It seems to me we are in the middle of a social engineering
experiment of epic proportions that may shake the foundations
of what we call relationships and other things like an apparent
longing towards telepathy is the only way I can express what I see.
The thing is, being a genuine old fart and not entirely in love with
the idea of cell phones even though I have one, the amount of
attention it receives from the youth of today has me wondering where
all this is heading. I saw one example of what I am talking about
at Rutgers a few months back. I am taking some silicon wafers to
our resident processing expert, gary weber, a visiting scholar and
was one of the founders of our now floundering startup, when I saw
these three people walking together, each one deep in a conversation
on three cell phones so there were 6 people going for a walk it seems
but only 3 present. I have teenagers at home and one, a sister of
two adopted twins just here for a while, we are watching a movie
on tv and it seems she is following the movie while connected with
her boyfriend. I mention something and she answers but I thought
she was answering me who is present in the room but no, she is
making random comments to her boyfriend and it just SOUNDED like
she was talking to me.
Not a whole lot I can do to change things so just wondered what your
experiences with cell phones are like and what do you think is
going to go on in the future with this technology. Already the cell is
getting cameras, Ipods, games, internet connections, GPS, what next?
I think one thing is more and more it will be dissapearing into the
body as time goes on, I think powered by biological batteries
so you never need to charge or change batteries, the whole thing
the size of a grain of rice but maybe connected directly to sensory
nodes. Maybe 50(?) years or less from now. RF connection to the
closest wireless net with gigabyte bandwidth, it seems to me it would
fundamentally alter the perception of what it is to be human and
would put us in the realm of universal connectedness as if everyone
was telepathic, limited only by the time delays of radio waves.
Do you think this is simply inevitable or a good thing or a bad thing?
A next step in human evolution? a step backwards? What do you think
of this possiblilty and where we are today with this technology.
I don't know whether to hang my head and cry or be thankful for the
connections. What do you guys think?
Originally posted by sonhouseMaybe parents could forbid their teenagers to own cellphones while they live in their god damned house.
It seems to me we are in the middle of a social engineering
experiment of epic proportions that may shake the foundations
of what we call relationships and other things like an apparent
longing towards telepathy is the only way I can express what I see.
The thing is, being a genuine old fart and not entirely in love with
the idea of cell phones even ...[text shortened]... now whether to hang my head and cry or be thankful for the
connections. What do you guys think?
If parents unite, they could banish cell phone usage amongst teenagers for good. It'll never happen though.
Originally posted by PullhardI don't think its that simple since the parents have cell phones too.
Maybe parents could forbid their teenagers to own cellphones while they live in their god damned house.
If parents unite, they could banish cell phone usage amongst teenagers for good. It'll never happen though.
Its would be like smoking parents forbidding their kids to smoke.
Cell phones aren't automatically a bad thing but I would like to
explore the implications of its use. It might still be a bad thing
if we dig deep enough but not sure which is why I posed the
question. One problem I see is which has nothing to do with the
socialogical implications is the fact that long term cell phone use
is like having a microwave next to your head which is usually where
the antenna is. It is interesting there are now antenna designs that
minumize the near field RF levels while leaving the far field strength
basically the same so maybe there are technological answers for the
RF emitted by cells. The problem in the RF area is damage is
accumulative. If you literally stick your head inside an operating
microwave oven you are cramming a huge amount of energy in
a small volume, namely your head. So if you get X amount of
damage by being in a microwave oven say for one minute and the
microwave power is 1,000 watts then there is an arguement that goes
if you spend 1,000 minutes in a ONE watt field you get the same
damage. Now cells are now running about 1/4 watt so it would take
4,000 minutes using those numbers to equal the damage done
by sticking your head in a regular microwave oven for 1 minute.
Not something I would want to do, for sure! In the future better
modulation techniques can get longer range with less power so
eventually cells might run on one tenth of a watt output, but still the
analogy would be like equal to 10,000 minutes = one minute of a
microwave oven. With cell phone use rampant today, it doesn't take
long to see 10,000 minutes which is about one month in real time.
The gist is the damage is done even if its over a period of ten years.
So people are watching the brain tumor statistics very closely you can
be sure. Thats the biggest fear, cell phone use leading to brain
cancer. But that is the technological fear. What I am talking about is
the socialogical implications aside from brain damage. Hmmm. What
would happen if the two were co-implicated? Cell phone use causing
subtle brain damage which leads to more cell phone use. Now THATS
a frightening thought.
Originally posted by sonhouseParents who smoke do forbid their children to smoke. It
I don't think its that simple since the parents have cell phones too.
Its would be like smoking parents forbidding their kids to smoke.
Cell phones aren't automatically a bad thing but I would like to
explore the implications of its use. It might still be a bad thing
if we dig deep enough but not sure which is why I posed the
question. One problem I ...[text shortened]... using
subtle brain damage which leads to more cell phone use. Now THATS
a frightening thought.
Do you believe a parent should buy their children a car when they can drive, just because they have one? I reckon parents have gotten soft. Most teenagers don't need cell phones, and if their parents don't need them, they shouldn't have them either.
Originally posted by sonhouseThey are useful, so I have one. I use it as a phone, and it is turned off or on silence most of the time. What I have noticed is that my notions of what is weird socially are not considered weird by others, especially people very used to cell phones, and people ten years younger than me or so. For me, the notion of answering a telephone and having a conversation while out with a friend feels very strange, and definitely rude. Not everyone feels this way about it. Is there a right or wrong in this? I attribute the dissonance to the possibility that social customs are changing to accommodate changes in technology. My own values, however, are pretty stubborn. When I'm with a friend, the phone serves as my secretary: it takes messages for me. If I must talk while driving, I use a headset so that my hands are not occupied with the phone. Personally, I have no need for cameras, video games, homing devices, and other such 'extras' but my attitude could change. (I used to hate the idea of cell phones, period!) I notice people's phones constantly and find them unnecessarily noisy.
... just wondered what your
experiences with cell phones are like and what do you think is
going to go on in the future with this technology...
Originally posted by AlgernonTo us who are not 18, 20 years old having been brought up in a
They are useful, so I have one. I use it as a phone, and it is turned off or on silence most of the time. What I have noticed is that my notions of what is weird socially are not considered weird by others, especially people very used to cell phones, and people ten years younger than me or so. For me, the notion of answering a telephone and having a conv ...[text shortened]... f cell phones, period!) I notice people's phones constantly and find them unnecessarily noisy.
socially isolated environment, that is to say not like a jungle tribe
where you live in extremely close proximity to your family, cells
would be at first considered a luxury to just get you out of jams.
The 18 year old on the other hand is expressing some inner need
like I said, maybe a yearning for telepathy, where some deeply
hidden tribal instincts are playing out. Jennifer, our temporary
daughter is a case study in this phenomena.
I see her deeply connected to the cell phone as a vital part of her
life. Its not just a phone for her, she has a deep seated need for
the comfort of closeness, she had a bad upbringing, bouncing from
two homes back and forth, 'mom' kicking her out when the county
adaption money ran out, as it does when a kid turns 18. This so-called
mom didn't even let her finish out HS at home, turned out into the
streets. She ended up here, graduating from HS here. Now a kid like
that may have a deep seated desire for the tribal closeness she so
sorely missed as a child so is enacting this cell drama. She has the
earpiece, throat mic, etc., and clearly its another way of life for her.
I suspect this level of involvement with cells is growing exponentially.
It will reach some critical mass sometime, maybe whole towns will
be cell connected tribes. I think you would not want to be connected
in such a way if the parties are unable to physically visit from time
to time to renew physical bonds so I don't see this happening to
a gal in Russia with a guy in Rio. But there is an obvious trend going
on here. The question is, will this electronic togetherness be helpful
to the individual or tend to isolate them further and the true test will
be if it helps society get more creative. If that happens, then the
cell phone explosion will be seen to be worthwhile.
Originally posted by sonhouseI think the intuition/guesswork/predictions of writers like Asimov, Ursula le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Brian Aldiss, Philip K. Dick & many more are correct. Asimov's detective series set in a solipsistic society where robots do all the work & people have total communication but shun all physical contact is on my mind at the moment.
What do you guys think?
Apart from business calls, I think cell phone communication is largely phatic in nature--people talk for the sake of talking because it feels good to communicate. Helps to drown out those disquieting signals of alienation, paranoia & control beamed in from the media landscape...
Originally posted by Bosse de NagePhatic. Word for the day.
I think the intuition/guesswork/predictions of writers like Asimov, Ursula le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Brian Aldiss, Philip K. Dick & many more are correct. Asimov's detective series set in a solipsistic society where robots do all the work & people have total communication but shun all physical contact is on my mind at the moment.
Apart from busi ...[text shortened]... hose disquieting signals of alienation, paranoia & control beamed in from the media landscape...
Speech being used for the purpose of being sociable, without actually
communicating ideas.
In other words, talking to hear your head rattle.