Things are often different in theory and in practice. In theory, being plugged into the World Wide Web and its myriad way of communicating seems like a good idea. Smart phone? Definitely. An iPad? Sure, throw that in your suitcase too.
Checking your blog, email, other email, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets becomes habitual. Having multiple tabs in a web browser seems necessary now that the Internet has been around for a while, and occasionally, I'll have multiple pages with other tabs. Word processing docs pile up, and before I know it, I haven't seen my desktop in days.
Flights used to be a bore, but once I've gotten my iPod, my laptop, a movie and/or book in my hands, filling those hours is no problem.
But all of these different branches of communication and social media have come with a price, and I think IFC's latest hit, Portlandia, has hit the nail on the head:
I'm definitely in a technology loop. It's part of the reason I've resisted getting a smart phone. I don't think I could handle one more gadget or being connected all the time. As it is, I already feel like I'm sucked into the digital world more often than not.
Like Fred Armisten's character in the video, I feel that it's all too easy to get wrapped up in the maddening digital world. Everything is available all the time instantaneously; we're the ones who can't keep up usually, not computers.
All this information doesn’t seem excessive until I notice just how much is on my plate. And I wonder why I have trouble concentrating in the age of information…
Carrie Brownstein's answer - MindFi - is hilarious... until you start to think of it as a real possibility. And of course, the advertising joke is also funny, but frighteningly close to home. It's already everywhere. How much longer until we're even more plugged in?
I think this clip (and the show) is hilarious. I understand where you're coming from about being hesitant about getting a smart phone; I used to feel the same way but now that I actually have one its just to convenient to give up. That being said, I've found that I appreciate driving by myself or going to the gym more than I used to because its one of the only times during the day where I stop multitasking, and am only using my phone to listen to music or a podcast.
ReplyDeleteThis clip is brilliant, first of all, but I just can't help thinking about it in terms of advertising schemes. Advertising is literally everywhere, and when the groundswell started... swelling, it rose to the occasion seamlessly. I still remember my utter outrage when youtube first put video ads on their website so that you were forced to watch them. As outraged as I was I was thinking.... this is BRILLIANT. Not for you or me or anyone but big corporations really... but brilliant nonetheless. If, by some scary chance, there is some kind of mind device as represented in that video, I highly doubt even a mass groundswell movement could stop advertisers from swooping in taking it over.
ReplyDeleteThis video is very funny but true! I always check my laptop(of course, facebook, twitter, youtube, email, etc..) and iPhone like addictions... Luckily, I don't have iPad now so I might not be that worse. However, I sometimes think like this video that how I spent my life in high school and middle school. And since I came to the United States about 4 years ago, I became addicted to this technology world! Oh well, maybe I became more addicted to facebook, so that's why.haha Having said that, I could not live without iPod when I go to school in Japan because it took about an hour to get there. I think we all need to ready for technology loop because it might be new syndrome or something.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that video feed. It reminded me of when I disconnected my cell phone due to reception problems and refused to purchase a different plan for about 4 months. The first week was so difficult for me. I was constantly thinking, "What if someone is trying to call or text me?" Then I would remember how it was when I did not have a cell phone and my friends or family would call my land line and leave a message. So I just checked the messages when I got home. Who cares? I’ll call you back. Being unplugged was a great exercise in freeing oneself from palm technology. Besides… everyone that I was with had a phone if I really needed to use it. JF
ReplyDeleteI had never heard the term "technology loop" but I've definitely been a victim of it. I used to live halfway across the country so I was always online trying to connect with friends. I'd come home after work, turn on my laptop to skype with family members while posting to friends on facebook and watching tv. It was supposed to help me wind down, but it was actually kind of exhausting. I didn't get much out of anything because my attention was so divided. That clip was hilarious, but I hope mind-fi never exists!
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