Technology, a Distraction from Verbal Communication

June 1, 2015

Weekly, I visit my grandma where she always puts aside a pile of print materials she knows I will perhaps want to look at.  The other night, I found myself reading through the entire May 2015 WIRED Magazine.  The strange array of articles, ranging from bedbugs, to oceanographic 3-D photography, to the one article that caught my attention the most: the Apple Watch.

            The main purpose of the Apple Watch is supposedly to allow users to maintain a better sense of position in society and not to remain distracted by their phones.  For example, a new text notification will pop up on the watch and a list of suggested responses will appear.  The user taps the desired response and the message will send, perhaps looking at the watch for a maximum of five seconds.

            I believe that this is absurd.  Consumers need to understand technology better.  It is progressing too rapidly that it is in a way brainwashing many to continue purchasing new technologies without truly realizing their importance in society and their importance for society. 

            Additionally, with every purchase of a new cell phone, do you ever wonder where the old one goes?  Yes it may sit in a drawer back at home, but most likely it will end up in a landfill around the world where the materials to create the phone are originally extracted.  Usually, these locations are in third world countries suffering from large scale companies exploiting these areas with no regards to environmental justice. 

            Am I saying we should stop using our cell phones altogether? No, but take a moment to think of material, labor, economic, and social dimensions of your cell phone.  It may greatly surprise you and inform you, too.