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This is one of those things that seems deep but really isn't, maybe a step above Banksy. I don't mean to imply that there aren't issues with our relationship wi

This is one of those things that seems deep but really isn't, maybe a step above Banksy. I don't mean to imply that there aren't issues with our relationship with technology, but these photos are an awfully ham-fisted criticism. I read this article back when it was published and it's stuck with me because it provides a more nuanced and thoughtful view of our relationship with technology. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/camp-grounded-digital-detox-and-the-age-of-techno-anxiety/277600/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/camp-... >Some people feel something is amiss in their relationships, and that technology is to blame. There's a move, cataloged in nearly every magazine, towards seeing the offline as authentic and the online as hollow, false, unreal. This may be a false distinction, digital dualism, as Nathan Jurgenson calls it, but it's a widespread reaction to the technologies at hand. >The vision promises that if it weren't for all the damn new stuff (like watches), we'd all be sitting around sharing the parts of ourselves that we're ashamed of, supporting others in their most meaningful endeavors, and paying mind only to worthy causes and ideas. >I refuse to accept that the only good response to an imperfect technology is to abandon it. We need more specific criticisms than the ever-present feeling that "'something's not right." What thing? Developing a political agenda to remake, improve, or forbid technologies requires some sort of rubric: how can I judge what I'm using? What are the deleterious impacts? How are they specific to these media and this time? Which effects are caused by the technologies and which are enabled by the technologies and which just happen to occur through the technologies? What are the ethics? What are the mechanics? What is the baseline?

metamet 8y ago
My largest criticism of our oneness with phone is that, no matter how responsible you are with them, they removes you from being fully present. For consumption of media--which most people use it for--it's like sitting down and opening a book or paging through a magazine. When you're with others, it immediately puts you into a private space that your mind is attempting to connect to, disconnecting from the present. It's counter to mindfulness. Even when you open up your phone for just 10 seconds to check on something, you're distracting yourself from being present--regardless of how responsible you are with it. That said, I don't have any problems with hanging out with friends or family and reading a book. I've done that my whole life, but it's not appropriate for times when you're trying to actively be there and have a connection with them. There's little difference between having a friend pull our a book or their phone when trying to watch a movie together, but our phones are so intertwined with who we are, it's easy to not see it that way.

metamet 8y ago

My largest criticism of our oneness with phone is that, no matter how responsible you are with them, they removes you from being fully present. For consumption of media--which most people use it for--it's like sitting down and opening a book or paging through a magazine. When you're with others, it immediately puts you into a private space that your mind is attempting to connect to, disconnecting from the present. It's counter to mindfulness. Even when you open up your phone for just 10 seconds to check on something, you're distracting yourself from being present--regardless of how responsible you are with it. That said, I don't have any problems with hanging out with friends or family and reading a book. I've done that my whole life, but it's not appropriate for times when you're trying to actively be there and have a connection with them. There's little difference between having a friend pull our a book or their phone when trying to watch a movie together, but our phones are so intertwined with who we are, it's easy to not see it that way.