Monday, 26 November 2012

Mobile Devices


     How connected are people to their mobile devices? I can only speak from personal experience so I will try and answer this question from my own point of view. I am guilty of taking my children to the park and checking my facebook page. I am guilty of answering the phone while I am eating dinner. I am guilty of having 4 browser windows open with university assignments on one page, facebook on another, and shopping on the following two.
     How much information can the brain absorb in one moment? For information to be remembered after it is no longer present, it has to be represented with either sensory representations or verbal representations (Burton, Westen, Kowalski, 2009, p. 246). If we are for instance only receiving information online, how many other sensors are we missing out on? How much is being retained and how much of our brains are not being used?
     Are we becoming cyborgs? I believe so. If not in a complete sense, there is always a part of me at least, that is not present. My girlfriend came over for a visit and a chat, I counted 5 times she answered a text message while we were talking. I myself checked my messages 3 times. How much of our conversation was actually listened to? I sometimes wonder if we had the same conversation via text message if we would have had more of each others attention?
          Gone are the days where people have to respond face to face. Captain cook didn't email England to let them know he had discovered a country. He had to send a message across the sea, taking months at a time. I guess the question is, are we benefiting from the advancement of technology or not? In some instances of course we benefit. For instance in my case, I can now study at university level because I can do it via correspondence. We can engage in group work, watch lectures, and submit assignments online, which would have been an impossible feat before the introduction of Internet. But I truly believe we are missing some important aspects of life, how many people do you know from younger generations who have a vegetable garden? How many people knot or sew their own clothes? Maybe a few, maybe none. One thing is for sure, family relationships have changed with mobile devices, they have removed some crucial part of human interaction that is quite necessary in human development.
     One thing I know, after reading this week's material for university on mobile devices, I vow to turn my phone off during dinner, leave my phone at home when I take my children to the park, and only have one project at a time opened on my laptop. I am not removing the mobile devices from my life, but I will remove their control of it.


 Brainy quote, Amanda Holden, 2012 <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/mobile.html#j2ImLDyvQfWTRjdm.99

Burton L, Westen D, Kowalski R, 2009, Psychology 2nd edn, John Wiley and Sons Australia, Milton Qld

[image] Facebook.com 'Dude, I was there. Don't change the story'.

 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/mobile.html#j2ImLDyvQfWTRjdm.99
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown4 December 2012 at 14:18

    I applaud you for taking your control back! As a mum I pay special attention to what "experts" say about how technology influences our relationship with our children. Countless times I have heard that the number one complaint from children is that my parents don't pay attention to me, they are always on their phones. We too have mobile free zones in our house.....the dinner table, around the pool and in the car at pick up time.

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  2. aa6 December 2012 at 03:50

    Like you, I am guilty of having many browser windows open (simultaneously play, work and study), I love having mobility and, on top of that, i love being a busy bee with a gadget. However, I find there is a need to 'switch off' every now and again to take a breath . Linda- I like the mobile free zones idea! I also worry a great deal about how this affects me personally and socially.

    'Gone are the days where people HAVE to respond face to face' This is sure what it feels like sometimes Mandy! A mobile means we can interact at anytime... a text message means we can interact without having to be social(no manners, no small chat, no making effort). It seems that a text 'here and there' is what we call friendships these days. I am appreciating, more and more, people who call rather then email or text.

    I have many of my own unanswered thoughts:
    Are we overloading on technology consumption and are we wasting our time browsing? I believe we could be.
    Could this time be limited? Yes, though I don't think people can control themselves.
    Are we assuming negative habits from this mobility? It's likely.
    Though, why do I feel the need to check my phone every 10 minutes?

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