January 25, 2011 at 7:10 am, by Carl

If you haven’t noticed, we have certainly crossed a barrier in our culture and society.  The issue of technology in everyday life is here.  We may not have hit the Singularity, but we have crossed into a new world, a new setting.  It has happened in the past 6-18 months, greatly accelerated with the coming of the Android OS system and the iPad.  I call these devices “mini-computers,” others have called them “very personal computers.”  In any case, a lot of societal changes are taking place that we are now living through.  To me, as a historian and observer of cultural shifts, if you ever wondered how thrilling it must have been during the Renaissance and important changes like we know happened in Science (Galileo, telescope, microscope, etc) or technology (printing press, clock)–well, now you know.


Thrilling.  Terrifying.


Thrilling because of the world that is now open before us.  Few recognize or appreciate the sheer scope of the changes.  Never in the history of the world has it been possible to connect instantly to people on the opposite of the world in real time, with real chat, and even including pictures.  OK, perhaps world leaders could do this previously, and yes the Morse code and shortwave radio has been around for some time, but I think you know what I mean.  Moreover, the level of information that is literally at your fingertips is incredible.


Seriously, we are inching closer to a version of the Hive or maybe the Singularity than ever before.  The possibilities are endless, or at least they seem so.  Maybe the solution to cancer is just out there if enough of us starting thinking about it in some synergistic way.


Yet, it is also terrifying because of the sense of too much connection could lead to scary places.  And, it also has dropped our own sense of how we as people should interact with one another.  This appears in the classroom.  One of my professors was considering a ban of “mini-computers” in her classroom; her basic concept was to eliminate small distractions like texting and phone calls.  In doing so, she had a statement about the devices that I think misses something huge—the point above that I made about these devices now being “mini-computers.”  So, I urged her to reconsider saying anything in a blanket format such as “keep them out of sight.”


A recent tech blog that I read called the ipod/iPad thing “the new bicycle for children.”  These things, devices that we all thought were phones and have one basic purpose, now are becoming a default toy/thing/device that our students are simply going to expect to be everywhere.  Along with that, they will grow up just using them everywhere and seeing our concern of this as quaint, archaic, antiquated and, well, annoying.  Ask my 15 year old now about how she feels about me telling her to stop texting when we are doing a family thing.  She hates it and simply cannot see why it remotely matters!  Many current students feel the same way.


But this issue has gone far beyond the classroom or “those darned kids.”  Before Christmas, my family were given tickets to see The Nutcracker at the Bob Carr–you know, official Orlando Ballet, nice clothes, tuxes, ties, dresses—fancy clothes.  Well, one row up to our right sat 3 girls in the 15-25 year range, and to the left of them was a couple in their mid-20s; sitting beside my daughter was a 50+ year old woman.  The girls to our right were texting the entire time before the dance began and immediately during intermission; the 20 something wife answered at least 5 emails during the performance and the older woman used her device to film the first half of the performance.  If, in a fancy setting that should send all signals to focus on this one thing [the famous ballet], with a certain set of rules about etiquette and decorum, people FAIL TO OBEY those rules, why do we think students would do anything different?


We are clearly in a Brave New World and we must be aware.  To some degree, I hate it.  Too bad!  I am working hard to try and figure out the right path for me, for my family, for my students and my friends.  Largely, this is beyond the control of anyone, and that may be a good thing.  Yet, at the same time, this is a ride with no seat belts.


Get ready for the wild ride.