I was sitting in the library with my friend today at school doing homework and looking around I saw everyone on their laptops and or phones. Not a single person was looking for a book on the shelves or reading a book. It seems that all our information comes from the internet these days. As a matter of fact, today i said to my friend, "I don't even know how to check out a book anymore". It's come so rare for us to use books in a library for research now, even books that would usually be used for free read are now being accessed on the computer, iPad, kindle, phone, etc.
Even though you can access a book in a form of the internet and technology, do any people still read books? Since Netflix has come out I know for a fact that I haven't read as many books as I used to because I know have something that I can access on the internet that takes up my free time. This is sad to me because I used to be a very avid reader which would help my brain and now instead I stare mindlessly at a computer or phone screen for hours as I binge watching Criminal Minds, Dexter or One Tree Hill.
I can't be the only one that notices they put technology over using their brain. Instead of learning how to look up a book in the library I just type my question into google. Instead of reading a book for fun in my free time, I watch a show that the internet provides. I don't even watch Television as much anymore because of the internet providing me with being able to watch shows when, where and what I want to watch.
The aspect of being able to have my questions answered so quickly when i type them into google, or putting aside a book or the tv to watch netflix instead, has made me, as well as many other people, impatient. We are so used as a society to having what we want at our dispense that very moment that we think about it, we forget there's other things to do to pass our time and other ways to find out our information that might be a better source.
I love my phone and I love my netflix, don't get my wrong, but sometimes I wish I had the power to put my technology away and do things "the old fashioned way".
You do have that power. It is called free will. Granted the technology, as Clay Shirky notes, is designed to motivate you on a biological level. As in teams of scientists have studied how neurons fire when we get push notifications.
ReplyDeleteYou just need to fight back and choose being present over web presence. This idea of succumbing to technology as an inescapable fog has been a common theme running through our class.
Who knows Try it. Go cold turkey for awhile no social media or netflix...or go baby steps remove social media and netflix from the phone. You could still get places through the browser but that extra step can provide an important moment of pause.
I too spend much of my time in SCSU's library, except I am never actually there. To me that is one of the greatest advantages of college today. Having access to all the journals online is amazing.
In terms of reading I can not stress its importance. It is hard, especially when you are required to read so much, but it is critical to read both inside and outside of your discipline. If you can grab time for a book, even a download on Audible, do it.