Are we there yet? I mean really, what can’t we do at the click of a button. I can plan a trip, order food, make reservations, talk to my friends, meet new friends or see the world and never leave the comfort of my home. I remember as a kid “people” would talk about a world where everything would be run by computers. The picture that was painted was always quite grim as the world we know would be controlled, every move we made watched and independent thought squelched. Are we there yet? Well technology rules our lives there is no denying that and while for many this creates unrest and lack of control……for others freedom. Freedom from the harsh reality that many people face, whether through social stigmas, or stereotypes, freedom from boredom and loneliness, or perhaps freedom for those that are so incredibly popular they can’t keep up with all their friends through traditional means.
Hollywood has always done a great job at trying to scare us into changing our ways, serving us warnings on a big silver screened platter. The dichotomy here is that the very industry that warns us, also fuels our insatiable need for more. While the movie WALL-E is charming it falls in the genre of classic Hollywood “You can do it, if you just get out of your lazy boy” classics. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy the movie. I was particularly interested in the “love affair” between two objects that could elicit tremendous emotion without any dialog. It was also fascinating how you could fall in love with machines that were more human than the human. The actual humans were lumps of flesh lacking all synchronous communication relying completely on machines for every human need…….Technopolists to the extreme!
We have been warned…….again….. about where our future lies if we don’t wake up and change our ways. Like we have many times before ………..and let’s face it comparatively life is good. I mean there are certainly horrible things going on all around us it could always be worse right? We could be living like the poor folks in Soylent Green or even the Matrix for heaven’s sake. So while many of these movies are designed to show us where we are headed I think they also serve to remind us of where we are. As for me, I am going to order up some take-out download a movie while I IM with my hubby who is in the room next door playing online poker……Life is good.......right?
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While technology has definitely made it easier to stay in touch, be entertained, and meet our basic needs where are we missing out. As Postman has noted there is always a give AND a take especially with technology. One thing that I thought about while reading your blog were some concepts that are discussed in interpersonal communication. Professor Bushnell told us about research done on touch and how important it is to our daily lives to get our seven major touches. If we resort to online communication to keep up with our friends and family members I think one thing lost is the touch. There's something to be said about the healing power of reaching out for someone and a machine just can't replicate that (thank goodness)!
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