Trapped by technology?

[NEVR]

Have our lives become SO dependant on technology that we can't live without it anymore?

Personally I think this is becoming the case for me. I recently went about a month and a half without having a mobile phone, and it annoyed me to no end. When I finally got the damn thing replaced, I actually felt liberated.

Obviously some technology (such as mobile phones) makes our lives a whole lot easier... but my attachment to technology isn't even limited to those necessities. For example, going without the internet (which, let's face it, isn't really necessary over the summer months) irritates me.

I'm sure that, in a community consisting of many seasoned internet users, I'm not alone in feeling like this. It's not like I shut myself inside 24/7 with my phone and my laptop (although that IS a funny image), but without technology I think I'd go mad.

So does anybody want to make me feel better about my predicament by sharing their own experiences of being without internet, phone, etc.? TELL ME I'M NOT ALONE!

[Expectrum]

Well, I rarely use my cellphone for anything else than checking what time it is. One or two calls every now and then, when necessary. Perhaps a message. It could be gone for all I care and I probably wouldn't feel the difference if I bought myself a watch.

But a computer with internet... I can't picture myself without it. Well, I can, and I would be greatly successful in many aspects, but I'm already hooked to it. I depend on it for a lot of things, and I'm usually on some sort of hobby (animating, music, game, etc). It would be hard to adapt, but by the time I do, I'd do great things. Sucks a lot of my time.

[NEVR]

At 6/4/09 10:47 PM, Piss wrote: You should learn an acoustic instrument. Like the pump-organ.

I've actually played drums for 10 years now, but the problem now that I've moved to London (lived in the countryside originally) is the noise levels. And the solution to that? An ELECTRIC drum kit! Technology strikes again.

At 6/4/09 10:53 PM, YoungAndWise wrote: Well, I rarely use my cellphone for anything else than checking what time it is. One or two calls every now and then, when necessary. Perhaps a message. It could be gone for all I care and I probably wouldn't feel the difference if I bought myself a watch.

I lead a fairly hectic lifestyle, so my phone is really vital for keeping in touch with people who I have plans with, etc. The only alternative to that is something like facebook, but again that's technology. Makes life a whole lot easier, but it's annoying to feel the NEED to have these things around me all the time.

But a computer with internet... I can't picture myself without it. Well, I can, and I would be greatly successful in many aspects, but I'm already hooked to it. I depend on it for a lot of things, and I'm usually on some sort of hobby (animating, music, game, etc). It would be hard to adapt, but by the time I do, I'd do great things. Sucks a lot of my time.

Kids are brought up around technology these days. Whilst 50 years ago kids would have been outside climbing trees and playing games in the streets or whatever, now they're playing games online and instant messaging their friends etc. My best friend's younger sister had a phone by the age of 7 for christ's sake... it's just unavoidable.

[Irrelephant]

I don't even have a cell phone. Really, the only things I do all day is use the internet, watch TV, and play video games. It's really pathetic.
But if I were to lose all these, I can honestly say there would be nothing left to live for. If there was absolutely no electricity anywhere, I would literally be bored out of my mind. I would go insane.
It's just the way it is. But we're not going to lose electricity any time soon, so I'm not going to think about it.

[Jolly]

I've already done this thread in a way..
Here.

[Knights]

In the advancement in technology, entertainment has become more sophisticated over the years. 150 years ago, puppet shadows were entertaining for hours. Not to mention work took much longer than today, so people today have more free time on their hands.

[Ragnarokia]

I find life without it dull and uninteresting but I can go without it for a while, however due to the way we buy our food etc going back to the hunter gatherer stage would be to much of a difference I doubt we could adapt to it correctly.
There was a power cut a few weeks ago for a few hours, i just sat down and read a book luckily it was day but leighbors were yelling and being all uptight as if they cant go 1 second without it. I doubt I could survive back in the caveman days etc but to those people who cant last a few hours without it, they need to rely a lot less.

[Expectrum]

At 6/4/09 11:22 PM, NEVR wrote: I've actually played drums for 10 years now, but the problem now that I've moved to London (lived in the countryside originally) is the noise levels. And the solution to that? An ELECTRIC drum kit! Technology strikes again.

Haha. I've been playing piano for about 8 years and I used to practice with a vertical piano, but now I've chosen to stick some headphones in my 88-key electric piano, which feels very similar.

Kids are brought up around technology these days. Whilst 50 years ago kids would have been outside climbing trees and playing games in the streets or whatever, now they're playing games online and instant messaging their friends etc. My best friend's younger sister had a phone by the age of 7 for christ's sake... it's just unavoidable.

I know what you're talking about. In fact, my childhood was like you described, but when I was about 11 or 12 my dad bought me a computer. Everything went downhill from there on, lol. I don't IM/play games all that much though, just your usual newgrounding and lurking.

Damn. What would a 7 years old kid need a cellphone for? Even I had to wait to until I was 15 to justify a reason for it.

[Icecry0]

I just recently got a cell phone so I'm not really at all dependent on it. Losing television for me would suck a little, usually cause it updates news and there are a few good shows on there. I can definitely live without a radio. I probably would be torn without any video games or computer games. However if there is like an apocalypse or zombie outbreak then I wouldn't be majorly effected by the loss of video games because I'd basically be playing them :p. I also would probably have bigger things to worry about >_<. There are a few other hobbies I have besides video games but still.

Live without the internet? R U KIDDING? Without the internet everything will go to hell and that's final. All the modernized countries are dependent on computers now and without the internet they will be in deep shit. Personally if I was unable to have internet then I would probably be crushed for about a few months. Although humans are an adaptive species so. . .I guess I'll get use to it T_T.

[DanYeomans]

Im soo dependant on technology I would DIE without it.

[Deadchick]

I never had a mobile phone to being with....=[

Well, I seem to like the internet a lot, I use it for my research at school and I use it at work, so I think I can't live with out it.

Hope you are better : P

[Bacchanalian]

I dont have any personal stories but I think this fits the tone of the thread... in my own words...

... it both scares and sickens me, the rate at which modern conveniences become modern necessities.

And it's not just individual attachment I'm talking about. You practically HAVE to have a laptop if you go to college. You practically HAVE to have a cell phone if you're going to hold down a job. If you work in IT or insurance you HAVE to have a blackberry.

[WeHaveFreshCookies]

At 6/4/09 11:22 PM, NEVR wrote:

At 6/4/09 10:47 PM, Piss wrote: You should learn an acoustic instrument. Like the pump-organ.

I've actually played drums for 10 years now, but the problem now that I've moved to London (lived in the countryside originally) is the noise levels. And the solution to that? An ELECTRIC drum kit! Technology strikes again.

I hear you there. I HATE my electric kit. It costs an insane amount of money and it just isn't the same. =,(

[carlosbarn]

At 6/4/09 10:45 PM, NEVR wrote: Have our lives become SO dependant on technology that we can't live without it anymore?

Personally I think this is becoming the case for me. I recently went about a month and a half without having a mobile phone, and it annoyed me to no end. When I finally got the damn thing replaced, I actually felt liberated.

Obviously some technology (such as mobile phones) makes our lives a whole lot easier... but my attachment to technology isn't even limited to those necessities. For example, going without the internet (which, let's face it, isn't really necessary over the summer months) irritates me.

I'm sure that, in a community consisting of many seasoned internet users, I'm not alone in feeling like this. It's not like I shut myself inside 24/7 with my phone and my laptop (although that IS a funny image), but without technology I think I'd go mad.

So does anybody want to make me feel better about my predicament by sharing their own experiences of being without internet, phone, etc.? TELL ME I'M NOT ALONE!

Wow you are like the exact opposite of me man! I hate cell phones because of all the shitty calls I get (I swear people talk... and talk... and talk... not to mention I hate to talk on the cell phone anyways there's so much more to do. (That and ever since I known about how easy it is to track gps signals emitting from cell phones, kind of makes me paranoid).

The internet thing you got me... but I use about 79% of the time learning from the internet (other times looking at porn and newgrounds (Great combination eh?)). The internet is also a relief from the every day life that I have to deal with in this shit hole town. (I should seriously make a car loan right now, I'm sure just about anyone would take me good credit with the economy the way it is). The closest bar is about 5 miles away from me, absolutely no entertainment here, and it pisses me off. Not to mention everyone around me is fucking retarded (west virginia, land of the old, lazy, and stupid. I'm just "a guy whose a genius, but lacks common sense" as said by my friends aka crazy anyways).

I believe if I move into a city that I would enjoy seeing more people, even if they are assholes (I personally like it when people are yelling and cursing at me rather than lying pretending their nice and stab you in the back later on). Not to mention more entertainment and things to do. With that in mind, i probably would be off the internet because they have a library with more fundings probably with more up-to-date books rather than the 50 year old books I see (and books that are "current" that is compatable with perl 2).

The one tech I don't believe I can do so well without is my mp3 player. It is so boring walking alone by yourself all the time without some source of entertainment (though I'm always getting yelled at saying I'm going to lose my hearing. Fuck those lazy asses who wouldn't take 2 steps unless for food).

[NEVR]

At 6/4/09 11:30 PM, knightsofthecircle wrote: In the advancement in technology, entertainment has become more sophisticated over the years. 150 years ago, puppet shadows were entertaining for hours. Not to mention work took much longer than today, so people today have more free time on their hands.

I'm not so concerned with the entertainment side of things as the increasing need that people feel to have technology in their lives. It's totally fair enough to kick back and watch a DVD or something, but when you feel like you can't live your life without your DVD player, things become problematic.

I very much doubt that 150 years ago, people felt that they couldn't live without puppet shows, to use your example. There just seems to be something all-consuming about technology... although to be fair, you can hardly go anywhere in western civilisation these days without having it shoved in your face.

At 6/4/09 11:31 PM, Ragnarokia wrote: There was a power cut a few weeks ago for a few hours, i just sat down and read a book luckily it was day but leighbors were yelling and being all uptight as if they cant go 1 second without it. I doubt I could survive back in the caveman days etc but to those people who cant last a few hours without it, they need to rely a lot less.

Power cuts are good in a way because they force people to do something non-electronic. I love to read books, but when I'm not with my friends or family, I spend more time on the computer or watching TV, and as much as I like reading, the books tend to be forgotten for the most part.

At 6/5/09 12:40 AM, Bacchanalian wrote: And it's not just individual attachment I'm talking about. You practically HAVE to have a laptop if you go to college. You practically HAVE to have a cell phone if you're going to hold down a job. If you work in IT or insurance you HAVE to have a blackberry.

You're completely right there. The thought of going through university without my laptop is almost horrifying, not only because it would be VERY inconvenient to have to use the faculty computers to write my assignments, but also because it would put me at a HUGE disadvantage to my peers.

[Expectrum]

At 6/5/09 12:35 AM, Piss wrote: Oh god damnit.

Hey, I never said it was better. The reason I had to do that was because that way I could practice at anytime without bothering anyone, specially since I tend to be very loud. And besides, I play in a grand piano twice a week where I study, so it's not like I'm depriving myself of the real deal.

Another advantage is that I can take it anywhere with me (with a car, that is. Bitch is huge). Again, it's only for practice purposes.

[Ocean]

I can't remember when I've been without it, I simply can't function without technology.
Quite sad really.

[faxmunky]

I don't have a phone, but I'm absolutely dead when my internet goes back to dial-up speed when capped.

[tigger448]

At 6/4/09 11:31 PM, Ragnarokia wrote:

Power cuts are good in a way because they force people to do something non-electronic. I love to read books, but when I'm not with my friends or family, I spend more time on the computer or watching TV, and as much as I like reading, the books tend to be forgotten for the most part.

Power cut? That's why netbooks/laptops/PSPs were invented!

[jarrydn]

At 6/5/09 12:40 AM, Bacchanalian wrote: And it's not just individual attachment I'm talking about. You practically HAVE to have a laptop if you go to college. You practically HAVE to have a cell phone if you're going to hold down a job. If you work in IT or insurance you HAVE to have a blackberry.

Have you noticed how college, a job, IT, and insurance, are all essentially modern trappings, in and of themselves?

If we were self sufficient, we would require none of those things.

A couple of years ago, I'd be crushed if I lost the internet. But now I'm silently praying for it to happen.

I'll be bummed for a day or two. But then I can just start going on bushwalks, telling stories with friends, and generally learning how to exist in the absence of technology :). I think life will ultimately end up being much more exciting and fulfilling.

If all you live for is TV and the internet, then why don't you just go and kill yourself now? It has no meaning...it's all a construct. Your life is a sham.

[DeIirium]

I wouldn´t live without technology, and why the fuck would i even want to?

[sharpes]

I couldn't live without the internet. For my phone, Ehh. I need it sometimes, others I don't. I usually do a few texts to friends and that's about it. Occasionally I'll get a call, but I never call anyone. I can just talk to them on MSN Messenger If I need them. Also Communicate via Facebook.

If technology didn't exist, things wouldn't be that much different, as far as us needing it. What we'd do everyday would feel normal and we'd be used to it. We just grew up in a generation that had these things available for us.

[Tott]

So this isn't a thread about robots taking you hostage?

[bobobobo568]

Technology is the only thing that keeps humans alive. Spears are technology. Baskests are technology. Without it, humanity wouldn't be alive today.