I would have to say I’m a mixture of old fashioned and whiz kid when it comes to technology. By that I mean that I’m happy to embrace technology and allow it to help me from day to day, but at the same time I see no reason why I should let it rule my life. Like the fact that I bought a new mp3 player today. Looking at the options in Argos I have to say that being skint doesn’t help you when you just want something plain and simple nowadays. There was no ‘normal’ mp3 players anymore, the cheapest one was about £30 (which incidentally was the one that broke, causing me to have to buy a new one). They all had the ability to be able to play videos and have this, that and the other run on it, but whatever happened to just something to play your music off? It’s the same with mobile phones. I really don’t see why people want the iPhone so much. You want something that will allow you to read shares, emails, go on the internet, play games etc. Well guess what it was already invented, it’s called a PDA. And most of the time they are only used by businessman, which (if you think about the original apps on) an iPhone is what would be suited for. Technology seems to be integrating into each other, so now when people walk down the road they have about 3 pieces of technology to show pictures, play games and go on the internet with. At what point when you’re walking down the road do you really use them? But anyway this isn’t meant to be about mobile phones, mp3 players etc, this is meant to be about something much more time-consuming. The Internet.
This is where I’m resistant to modern culture. Yes I have Facebook. Yes I go on Youtube. Yes I go on Amazon (but have only recently discovered the joy that is mp3 downloading) and all the rest of the usual sites. But then there’s the really personal things like Twitter that I refuse point blank to join ( I could go on forever about Twitter, but it is really a site of either stalking famous people or telling the whole world that you’ve just gone for a bath and now you’re going to cook dinner... I don’t know what’s worse), but I have started a similarly intrusive personal thing. I’ve started a blog.
Now this really isn’t a new thing, they’ve been around for a fair few years now, but like I said, I’m resistant. To be honest, I still am a bit curious as to why I believe that the world wants to, or needs to hear regular updates of my mundane life, but I think it’s more of a way to express my thoughts throughout the day. But it got me thinking, why does everybody’s life now revolve around letting other people have such an intimate form of contact with you? Wherever people go now (and I am as guilty as the rest of them for most of these things), they HAVE to take their mobile, they HAVE to update their Facebook/ Twitter status, they HAVE to take pictures on their phones if they’re out for the night. What I’m getting at is people feel the need to express every little detail of their lives with the world, there is no such thing as privacy anymore. And yet, with all of this technology to aid contact with other, we see less than each other person than any other time, and when we do we check our phones for texts every so often, ‘just to make sure’. To make sure of what? Someone hasn’t sent you something that could wait until you got home to reply to?
Call me old-fashioned and still living in the 20th, not 21st century, but I still value being at home and not knowing where the hell my mobile is, having my internet not on, and just relaxing with actual people, instead of virtual friends or watching the tv.
artistspaintbynumbers.blog.co.uk – I’ve officially partly sold my soul to something worse than the devil... the internet.
sisterjulia on Feb 9, 2010, 9:29 am
Selective Ignorance What a brilliant term! Good old fashioned tool:P
Hyla on Feb 9, 2010, 7:51 am
Does Twitter have to be about that? You could just broadcast the weather, tell a joke, pass on a news item, etc. I'm on facebook. A friend forced me. :) My last status update was that Thomas Edison created the first electric chair. (hey, it was interesting to me!) It is good to learn about events and what my friends are up to. You are right though - my nieces each have over 1000 friends and one has over 1000 pictures. I hate that it has a kind of a "look at how many friends I have!" implicit competition. I do think it's a good idea for females to have phones for safety reasons though, be it car trouble, or being stranded somewhere, etc.
Keree on Feb 9, 2010, 5:16 am
Ha thanks. I like that term, 'Selective Ignorance'. :)
Keree on Feb 9, 2010, 5:14 am
I haven't told anyone I know about it really, just a select few.
Keree on Feb 9, 2010, 5:13 am
The reason I differeniate between Twitter and Facebook is that Facebook is about more than just updating a status. I use Facebook as a mode of being able to contact people in uni if I'm stuck on something, or to keep up to date with people back home. Twitter is more personal, it's more about just telling other people about what you did today, or are going to do. What I'm trying to say is Facebook is multi-functional, whereas Twitter only have one purpose. People today do see each other, but they constantly check their phones or are texting other people, I would say it's rude but it's a fact of modern life. i'm not saying technology is a bad thing, like I said I enjoy using it for my day to day life. But at the end of the day, we don't need a mobile (as you've already pointed out) to live and don't need Facebook. But the smallest incident happens and the first thing people do is put it on the internet (i.e. Facebook) for all to see, why? What happened to just keeping a little privacy. Btw, I'm not saying im exempt from being one of those people who feels the need to take their mobile with them almost everywhere (because I am), but theres just a line between you controlling the technology, and the technology controlling you.
Hyla on Feb 8, 2010, 11:03 pm
How is twitter more personal than, say, facebook? Do you go out without your cell phone? If not, would you? I don't have a cell. I don't feel the need to be on call all the time. Sure it would come in handy (even very handy) sometimes but, overall, I can't be bothered. My friend's kids go out all the time and do "normal" stuff or have friends over. So do my nieces. Sure they have their cell phones and are constantly texting, but they have their time just goofing around with friends too. Are you saying none of your friends go out - they just stay home and sit at their computers? That would be very sad. Thoughtful post though, and good for you for trying not to buy into all that tech stuff. And regarding your blog, I think anything that gets people writing can't be bad. People have been keeping journals and diaries forever and, while those were written in private, there is a similarity. Good luck with your blog!
Bran487 on Feb 8, 2010, 9:25 pm
Standing ovation from me. I think you are actually ahead of the game. If I didn't use my mobile for work it would go in the bin, where the TV went. I personally try to avoid the status thing - I do use Twitter for a Music Project and sending really stupid stuff like "I can't change the world so I changed my socks" - my ficticious holidays and selling invisibility pills. You obviously have a grounded view and that is a good thing - knowing there is an off button. There are some great blogs out there - very useful as the information is collected together over a period of time. I think the buzz word that describes your approach is "Selective Ignorance" - you decide what is important to you and ignore the dross - sounds healthy and I am sure your Soul is definitely intact.
sisterjulia on Feb 8, 2010, 6:30 pm
oooh and it's pretty.
sisterjulia on Feb 8, 2010, 6:29 pm
Blogging can be all sorts of wonderful, and you don't have to tell people you know about it...sometimes it's better not to :)