Entry 2: "The Big Picture"

| 60 Comments | No TrackBacks
Select a quotation from "The Big Picture."

Type it into the comment box and then say why you picked that particular quotation.

We will not discuss much the most important issues raised in this article, the ones concerning the affect of the consumer society upon the ecosystem.  But it's a good place to begin since it does illustrate in a broad way the importance of looking at the consumer society in some detail.

No TrackBacks

TrackBack URL: http://www.nicktingle.net/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1092

60 Comments

"We are missing a connection with the living world with which we share common histories, life cycles, and even segments of our
genetic code.(4)"

This quote stood out to me because I agree with how our society has changed and how society doesn't appreciate our surroundings. Kids grow up nowadays in front of the television playing video games, rather than going on hikes or playing or socializing out side. Our society has changed greatly due to the new technological age we live in. People tend to thank "technology" for providing us with the tools to be lazy. In turn we should be hating those who invented the commodities we have in our houses today. The Internet has prevented us from going to the library to get sources, or reading the newspaper. Texting has prevented us from socializing with others. This quote exemplifies how society now has forgotten the history of our earth, where we live, and who we share it with.

"When we are deprived of meaningful interaction with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and interact with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen." -Suzuki, P.4

This quote does a good job summing up how electronics like video games, computers, and cell phones can manipulate our everyday lives. As we venture further into our imagination and computer screens we lose track of reality. However, another question can be posed. What is reality? Is "reality" now our own imaginations? We need to determine what in life is more real to us, a virtual world or a physical world. Unfortunately, with the addition of electronics, our society has come to a point in which "real interactions" are transforming. Maybe in our future world that we are approaching, it will be perfectly normal for our experiences to be 90% visual since our environment has changed from the past.

"Until we stop denying our biological roots and embrace our humanity, we will never find the meaning we seek" (Suzuki 13).

In today's society, many people are wrapped up with material goods that take away from interactions among others and the natural world. Though different forms of technology are very useful, I think think they can impair the instincts of human nature. For instance, texting can be a great form of communication, but it inhibits all the senses one uses while taking to another face to face. While texting, the only senses used would be sight and touch, though both do not really count since one cannot see the other person and many phones are touch-screen.
I think this quote reflects an answer to a common question; what is the meaning of life? Until we learn to step away from our consumerism lifestyles and revive our suppressed instincts, we will not know what it is like to really live and find out what it means to us.

"When we are deprived of meaningful interaction with the
world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and interact with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen" (p.4).

This quote describes the increasing gap that people have allowed technology to create between reality and imagination and its influence on peoples lives. Technology is a necessity for progress and it has manipulated people for years. In addition, it can arguably be a reason why there are more people becoming obese in this country. For example, bills, banking, shopping, and chatting are a few things that can be done on a computer without the need to leave the house. Shopping doesn't just mean buying clothes. You can buy almost everything online now with a click of button and have it delivered to your preferred destination. It may be more convenient but it eliminates people from coming into contact with the physical world and being out an about. "Gamer," a film by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, gives a very vibrant look into a future in which technology is the center of the world. Everything revolves around technology and it becomes a necessity for survival. Hopefully people do not get sucked in by technological advances that will isolate them from the real world and everyone in it and come to their senses about how technology is affecting their lives. Finally, hopefully people find a way to cope with technology and balance their imagination with reality so that they can create a better and closer functioning society.

"They walk down the street listening to MP3
players, lost in their own worlds." Suzuki, p.8

I don't remember if the reason I wrote down this quote had some grand purpose or not. I just remember thinking that this is one quote I had to send to my sisters.
I feel like this sentence really captures what life has become like now. The truth in it is undeniable and I know that many of the people I see walking by themselves have some sort of ipod they are listening too.
I use to listen to my mp3 player a lot, especially when I went jogging in the mornings. I only stopped because I started to have hearing issues and was recommended not to use the device anymore. It's different when I'm jogging and walking around without the music anymore. It was boring at first, but after a while, it's kind of relaxing to just be in the present moment.

"They walk down the street listening to MP3
players, lost in their own worlds." Suzuki, p.8

I don't remember if the reason I wrote down this quote had some grand purpose or not. I just remember thinking that this is one quote I had to send to my sisters.
I feel like this sentence really captures what life has become like now. The truth in it is undeniable and I know that many of the people I see walking by themselves have some sort of ipod they are listening too.
I use to listen to my mp3 player a lot, especially when I went jogging in the mornings. I only stopped because I started to have hearing issues and was recommended not to use the device anymore. It's different when I'm jogging and walking around without the music anymore. It was boring at first, but after a while, it's kind of relaxing to just be in the present moment.

"Everything we use-food, clothing, energy, consumer goods-everything comes from the biosphere, the zone of air, water, and land where life exists. And all of our garbage, effluent, and waste goes back into that same zone of life."

Reading this piece made me aware of the typical human nature. We are supposed to be the smartest beings on Earth and yet we can not grasp the fact that the current lifestyles we possess is not simply harming our universe, but is hurting us directly. It is almost as if we are purposefully destroying the quality of our lives and the lives of our future generations. Irony is present in this quote and yet some sort of guilt and shame is felt while reading it as well. That quote made me stop reading and inspired me to analyze the lifestyle I am leading as well as the people around me and their life choices, all of which greatly influence our future.

“Second, and even more important, the constant focus on technological distractions can distance us from our families, our communities, and the world around us.”

This quote sums up one of my mother’s lectures that I’ve been getting for the past three years or so. She makes the argument that if I am connected on my cell phone, usually through texting, I am not living the life that is before me and I am not enjoying the moment that I am in because I am living another moment through technology. This, I believe is also one of the main arguments of the author of this piece and it is definitely a valid argument. In our new world of technology we have the ability to be connected to and talking with dozens of people all at one time, whether it be through texting, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, email, phone calls, etc. But does this constant connection do more harm than good by shutting out the people that you are actually face to face with? Whether we, as a fast-paced society want to admit it or not, it most likely does because it has gotten to the point where most of us are unable to focus on only what’s in front of us and often times feel “naked” without some piece of technology in our hand. This quote made me stop and ask myself how much longer we as a people can go on like this before it becomes so detrimental to normal, healthy human contact that no one interacts with each other face-to-face because everyone is so wrapped up in their own private worlds.

“In fact, paradoxically being electronically connected all the time has made us less social and less community-oriented.”
I chose this quote because I have seen exactly what it refers to one too many times. Two Thanksgivings ago, my entire family gathered at my house, which was great, of course, until I realized that all of my cousins had their phones out, either comparing features or talking to friends who were elsewhere. One of my brother’s friends even chose to pass on their 8th grade “Grad Night” for the sake of playing his online video game that night, like every other night. What most of us do not realize is that an opportunity cost of constantly being “connected” does, in truth, exist. Listening to music on your MP3 player can make you seem unapproachable to that attractive guy or girl you have been recently interested in, or even worse, those of us text-messaging friends while visiting our grandparents could miss out on a conversation that may actually change our perspectives on life. The definition of being social has changed from going outside and playing with the kids down the street to how many friends you have on Facebook or how many text-messages you receive during a given hour. Within one generation, we somehow managed to develop such a morphed perception of being social so that we practically value quantity over quality - when we all know that quality is what matters.

"Second, and even more important, the constant focus on
technological distractions can distance us from our families,
our communities, and the world around us. "

I agree with this quote in the way that technology has a way of distancing family members. When I was home during spring break, both my dad and I had our laptops out during dinner. My mom commented that she felt alone and distant from my father and I. In addition, when I text message, I can only focus on the message I am sending, so when people are trying to talk to me while i am typing a message i completely ignore them. This quote made me realize how much I use electronics and how I am distancing myself from the outside world by having a computer screen or cell phone in front of me.

"But while my world was full of nature's delights, today's
children face a world dominated by consumer delights."

Like the author, I grew up outdoors and using my wild imagination. This quote made me realize how my childhood roughly only a decade ago contrasts so sharply with a child's upbringing today. Children are so sheltered now with their indoor video games and virtual realities, which prohibit them from interacting with others in a natural environment. I wonder how these technologies will shape the people that they become.

"Rather than fighting our biological nature, we need to embrace the fact that most of who and what we are goes back not just a dozen years, but to the beginning of human history and, in some ways, to the beginning of life itself."

I chose this quote because I agree that many technologies distract people from the amazing beauty life itself has to offer. It is so easy to create a reality that gets consumed by everyday tasks and media, that the we forget how much there is on Earth that is not manufactured by humans. There is often much left undiscovered about people, life, the world etc., because technology can creates it's own virtual world which make us forget about the existing world we have to explore.

“Today’s youth, especially in big cities, often lead more isolated, insular lives and can be so far removed from the natural world that they can’t even identify the common plants and animals that live around them.” ?(p.3)

I chose this quote because I know this is true for me as well as many individuals around the world. The new generation has lost its touch with nature but this is not true for the third world. People who live in poverty do not know about iphones, blackberries, laptops, televisions, and so on. But they do know about lives hardships, nature, and struggles. What I find most interesting is how ingrained technology and consumerism is on us middle class and upper class individuals. We cannot live without all these “luxuries.” There are times we humans do not conform to what we have. We want more. We want what everyone else has or what seems to be the “popular brands.” We are not satisfied with what we have. There are children out there in Central America, Mexico, Africa, Asia, and so on who wish they had our luxurious life but due to our social construct, they are the ones experiencing lives privation. I recall, when I was a child I was never grateful with a doll that was worth a dollar, I always wanted a more expensive doll. I never thought about those children who would have been more than happy to have that dollar doll. While I was being a ungrateful child, those children would have been appreciative and thankful with that doll. It is just overwhelming to know how ignorant, unappreciative, and so on us individuals can be.

"Modern life is a communications paradox. We are in touch with each other as never before-cell phones, internet, text messaging, email. In fact, we now have to make an effort not to be in touch with other people." pg 10

I chose this quote because it is quite comical in the sense that it is in fact difficult to avoid someone in this day and age. You can be half way around the world and still receive tests, emails, facebook comments, calls, from people you don't like and/or don't want to talk to. There are just so many different ways to stay connected or plugged in and its mind blowing to think that this only happened in the past 20 years.

"Modern life is a communications paradox. We are in touch with each other as never before-cell phones, internet, text messaging, email. In fact, we now have to make an effort not to be in touch with other people." pg 10

I chose this quote because it is quite comical in the sense that it is in fact difficult to avoid someone in this day and age. You can be half way around the world and still receive tests, emails, facebook comments, calls, from people you don't like and/or don't want to talk to. There are just so many different ways to stay connected or plugged in and its mind blowing to think that this only happened in the past 20 years.

"We seem to be plugged in twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That strikes me as decidedly unbalanced." (P.8)

I chose this quote because until reading it I had not even noticed how true it was. When I thought about it though I realized this was not an exaggeration. Even if we are not on our computers or watching our t.v we have made technology even more convenient by making it portable. A perfect example of this is the cell phone. I have seen people of all ages attached to these devices whether we are using it for a call or texting which has become huge. Instead of turning this device off for a break we use it all day and then plug it into a charger at night so its good to go the next day. Another good example of portable technology is the iPod. Every where you look people have the headphones in their ears disconnecting them from the real world. This quote really showed me how much we depend on technology now and how this is creating more and more distance between people and the outside world.

"These electronics may make our lives easier, but I often question whether they are making our lives better" (pg 8).

I chose this quotation because everything I had been reading so far in the article seemed to click once I read this. It was like having an "Ah-Ha" moment you could say. Yes, electronics and new technology help us tremendously. There have been numerous leaps forward, for example the lowered air pollution that we read about, that have been aided by the help of growing technology. And yes, having an iPhone and a BlackBerry may help you check your email during class or may provide entertainment for hours, whether it be waiting for a flight or sitting in car on a long road trip, but the question is does that make our lives better? Are our lives enhanced by the amazing gadgets and gizmos the society has to offer? Answers to this question will vary, I'm sure. For me, I understand where Suzuki is coming from. These electronics, while easy, create distance between people and the outside world. This quotation does a nice, simple job in summing up the main point. Electronics are great because they are fun, up to date, extremely useful and helpful, but when you step back and really look at it, they are hurting society as well. People are so removed from the natural world that they would spend an entire car trip watching a dvd on the back of a seat or playing on their phone rather than look at the beautiful nature outside. People are more connected with things rather than people these days. Things that cannot possibly give them what they truly want back. People are escaping from the real world and losing themselves in the electronics, and that does not benefit anyone. In fact, it makes for ultimately sad, lonely, and isolated people. We have to take time to reconnect with people and nature.

“We mustn't forget to feed our other senses. Right now, they're starving, and that may not be good for our mental or physical health.” (pg. 203)

Sadly, our world today is dominated by just one of our five senses – our eyesight. The other four senses have been muffled by the overwhelming presence of visual stimuli. Most modern day entertainment only accommodates our eyes; think of video games, computer games, and movies. This deprivation of our other senses is detrimental because often our sight can be misleading.
A wise friend of mine once asked, “Would you rather lose your eyesight or your ability to hear?” I replied in what I felt was the obvious response. Clearly, our eyesight is most important! Yet I soon earned I was completely wrong.
Let’s say our only working sense was visual. The only way in which we could formulate ideas and opinions about people and the world would be on how they appeared. Our preconceived notions based on things no deeper than the surface would take control. On the other hand, if we could only hear, we would be able to judge with profound meaning.
The reason why I found this passage interesting was because I have already formulated opinions on this issue. In my opinion, people are losing their natural intelligence. This idea does not just pertain to our common five senses, but also to many of our other innate qualities. With all of our advanced technology, there’s hardly any reason to do our own thinking. For example, our innate sense of direction is completely lost with the development of G.P.S. For example, my father knows his way around Los Angeles like the back of his hand, having grown up there before the time you could simply enter the address into the computer of your car and have it lead you there. On the contrary, I have little knowledge of the layout of the Los Angeles area as I have always relied on the car navigation system. Sadly, the advancement of technology is bringing down the mental capacity of the world’s inhabitants, as we know longer need to rely on our own ideas. We put more faith into the heart of the computer than we do our own.

“Modern life is a communications paradox.”
This quote stood out to me because of the truth behind it. Technology has certainly connected the globe but it has also isolated the individual. It allows us to connect with pretty much anyone we want, but it also isolates us from the people around us. There have been days where I would chat with dozens of friends online and go to bed realizing I have not literally spoken a single word to anyone all day. So while technology can help us stay connected, sometimes we abuse that and end up isolating ourselves from each other. Why hang out with a few friends at the park when you can immerse yourself in an online game with millions of other players? On Facebook, people with 400-500 “friends” are the norm. But in reality, how does one even know 400-500 people enough to be their friends? Facebook had just reminded me that one of my “friends” birthday was today. In a wall post, I wished her a happy birthday. But the sad truth is I do not know who she is or how we met. In a way, I’m connected to her, but in reality, who is she?

"Indeed, if the globe were reduced to the size of a basketball, the biosphere would be thinner than a layer of plastic sandwich wrap. That's it, our home where we live." (9)

This quote easily creates a picture in your mind. You can see our earth as the size of a basketball with a plastic sandwich wrap around it. The thought of this is frightening because we now realize how little protection we have on earth. Unfortunately, we are also the ones to blame. Humans creating new technology is steadily ruining our planet. We are so caught up in the technological advances that surround us that we fail to acknowledge the fact that it is hurting our world thus hurting us in the long run. Since we cannot change the thin layer of our biosphere our only hope is to not let it get thinner. This helped me realize the changes that we must make to help the Earth.

"In the absence of God or spirituality, in the absence of a capacity to respond to seasonal patterns and natural rhythms, and in the absence of meaningful social rituals, people are grasping on to whatever they can to help ground them in their communities. If that means spending days at a time in a crowded mall, then that's what we do. That becomes the ritual. That becomes Christmas." –Suzuki, pg. 13
I chose this quotation because it exemplifies the hold meaningless material things have on the masses, how it translates a once spiritual holiday of family and close relations into one of spending and presents. It highlights the pathetic dependent state of people on mere things, and how this "stuff" gather people into a skewed, unnatural community. I also picked it because it hints at the hopelessness of people who ignore their biological ties to nature, and how technological advances have not only ruined ritual, but the psychological health of fragile humans as well. It's sad that though Christmas brings stress and headaches, people still stick to it not out of family love and tradition but out of unhealthy dependency and the need to find meaning in their somewhat unsocial, gadget-filled lives. This quote illuminates how both ritual and Christmas are re-defined by the importance of "stuff" in society, and how it also re-defines human priorities and thought-processes.

"Every day in that marsh I could always count on finding something new, some exciting new creature or world to discover. Today, that swamp is entombed by a huge parking lot and shopping mall" (3)

I chose this quote because it really stood out to me as a direct repercussion of consumer society. The article brings up the point that our excess is incredibly detrimental to the planet, but I personally feel very detached from these problems. I know that my recycled e-waste is in a landfill in China where kids are melting it down and breathing toxins and I know that the companies I support use production methods that are decimating the natural beauty of other parts of our planet, but it really doesn't affect me on a day to day basis and this fact causes me to not fully realize the consequences of our society. I feel like if everyone's favorite natural spot in this world was paved over to build a shopping mall, a quintessential symbol of our excess, our consumerism would really hit home for a lot more people and maybe our society as a whole would change for the better.

"We have millions of years of evolution programmed into our cells, programming that's infinitely more complex than anything we've created with our shiny new and exciting technologies. Patterns of nature are hardwired into who we are as a species and as individuals. To try to tear ourselves from this biological fabric is not only futile, it's self-destructive" (3).

I'm afraid I have to disagree with this quote. I think that this inundation of technology in our daily lives is completely natural, as far as human evolution is concerned. As civilization has progressed, the average person's living conditions have improved and we never have had to look back on the days of hunting and gathering. Biologically, we are healthier today than we have ever been all the while remaining disconnected with nature. Even though a man in 1900 would never get carpal tunnel syndrome, he would get tuburculosis or malaria or smallpox.In other words, technology has overridden our primordial "patterns of nature" and we are living longer because of it. I'm not saying technology is perfect, but I am a fan. Sorry if this doesn't make sense. I'm pretty tired.

"We tend to forget that the world we live in today-the electronic age -barely registers in the timeline of human history (208).

This quote sums up the main idea behind this article. The author classifies society today as the "electronic age" which could not be more correct. If I spent as much time texting on my blackberry as I did reading my textbooks I would probably have straight A's. Not to mention facebook, skype and chatroulette; a couple other aspects that outline our electronic world. I just got back from a week vacation in Mexico and turned off my cell phone, computer and television for the week and I had never felt more free and relaxed. I think people tend to forget that these electronics are far from necessities and may even be hurting our chance to enjoy life at its fullest.

"Modern life is a communications paradox. We are in touch with each other as never before--cell phones, internet, text messaging, email. In fact, we now have to make an effort not to be in touch with other people." (Suzuki 5)

I chose this quote because it shows the affect that technology has had on communication between people. With all the ways to stay connected with people it seems that communication between individuals would be greatly improved from what it used to be. There's always a way to be in contact with someone else; there's text messaging, emails, facebook, myspace. In fact with all of these things it is difficult to choose to keep to yourself.
But even with these things, bonds between people are much weaker. Most people I know will substitute an actual person to person conversation with text messaging. People will go without talking with one another for awhile and feel that texting is a way to reconnect rather than actually being in a physical setting with each other having a conversation and interacting.
Although there are many great things to be said about technology, there also comes many downfalls. Today the individual is greatly isolated from their surroundings and more connected to the things that they can see and do on the internet. Bonds and relationships among people are much weaker and technology is much to blame for this.

"The vast diversity of life has been replaced by an enormous array of consumer products." (3)

The phenomenon of the replacement of the natural with products is apparent everywhere in our society today. It creates a situation that provokes us into living out our natural instincts through technology, instead of through the people and nature around us. Our instinctive curiosity is being distracted away from the natural world in which we live and funneled into the realm of technology and consumer products. The same impulse that used to drive us to discover and explore our surroundings now compels us to discover and buy new things and gadgets. Even our need for human interaction has been outsourced to technology. We turn to our cell phones and computers to communicate with others instead of simply talking to them. Website empires, such as Facebook, have even been created based on our simple need for social interaction. Such technological surrogates are dangerous because they allow us to ignore the world around us, exactly opposite of nature's intent.

" We start to see technology as the mother of human inventiveness, not its progeny" (196)

I chose this quote because I agree to what the author, Suzuki, had to say about the world of technology we live by today. Humans are the ones who create technology. This creation relies on inventiveness, applying everything known and going beyond. However it is the drive, the aspiration in technological advancement that essentially spawns such possibilities.

"Children do what we do, not what we say...It's about changing behaviors...If we want our children to be more environmentally responsible, we have to show them why they should be. We have to emulate the right behaviors and teach them why environmental sustanability is so important" (pg 214-215).

I choose this quote because I feel that it carries a significant message. A flaw in human nature is the concept of social lofting: putting responsibility and work onto others. Children of today can not just be expected to suddenly change the way that society has been treating the environment and its resources. Since their childhood, all kids do is imitate what they see their parents and older siblings do; from wearing mom's heels around the house, to wanting to play the same games, children develop habits based on what they see people do around them. Therefore, in order for children to make a change towards creating a sustainable society, it is necessary for the proper behaviors to be exemplified to them. Change is a gradual process, thus should begin now with everyone making adjustments to their way of life, not waiting for children to grow up and dealing with the tragedies at their worst.

“Technology can be an enormously valuable asset, but when it ceases to be a tool for a specific purpose and becomes an end in itself, that’s when you know we’ve lost perspective.”

I chose this quote because it describes how technology has progressed through time. We continue to make excuses for why we turn to technology to fix our problems, yet we do not realize the short cuts we have created. For example, we consider cell phones a mean of safety and cars of transportation, however we take advantage of these gadgets and have begun calling people who are in the next room and driving to the market down the block. We stopped researching in libraries because we have the Internet at our fingertips and we stopped reading because the book was turned into a movie, but we forget that the long way around makes us more educated and better human beings. I believe there is a happy medium between exposing ourselves to “rural” life and enjoying the technological luxuries, however humans have yet to figure that out; and when that time comes, we will finally be able to consider ourselves smarter.

“In fact, paradoxically, being electronically connected all the times has actually made us less social and less community-oriented.”

This quote just makes me think about how often we are at a family dinner, birthday party, or enjoying a beautiful day with friends and we find someone, often ourselves, with our eyes fixated on our cell phones or our ears plugged with blasting music. It has become habitual to be constantly distracted with our cell phones at hand to the point that we feel discomfort or anxiety when we can’t check our phones for a couple of hours. Technology has given us this incredible ability to converse with anyone at anytime, but who is to say that we are actually conversing? It is almost as if we have developed a relationship with our blackberries, not the people with whom we are sending and receiving messages from at the other end. Conversations in the virtual world are not real; there are no interactions or reactions. With cell phones and Facebook, we are constantly trapped in the past or the future instead of enjoying the present. Whether we are commenting on a Facebook picture about a party from last weekend or at lunch with our grandparents simultaneously planning dinners with our friends through texts, we are constantly losing our present experiences that can become real memories. It is sad that a focus of a night becomes taking pictures to post on Facebook, rather than enjoy the moments at hand. Electronics and technology have almost become too convenient and too easily accessible. Facebook, cell phones, iPods, television, and other gadgets deceptively make us forget what we feel truly matters.

"It's time for producers to take responsibility for their products' entire life cycles and not just pretend they can wash their hands of the problem when it goes out the door."

I chose this quote because of how true it is. Last year I wrote a paper on the life cycle of cell phones and it is amazing all the costs and damages we are not aware of and how technology is made to become obsolete because of demands and profits. The idea of life cycles for technology was new to me and it works well in trying to plan sustainable practices. If you look at the beginning, where all the raw materials come from, then production, then actual usage, does it add up how long we actually use our cell phones (for example) and how much it costs, regarding not only money but energy and the environment? Most people have old cell phones and chargers in junk drawers or throw them out which poisons the environment, and most of us are not aware that our actions all add up and can create global problems. Even just more education about recycling programs for technology is a step in the right direction. I think people need to be more connected with nature in order to care about these issues and sadly, like the article talks about, people are living more and more of their lives indoors and in front of computer screens. If people could just spend some time everyday, without headphones on, outside and just listen and enjoy the world around them I think people might start to not only care but take action.

"Technology does not arise out of a vacuum. It does not invent itself (at least not yet). It did not wake up one day and decide to clean up our air. Technology is a result of SOciety's values."

This stood out to me because it is something that we hear often but don't pay much attention to. We hear technology itself being thanked for bettering our world in whatever way as if it woke up and decided it wanted to save the world. When, in reality, there as so many other factors and people that collaborate in order to produce such technologies. These are the people that need to be recognized and thanked because without them, technology would just be sitting there waiting around for some one who knew how to use it to better our world in some way. Its sure not "technology" doing it itself.

"We start to see technology as the mother of human inventiveness, not its progeny" (Suzuki 2).

This quote really embodies the way I have felt about technology, at least on a subconscious level. It’s true that the way technology harbors us and holds us close seems maternal at times, and often I feel like any advancement made will be made by technology not through people. We are bombarded with the wonders of technology, the sheer, unrelenting nature of its continued progress, which occurs at an exponentially increasing pace, and we look at ourselves. For centuries we’ve been engrained with this idea that we are not perfect, that we are the product of sin, that we carry an original sin, or an exploitable imperfection that serves to destroy us, that we are filled with more problems than we are filled with solutions. We have seen ourselves in this light for thousands of years, and for what reason? Subordination. To perceive yourself as further from perfection than anything else is to see yourself as lower; you don’t question what you perceive to be perfect or unquestionable. In the beginning of this big technological boom, technology was far from being perceived as perfect, and it was clear that it was people creating it, Atari looked like a wooden log for Pete’s sake. But in this day and age the majority of people are so far removed from the process in which these technologies were and are being created, that we have no reference point by which to infer that humanity is technology’s orchestrator. Instead we only see a consistently more helpful and nurturing “being” independent of human hands. The result is a perceived perfection and therefore our very real subordination. We believe technology advances on its own, in its own time, by its own hand.
But how does this relate to our consumerism? The question is, what brought about this mindset? Why have we been brought so far from the realization that it is our own ingenuity that brings about these advancements, for our own reasons and our own ends? Our consumer economy has had a dramatic shift away from a “hand-made” market, to an environment in which we can no longer see the seams, in which only the product exists, and not its maker. Why is this so? Maybe it is this perception of a flawed humanity, maybe it’s because technology is immeasurably important to our livelihood, and that should it go wrong, the manufacturers of that technology do not want us to be able to associate a person to their flaws, and maybe it’s our continued fascination with things we ourselves never created. Whatever the reason, our continued ignorance of the fact that technology is our invented child is profitable, thus we are made to believe it.

"It's too late for us, they say. Adults are too set in their ways to change. We've got to teach the children!"

I chose this quote because it really underlines a lot of the hypocritical sentiment that is thrown around these days. As the paper pointed out, there is a consensus that there is a problem, but the same people saying that make no moves to fix the problem, they just lay the blame, or responsibility, on others. The result of this is a whole lot of talking, and pointing the finger, but not a lot of actual commitment to what is being talked about.

"When we are deprived of meaningful interaction with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and interact with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen."

This quote describes the reality of society today, in that innovations in media and technology decrease the need for people to see other face to face. People no longer value time shared with each other in person, and instead rely on technology to sustain personal relationships. Although it is great to keep social connections through cellphones and computers, true personal interactions develop real relationships. The advancement of technology hinders social development, and can to some extent leads to obesity. Children no longer physically play outdoors, and instead sit inside and play on the computer. How are they supposed to get any exercise? It seems that we can also say things through texts and social networking websites that we would not say in person. People get comfortable with the ability to not talk to someone in person, and therefore lose some sense of maturity. With new technological innovations, one can question what meaningful interaction actually is.

"We revel in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond what we ourselves experience in our everyday lives. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the joy of other worlds that already exist all around us?" (198)

This reminds me of a paper I wrote based on Simulacra and the movie The Matrix and how our culture has made it difficult to separate our reality from a sort of hyper-reality. Our society is fixed on advancing our world and attempting to live in an advanced and futuristic realm. Because of this we miss out on much of the simple things we once cherished. Technology is like a drug in many respects. We keep needing more and more and our dependency on it interferes with our daily lives. As the author addresses, technology disregards the need for community and distances families. I feel we do lose sight of many things around us. As poor college students, my roomates and I decided to not get cable. We rarely watch tv and most of our downtime is spent interacting with each other and making better use of our time. I still do not understand what is man's fascination with "fantasy." It simply appears inherent in human nature to want more in this struggle for superiority. However, will our advancement prove to be finite and if so, what will that mean for the human race? Technology on a personal level seems and feels great but are we certain where its progress will take us? Of course only hypothetical inferences can be made in regards to our future but nonetheless with the evidence we have now and at the rate technology is growing, anything is possible.

“In fact, paradoxically, being electronically connected all the times has actually made us less social and less community-oriented.”

In today's world, the reliance on technology as a means of communication is overwhelming. With methods such as email, text and instant messaging, and Facebook growing more popular everyday, the time one spends participating in actual face to face interaction in declining rapidly and also makes those rare in person interactions less meaningful. How often, especially with young adults in this generation, do you see someone glued to their phone at dinner, a family function, or when spending time with others? The answer is all too often. This fixation on technology and it's advances in communication have significantly effected face to face interactions. While speaking with others, one should be able to devote their full attention to the situation, but instead, most people are constantly looking at their call phones texting, checking their email, or online. Although technological advances have done great things for society, they have contributed significantly to the downfalls of in person interaction.

"The power of globalization means that most of us are buying the same products, wearing the same clothes, eating the same food, and shopping at the same stores as our neighbors."
The world today has been woven into an interlinked system of processes, trends, and changes that has shifted from a dependence on the natural world. We have become global consumers, and thus in a sense our identities have been threatened. We no longer have of a sense of individuality. We are programmed to like the same things and buy the same things. The common ground amongst our societies now is "stuff". Globalization has shaped the technological realm and the power of consumer products on our every day lives. Sadly, what defines us in society isn't our integrity, intelligence, or compassion, rather its our name brands and thus status that we are recognized by.

"But while my world was full of nature's delights, today's children face a world dominated by consumer delights. Instead of a real swamp, their world is often "virtual," consisting more of television, video games, and the internet. Each of these technologies wields tremendous power, and children can learn a great deal with them. What they learn, however, is not necessarily what we intend." (p.206, The Big Picture)

When I made the transition from elementary to middle school we became divided as social groups started to form; there were the "cool kids" and the "jocks", the "computer nerds", etc. One of my best friends, Ryan for this articles sake, was starting to really get into computer games. I however was very involved in my athletics. At this point in my life i had played every sport imaginable and was focusing on hockey. This is when we began to grow apart. After school while i was at practice or doing some sort of extracurricular activity, Ryan was playing world of War Craft. Lets just say that was not a very positive influence on Ryan's social skills. His mother, however, did not view it as a problem. As long as the video games kept him occupied and out of trouble and off drugs she was fine with it. Looking back on it now, I see it as a big problem. Ryan got trapped in his virtual world (of Warcraft) and has never since returned. When high school came around while I was busy hanging out with friends, having girlfriends, going to parties, playing hockey, etc. Ryan was still sitting at his computer playing video games. His social skills did not develop very well and even though he was a very good student, he was not in tune with the world around him. He became so involved in his own little world that he began to not care about the real world. And i believe that if it wasn't for his strict parents, his studies probably would have went downhill as well.

I still keep in contact with "Ryan", however we were never as close as we were in elementary school. Ryan, now 20, finally has a girlfriend, his first one. I do believe that Ryan's lack of social interaction with others due to technology (Video games, etc.) has severely inhibited the development of his social skills.

"This world we've created is hard on the planet, and it's hard on us. We've tried to isolate the human experience from the rest of nature, but it's an impossible task. Humans are a part of nature."

The way humans operate in today's modern world is substantially more disconnected with nature than the lives of people even just half a century ago. Technology has enabled us to operate around the clock and under any weather conditions. Both nature's cycle from light to darkness and sunshine to cold winds used to be severe restrictions on the human race. While this may be an improvement to our society as we are able to be more productive, it has detached us from the flow of nature that is inevitably intertwined with our species. As we continue to detach ourselves from the rest of nature, we can unfortunately only do more harm to our planet as we fail to tune in to its needs.

"Technology can be an enormously valuable asset, but when it ceases to be a tool for a specific purpose and becomes an end in itself, that's when you know we've lost perspective."

The reason I chose this quote is because it rings so true. I know so many people who live for technology. The reason they wake up in the morning is to play with their latest gadget or work to pay for it. Their life revolves around what they own and what they plan to own. And yet, the technology doesn't even make their life easier either, it actually just takes control of their lives, making it so that they lose contact with the real world.

"Ultimately we're not electronic beings; were biological ones. We have millions of years of evolution programmed into our cells, programming that's infinitely more complex than anything we've created with our shiny new and exciting technologies. "

I chose this quote because it helps to illuminate our part in connection to this world and technology. This felt like a strong quote. We have so much information that is accessible these days, but the more technology we have the less we seem to take advantage of the changes that could be made. This new era of information could be used to change the world with what we know about different cultures.

"Today's youth, especially in big cities, often lead more isolated, insular lives and can be so removed from the natural world that they can't even identify the common plants and animals that live around them." (199)
-Though the author of this piece makes outlandish claims of total isolation among modern youth, I find his observations lacking in the requisite breadth necessary to substantiate his assertions. Which youth in big cities has he been watching? Where was he observing them? When? None of these questions were addressed in this particular expert, and though the author is not conducting a scientific study, it might behoove him to back up his claims with further evidence before he throws America's youth under the theoretical bus. This quote in particular held more significance for me because it seems to illustrate some of the key flaws in his argument. He later mentions that his father won a competition by being able to identify over 150 types of local flora and fauna. Well isn't that special? The reality of the matter is that something as trivial as the ecological teachings among America's youth is too far fetched to extrapolate upon and draw such unusual conclusions as to say that technology has isolated us from the natural world that surrounds us.

“In fact, we now have to make an effort not to be in touch with other people”

This sums up exactly how I feel about technology and its affects on my life and others around me. Even when I am by myself, I am still in constant communication with other people through email, facebook, text messaging, and phone calls. It would be a rare occurrence for an entire hour to go by without me hearing from someone in my typical day. I would have to work really hard to disconnect myself from the various forms of communications that I am constantly using. It seems that in today’s world most people are facing this problem and are becoming more and more dependent on technology. Without technology many people would feel lost and disconnected from the world. This wasn’t true for people living fifty or even a hundred years ago. So what is the difference now? If technology is supposed to be benefiting humans, how is it doing that if we are moving to a place in time where we can’t live without it? I chose this quote because of these questions it raised for me.

“Humans, I believe, are naturally drawn to lives and worlds outside of our own.”

I agree with the author. Humans, are naturally drawn to lives and worlds outside of our own because it is so much easier to live in a fantasize world than living out our daily lives. We do this all the time, when we in class we daydream about of not being in class but doing something better. For most people the real world has nothing but suffering. For example, the news we hear today are all focused on deaths and kidnappings. Some of us, like myself, we escape into virtual worlds where we have total control. This could be one reason why kids rather stay in the comfort of their room and glued themselves to their favorite electronics devices. Kids whose are stuck in virtual games world can become socially incompetence and may lose touch with reality. When we lose touch with reality life has no meaning.

"In fact, paradoxically, being electronically connected all the time has actually made us less social and less community oriented"

I completety agree with the author 100% on this. Technology has turned has into us into aliens and in way that almost seem like we hate each other. I grew up in a culture where almost everybody living in the compound house that my family and where living in didn't have all this high tech technology. Yes powerty was a huge factor in this but parents in our culture thought their kids how important social life is and getting involved with your community. Coming to America and seeing how much technology was being used was very weird to me and i had adjust to it. Living here now for almost 5 years, i can definatelly see how much technology has influenced our lives and making us lose what is essential to our species. I see people walking around including myself hooked up in their Ipod and this to me is a big problem. People don't even say Hello to each other anymore. Everybody is hooked and making the rest of the world and things around them invincible.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in Canada who doesn't own a cell phone, and I don't think I ever will Watching people barking into their phones at the gym, on ski hills, and in restaurants, I wonder why they bother to go there in the first place. But that's their personal choice.” p8

I chose this quote from “There Ought to be a Law” because by the tone of the authors voice he seems to not understand that it is human nature to want to advance and discover new technologies. We are currently in the electronic age and by human nature we are going to try and advance as far as we are able. We have the technology to have cell phones and we should take full advantage of it. Cell Phones are a great device to be able to keep in touch. The author complains about people talking on their cell phones on the ski slopes but it is very difficult to meet up with friends and family when there are thousands of people coming down the mountain. Cell phones enhance our communication skills. We are living in a fast pace world were people need to be in touch at all times. If your boss urgently needs to speak to you, you will be in trouble with out a cell phone. I disagree with the authors opinion on cell phones in this quote.

“Humans, I believe, are naturally drawn to lives and worlds outside of our own.”

I agree with the author. Humans, are naturally drawn to lives and worlds outside of our own because it is so much easier to live in a fantasize world than living out our daily lives. We do this all the time, when we in class we daydream about of not being in class but doing something better. For most people the real world has nothing but suffering. For example, the news we hear today are all focused on deaths and kidnappings. Some of us, like myself, we escape into virtual worlds where we have total control. This could be one reason why kids rather stay in the comfort of their room and glued themselves to their favorite electronics devices. Kids whose are stuck in virtual games world can become socially incompetence and may lose touch with reality. When we lose touch with reality life has no meaning.

" But while my world was full of nature's delights, today's children face a world dominate by consumer delights. Instead of a real swamp, their world is often "virtual," consisting more of television, video games, and the internet." (pg. 7)

I chose this quote because it brought up the point that our generation has steered itself away from enjoying nature and has turned to enjoying technology. Many new inventions have been brought up and we as consumers have bought every item and made it fashionable. Although nature has come to us and is free, we do not take the time to enjoy it anymore. The fresh smells and beautiful sights that surround us daily have been overlooked and ignored. We have become to consumed in our products of technology and have forgotten to enjoy what has been right before our eyes. Technology has started taking over our lives, isolating us from the natural world around us. I agree that this has indeed happened, because i have started catching myself forgetting to view the sights and enjoy the sounds that are all around me because i am plugged into some sort of technology. Society has made it a norm for us to have the new technology that comes up, and we are expected to be up to date on it as well. Although technology has helped us a lot over the years, it has also taken a lot from us.

"Technology does not arise out of a vacuum. It does not invent itself (at least not yet). It did not wake up one day and decide to clean up our air. Technology is a result of society's values." (197)

"But thanking Technology? Sorry, wrong hero" (198)

I picked these quotes because they exemplify the major problem I had with this text. Though Suzuki's writing is thought provoking, it is also filled with fallacious arguments as well as poorly supported--yet bold--claims.

To say that technology shouldn't be thanked because it is a result of something else, is to use very problematic logic. By the same logic, if you did me a favor, I shouldn't thank you. I should instead thank your parents for raising you. But, I can't thank them either because they too were a result of something that came before.

"Technology does not arise out of a vacuum," but neither does anything else.

It isn't that I completely disagree with Suzuki's points. I simply had a hard time getting past his delivery of them (not always, just some of the time).

Leave a comment

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Nick Tingle published on March 23, 2010 4:03 PM.

Entry 1 was the previous entry in this blog.

Entry 3: "Setting the Course" is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.