It is undeniable that certain technological advancements have been life-altering in wholly positive ways. Innovative ideas in medicine and disaster relief have been responsible for saving countless lives over the past few decades. Increases in productivity and communication have made work and school life less of a hassle. Technology sounds wonderful, right? I mean, sure, but what about the repercussions? What happens when the power is taken out of our hands? The sad reality of the matter is that the good is often balanced out by the bad. The promise of new and exciting scientific breakthroughs is balanced out by the rampaging monster crashing weddings and destroying towns.
As detailed in the example of Frankenstein’s monster, the chapter explains that technology has a way of getting away from us or “escaping human control”. This raises the question “are we able to control what we create?” Even in the most innocent and harmless of situations it is hard to control the outcome of anything when technology is involved. When iPhones were first released in 2007 no one could have predicted the change that would have occurred across the globe. As perfectly explained in this article the iPhone changed not only the face of cell phones, but also how humans interact and how we live our everyday lives. In many ways, especially in the United States, entire communities are controlled by Apple and Apple products.
Every year new iPhone and Apple products are updated and improved for the consumers benefit (or…more realistically Apple’s benefit). These new updates are desirable and costly. Almost as quickly as something is released it becomes a social status symbol to own but just as quickly as it begins the trend switches to the next newest thing. Apple is able to make millions of dollars because of the control that they have over the market and the culture of its customers.
I personally have just entered the world of iPhone users. I recently purchased an iPhone 5C for myself, upgrading from a pre-paid basic smartphone that could barely handle phone calls and texts let alone music or applications. Ever since I bought my iPhone things have sincerely changed for me. I now have access to friends, family, and entertainment at my fingertips. I don’t have to worry about being disconnected with the world. I have constant Internet access and can learn anything and everything that I want to know simply by reaching into my pocket. I make more plans with friends and I talk to my family more often. I have even become significantly more organized in my work and school related engagements by inputting all my appointments and schedules into my phone. I find it interesting and somewhat concerning how different my life in general has been since I switched a simple piece of technology. Why does a bit of wiring coated in plastic dictate so much of how my life works
I want to know what the rest of you think about this idea of having no control over technology. Does technology control us instead? Is there a healthy balance? Or does it seem like we’re looking forward to some pretty cheesy horror movie-status things in our future?
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ReplyDeleteMary, I really enjoyed your post and especially the article you posted.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I completely believe that technology controls us. Prior to taking this class, I never would have said that nor would I have said that there is an unhealthy balance in our relationship with technology. However, after doing the readings assigned in class, viewing the documentary, and reading your article, I do think that technology controls us and the balance is unhealthy. The fact that we have become so addicted to technology that people have made negative life decisions (quit jobs, dropped out of school, etc.) and even died shows just how unhealthy this balance is. From doing the media fast, we as a class learned that we need technology to avoid uncomfortable situations. We should be able to do this on our own, but we are so dependent on technology that we are socially awkward without it.
The part of the article you posted that stood out to me the most was that "15% of respondents would rather give up sex than go without their iPhones for a weekend." This shocked me. I never would have believed that people would give up a desire we are born with for a Smartphone. Sex is a part of nature, a part of being a human, and something we need to continue as a human race, so I cannot believe that people would give up something like that for an iPhone. This shows just how unhealthy our relationship is with technology. This made me think of what else we would give up just to have our Smartphones?
I feel as though most would take a technological deterministic stance and say that technology, specifically Smartphones, have caused this unhealthy relationship. I, however, believe it is more of a cultural deterministic stance. I think the inventors of these products knew that we do not trust ourselves enough to carry out our daily tasks. They knew that most of us second guess ourselves and/or need approval from another source. By creating a device that can carry out our daily tasks, the inventors knew we would rely on them. The fact that so many of us still continue to purchase and use these devices at their high selling price shows that many us feel as though we need these devices to go throughout life. This, clearly, is an unhealthy balance.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI have one thing that came to mind when reading your blog post. This is the concept of power getting taken out of our hands and the impact that the iPhone has on our life. Now I totally agree with your points but I did think about the balance of good and bad with these in a different way. I think about the problem that Apple is having with the factories abroad constructing these smart phones. iPhones are cutting edge products, but they are made in extremely poor working conditions which allows us consumers to pay a minimal price for such an amazing product. I understand that you spoke more of the balance as an effect on OUR lives but I wonder how you feel about the balance in the good and bad of creating these products. If you look at the grand scheme of things, it is a huge price to pay when you consider the minimal wages these people are working for and poor conditions they endure. Although this is a bit of a stretch, I think it is interesting because there is both personal good/bad, but also external good/bad that sometimes flies under the radar. I think to myself, the continuing advancement and all the good that comes with it may be at too steep of a price. Will technological advancement mean a higher price to pay?
Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI think it is really interesting that you bring up the working conditions overseas. I have spent some time in the past reading about the conditions that workers are subjected to while creating these products and I am absolutely appalled. However, my word can only be taken or trusted so far when anyone can consider that I currently have an iPhone two feet away from me at this moment. I think that I, as well as countless other customers, have found ways to talk ourselves into feeling better about the origin of our cell phones. We disconnect ourselves emotionally from the people involved. That, to me, is scary. It's worrisome that so many people are able to cut emotional ties with human beings for the sake of convenience and entertainment. And typing this all out really has me thinking and worrying personally about my friends and my own disconnect when it comes to this.
Thanks for bringing this up!
Mary, first of all I love your title. In regards to your post, I found that the questions you raised are very thought provoking. I think that technology definitely controls our lives. People are constantly consumed in the technological world, even when we don't realize it. Being virtually connected with one another is not only convenient, but addicting as well. Our generation would struggle to get through a day without using technology, even just by not using their cellphones. This obviously was shown when we practiced the media fast assignment. I learned how much my life revolved around technology and how my daily routine was consumed with the use of technology. I think people believe they have a healthy balance when it comes to using technology, but they don't. People are way too consumed with their phones, internet, social networking sites, and many other forms of technology. It was a struggle for me to get through one day without technology. I admit that my life is consumed by technology, but I think I am one of many. This scares me because I can only imagine how the world will become in the future. Technology will continue to consume peoples' lives, especially since people are already addicted to the technology we have now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Eden!
DeleteAs I said in my post I fall into the technology trap almost constantly. It's so hard to disconnect - I am literally texting someone as I type this response. I completely agree when you say that people think they have a healthy balance but don't. I think people rarely are able to grasp the extent of their "addiction". Who knows, though, maybe the future won't be tech-laden and controlled like we fear. Maybe we as a society will make some sort of huge change. I guess we have to wait to find out.