Technology's Bitch

[lupestripe]

Judging by recent replies I have received, it would appear that talking about world issues and musing is more popular than talking about the trivialities of my life. I had stopped being philosophical for fear of offending people but I may now muse more often. And offend you :p

An interesting point was raised by Slinkat the other day about social networks. Although technology has undoubtedly enriched our lives due to its myriad of possibilities, we run the risk of being enslaved to it. My job uses the Internet, I go home and largely use the Internet, indeed I must spend around 3/4 of my waking life at a computer.

The rise of social networks has given us unfettered access to friends and the ability to make new ones from far reaching countries and cultures. The world is getting smaller and I like the uniting effect social networks provide.

In recent days on twitter particularly I have noticed people crave an almost instant response. Sometimes it takes me 24-48 hours to respond to tweets, comments and emails but I do make the effort to respond to each one. There is so much going on in my life that I can't just sit on these clients waiting for responses. However, by the time I do respond, the conversation has moved on, making me wonder whether I am using the technology correctly and whether my own methods are compatible.

Maybe this desire for almost instant gratification is partly to blame for people's general impatience in the world. Coupled with 24 hour rolling news and TV on demand, maybe technology is also not giving people time to relax due to the imposition of this new 'bang bang' culture.

Anyway, on a personal level, the point is it may take some time for me to respond to things due to my general busyness.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[moth-wingthane.livejournal.com]

I hate this hyperconnected always-on thing that's happening now. I'm just glad I'm of the generation that can just about get away with staying out of it for now.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

I personally tend to find that when it comes to replying with most stuff on LJ 7 days is a long enough cut off point.

Twitter about 4 hours, trying to reply to something older than that is well awkward at best, just to the constant stream of info.

[ekevoo.livejournal.com]

It depends on the subject, really. I generally use Twitter as a means to be reachable, so I've had no problem replying (or getting replied) to actually important stuff even if weeks later. When it's small talk, 4 hours is too long already, right? :)

[stuart-otterson.livejournal.com]

Then again, we've been a slave to all sorts even before the internet. Many people are in fact slaves to their cars, they drive it, they feed it, they wash it, they pay for its upkeep. It's like a horse, but without the poop.

[simbab.livejournal.com]

Yes but it sure is nice to not take three weeks to go one town over.

[darkone238.livejournal.com]

Well you just hit the nail on the head as to why I don't use twitter or facebook (although I have accounts on both). I'm not willing to sit on twitter all day waiting for updates, or bother keeping an eye on my wall on facebook. I'd rather sit on WoW all day instead XD Somehow I feel that's more productive.

[simbab.livejournal.com]

I'd rather sit on WoW all day instead XD Somehow I feel that's more productive.

Here is why America is doomed.

[darkone238.livejournal.com]

Yeah if it were 100% true with no exaggeration or humor =P

I actually spend most of my time programming and banging my head against school projects. But that didn't quite get my point across very well :3

[simbab.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's not true for you, in which case, congratulations, but it's true enough for enough people out there (we all know a few) that my original comment stands :P

[simbab.livejournal.com]

Twitter is definitely more shallow than LJ it terms of what it allows for personal interaction.

And I've taken a shining to turning off that stuff every now and again, mostly to do homework or whatever but people should not be afraid to walk away, shut off their cellphone or whatever, for a few hours or days or whatever. A lot of technology is great n' stuff, but people still have the same problems they've always had. People feel restrained by Twitter today. Yesterday it was mass culture and MTV, people isloating themselves with Walkmen, etc.

I'll probably lose my low-cost 3G on-the-go access sometime in the next few years, and I've debated whether I want to just let it go or turn it into a challenge- i.e. figure out a way to establish connectivity to my home using some kind of sound modulation--REMEMBER DOING THAT?

[skawinski.livejournal.com]

Aye, bang on. People rely too heavily of technology these days, and once some fault occurs they're all crippled. Sign of times I guess.

[foxsigil.livejournal.com]

Technology is a tool meant to help us in our lives, but some people seem to get too caught up in it and let the technology control them. Be it my friend who is constantly checking Facebook or the guy I met the other day who routinely stopped conversation because his phone binged to let him know he'd received an email.

Use it all how you want to. If that means it takes you a couple days to reply to something, so be it. Anyone of reasonable temperament will understand. I sometimes take that long to reply to someone simply because I want time to think about what they said. That's what makes asynchronous communication awesome.

[snowtiger-uk.livejournal.com]

Not much changes in a way, I suppose we are all slaves to something. In victorian days the work tended to be more physical and time consuming, I.E. like house cleaning and clothes washing. Coal was "hand got" etc.

[eldabion.livejournal.com]

I agree that we could all benefit for "reducing" the priority of technology in our lives, but it does have to be a collective thing. I hate the constant switching of focus that technology demands, one minute twitter next email then facebook interrupting one's daily activities.