I would like to dedicate this post to the “Unplugged” episode on Ryan Murphy’s TV show The New Normal, which happens to poetically coincide with my addiction to my cellular smart phone experience lately. I’ve been experiencing some insomnia for the past little bit, and my boyfriend with a confounded *sigh* has pointedly told me that it’s probably due to my repeated use (or perhaps misuse) of my cellphone before bedtime.
As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have Twitter, so I don’t do the Twitter-sphere bit. Despite having Facebook, I hardly ever go on. A little maintenance here and there, and that’s about it…unless I’m really bored and desperate to kill time. Oddly, Instagram has taken a new obsession over me. Aside from Instagram, I also play a lot of word puzzle games on my phone. I emphasize A LOT. Between those two, I will admit that it probably clocks in about 5 solid hours a day. And I wonder where my sleep has gone…
My cellphone has become the first thing I turn to when I wake up – like actually. As soon as I open my eyes, I reach for my phone. In my defense, I check the time, press snooze about 12 more times, and then check the weather app on my phone. My cellphone is also the last thing before I go to bed. My argument contrary to what my boyfriend thinks is that it helps me fall asleep. He says staring at the screen so much has probably messed my internal clock thus leading to my sleeplessness. Mind you, I have also been staying up late from procrastinating from my schoolwork. So, in light of the recent episode and the idea of limiting information communication technology usage, my boyfriend’s challenge to me is to go one week without bringing my cellphone to bed.
On a related note, and reflecting on the last post on Young and Steeves and how we are moving towards living our lives as open and public, I started to think about the idea of people experiencing life through technology rather than experiencing important milestones as is. To just be in the moment and enjoy it for what it is. Videotaping your newly vehicle licenced teenaged child drive officially…I get it, it’s exciting that your child is growing up. But how about A) keep your extra eyes on the road (just because safety first), B) teaching your child good road etiquette (cellphones while driving is illegal where I’m from, but if it’s not for you, a new driver probably shouldn’t be doing both), 3) whatever happened to keeping memories as memories in the brain…not documented? Okay, maybe this example is a little extreme…or consider this, so many young parents are caught up with witnessing their toddler take their first steps through a lens, rather than actually absorbing that sacred moment and witnessing with them.
Furthermore, I have to embarrassingly confess that I was caught off guard of being swept along with the idea of having followers when I discovered the stat section on this WordPress blog site. I caught myself checking to see if people were reading it, and what part of the world from. And then I started thinking about ways to “pimp” my blog out such as providing a link to Facebook. But the reality is, it’s weird to have a stranger follow you around in real life, so why is it normal and sought after online? My guess, for validation; but to what extent? What does this achieve? Why and how is this different from offline in the real world?
In line with moving towards a more public life, here’s a quote from the show (The New Normal) spoken by Rocky to Nana: “In today’s world, if you don’t exist online, you don’t exist”. Does this mean I’m valued more online as a faceless entity than my offline self as a human being? What message is that enforcing in the end?
Maybe it isn’t just Nana, maybe we’re all monkeys whose been handed loaded guns. Now y’all take the next minute to ReTweet, RePost, and Trend this…
Computer, you’ve got me good again.
Sam 2, Computer 4
samvscomputer 