I agree with the vast majority of your comments here, Joe, although I have not quite arrived at the desire to separate myself from electronic media to the degree you have. I still feel that my iphone serves me; it doesn't control me, and I don't scroll through it mindlessly to pass the time. Like you, I prefer reading from the printed page, not the screen, and I, too, get the paper delivered to my door, 7 days a week. I will give you a phone call soon (as opposed to sending you an email), as I have some news to deliver and questions to ask.
Thanks Elizabeth. I don't think there can be any absolutism with regard to how we employ digital technologies. They, and the gadgets that convey them, are ubiquitous. How we use them will have to be a matter of degree determined by our choices. The guiding criterion, I believe, is preserving our autonomy, and not allowing ourselves to be taken over by things not ourselves. I await your call!
I admit, I had to look up the Emerson phrase: The phrase "things are in the saddle, and ride mankind" from Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "Ode to William H. Channing" suggests that events and forces, rather than human control, are driving history and shaping humanity's fate. So, I take the analogy that technology are now driving and shaping us. I abandoned my smart phone years ago because it was controlling me rather than the other way around. I still marvel when walking the neighborhood on a most pleasant day noticing some others glued to their phones missing the two squirrels scampering up a cherry tree ripe with about to burst blooms. Hope you recover soon.
I think you have wholly caught the spirit of my essay. As noted, I, too, have observed how gazing down at phones has become so common, diverting attention from appreciation of the environments of those affixed to them, whether it be the details of urban architecture, the subtleties of nature, or the smiling glance of a stranger. I want my world to be a human one, yet, I conclude that attention to phones diminishes the possibilities for individuals, and, by extension, society overall.
Thank you Joe for an important essay. I want to divest from social media (I only go on Facebook) yet there is a social component for me, dare I say camaraderie that I feel with many people. I also learn a lot and the activist community is very strong, as well as the arts community. On the other hand I can't stop buying books that I'm not reading and haven't picked up my Sun Magazine in months.
Many thanks, Alan. Needless to say, social media provides many blandishments, or else its use wouldn't be so pervasive. Re Facebook, many have told me that it provides opportunities for contacts that they wouldn't otherwise have, including reviving relations that were lost since kindergarten. At the same time, one needs to balance the overall effects of the use of Facebook and other such media. As noted, I have found devoting my time to face-to-face relations greatly outweighs the remote fulfillment provided by digital "friends." Moreover, I find so many posts reflect a thousand points of narcissism, which I personally find off-putting. When it comes to political organizing, the same social media that can bring together a political rally for progressive causes can be used to actualize xenophobia and even genocide, which it has. On the personal level, I am placed in contact with so many calls to action, that I have more than enough to expend my commitments without Facebook. When it comes to the employment of the digital technologies, I weigh the positive with the negative, inclusive of controlling political realities, and make my decisions accordingly. But, of course, each person will choose, as she or he will.
Joe, my fondest hope for you is that you find peace and contentment as you negotiate both your humanity and the times we live in.
Many thanks, Kathi. And you, too--.
I agree with the vast majority of your comments here, Joe, although I have not quite arrived at the desire to separate myself from electronic media to the degree you have. I still feel that my iphone serves me; it doesn't control me, and I don't scroll through it mindlessly to pass the time. Like you, I prefer reading from the printed page, not the screen, and I, too, get the paper delivered to my door, 7 days a week. I will give you a phone call soon (as opposed to sending you an email), as I have some news to deliver and questions to ask.
Thanks Elizabeth. I don't think there can be any absolutism with regard to how we employ digital technologies. They, and the gadgets that convey them, are ubiquitous. How we use them will have to be a matter of degree determined by our choices. The guiding criterion, I believe, is preserving our autonomy, and not allowing ourselves to be taken over by things not ourselves. I await your call!
I admit, I had to look up the Emerson phrase: The phrase "things are in the saddle, and ride mankind" from Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem "Ode to William H. Channing" suggests that events and forces, rather than human control, are driving history and shaping humanity's fate. So, I take the analogy that technology are now driving and shaping us. I abandoned my smart phone years ago because it was controlling me rather than the other way around. I still marvel when walking the neighborhood on a most pleasant day noticing some others glued to their phones missing the two squirrels scampering up a cherry tree ripe with about to burst blooms. Hope you recover soon.
I think you have wholly caught the spirit of my essay. As noted, I, too, have observed how gazing down at phones has become so common, diverting attention from appreciation of the environments of those affixed to them, whether it be the details of urban architecture, the subtleties of nature, or the smiling glance of a stranger. I want my world to be a human one, yet, I conclude that attention to phones diminishes the possibilities for individuals, and, by extension, society overall.
Wonderful article, Joe. Here's to real time personal interaction!
Thank you Joe for an important essay. I want to divest from social media (I only go on Facebook) yet there is a social component for me, dare I say camaraderie that I feel with many people. I also learn a lot and the activist community is very strong, as well as the arts community. On the other hand I can't stop buying books that I'm not reading and haven't picked up my Sun Magazine in months.
I'll read your essay again!!!
Many thanks, Alan. Needless to say, social media provides many blandishments, or else its use wouldn't be so pervasive. Re Facebook, many have told me that it provides opportunities for contacts that they wouldn't otherwise have, including reviving relations that were lost since kindergarten. At the same time, one needs to balance the overall effects of the use of Facebook and other such media. As noted, I have found devoting my time to face-to-face relations greatly outweighs the remote fulfillment provided by digital "friends." Moreover, I find so many posts reflect a thousand points of narcissism, which I personally find off-putting. When it comes to political organizing, the same social media that can bring together a political rally for progressive causes can be used to actualize xenophobia and even genocide, which it has. On the personal level, I am placed in contact with so many calls to action, that I have more than enough to expend my commitments without Facebook. When it comes to the employment of the digital technologies, I weigh the positive with the negative, inclusive of controlling political realities, and make my decisions accordingly. But, of course, each person will choose, as she or he will.