What I really need

I found this reading to be very powerful. Sometimes when I am moving so fast, trying to text on my phone, using a computer, or doing something else connected to technology I feel like I am not thinking. I realized this morning after leaving my boyfriend apartment that I had left the most important thing there, my mp3 player. Here I am trying to get in shape and I don't have my mp3 player to distract me from the calories that need to be burned and the physical progress that must be made. Instead of running without the player, I will push back everything I have to do today, and make time to hop on the 983 or 982 and get back to his place to grab my music. It's weird. At times I think I'm behind, and I read those articles and I think, "that's not me." I don't have an I Phone, or any of the products on the top ten must haves list. But when I think about how I rely on certain devices to function I realize it is me. If I don't have the internet for at least an hour or thirty minuets of the day I feel odd. The reality is things are changing in our lifetime. Technology has grown to be an important entity within society. While it is very important, it's all about balance. I agree that relationships need face to face interaction to stay stable. As much as I use the internet, I still don't talk to my friend over Facebook, IM, or e-mail. The only thing we rely on is the phone. I think that it depends on how into it you really are. At the end of the day, I know I could live without an mp3 player, but not without music. I know I could live without a cell phone but not without a constant way of communicating with people. These are just the devices that have been created to make the simplest human needs more tangible, with a little extra laziness mixed in.

The Digital Age

I used to be an avid gamer before grad school. Now, I intend to go back to my roots. Not wanting to waste any time, I started my hunt for the ultimate gaming PC. I've been eying this Alienware desktop for the past two years and realized that there's nothing in the market that can beat it. And much as I hate to admit it, I don't need it. Why? Because it is almost good enough to send something into orbit! In fact, there is STILL no game that requires such high computing power. So in effect, most times, it is a shame to be gaming on this masterpiece. Sigh.

The point I'm trying to make here is: in this consumer driven market, why are some companies making products we have no use for at the moment?

In our quest to possess the best our money can buy, are deals and other promotions so important that we buy something we have no need for? In that way, I subscribe to Degrandpre's opinion that "faster computers and better graphics will never be enough to satisfy our technological urges."

And when it comes to this technology, there is always a dichotomy when it comes to people reaping its benefits, yet saying that there is an inherent evil in it all. With increased technological urges, I do agree that there are a lot more distractions now than ever before, but saying that it is the root cause of psychological problems, stress, etc is a little far fetched, in my opinion. Anything in moderation, surely is not a bad thing!

If you ask me, I don’t think that the shortened attention span is completely a digital phenomenon. Magazines and other visual media have long used infographics and pretty pictures to take the focus away from, than complement the text. And need I start talking about television?

Man has evolved with time and so has his responsibilities. So PDAs, mobile phones and other such devices are crammed with as much technology as possible because there is a demand for it. The very fact that devices such as the iPhones exist, is a testimony to the fact that people want to do a lot more in as limited time as possible. And since technology allows people to get as much work done in as little time as possible, I don’t see why there is such an argument as shrinking attention span and digital media.

In his book Digitopia, Richard Degrandpre, talks about a generation that is allowing the digital media to completely take over their lives. So much so that it is hard for them to do anything for a long period. I personally take offense to the generalization that we are a generation who won’t be content to sit through a three-hour epic or read an 800-page book. All this technology has only helped, if not increase our productivity. And since there is an inherent human need for hobbies and other interests, time gained can surely be invested in sleep, if not be put to use for productive work.

Linda Stone’s podcast podcast explores the last two decades of information technology and our ability to deal with and manage our daily lives together with new breakthroughs.