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Face-to-Face no More?

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by greatwhale, Oct 22, 2014.

  1. greatwhale

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    Am I alone in finding it alarming that two people who are physically together, two people who could even claim to love each other, are so caught up in these magical little boxes?

    A photographer shared this concern:

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/a...onversation-due?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#4ldqpgp

    Some cogent quotes:

    and my personal favourite:

    I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else. I just got an iPhone a couple of months ago, can't stop staring at the damn thing, and neither can the people I am supposed to be with stop staring at their darling devices...
     
  2. Kaiser

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    I don't have a smart phone. I didn't even have a cell phone, until last year, when it was offered to me, as part of my welfare package (food stamps and the phone, that's it). I hardly use the phone, though; just the bare minimum, to keep it activated.

    I've seen how absorbed folks become, when they use their smart phones. I have seen, entire rooms, dead silent except for the sound of notification chimes. I've even seen people, text one another, instead of talking to each other -- when they are in the same room, just because they don't want to look up, for just a second or two, from their screens.

    Phones have become more than, well, phones. They're practically mini-computers. It isn't surprising that, for the most part, people are amused and fascinated, by this one-size-fits-all entertainment bundle. Problem is, they're missing out on the 'real world'.

    As paranoid as this might sound. I believe, somewhere down the road, smart phones will be a form of indirect slavery -- more so than they already are now. But people will be fine with it, because they can watch their favorite shows, talk to their friends, and order what they need, along with being tracked for their purchases, monitored for their use of certain key words in texts/calls, and denied accessibility to certain services, if they do not have a phone or it does not work.

    There is heavy talk, of making currency electronic. That alarms me, greatly. You're practically putting, everything, into the hands of providers. There is talk of expanding work hours, because, with the technology available, people can 'spend time' with their family and loved ones; Skype, being one major example. This I heard on the CNBC channel, you know, that one channel nobody in America watches, the so-called "stocks channel".

    Frightening stuff...

    I get strange looks, when I tell people, I don't have a cell phone. I have that 'welfare phone', but I hardly take it with me, so, I always forget about it.

    I'm more alert and happy, I'd say.
     
  3. TigerInATophat

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    I don't know if this was ever screened in America, but have you heard of the series Black Mirror? It's an anthology series of stories exploring the dark side of technology. Some episodes are set in an alternate present, some in the near future. There was one episode 'Fifteen Million Merits' which depicts a reality were the human race are these slaves who live in these small cell-like rooms with screens on the walls where programing and adverts are displayed that they are not allowed to switch off or ignore, and everyday they have to go to a room were they cycle on exercise bikes to generate electricity and in exchange they are given a currency of 'Merits' which they can use to customise their avatar (seeing as they are only allowed to wear grey tracksuit uniforms themselves and cannot express their identity) or can save up to buy a ticket to appear on talent shows for a chance of a 'better' life; being allocated to a show as a singer, presenter, porn performer etc. There was another episode where peoples whole memories were recorded in chips implanted in their heads, another where it was possible to bring back dead people as robots based on their tweets and so on. It's written by the satirist/presenter Charlie Brooker, who's always got this dark wit and cynical (with an odd undertone of optimistic I always think) sense of humour.
     
  4. Acm

    Acm Guest

    I feel the same way. I value face-to-face interaction more than digital interaction, but it seems like so many people only want to use their cell phones. One thing I really hate is people that use their phones while you're having a conversation with them, it seems really rude but almost everyone I know does it.
     
  5. TigerInATophat

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    I was reading about the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 competition and a photo reminded me of this thread.

    What do smartphones turn us into?

    [​IMG]

    'nuff said.
     
  6. HM03

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    Same. I value face to face much more than texting/messaging. For some reason I just find it awkward....You don't know how the other person interprets your text, or sometimes I'm not sure how to interpret something I get. I don't have that problem face to face talking, since I can hear it in their voice.