Imprisoned in a Technological Bubble of Our Own Making?

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/210821_popoff07_copy.asp' target='_blank'>http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifes...poff07_copy.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Blogs on PDAs, MP3 players, podcasting, cell phones -- just how far into your own digital navel can you gaze before you drop out of any sort of face-to-face interaction? And if you look up from your laptop, Game Boy or personal DVD player you'll see that you're far from the only one plugged into your own world. . . . While these gizmos are marketed as things that can bring us together (like being in 24/7 contact via cell phones), they often serve to isolate. Each of us populates a personal tech-bubble of one. Solo-tech-travelers often are unaware that others occupy the same dimensions as them -- that's why they often bump into others, in their cars or on foot. . . . And people get so sucked in and preoccupied that they don't even put down their cell phones when being helped by store clerks; headphones stay clamped on a head that continues to bop to whatever song is too good to pause for the sake of, um, common courtesy."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Prisoner in Bubble.jpg" /><br /><i><span>Prisoners in our own bubbles?</span></i><br /><br />D. Pravaz from the Seattle Post has written a reflective article about the effects of technology on social interaction. Technology makes it a lot easier to maintain contact with people over longer distances, yet ironically it pushes away people who are physically closer to us. He compares taking a train journey a few years ago to the same journey now, and reflects that the removal of the chance meetings and interactions with fellow travellers wipes all social fingerprints off us, leaving us untouched and alone.<!><br /><br />I write this post while travelling on the train myself. In front of me are two people shouting into their mobile phones, not so silently cursing as the signal is lost every five minutes. Just behind them are two people, symmetrically and systematically staring out of the windows either side of the train, each unconsciously nodding along to the tunes distilled through their silver earphones. Me? I'm typing this while listening to Delerium by Capercaillie on my own headphones, quite happy in my own bubble thank you very much. The woman on the opposite aisle (<a href="http://isu.indstate.edu/ilnprof/ENG451/ISLAND">or should that be isle?</a>) looked at me, nodded towards the two guys on the phone, rolled here eyes, got up and moved into a different carriage. One of the guys finished his fifth phone call (not counting recalls after being disconnected), opened up his laptop and plugged in his white earbuds. He moved from a long distance bubble to a more localised one to block us out. But that's fair, as we had put on our headphones to shut him out.<br /><br />I did consider showing one of the <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35284&amp;">consideration cards</a> to the guys on the phone, but chickened out. Why make trouble when I was protected by my <a href="http://www.musiclinks.nl/M/Marillion/songtekst-Fugazi-L17908.html">aural contraception</a>? I know where D. Pravaz is coming from. I can see the lack of common courtesy that gadgets can garner. Equally I can see the benefits they bring. In the end, D. Parvaz decided to reluctantly submit and accepts his own personal bubble. It's a bittersweet article. Technology gives and technology takes away. May the name of technology be praised?

[frankenbike]

Maybe so. But for those of us who were none too social to begin with, it gives us something to do.

I was on a plane recently, and I know the woman next to me wanted to talk to someone. After pretty much figuring out that she wanted to talk about herself, and she didn't really have anything interesting to say, at the earliest opportunity I put my headphones on, cranked up the Deep Purple and continued reading my Terry Pratchett novel.

The only thing about the tech bubble/force field that I don't like, is cell phone use. And that's only because everyone talks so loud, at a volume that pretty much includes everyone around them in the conversation.

Better than the "Shut up" cards, I found going up to those people after the conversation is over and mentioning part of their conversation back to them is a pretty good way of reminding them about keeping to their own "space". Saying something like "I hope that clears up" or "I hope the lawsuit works out" frequently makes them turn bright red.

I had one guy tell me that I shouldn't be listening to other people's conversations when I said something like that. I replied "If you think that, maybe you should find an appropriate spot and volume where you can carry on a private conversation." ;)

Oh, and you ever have someone with an earset on who you think is talking to you, when they're obviously involved in a phone conversation? And that person actually gets annoyed when you respond, as if the tiny earbud on the opposite side of their head is as obvious as an old fashioned rotary phone handset?

[Jonathon Watkins]

But for those of us who were none too social to begin with, it gives us something to do.

Very true. However, doesn't bubbling up make us even less social?

...and continued reading my Terry Pratchett novel.

Now that sounds like a worthwhile pursuit! :D

Better than the "Shut up" cards, I found going up to those people after the conversation is over and mentioning part of their conversation back to them is a pretty good way of reminding them about keeping to their own "space". Saying something like "I hope that clears up" or "I hope the lawsuit works out" frequently makes them turn bright red.

A good way of working - with one problem. You can only do that when the conversation is over, so you have to suffer though it. :wink:

I had one guy tell me that I shouldn't be listening to other people's conversations when I said something like that. I replied "If you think that, maybe you should find an appropriate spot and volume where you can carry on a private conversation." ;)

A nice polite way of pointing it out. :)

[Hrun]

I have to agree with a lot of what he says, especially about the phones. I think that the phones are such an issue because they intrude into other peoples bubbles without interacting with that person. At least the chatty neighbour interacts with you whilst disturbing you.

However, their are such huge advantages to all this technology and many cases where I see increased communication. For example I live a long way from my family and for many years would go 18 months or more without contacting my dad (he didn't live with us growing up). Thanks to technology I have emailed him twice this week. Again, due to our house layout my conputer has to live in the spare room and I could go whole evenings with me in one room and my missus in another and hardly a word spoken. Now with my mobile bubble (ipaq) I spend the evening sat with her on the sofa talking and sharing whilst browsing the web and satisfying the geek in me.

[bjornkeizers]

I've noticed this as well - and I definitely see it happening with myself as well.

The thing is though: I like my bubble so much, that I don't really feel the urge to come out of it. What's the world outside got to offer? No music, no fun, no communication. In my bubble, I have everything I need and more, without having to interact and be disturbed by the world surrounding me. Retreating into the bubble is like a good long soak to me. 8O I don't do any of the 'home-behaviour' things like in the article though :D

I can be an individual again, even in a crowded place. In my bubble, I am king.

Especially on train rides most people retreat into their own bubbles. I always have my PDA and PVP with me, and I consciously use them to block out everything, which in turn puts up a barrier to other people who *do* want to interact with me on a physical level. Everyone else does this as well; you can actually hear a pin drop in the train because everyone - and I do mean *everyone* has an MP3 player.

Definitely something to think about :-)

[Paul Martin]

I recently took a trip to Chicago and rode the train. I was amazed at how quite it was...If someone was on the phone, they were very quiet. Most had MP3 players. Since I drive to work in a much smaller city, I was really surprised, but certainly bears out the "bubble" idea.