October 11 , 2005
OPINIONSToo attached to technology
I would be willing to bet my hard-earned money that the next time you walk into any Starbucks, at least one person will be surfing the Internet on his or her laptop, another will be listening to music on an iPod, and three will be talking on cell phones, while making edits on their palm pilot.
Why? Because our society has been brainwashed to believe that we can not survive without technology.
Nowadays we feel the need to be connected to the world all the time.
Whether it is via computer, cell phone, or a computer in a cell phone, the thought of being disconnected for more than a second is enough to give some people a mild stroke.
Manufacturers are aware of this. They use this knowledge to make millions off of the average consumer, who is itching to have the newest and flashiest item on the market.
When the iPod came out, it was suddenly possible to download your favorite music off the computer and carry it around with you.
Different versions, such as the iPod mini, came out afterwards enticing buyers to get the latest edition of the same basic product.
And it worked.
Now the hottest item on the market is the iPod nano.
Same basic idea, but its new features, such as being as thin as a pencil, makes it marketable.
The Apple company is making huge profits from the same customers, for a product that is constantly remade with the main difference being how much space it takes up.
Another scheme that companies profit from is cell phones.
For some reason, society has an obsession to see just how small an appliance can get.
Technology has gotten to the point where size doesn’t affect the amount of space or programs that can be downloaded on to any piece of hardware.
Regardless of the company, cell phones are getting smaller, with different features that keep being added.
Now, I can be online e-mailing someone, while having a walkie-talkie conversation with someone in the next room.
As a result of all these different product changes, society cannot seem to function without a cell phone in hand and a laptop in their bag.
It makes the individual feel important to have the newest item on the market and to let everyone around you know that you do indeed own it.
It has gotten pathetic. My message to society is that no one is going to think any less of you because you do not have a piece of hardware attached to your ear.
You can go one day without a cell phone.
You can go one day without being online.
We used to do it all the time, remember?
Life will not crumble around you if you forget your palm pilot at home for one day. Your life will go if you don’t have your iPod for one day
We have become so dependent on technology.
We are dependent on what technology does for us and the status it gives people by having the newest product on the market.
This is why companies will continue to upgrade, improve, and remake everything in our daily lives, because they know we will buy it.
Volume 43, Issue 3. Today is
