Wednesday, September 24, 2008

tech.no.lo.gee.

When I was in high school about 4 and a half years ago, we didn't have cellphones or ipods. Okay well a few kids might have had phones but it wasn't that much of a common thing. I was 17. I don't think I had even heard or seen of an ipod at the time.

Now today, I talked to my cousin who is in eighth grade, so I think she's 13, or 12. She told me that if a teacher sees your phone you get suspended for 2 days. And I thought - WOT?? Just for seeing their phone? I was even more shocked that apparently all the kids in her middle school have mobile phones and ipods. They're not allowed to use ipods on the bus, even though many do.

This whole conversation started because I picked her up from school and I asked that when she takes the bus, if she's one of the good kids or the bad kids. I was usually one of the good kids, but who wanted to be a bad kid sometimes. She told me on her bus, all the eighth graders sit in the back, and yes, sometimes she's one of the bad kids. She was told off once for chewing gum. I remarked 'well that's not really being bad', and then the whole ipod thing came up.

Oh yeah, my cousin also has her own laptop. I got my laptop when I was 18, four years ago. And 4 years later, here she is, 12/13, with her own laptop. Umm what's gonna happen in 10 years? Will babies have receptors attached to their heads so that their parents know where they're waddling to?

I just can't believe that just over 4 years ago, most seniors in high school didn't have mobile phones, let alone ipods as well. At least not in my school which at the time was pretty middle-class/lower-middle-class. And now? 11, 12, and 13 year olds have phones and ipods! They don't need either! I still don't have an ipod and I'm a music junkie, and could have certainly used one for my studying in college, when I did actually study, instead of always carrying around a pack of CDs. Middle-schoolers don't need such gadgets. Kids don't need their own phone, until say, they're 16, once they start driving. But even then its not really necessary.

Thank God I didn't grow up in a time like today. Even though now, I'm starting to realize just how much technology is a big part of my life, even though I don't have things like an iphone. But look, here I am on this blog, that I've had for over 3 years. I would be a lot more unorganized if I didn't have things like Google apps, and google docs, and gmail. (And now google has released its own phone. Oh google, why don't you just ask us to become your slaves. Oh wait, that's happened already). Look at what digital video has done to the filmmaking world - actually a lot of positive stuff because its easier now for low-budget filmmakers to make films. Same with digital photography.

But still, over the last few weeks there were times when I shut off from the digital world, as much as I could. When before I would check my email frequently during a day, I had to force myself to check it every night. When a couple weeks ago I was watching CNN every night, I really don't know why, I stopped myself because it was just misinformation-overload. I had to detox. Technology is great, but is there really a need to be connected all the time? Do we really have to be available, within contact, 24/7? Do we really need all this constant stream of information (I'm talking about the dumb election)? I know this might sound fairly typical, but I'm interested to see how I will function in Bihar for 3-4 weeks, where I doubt I can check my email everyday. Or even in Delhi for that matter, who knows how connected I can be while I'm there. I think this will be good for me.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:25 PM

    I don't really get why kids of that age need to have so many gadgets either. A lot of stuff worries me about that generation, though, besides the phones and the iPods. I have a cousin who is 14 years old, obsessed with Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, and text messages all the time (her parents just instituted a rule - no text messaging during meals). She said the most common rule broken at her school is using cell phones during the course of the school day. (What I want to know is who the heck they have to call during the school day? Besides their parents, which might be legitimate, but anyone else, aren't all their friends at school with them??)

    ReplyDelete
  2. those kids are probably all texting each other :)

    aah don't we sound like old, out-of-touch grownups? even though we're just a few years older? i just think the speed at which we acquire new technology, and then use it everyday, is just a bit scary. in a couple years everyone will have a phone that will be like the iphone today. that's not really troubling except for the fact that teenagers will have such gadgets - and what about the kids who can't afford that stuff? they will feel isolated. in another way though, technology can be good, like digital filmmaking, or hybrid cars. i guess its a toss-up.

    ReplyDelete