If all else fails…THEN WHAT?!

It’s time to turn over all you precious mobile devices because technology called and requested all its stuff back. That’s right no more text messages, blogs, emails, flash animations, digital photo albums, web cams, RSS feeds, instant messaging, mp3’s, ipods, laptops, PDA’s, or cell phones. Everything is going back to a simpler time where social participation required face to face contact and flesh on flesh interaction. Sound absurd? Of course it does. Technology is part of our culture, livelihood, future, and for some a means for existence. It has consumed so much of our behavior that it is hard to remember what life was like before the invasion.

 

Not more than a month ago, I left my house without my cell phone. The feeling of complete abandonment set in quickly upon realization of my mistake. What was I to do? How would I go about my day? If I were to get into an accident, how would I handle the situation? Simultaneously these questions paralyzed my survival skills and hindered my actions. Instantly my whole world changed with relation to technology. Before this event occurred, acknowledgement of technology as a life tool had never penetrated my conscience.

 

With all things considered, the current technological movement encourages social and behavior change. The mere existence of future computerized gadgets and networks have a purpose. The goal is to make life easier by developing tools which take the mundane tasks of life, such as video taping, and remembering where you left your keys, out of the equation. The idea here is to salvage the time devoted to everyday tasks and replace it with the things we wish we had more time for.

 

The article “Digital Memories in an Era of Ubiquitous Computing and Abundant Storage” suggests possible and current digital media that is already accomplishing these tasks. Primarily the article focuses on such things as recording digital memories with the ability to share them over time more effectively. Everywhere you look on the web users are documenting their lives through audio, video, and other forms of digital documentation. It is trendy and economical. Above and beyond the social elements coinciding with these new technologies, digital documentation is fun. It brings like mined individuals together and connects relatives distances away. What happens if these technologies fail and all information that has been digitized disappears forever? Where does this all end and how do we pick up the pieces? This brings me back to my cell phone dilemma: Technology can only go so far before we become puppets in a complex world.

 

The great debate here; will technology ever reach perfection? Thus far it has proven only to provide new distractions from old mishaps. The one constant we can expect from technology is its never ending mission to create a new form so previous attempts go unnoticed. Something’s never change; they just continue.

 Citations:

Czerwinski, M., Gage, D.W., Gemmell, J., Marshall, C., Pérez-Quiñonesis, M., Skeels, et al (2006). “Digital memories in an era of ubiquitous computing and abundant storage.” Communications of the ACM. 49.1 January 2206

.Hiltz, S.R. & Turoff, M. “Education goes digital: the evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education.” Communications of the ACM. 48.10 October 2005.

Kangas, E. & Kinnunen, T. “Applying user-centered design to mobile application development” Communications of the ACM. 48.7 July 2005

~ by dreamsndigital on October 17, 2006.