is more interesting and cooler will catch our eye right away.
May 8, 2009 at 2:35 am
@heritage47, aka Mr. D from comment 26 above…
perhaps i should have split up my “different types of tech” even further. first, i should really speak specifically of the Internet as opposed to all the other technologies you list in your original assignment. but of course the Net is massive and multi-faceted on its own…
yes, there are the aspects of communicating in a networked society that tend to make us scatter-brained, “multi-tasked”, hopped-up and hopelessly distracted, but there are also entire new realms of genuinely creative, focused, and interconnected activity that are available to us (collaborating on writing software, remixing cultural messages, providing on-the-ground up-to-the-moment news coverage, building social movements, sharing all manner of specialized knowledge…).
at this point i suppose i’m moving pretty far astray of the initial thrust of this project. i can certainly see and feel the distractability Mr. D mentions in the kids i know, but i just mean to state that we should be nuanced when we look at the technology. are any of you students writing code? maybe the next hacker whiz-kid is in the class, dutifully following the assignment but deprived of a very creative, meaningful and focused part of her life!
for me, as a working stiff and with a child of my own, i spend very little “brainless” time on the Net in proportion to the time i spend actively, creatively, deliberately crafting meaningful communication and building web sites. (my particular “brainless” vice is watching soccer highlights!)
in any event, great work, class! i hope you all examined your lives a bit more during all of this, as Mr. Porter mentioned, and as i’m sure is Mr. D’s ultimate goal with this project.
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Current Project
Heritage Tech Turnoff April 2009
May 1, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Mr. Andy,
Mr. D has clumped all thses separate technologies and put them all under the same umbrella. I personally find that this blog allows me to express my ideas more clearly and articulately than in the classroom. Some of my classmates seem to be coming to the conclusion that technology has become “evil”. If I am wrong, someone please correct me but that last post seemed pretty anti-tech. Remember, that technology you hate could end up saving your life (Swine flu has been contracted in our county).
The internet has allowed many ideas, new inventions, medications and consumer goods to be sent around the country in a matter of weeks. Technology has become what we personally make of it. I go online everday to a few websites to get my news and stay up to date in current events. Technology allows me to communicate with my boss when a change in schedule has to occur within hours. So before bashing the technology that we are currently unable to use, do the costs of that technology out-weigh the benefits or vice versa?
May 4, 2009 at 2:12 am
I agree with MorganC3. Technology is not evil. Just because some of it is used for relaxation or leisure doesn’t mean there are not very useful technologies out there. Think of all the things medically that allows America to be so advanced with health care. What about all that research that has been made so much easier because of the internet? National defense?
Trust me, I love watching tv and using my cell phone and iPod and what not just because I have them. Yes sometimes I can be doing something more productive. But technology is far from evil. It only becomes evil if you let it control your life, as in the Brave New World.