Lab #2

31 hours unplugged from the 20th century’s life blood of technology, I thought this task would be easy seeing as that I do not have a Facebook or a Myspace however I found the electronic itch a major annoyance. When I chose to do this lab on the common wheel I figured that I would be a simple A because I am so “unattached”. However I could not have been more wrong, because as soon as I stopped I started seeing the technology every where in my life. Unplugging myself from the cord of technology was a very interesting experience because it affected me in ways that I thought I would not. The little things were the things that really hurt things like checking the time on my phone, like typing and spell checking my papers, and like watching T.V. with my friends.
In class I have been hearing about the Amish religion and how they think technology divides people and until I conducted this lab I was in agreement with them but now I have seen it form a different prospective. Being separated by technology actually separated me form the people around me. I would walk by people in there rooms and I would see them connecting through movies and games. I eventually had to sit in my room and work on other things (well I can tell you that I got all of my work done that night).
My personal experience really spotlighted the average Americans view of technology in there lives. Being away from it for 31 hours forced me to notice the dependency of Americans on technology and the fact that we have become so dependant on it that we can no longer break away. In America if we make the choice to take those 31 hours and pull away from the T.V. or the phone then (from an economic point of view) we are already behind. The time to separate ourselves from these electronic forces governing our lives is too late but the true question is if it is depleting our social capital or if it is creating new opportunities in which to experience it? This lab has shown me that although it did stop me form interacting with my piers that night, that technology merely extends the playing field for surface interaction and that deeper social capital will not be gained until we find ourselves face to face.