If you see someone with a cell phone, what do you think of them? Who do you guess they're talking to, and about what? Over the weekend, a friend of mine was in town and was using her photo-enabled cell phone to blog her trip. I guess that's part of what's got me thinking about cell phones today.
There are several bits in the news that have me thinking about cell phones and mobile computing. Here in NYC, there's an on-going story about public school restrictions on cell phones. And, in today's NYTimes there's a piece about the use of higher-range ring tones that, according to the article, younger people can hear but older people can't hear. What struck me about the coverage of this is the way adolescents are likened to other-than-human-creatures, like dogs, with special hearing.
This is via Rich Ling, and a forwarded email listserv posting. There's another news story on MSNBC and in Newsweek that caught my attention as well. The focus of the article is about the war in Iraq, and how you discern who is a threat, and what caught my eye was this quote:
"If you see someone with a cell phone," said one of the commanders, half-jokingly, "put a bullet in their f---ing head."
Here, people with cell phones are seen as a particular kind of threat, not unlike the public school kids in NYC are viewed.
Any time there's technological innovation, there are unintended consequences that follow. Howard Rheingold has an interesting piece from a couple of years ago comparing the development of mobile computing via cell phones with the other sorts of technological innovation, like the automobile. Some of the unintended consequences he talks about in this piece are about how technology has influenced mating and dating patterns, which certainly has some relevance for public health.
I wonder, too, about the unintended consequences of "Othering" and new technology, and I worry about the unintended consequences of mobile computing for forces that want to destroy civil liberties and human life.
6 comments:
It is amazing how technology has so many benefits, yet there are always consequences to pay. I saw "An Inconvenient Trith" yesterday and was truely taken back. I felt as though I had already been informed of the content, but had not taken it seriously. And it is obviously VERY serious, as is the way cellphones are transforming our lives.
Speaking of 'Othering' . . .
Hate Crime New York City
I was disturbed to read about this. Even more so, it is frightening to think that people or groups wanting to perpetuate hate, violence, and inequality can use the same tools we use to further their goals and continue marginalizing other people.
This speaks to the fact that each and everyone of us needs to keep our guard up and keep plugging away at changing our immediate surroundings and society as a whole. As much as technology can work against us, I believe there is much more good that can come from it.
kate
After reading back through this, it seems I also have committed the crime of 'othering'.
More and more I think that it is crazy that people are using those cellphones that are permanently connected to their ears... There is something that seems a bit crazy about always needing to be connected and the mental health implications that this may have. Does technology lead to short-term attention span or serious multi-tasking or never spending time in one's mind processing thoughts and activities and emotions that are going on throughout the day. There is something to be said about the importance of daydreaming and of being away from the madness of communication.
I thwarted a mugging on the 6 one evening. A man 'claimed' that a woman was taking his picture. I guess that gave him the right to try to take her phone and necklace. A quick forceful yell, and the man ran off. I'm not sure if she got his picutre, but either way, there is no privacy in public places.
Matt
Talking about privacy, it irritates me to know that walky talkies exists on phone like Nextel. All I hear a whole conversation about nothing between the two people who own them or it's about something I don't want to heara about. I heard that they are creating (if not already) the technology for phones to work underground, this would be the worst suggestion ever. The only way I see as a benefit is during an emergency.
You can turn the walkie talkie to silent mode and use it like a phone. Geez, don't people realize that. It's amazing how inconsiderate people are. Didn't their parents teach them any manners...NO!
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