Chains Of Technology

Cell phones, smart phones, ipods, computer, laptops, play stations, PDA’s, the list goes on and on when discussing today’s popular technological “toys”.With the culmination of a sharp increase in information technology products, the usability of these products for businesses, and a generation whose adolescence was filled with these gadgets now entering the workforce, we are becoming more and more of a “plugged in” culture Chains Of Technology.

Everyone has cell phones, one for work and one personal phone. Cell phones have the ability now to allow its owner to access their email, surf the internet, play music, manage a calendar, text messages, and of course talk to anyone. Well, I don’t know about everything, but I do feel there are chains attached to some of the conveniences we enjoy from new technological tools.

Since the information technology boom, creating virtual realities has become a competition within the industry. For video games the more real the better. Colleges can now teach in virtual classrooms. The list of virtual capabilities is growing at an amazing rate. According to dictionary.com, an online dictionary, one of the definitions for the word ‘virtual’ includes “temporarily simulated or extended by computer software”. This website also shows the American Heritage Dictionary definition which includes “Computer Science Created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network” (“Virtual”). For this reason, when I discuss virtual solitude, I am focusing on a solitude that is not real, but instead created by some sort of computer software or technological tool. One representation of this virtual solitude is the individual on the cell phone…you know the one…they are yelling about something you want to know nothing about, in front of you at the grocery store. As your eyes dart all over the store searching for anything to focus on besides them and their personal issue, you wonder…why do they think they can’t be heard? Where does that phone, and their mind, take them that is so private? Of course, in reality, they are not even close to being alone. Most likely, if they were conducting the conversation face-to-face with the person in public, they would lower their voice and lean into the person’s ear, so as to not share the subject of the conversation. Yet, something about that gadget they hold to their ear denies them the ability to remember they are surrounded by strangers.

We also become dishonest with ourselves in regards to solitude. We say we are “alone” when instead we are only distracting ourselves through technology such as music, TV, or computers.