Hello, Molly speaking!

I got my first mobile phone when I was 12. My good ol' Nokia 3315 made me feel like the coolest person alive. There was no camera, no colour screen, no internet and not to mention, I had to keep my text messages to a 150 character limit. The most exciting things I could do with my now-called "brick" phone, was change the cover and create my own monotone ring tones. It was great!

I parted with my Nokia friend many years ago and I honestly look back now and think with my very Gen Y brain, "How did I, like, totally survive with out a camera, colour screen AND internet on my phone?!". I am now in the "smartphone owner" category, content with my iPhone. While I was scrolling through my Facebook this morning (funnily enough, on my mobile), I came across a friends status which read "We live in an era of smartphones and stupid people". Now, I'm not agreeing and saying people are stupid, but I do believe that smart phones make people lazy. Before owning a smartphone, I would need to access a computer to check my Facebook and contact a friend, before that, I would pick up the home phone to contact a friend, before that, I would stroll over to their house in the hope that they would be home and before that.. well, I was probably still in nappies. However, the point I'm trying to make is that anyone who owns a smartphone can most likely contact anyone, anywhere at anytime. Where has the intimacy gone?

Theorist Sherry Turkle stood in front of an audience and talked about how our devices are "so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are" (2012). When Turkle gives examples of how controlling and influential mobile phone can be, such as sending a text, emailing, shopping and checking Facebook during important meetings, classes and presentations, it's made obvious how much people rely on their mobile devices. 

I know that when I am parted from my dearly loved phone, I feel naked. Just like how Turkle described, I feel like I have no control over where to put my attention. I cannot check my Facebook to read about what everyone else is doing. I cannot Google an answer to a question I want to know. I cannot check my diary to see what is planned for the next day. I cannot e-mail, text or make a phone call. It's terrible. Not terrible in the sense that I am disconnected from the cyber world, but terrible that I need my phone to literally function.

Professor Susan Greenfield sums up technology perfectly. She writes "technologies up until now have been a means to an end" (2012). Electronics including ovens, fridges, cars and lights have all been invented to make life easier in the ways of travel and comfort and that's where it ends. Technology nowadays has no visible end and "has become a lifestyle in and of itself rather than a means to improving your life" (Greenfield, 2012).

I don't believe we should fear mobile phones or technology, after all, it's only going to become more involved in everyday lives of everyday people. The way in which devices, especially mobile phones, are used should be feared. Although I hate to admit it, I am guilty of sending and e-mail or text, making a phone call or updating my status and taking a photo or listening to music at inappropriate times. Human brains are designed to adapt to the environment in which they are placed. If the environment is changing, so to will the mind. Every hour you spend interacting with your mobile phone is an hour less talking face-to-face with someone or giving someone a hug. So the fear I have is not with the technology per se, but the way it’s used by the native mind.

References:

Are we becoming cyborgs? 2012  The New York Times, viewed December 1 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/opinion/global/maria-popova-evgeny-morozov-susan-greenfield-are-we-becoming-cyborgs.html?pagewanted=all>

Image: Texting-class1.jpeg, viewed December 1 2012, <http://www.google.com.au/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=PyR&sa=N&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1600&bih=797&tbm=isch&tbnid=gt5cxZrrJXJggM:&imgrefurl=http://artpetty.com/tag/texting-in-the-workplace/&docid=Oa6NBhIIy7BsEM&imgurl=http://artpetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/texting-class1.jpg&w=500&h=403&ei=nrS4UIfTDsuOmQWDiYC4Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=498&vpy=156&dur=301&hovh=154&hovw=192&tx=141&ty=152&sig=106295028581116685494&page=2&tbnh=135&tbnw=168&start=34&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,r:46,s:0,i:279>

Sherry Turkle: Connected but alone? 2012, online video, TED,  US, viewed 1 December  2012 <http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html>

 

Is there a manual to blogging?!

Well, well, the time has come for me to begin yet another networking profile!

I've never blogged before so please, bare with me while I get the hang of entertaining writing, cool graphics and proper grammar.
To me, blogging has always been an activity I've never been overly interested in, mainly because I figure, who would be interested in reading about how I managed to fall asleep after consuming a double-shot latte?! Or how I cracked it at my brother for putting his crumbed knife into the butter?! Or even how I try and train my puppy to "talk" on command but find myself making more barking noise then the dog himself... Well, after reading over other people's blog's to get an idea of how to put my life into words, I've learnt that these little stories make very entertaining reading.

It is a requirement for my study to set up this blog, so, besides my occasional odd story, what can you expect from this blog? During my time studying Social Media, my reflection on the weekly topic will be addressed and as most bloggers will know, using social media today is as common as eating breakfast, lunch and dinner so (hopefully, for my sake) most topics will not be unfamiliar ground and the information will be clear.

I hope to reach out to readers beyond my fellow classmates but for now, rather than adding in more silly labels in attempt to getting my blog noticed, I better get back to procrastinating my procrastination, I hear it calling my name.