Pulling the Plug...
As it’s approaching ‘that’ time of year my thoughts naturally turn to rampant consumerism. At least that’s the behaviour Big Business wants us to display – and not only during the run up to Christmas. But I can’t help thinking (it’s a problem I know) that the levels of consumption we are supposed to exhibit, the level of gift giving that’s expected of us (after all who wants to look ‘cheap’ @ Christmas) and the way that adverts are designed to make us feel inadequate if we don’t have the latest gizmo or gadget is just plain WRONG. This is not the way that things are supposed to be. This is not the way things SHOULD be.
So, when I found an article in Wired Magazine called: ‘Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die’ it drew my interest. He’s a few of the comments made by Tony Long –
“Just because technology makes it possible for us to work 10 times faster than we used to doesn't mean we should do it. The body may be able to withstand the strain -- for a while -- but the spirit isn't meant to flail away uselessly on the commercial gerbil wheel. The boys in corporate don't want you to hear this because the more they can suck out of you, the lower their costs and the higher their profit margin. And profit is god, after all”.
“But stock-market capitalism is today's coin of the realm, consumerism its handmaiden, and technology is the great enabler. You think technology benefits you because it gives you an easier row to hoe? Bollocks. The ease it provides is illusory. It has trapped you, made you a slave to things you don't even need but suddenly can't live without. So you rot in a cubicle trying to get the money to get the stuff, when you should be out walking in a meadow or wooing a lover or writing a song”.
“Look around. Our collective humanity is dying a little more every day. Technology is killing life on the street -- the public commons, if you please. Chat rooms, text messaging, IM are all, technically, forms of communication. But when they replace yakking over the back fence, or sitting huggermugger at the bar or simply walking with a friend -- as they have for an increasing number of people in "advanced" societies -- then meaningful human contact is lost. Ease of use is small compensation”.
Like fire our consumer society can be a valued friend but a terrible enemy. What is it today? Or more importantly what is it to YOU? Is having a Starbucks on every corner a blessing or a curse? Is ease of communication killing conversation? Do you REALLY want to be able to work from the beach? Is it REALLY a good idea to be available 24/7?
The society we live in is the society we CHOOSE to live in. If you don’t like it – then stop doing it. You are not a slave to the gods of the Free Market unless you want to be. Need some space? Some you time? Then turn off your mobile phone… Difficult isn’t it? What if something important happens? What if you miss something? How’s your anxiety level just now as you reach for the off-switch?
Maybe happiness is being unplugged – but you’ll never know unless you try it. Go on – unplug from the Great Machine. Be ‘off-line’. Be anonymous for a little while. Try being ‘off the Grid’ for an hour a day. Feel Free – disconnect, and go talk to someone IRL (snigger)…
About Me
- CyberKitten
- I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.
10 comments:
Consumerism? Not guilty of being a major consumer, can't afford it, don't even try, but technology?Okay, guilty to some extent on all that, in that I love my on-line time when I get it and my cell phone. All my siblings (7 of them)live far away, so the phone and e-mail keep us in constant touch. But not so guilty in that I don't have a computer or internet access at home, I have only basic cable, not all the channels, and I have chosen to live in a rural area, with a low paying job that is also low stress and has reasonable hours so that I can walk home from work when I want, go home each day at lunch if I want, and pick up my kids each day after school.
I've found I'd much rather stress about my lack of income and luxuries, than stress about where my children are or if I'll be able to make their soccer game or horseback riding lesson.
I "unplugged" from the ultra-competitive world years ago to some extent, but fully expect to go back to it a little bit once the kids are grown. In the mean time, money is tight, but the love around me is tighter. :-)
I do my best not to get too caught up in the whole consumerism thing - though I do have some of the gadgets (mobile phone/computer etc..) but I don't have an iPod & don't ever intend getting one. I normally buy things I want/need as a practical thing - not as a fashion accessory or as some kind of silly statement about 'who I am'. I know who I am... and if the world doesn't like it.... Tough.
As you can probably guess.. I'm not exactly fashionable.. (snigger). Not that I care... and I DO so hate it when adverts try to blatently manipulate you... It kinda makes me MAD!
Even as a geek, I'll always say that there is too much technology out there. Yep, the technology lets us do things we couldn't do before but it also means that we get lazy.
How many times do people go up the lift instead of taking the stairs ?
Ipods - I'm another one who doesn't want one of these, partly because people are telling me to get one. What's in it for them ? Not getting a widget for the fashion value.
Golden rule - keep it simple. Complication means there's things that can go wrong. Says the person with a new washing machine with a bright shiny digital time to go display.
THIS IS SOOO GREAT! Frightening, but great. And I love that you posted this, right at this time, too....So much of what he says is absolutely true, but...and this is personal, of course...right now, my being able to blog about and sort of talk with other people on line through blogging...is really great for me...because, due to a health concern, I am pretty much confined to my home...For me, being 'connected' to the internet, therefor many people like yourself, has been a Godsend! Truly. It usn't that I cannot see people, but they must come to me and they must not be carrying any germs when they come...I realize mine is a special situation, but...I'm sure there are many other people out there in the world who have similar problems or find being connected to The Internet is helping to keep them sane!!!(Dubious word, I know...lol)
But I really basically agree with his thoughts on all that he has written...and I thank you for posting it!
Hi 'oldlady' & welcome to my little corner of the Blogsphere..
I'm certainly not anti-technology (though I have been accused of it many times for just raising questions), what I am saying is that if technology improves your life - as it has yours then great. That's what it SHOULD be doing. Connecting those like you, who for various reasons can't get 'out and about', is a great step forward - being able (and often expected) to be on call from work is IMO a huge step backwards..
I'm glad its working out for you - it is great that people from all over the World can 'chew the fat' about issues that interest them on the Net.
I've only discovered Tony Long recently but he does seem to have a good head on his shoulders so you might see excepts from some of his other musings here at some point.
Thanks for your positive comments.
I agree with old lady and your comments too CK. I thought about this on the way home after my original response. The Net has been a great connector for the common person. For me, it's a political connector, which I so desperately need, being such a liberal in a conservative area. There's no media spin or religious or government censor telling me what I can think or say, and when people from other countries say, "the media shows the U.S. as "x" or your country is "y," I can say, that's just hype or spin, here's how it actually is on the ground here. It cuts out all the crap. We can share ideas, have intelligent debates, something not seen in our Presidential "debates" for too many years now, and we can understand each other better. So technology has been great for that purpose for me. As for the IPod, I was laughed at recently because I wasn't sure about the differences or similarities between an IPod, a Blackberry, and some other little gadget that everyone has to have. I figure if I don't know what it is and I haven't had the need to seek one out, I must not need it in my life. :-)
Hi CK, welcome back.
I agree to some extent that we have become massively overconsumerised, however I think there is a backlash against it - hence the popularity of shows about dropping out/leaving the city for the country/alternative lifestyles. Although most of the shows are completely missing the point, they do show a public interest in alternatives.
hopwever, i do not think that the rise in technology is bad - like all things, some people use it to excess, but on the whole the inetrnet has not replaced yakking over the garden fence, it's just offered a lot more fences to yak over.
How many people have you met due to the internet? I've met (physically & virtually) loads.
Also, as someone who works from home I soon worked out that being available 24/7 was not good. I'm a dab hand at both turning my phone off & ignoring it when it rings.
Work/life balance is the buzz word these days, and that is what it should be about.
PS IPods: don't want one, but have seen them used very usefully at work. Also, I "needed" a walkman when I was younger, the IPod is just the equivilent
Thanks Mrs A - good to be back and back on-line. My parents haven't joined the Internet Generation yet...
Sorry I missed your birthday bash... It certainly sounded 'interesting'.
Anyway - I agree that technology per se is definitely not a bad thing, after all it's only a tool. It's when technology (or anything else for that matter) starts using YOU that there's a problem. Life enhancing stuff - certainly. Intrusive stuff - no thanks.
I too have met many people on-line that I would never have known IRL and that is SO cool. I've also found tons of useful information (and books) on-line that I would never have discovered otherwise. However, as you rightly said, it's all about the balance.
Hi cyberkitty,, I wanted to come back and say thanks so much for visitung my blog...and also...I don't even UNDERSTAND what an ipod is or anything about it, OR The Blackberry(???)..can you or someone explain all this to me???? (lol) Don't feel you have to, at all!)) (sooooo much to know..or, not know, as the case may be!!!)...if either of these mysterious things could or WOULD enhance my present life, I'd be happy. But, it just seems like...more, more, more of the same, and WHY!!!!
Okay. I'm done, for the moment. LOL!!!
The only Blackberry I know grows on bushes & is great as a jam spread on freshly buttered toast.
I'm guessing that, like the iPod, it's a MP3 player...?
I do have a MP3 player - made by Philips - so I can listen to my fave tunes on the bus to and from work. Normally I only get to listen to my music at weekends so it's nice to have the opportunity to listen during the week too.
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