I got a new Shark watch. These things are awesome. Yea, I know, no one has a watch because we all have cellphones, but I felt uber hypocritical telling my students no cellphones in class (which they don't listen to me about anyway...) and yet looking at my cellphone all the time to check the time. Alas, I have a new watch. I feel so 1990s.
Great article by a great author: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/how-not-to-be-alone.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0
Is technology taking us away from traditional social interaction? This debate has gone on ad nauseam it seems (or maybe I've just slayed myself with redundancy by asking this question millions of times in my classes - oh hyperbole!). Yes, of course technology keeps us "alone" - it gives us a place to hide when needed, social interaction in a non-traditional way, mental stimulation, and (questionable) knowledge. I was telling my students about the phone game whereby when you go to dinner with friends or family or random passers-by (hey it could happen) and everyone puts their cellphones in the middle of the table. The first person to reach for his or her cellphone has to pay for everyone's dinner. It's such a good idea (but I also thought my idea of "Carlo Rossi Sangri Hands" as a replacement for Edward Forty Hands was a good idea so maybe we shouldn't trust my judgment). I think technology is just another way form of instant gratification (unless something is wrong with a device and then it becomes instant frustration).
That was my ramble and I'm sticking to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment