Trying to avoid the cynical image I apparently have earned in this class, I went into this article trying to pull out the positives aspects that mobile devices have to offer. Overall, Rheingold make several compelling arguments about our countries future technology and how it is being utilized in other parts of the world. Rheingold missed his projection that by 2003, “critical mass will emerge sometime after 2003, when more mobile devices than PCs will be connected to the internet.” On this time scale, Toyota will be coming out with the first line of flying cars by 2015. The real point he is trying to make though is that this type of technology is our future. We will have our whole life based around barcodes and blue-tooth wireless devices. It reminds me of the Visa commercials where everyone is moving in one fluid motion, paying by just flashing their visa card. Then, the one customer paying with cash looks foolish when he tries to buy his coffee, holding up the line and messing the stores whole operation up (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xy_PxLw1B_c). Will our mobile devices eventually lead to a world where we just swipe our device and continue on? Will credit cards and wallets become obsolete since its all of it is stored on your cell phone? This is exciting and revolutionary stuff that Rheingold is discussing here, but as cool as it all sounds, I don’t think it will ever happen.
There is one line, towards the end of the chapter that really put all of this into perspective. Mind you, up until this last paragraph I was totally gung-hoe on this technology. I agreed with Rheingold that this is our future. That was until he said, “I believe that our destiny is not (yet) determined by technology, that our freedom and quality of life do not (yet) have to be sacrificed to make us into more efficient components of a global wealth-generating machine. Throughout the chapter, the author hinted that not all was well and good with this technology, but I still bought into it. The one phrase in the quote, “…our freedom and quality of life do not (yet) have to be sacrificed…” makes me believe that mobile devices will never be as efficient as Rheingold hopes. This country is founded off of the freedom that is promised to us as citizens. Although I believe that we as citizens have too much freedom and that the government should have more power, I find myself in a small minority. Most people love their freedom and would go to any length to have it protected. I found an article about unwarranted wiretaps that makes me certain that our mobile devices will never become what the author thinks they will (http://www.alternet.org/story/30350/). Wiretaps are when a government agency listens in on your phone calls for brief intervals attempting to catch terrorist activity. Sounds fine and dandy to me, what is the problem with the government doing all it can to stop another major terrorist attack and what do you care if you’re not doing anything illegal? The point is, if people cause such a fuss over tactics used to combat terror, how do you think they will feel when the government knows where they are, 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks, and 52 weeks a year? The response would not be good, in fact, it would be terrible. People in this country are so unwilling to give up their extra freedoms that this technology may go to waste or never live up to its full potential.
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3 comments:
I really like the point that you are making about technology being our future. I personally do not mind that my freedom is somewhat taken away by the use of technology because I have nothing to hide. I feel that unless you are some kind of criminal or terrorist, who really cares if the government can listen in our your conversations. I personally feel better about the government knowing what is going on because I want to feel safe. The only point where I would feel uncomfortable about this technology is if the government used it for their own personal fun or pleasure.
That was really the point I was trying to get at. If you have nothing to hide, then why does it matter? This technology is cool and I do hope that it becomes a major part of our daily lives.
I guess it is a matter of principle. We just don't want the government butting into our business,even if we're not going anything wrong. That would be my guess.
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