Tuesday, as I waited at the lights to cross the road in the city, my iPod in my ears, phone in my hand, I realised how the other 15 or so people around me were all the same. We were all so disconnected to each other, listening to our own personal music, or busy on our phones, barely paying attention to our surroundings. Although we were all strangers, this made me understand how these days we can easily block out so much with technology. Erin explains in her blog how people are so connected to their mobile phone, which is essentially the same concept. Although mobile phones are more difficult to use when doing everyday aspects like shopping, unlike the iPod which can be left in unconsciously 24/7.
Aspects like the sound of traffic or people around you, was once acknowledged and accepted, now it is blocked out and ignored, isolating ourselves from the world, yet again. Deuze (2011) explains this in his reading how media is disappearing from our consciousness, and merging as a part of our life. In the image (to the right) it shows newborn babies with headphones already on, could this be the future?
Although this has been going on for a very long time already, sometimes it is important to soak up your surroundings and be involved in the world, rather than always disconnecting yourself so easily. We’ve become too heavily reliant on these technologies, which once were just luxuries, yet now have become permanent parts of our lives for many.
References
CubikMusik. 2010. “Cubik Musik in 2010,” 20 posts categorized "CubikMusik Info," January 16. Accessed April 3, 2011. http://cubikmusik.typepad.com/cubikmusik/cubikmusik_info/.
Deuze, M. 2011. Media Life. In Media, Culture & Society, Volume 33, issue 1, pp. 137-148.
Ryan, E. 2011. "Me and My Mobile Phone: Best Friends Forever!" Erin Ryan. Accessed April 4, 2011. http://erin-ryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/me-and-my-mobile-phone-best-friends.html
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