Amanda Smith - Section 01
Between the 1890s and 1930s technology began to enter into people's home lives more than it ever has before. It came in the form of cameras, electric appliances, and phonographs (later replaced by radios.) In American Consumer Society, 1865-2005 Regina Lee Blaszczyk stated, "...Americans began their love affair with technologies that altered time, sound, light, and distance. Technology allowed people to join a wider community while simultaneously creating their own personal space" (p. 137). Middle class Americans would always try to keep up with the latest trends of technology. The upper class would first purchase the new item then the middle class that might not necessarily be able to afford the item would work to be able to have a Kodak camera or Victor phonograph in their parlor.
The process that people during this time would go through to get pictures developed and what they would spend for records is something this generation cannot truly relate to or appreciate because most of us have "smart phones" that allow us to take a picture and intantaneously up-load, or mupload (mobile upload), to the internet. After sending the image from our phones to the internet, people all over the world can have access to viewing the picture. Cell phones now can also play the music that we chose to play either for multiple people to listen to or just for their own listening by using a pair of headphones.
Smart phones today also allow people to make video calls and actually see the person they are talking too. Apple's iPhone 4 has many features that change the way people communicate with one another. Apple's features video (from youtube) shows all the features this cell phone offers. People during the early 1900s were overwhelmed by the ability to take an instant image and have a copy of that and today we can talk to someone across the country in real time and see this person. If there such a thing as too much technology?
In addition to all the features cell phones offer, cars are also programming themselves to accommodate cell phone users. As people who first began buying the Ford Model T would finance thier new vechile, the same holds true today. When peole first purchased personal cars, it changed the way of life for Americans; the slow paced community was changing due to the fact that people could travel further and get there quicker. Today people can make voice requests to call a friend or family member and the car will do so. Do people need to be in such constant contact with people that they cannot drive from point A to point B without making a phone call or checking social media networks? Although there have been very useful and beneficial technological advances are people allowing technology to control their lives opposed to just being a part of it?
Sometimes it seems that we are almost addicted to our technology. We panic at the thought of being without our gadgets such as our ipods, laptops, smart/cell phones and televisions. Though technology is in general a positive thing, it also has its dark side. We have become slaves to technology, always having to have the latest and greatest model. Technology that was supposed to make our lives easier has perhaps complicated it as we are always multi-tasking and interacting with machines, not people. We have Facebook accounts with thousands of "friends" that we do not see face to face. The social network has in fact made us almost anti-social- Thomas Walsh
ReplyDeleteAmanda -
ReplyDeleteWhere are the links to the articles or youtube videos that you mention in your post? Please provide links as discussed in class.
-M
I agree with Thomas that humans are dependent on and addicted to technology, myself included. New technological developments are coming at us faster and faster and it's getting harder to keep up. Some of these upgrades might be obsolete within 6 months, but that doesn't stop us from wanting them any less. Something bigger and better is always in the making. In "Consumer Society", Jean Baudrillard called this obsolescence or cycle shift. Our products expire before we do and consumers are stuck buying whatever the production lines tell them is better, stronger, and faster than the last development. The latest technology used to be like a piece of furniture in our homes, but now it's just disposable.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Garaffa section 80
Regina Lee Blaszczyk references the idea of "price-plus" in regards to the purchase of vehicles during the 1920s. Once everyone in the country who could afford a car had purchased one, the market shifted so that people were in need of more than just a car, they were in need of "price-plus." Blaszczyk defines "price-plus" as "a phrase that denoted a combination of winning features: competitive prices, installment financing, trade-ins. stylish interiors, fashion colors, side windows, hard roofs, and annual model changes," (167). I think this idea still holds true concerning modern technology. We no longer want the product that only fulfills our needs, we want the product that fulfills our needs and also has the most features, best price and latest technology. People are no longer satisfied with a cell phone that can simply make calls and send texts, though that was the original reason the cell phone was created. As Amanda mentioned in her post, people were originally shocked at the idea of an instant photograph, yet now cameras that use film are rarely used by the average person. As technology advances, our ideas of what we need from our products changes and we can no longer be satisfied with the object that fulfills our most basic desires.
ReplyDeleteKate Sweeney Section 01
In Cohen's passage, she talks about the emergence of Jazz music and artists crossing over into the white market. I can see the connection between what Cohen is talking about and our reliance on technology. Cohen says,
ReplyDelete"So it would seem that despite the expectations of mass culture promoters, chain stores, standard brands, motion pictures, and the radio did not absorb workers- white or black- into a middle-class, American culture" (pp 161).
What this quote mentions as does the whole Cohen article is the resistance to join mass culture in the thirties. So how did it change now that people sense mass culture as a part of the middle class. I think it goes back to our first lecture, the products that are our needs were created to make our needs. Any other ideas?
While I don’t disagree with the above comments regarding Americans addiction to technology I do however hold another perspective. Throughout reading this blog entry I couldn’t help but constantly returning to the expression, “Keeping up with the Joneses.” While it is true, America, as a society has an obsession or addiction to having the newest and fastest technology available what I am questioning is the motivation behind these purchases. Is it really that we want to have the fastest technology or is it that we are in some type of competition with those around us? Even within my own neighborhood I’ve noticed an underlying competition among the neighbors, one person put up solar panels and a month later half the neighborhood was having them installed. While I would be nice to think everyone in my neighborhood is just trying to do there part in preserving our environment I highly doubt this was their sole motivation.
ReplyDeleteKara Kiensicki Section 01
I think that people ar becoming gradually addicted to technology and the ease it brings. Have you ever heard the phrase "what did we do without google?" It's not just a little joke, some people trust google with all their factual knowledge. Instead of being taught cursive, children are being taught to type, calculators are the norm. 10 Years ago, if you saw a 12 year old with a cell phone, you'd claim they were spoiled, or that the situation was at the very least a little weird. Nowadays it's weird for them to not have phones, music players, and the all important gaming systems along with the home computer, and usually one for personal use. These children and even adults now are using technology more hours a day as more services become optimized through that venue. Social connection, relation, work, even tasks that required you to go out like shopping are all conducted through one or more technology hubs.
ReplyDeleteI find myself spending much of the day with browsing the internet as a background activity, drawing, writing, or literally just going through the motions of checking on certain sites periodically as much as possible. I read books with my computer, watch movies, stay in contact with friends, "attend" live events. The list is arching ever longer. Even though when I was born and even through my younger years this tech did not exist, I don't think that I could live without it now I've got a taste. Accessibility is addictive. And one thing technology does very well is make almost anything accessible.
Looking at the modern era it is clear to see that people are controlled by technology. Look at the Y2K incident. The world was in a panic that everything would crash, the world would come to a theoretical stand still when all computers crashed as they were not made to account for reaching the 2000 date. The stock market would crash resulting in the loss of billions of dollars.
ReplyDeleteIf all technology was stripped from the modern world it would be more or less the dark age all over again. So many skills and tasks have been lost from the fact that people rely on technology. Even in courses at Rutgers often students are not taught how to do problems by hand but how to use excel or calculators to find the answers.
This summer I was challenged to go a week without my cell phone... I utterly failed going little more than a day. Technology is our mode of information, communication with the outside world, and gives us the feeling that we are part of something bigger, connected to the whole world with a click of the mouse. I very much believe that we are controlled by technology but this is what the modern era makes us. In order to be a part of the modern era you have to become a user of technology. And if you choose not to, you will be left behind, a technological hermit of sorts.
THough people nowadays are seemingly constantly connected to technology, this is nothing new. American Consumer Society teaches that any new innovation that is introduced into the mainstream culture and is embraced transforms that society. People could not stop listening to the radio when it first came out and the automobile was nothing short of a revolution. Though these innovations do change society they are embraced by it, as towns and people built new roads and radio towers to accommodate these technologies. It is the same today with cell phone towers and Bluetooth technology. These innovations do not force us to use them. It is still ultimately about choice.
ReplyDeleteAnswering your question "Is there such a thing as too much technology?" I dont think so. Technology is the way of the changing world, although it may have its downfalls, the benefits far outweigh them. Technologies build on each other, without one advancement a newer one may never have been able to come about.
ReplyDeleteAlso i dont think we "need" to be in constant contact with whomever we are driving from point A to point B without, but knowing that if i did happen to need them, they are no farther then the pressing of a button away, is a very reassuring thought. Maybe some people prefer their solitude, which is also understandable, but you can be alone even with a smart phone. Just turn it off!
“Do people need to be in such constant contact with people that they cannot drive from point A to point B without making a phone call or checking social media networks?” The simple answer is no. Humans got along just fine before text messaging and status updates. It is our unquenchable thirst for instant gratification that makes us feel naked and vulnerable when we leave the house without our cell phones.
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago I deactivated my facebook to see how I could fair without it. At first I felt terrified. How will I contact my friends? How will I find out about parties? How will people know it’s my birthday? But after the initial anxiety I felt peace. It’s comforting not to deal with all the social networking responsibilities and I also read a lot more instead of spending countless mindless hours. I know I will eventually reactivate my FB and return back to the digital world. A lot of people I tell think I'm insane for doing it. They act like I'm committing blasphemy or something. But the reality is I'm happy I made the choice to do it because It’s been refreshing to unplug and get a little further from the digital world and closer to the real world.
I agree with Amanda's take on how technology makes things more convenient in our lives, but that convenience makes us more dependent. People in the present can not even relate to people even a few decades ago. Could someone go back to a 56K modem? I'd be hard pressed myself to deal with that. Anyone who lost power from "Hurricane" Irene was pretty upset not have power for a few days. Where I live, I did not have power for six days which actually wasn't such a bad thing but people in my neighborhood were irate about the whole situation. Could any off us imagine what it was like to be efficient towards the suns cycle? How many of us could relate to only being able to use candle light at night time as our ancestors did? Amanda pointed out how we lost touch to how big a process it was to get a photograph taken during the nineteenth century and its true. Take the Ford model T for an example, the true first model had to be hand-cranked to start and did not come with "creature comforts" like heat or a radio. Now Ford, among many other brands make cars like Amanda said that are voice activated, sync cell phones and ipods, some even park themselves. As we as a whole press forward it is inevitable for most to not succumb to technology because its is so embedded into the fabric of our day-to-day lives. Putting things into perspective is a good thing that can help us not be so reliant on the things we own. Like Tyler Durden from fight club says, "The things you own end up owning you."
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting question for discussion, “are people allowing technology to control their lives opposed to just being a part of it?” I think technology has become a major part of our lives to a point where we depend on it for all aspects of life, whether it is for personal, professional, governmental use, etc… Technology and the constant advancements of it only increase our dependents on it as it eliminates the fundamental things we used to rely on ourselves to do. In my opinion, to answer the question you raised, I believe it is not only a part of our lives but also controls our lives.