Goals, overview. As the ancient adage goes, fish don’t see the water. To McLuhan we are the fish and the tEcosystem is the water.
That is, we are so immersed in our technological landscape that we simply don’t notice it, until some part of it breaks, assaults our privacy, or otherwise becomes, to use McLuhan terminology, figure rather than ground. In fact, it isn’t until we notice it that we can ask questions about it. And probably one of the most important questions we can ask is: are we so plugged in that we simply can’t unplug? And if we can’t unplug, who are we becoming as people, friends, citizens?Recall that technology connects and disconnects. The goal of this activity is to see more clearly the tension that exists between those two qualities as it relates to trying to balance the benefits and risks of being plugged into the tEcosystem’s all pervasive network.
Activities. First watch this very short clip in which Amazon founder Jeff Bezos explains the symbiotic, transactional nature of the human-tool relationship:
Second, read the following articles:
- Am I Still Here? (Doerr, Orion Magazine, 2009)
- The End of Alone (Swidely, Boston Globe, 2008)
- Meet the Life Hackers (Thompson, NY Times, 2005)
Forum discussion question: Based on your activities this week, how do you think a major technology that you use (cell phone? microwave? television?) connects and disconnects you? Respond to this question, and also respond to two other posts from colleagues. Discussion concludes over the weekend.
Post on your blog, using the heading “Plugged in.” Post a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs of reflection that summarize how you view your state of being plugged in. Include references to the material that you watched. What are your “take-away” realizations as a result of this activity? As always, feel free to note any biases you suspect in the materials you used. Also, be vigilant about using visually differentiated text in your presentation. Remember: blog postings due this weekend.
* image from Clipart.com, a paid subscription service
