Tuesday, February 23, 2010
During the week, the first thing I do in the morning before getting ready is turn on my laptop. Checking e-mail and Facebook are practically ingredients in my breakfast. On the way to class, I attach my earbuds while walking. When I’m home, I spend most of my nighttime sitting in front of some kind of screen reading, watching sitcoms or socializing with friends.
I cannot deny my unconscious addiction to one kind of “soma,” which is mentioned by Aldous Huxley in his 1931 science fiction novel “Brave New World.” In the story, “soma” is a hallucinogen that takes users on an enjoyable trip.
In that imaginary world, people are nurtured in conditioning centers instead of by traditional reproduction: Happiness is rooted in taking soma, having sex for fun and living in a world without comparisons and competition.
The similarities between the predictions Huxley made 70 years ago and the reality of today are stunning.
We are living in a technology-driven era, where almost everyone is dependent on some form of technology. Technology never loses ground as our dose of “soma.” Take, for instance, the common scene on campus of busy students walking to class with their heads down and fingers moving swiftly on tiny keypads.
It is almost comical how, even with rising obesity rates, finger agility still remains intact due to this daily “training.”
Have you ever felt anxious when you leave your cell phone at home? If you feel or hear a vibration, do you overreact and check your phone right away? Even when your phone is sitting on the table peacefully, do you still check it constantly for fear of missing any call or text? Do you have a nervous breakdown when a wireless network is unavailable?
If so, you should be diagnosed with what I like to call Technology-Induced Anxiety. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll have a remedy as long as the ever-changing digital world is still spinning.
For people of past generations, personal interaction was the most comfortable and enjoyable form of communication. However, our generation has quickly replaced quality face time with short inbox messages.
This is an unfortunate trend. Personally, I would rather receive an actual birthday greeting than a Facebook message attached with abbreviated words and emoticons that are not intelligible enough to convey genuine emotion. Why don’t we just pick up the phone and call or even meet up with the person and talk, instead of texting someone who sits just next to us?
For all our generation has done to advance technology, it’s ironic that the technology is now controlling our lives. Science fiction stories like “Brave New World” are fun to read. Let’s just make sure they stay fiction.
— Ho is a junior from Macau, China, in journalism.
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Comments
Ho: People drift apart as world connects
I believe the opposite. Technology like Facebook have given us platforms for even more human interaction. Dating websites, event programs like facebook events, world wide clubs, travel websites, and video communication, have all greatly increase human interaction. People just don't make remark of it. You could look at technology as a soma distributer with sex classifies and drug dealers. That would be a good point.
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