Dependence on Technology Becoming an Issue?

Yesterday, in the midst of the somewhat hectic snowfall that went on for what seemed like days, I was catching up on the shows I had missed this past week. My show was almost over when the TV shut off along with the lights throughout the house. The power had gone out. The wifi was incompetent. And chaos ensued in my home. I groaned and began to complain about missing the last part of my show, my mom couldn't see anything and was bothered my the clocks reseting, and I could hear my brother upstairs protesting about the wifi turning off in the midst of his internet surfing. He even came downstairs later and claimed there was absolutely nothing to do without the power.

Taking a step back and analyzing the situation, I realized that society has become very dependent on these things that power gives us, particularly internet and television. I wondered what would happen if the power went out worldwide for a day, and how people would respond to that. What would people do without power? And more importantly, do we really need it?

I think that technology gives us an easy way to distract ourselves from what's important. We are not truly living in the moment when we are attached to our cell phone or always checking emails. I find it sad that people rely on Facebook and Twitter so much, when they could be outside enjoying nature or reading, or even just hanging with friends and enjoying each others company. And I'm not saying that I don't use technology to its full extent either, because I do always feel the need to be checking my Facebook notifications or replying to an email. But seeing what happened when my family didn't have the option to use technology, the way we were almost helpless to find other ways to fill our time, made me truly understand how technology-obsessed our society is.

I read this article today about our dependence on technology and the pros and cons of what technology provides us. In the article, it brings up a professor of Communication Studies at West Virginia University named Nicholas Bowman. He provided an insight that I hadn't really thought of before. "One might counter-argue that while we sometimes remove ourselves from 'our moment' by watching something through our smartphone screen compared to watching it with our eyes, networked technologies allow us to live in the moments of millions of people every day- such as following with eyewitness accounts the riots in Egypt, or the tsunami that struck Japan a few years ago..." (MNN).

I had never really thought of this before. Sure, you can read a newspaper about what is going on in countries across the globe and somewhat account for the depth of the situation, but you can't truly understand something until you see it with your own eyes. Until you get a real glimpse into what's happening. In this way, I think technology may be a real advantage to our society, in that we can comprehend the tragedies in other countries and do the best we can in helping those in need.

I had always thought we took for granted the things that we could be doing instead of using technology, but at the same time, I guess I never truly understood what exactly this power provides us. Sure, technology often gives us an outlet to waste time and procrastinate, but it also educates us on the events going on around us and gives us easy access to knowledge that can better our understanding of a certain topic. Although the use of technology may be a little too high and our dependency on it has definitely become an issue, it isn't all for the worst. I'm still not sure what people would do without technology, but I do know one thing: we absolutely need it.

Words That Can Never Be Said

The other day, my brother referred me to a song he liked called "Words I Never Said" by Lupe Fiasco. I immediately typed it into Youtube for a listen, and upon watching the music video, I was captivated by the message. If you want to watch the video, click here.

In the beginning of the video, a woman is being dragged away by officers and pulled into a room. Over the course of the video, she is shown strapped into a chair with a set of glasses and a mask, being forced to watch a video showing typical American values. It shows picket fences and perfect houses, fries, and the word "America" embedded into a fence. I took this to mean that the government is constantly feeding us images to make us want and need what we call the "American Dream". This woman is almost being forced to agree with what is important to a majority of Americans, and is being punished for not doing so. It almost seems as though the people that took her away are trying to fix her, in a way, as if it's wrong and bad to have different feelings about what you want.

The chorus begins by saying, "It's so loud inside my head with words that I should have said. As I drown in my regrets, I can't take back the words I never said." As these words are being sung by Skylar Grey, Lupe Fiasco is getting onto a public bus, looking at the people, who have masks over their mouths, obstructing any chance of speaking. They are all silent and look at him with confusion, as he is the only one without a mask. Lupe is trying to use this as a metaphor for people today. Although we do not literally have an mask over our mouths so that we cannot speak, we do have many thoughts that we simply cannot share with others around us. These thoughts and ideas often surround the government and how it operates. 

His rap begins as he grabs the microphone on the bus and he starts sharing his ideas of the government. Everyone looks at him in surprise, stunned that he is regarding these touchy issues. One line that truly stood out to me was when he says "I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that there's a jail in you". He is talking about how we all have pent up feelings that we would like to share but cannot because it would be against the government. As he said this, he is in a cell locked up, so he is also using a play on words, that people are being unfairly jailed because of these things that they do that the government states that it does not tolerate. Another interesting point to consider is that Lupe Fiasco is black, and throughout the video he is jailed for his actions in the beginning. This reflects his feelings towards the treatments of African Americans and how they are often jailed for such innocent offenses.

In the end of the video, he escapes from his cell and finds the woman being held captive, who is also black, and lets her go. I feel as though this is him urging us viewers that sometimes it's okay to stray from what's expected and fight back, because this unfair treatment should be stopped.

This reminded me of the Prison Industrial Complex. Just as Lupe Fiasco is claiming the injustice from the government, the PIC had this same injustice when putting people into jail for minor wrongdoings. It's simply unfair that people were given life sentences for non-violent crimes, just as it is unfair that the government ultimately controls the things we can say and do, and the things we are forbidden from.

Another large parallel I made to this video was to the Perilous Times groups that have presented. Throughout history, it is obvious that the government has set forth laws, for example the Espionage and Sedition Acts, that truly show how even a word against the government could have you put on trial. Take the Sedition Act, for example. This says that "any person who shall write, print, utter, or publish, or cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered, or published, any false, scandalous, malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States, with intent to defame the said government of the United States... is to be tried by jury, and may give in evidence the truth of the matter contained in the libel." The word "utter" is especially surprising, even if one merely says a word against the government they can be tried for it, which is truly an unthinkable notion. This connects to the video in that people are so scared of expressing their true opinions that they have masks over their faces, and the police in the video have become this force that is compelling the people to keep their mouths shut about the entire system.

This video is representing our society in a dystopian way, but in a way is being quite honest and truthful, as evidenced by past laws and regulations set by the government that people are forced to abide by, although they may not agree.

Can you guys think of other instances in history in which the government has done this?

Trust, or Lack Thereof

This past weekend, my family was staying with our friends in their home in Lake Geneva. Cruising through the winding roads with the beautiful views, we passed a huge farm that was now covered in snow. My friend told me that during the summer, the farmer sells his vegetables at a stand on the streetside. When he has to leave and can no longer monitor the stand, he puts a sign there- reading what the prices of each vegetable are- and a box to put money in. He trusts that his customers will pay the correct price in exchange for what they are taking.

Growing up on the North Shore, this story greatly surprised me. In Wilmette, you can't even go into a store for a couple minutes without locking your car and double checking that it is locked for sure. Last week, my friends and I were in town and when we were almost in a store my friend stopped and said "I forgot to lock the car!" with great worry and ran back to do just that. Isn't the contrast interesting that we find it ludricrous to leave our belongings unattended.

I don't know half of the people that live on my block. The suburbs, contrary to the countryside, are much more compact and close-knit. So why is our community less connected than that of the country? What makes urban living more cynical than rural?  It makes me sad that here, in Lake Geneva, many of the people know each other, but at home, I don't know a majority of the people that live in the town. Sure, the suburbs obtain a greater population, but you would think we would be more well-acquainted since the houses are closer to each other.

Why is this the case? Is it due to the fact that the suburbs have a greater crime rate? Is something obstructing the chance of complete peace and serenity in the community? Or is it that there are more institutions and a more diverse culture than in the suburbs? We have more schools and workplaces than the country, so is that a factor? Or is it a combination of all of these things?