A Cooler Self

In chapter 11 of Hamlet’s Blackberry, A Cooler Self, William Powers brings to our attention the works of Marshall Mcluhan. Mcluhan is not only the last philosopher mentioned but he is also what I find the most interesting in my opinion. This chapter stood out to me the most because Mcluahn knew what it was like to be sucked into technology so Powers had, what I would think, an easier time projecting those thoughts he had to all of us rather than getting the information and piecing together what was going on hundreds of years ago with Tables and what not.
Mcluhan is responsible for, “the global village” and “the medium is the message” he knew what was to come in our digital work, those to phrases say so much and are so on point without even having to further explain.
On pages 194-195 Powers explains what Mcluhan’s thoughts were on how we can get away from this technology and how to cut back on it. It was simple, we hold the power to do so, simply, as Mcluhan would say “live more consciously.” Many of us don’t realize we have a problem with technology so it never gets fixed, this is why I am glad I had the chance to read this book. Hamlet’s Blackberry has opened my eyes in so many ways! I noticed since starting this book I am not on my phone as much, I regulate my time because now that I noticed I was always on my cell phone texting and on different social networks I get overwhelmed sometimes if I spend too much time on it. We all need a break once in a while, we all have the ability to remove some of the clutter that technology brings in our mind…..we just need a wake up call.

Shakespeare on the Beauty of Old Tools

In chapter 8 of Hamlets Blackberry, William Powers explains the use of technology and moleskines. Moleskines are notebooks used for various things, journaling, grocery shopping lists, note taking, etc. Today the use of moleskines have died out because now we mainly use our cell phones to jot things down in the “Notes” app. Personally, I think using the moleskine notebooks are way better than using our cell phones to hold our information because then we can always go back years later to see what was going on with our younger selfs even though William Powers does make a good point about there being more easier, efficient ways to do so. His friend had the right idea because we can always go back to what is written on paper, our cell phones and tablets break and sometimes we are unable to get that information back.
Powers also talks about William Powers reference to the, “Distracted Globe.” The distracted globe was pertaining to three different things, the mind, the world, and the audience. In Hamlet, Shakespeare says, “Yea, form the table of my memory I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, all saws of books, all forms, all pressures pasts, that youth and observation copied there, and thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain unmixed with baser matter.” When he says that he will wipe away all of the trivial fond records, the books, forms, and all of his troubles from the passed he  is talking about cleaning out his brain of all the messes and distractions of everyday things to be able to focus on just one thing.
I will admit this chapter was a bit confusing before talking it over with the class but I can say I truly enjoyed learning about Shakespeare’s ways.

Walking to Heaven

 

In Hamlets Blackberry, William Powers not only talks about his life and experiences with technology but also the lives of a few great philosophers. Chapter 5 focuses on Plato, the same way Powers has his “Internet Sabbath” Plato also practiced ways to stay connected with people but also took the time to take breaks from the to think from time to time. 
We all need a break once in a while and many of us don’t see it. We always wanted to be connected to find out what is happening next. In the book it is explained how “going outside the walls” would help with that break from people so they had time to themselves to think just as we should turn off our cell phones and computers to “go outside the walls.”
I think if we all kept the same mind set as all of these great greek philosopher then things would be more simple. Our communication skills would be so much better than they are now, we would actually be able to have conversations face-to-face with out any distractions because we would now how to keep that connection going without feeling the need to check out phones to respond to a conversation we are having with someone else via text message.
William Powers asks a very important question in this chapter, “When is the last time you went off with a friends and left the world behind?” This question really stood out to me. How many of us actually leave our cell phones behind when we are out with friends? not too many.. We are always taking a couple seconds out of a conversation or what ever activities we are doing with a friend to check out what is going on with Instagram or Facebook. To me it is really all unhealthy, it is also quite frustrating on how horrible all of our communication skills are getting. I am glad I am realizing this now and having a child soon because when my son is my age I will have had made sure he has it in him that he doesn’t need to always take his phone out, he needs to communicate face-to-face with no problem.

Accidentally Spiritual

In William Powers recent blog he mentions how the screen was devouring the rest of his life and I think now a days too many people are letting that happen. We aren’t realizing how much we let technology take over our lives. It becomes a daily ritual, check Facebook, check email, text messaging, or just playing games. All of this happens right when we wake up and right before we go to bed…every…single..day. You would be lying if you said you didn’t know what I was talking about.
I remember at the beginning of the semester when we were getting into Powers life and learning about his “Internet Sabbath” and thinking it is very much a religious form. He gives up the internet for the weekend all the time just as we fast or give something up for lent.
We get so consumed by things that we do not realize it most of the time so I think if we too Powers approach it would be a lot healthier. We would gain back the time the we were leaving behind with family members and dear friends. Just because we are all together in one room doesn’t exactly mean that we are all paying attention and using that time to interact with one another. Too many of us will sit in a room with three or more people and we will on be on our phones the whole time, letting out a couple words every so often. We need to start limiting ourselves and get more connected with everyone eye to eye rather than just through technology.

Consumed by Technology

I don’t think many of us actually pay attention to how much time we waste with technology. Personally, I spend way too much time on my cell phone and lap top. I have noticed that when I am having a conversation with one or two people and they get on their phone while I am talk it aggravates me but once they get the chance to talk I am right there doing the exact same thing.
My parents have made it a rule that when we are all in the same room with each other we are not allowed to even look at our cell phones because they want us to focus on spending time with each other. That brings back what Sherry Turkle had said in her lecture, “reclaim certain places for conversation.” That is a great idea and more of us need to start doing that. When my family and I go out to for dinner we notice so many families who are just sitting there on their cell phones not even talking to one another, it’s really sad that no one really pays attention to one another anymore.
Sherry Turkle also mentioned how some people feel that if they don’t stay connected then they don’t feel themselves. I completely agree because my sister is one of those people. My sister always has to be on some kind of device or she gets moody, it’s so unhealthy but that is how it’s getting today with everyone. No one wants to talk face to face just face to screen all of the time.

Hello Mother

In chapter two of Hamlets Blackberry we learn that William Powers mother lives two hours away in Massachusetts. When he travels he likes to fly in and out of a particular airport so he is able to visit his mother on both ends.  Chapter two also explains how easy it is for us to make a simple phone call to let someone know that we will either not be able to make it or that we will be a few minutes late. Take the time to imagine life without cell phones, these phone calls that take a couple seconds to make would turn into 10 minutes due to pulling over, finding change, making the call, getting back in your car, and getting back on the road again.
One of the sentences that really caught my attention was “It’s good to be connected, and it’s bad to be disconnected” I definitely agree. Although being away from ourself phones allows us “The Gap” we need every so often, we also need it to stay in touch with our loved ones when we like. Maybe if we managed our time better on the cell phones we wouldn’t have such a problem with them and we would have more time to get other tasks done and let our mind wonder freely without a little screen in our face all of the time.
This book is really teaching a lot and I cannot wait to read more and maybe apply some of the strategies that William Powers uses in my life.

Best of Technonolgy

Technology has always been a big part of my life whether it be video games, computers, cell phones, or tablets. I’ve always found it quite comforting having technology to fall back on to keep in touch with loved ones when I was not able to see them quite often or for the loved ones that I have that do not live close by. The scary thing about technology is that most people cannot go a day without using their cell phone or computers, let alone a couple of hours.

Social networks have been there for me to find out important things for a while and I think that is great. I have family and close friends who have moved away and social networks give me a chance to be apart of their biggest moments in life. I will be having a baby late June/early July and I could not be happier that my family in Texas, San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles get to be apart of that in some way.

Having access to different networks by using tablets, computers, and cel phones has helped me start a little freelancing business for myself. I post make up that I have done on myself and on others so that other people are able to view them and contact me when they need make up done for a dance, party, dinner, etc. Sure, a lot of things we do can easily be done without technology like it had been done for years but I think now that we have a wide range it has made life a lot easier for many of us.

Personally, when I have been on a certain social network for some amount of time and they decide they want to change their layout I can admit it is a little frustrating. When you are used to constantly using something for a good amount of time and they switch it up it might be a little hard to get used to. Luckily for me I just stick to Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. I do not have much to keep up on. For people who decide they do not want to be apart of a social network because the layout looks complicated is totally understandable. I never joined Twitter for the same reason, I am completely lost and have never been a fan. I think it is completely okay to want to have nothing to do with technology but I think everyone should at least try it out to keep in touch at least via email or text messaging.