I decided to interview my 19 year old sister.
I started off by asking her a standard question. How do you think technology change our lives? She begins to give me a typical answer. "It saves time. Without it, we'd have to resort to sending mail just to get one little message across while IMs and emails will save a week of our time and get you a reply faster." I then ask her if she could think of any disadvantages that may come with the technology we choose to use. And she gave me a simple "No." And I asked her if she really couldn't think of any and she goes I can, I'm just lazy to say it. So I'm assuming she's too lazy to think and come up with an answer she could be comfortable with. But after encouraging her to give her opinion on the subject she tells me it is damaging because "it hurts the youth and corrupts their minds and... you know what I mean." It looks like she acknowledges that her answer was already something said and understood before. She's "regurgitating" what she's been fed. Then I ask her how do you think this will affect us in the long run as a generation? And she goes, "Why are you doing this to me??" I guess she doesn't want to think. Then I ask what would you do if I suddenly take away all this technology from you? What else would you find to entertain yourself? She tells me she'll die: "I can't text. I'll die." I'm like "Seriously, what do you think you'll be doing?" And she says "sleep and have no life." So I ask her, "So the computer gives you a life?" And she says "Yes, it entertains me. Without it, I can't find anyone." And I ask her, "What do you think they did back then if they wanted to contact each other?" And she says they don't contact each other. "They just ran into each other in the streets." She then wonders aloud "What is life without technology?" And I tell her it was life back then. "How did you think they managed to go through their days back then?" And she says they farmed and laughs. I tell her farming is a way of connecting with nature. And she goes "You go farm then."
Interviewing Strangers
The first guy we walked up to was walking his dog and listening to his iPod. So we ask him what he listens to and how much does he actually use his iPod. He says what he listens to depends on his mood and he uses his iPod about 50% of the time he walks his dog. After further questions (I don't remember what they were), he says the world revolves around technology and that out of the 16 hours he's awake about 13 of it goes to digital use. He goes on to saying "I don't know if it's good or bad" without us asking him. He seemed like he was really thinking and was really enthusiastic about the subject. We ask him if he could go without technology for a day and what he will find himself doing instead. He says it would be possible to go a day without it and that he'll be dancing, reading, and socializing and that these are all hobbies he enjoys. He admits that "the happier me is without technology" which kind of depresses me because he knows that he'll be happier without technology but he's unable to tear himself apart from something that's making him less happy for some reason. He says it's "beyond control" and "don't hate the player, hate the game."
We then asked another man who seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere. But to summarize what he says, he says that he accepts technology and he uses it a lot, "almost every part of the day." He can't live without it. Even when he bikes, he would take his "Crackberry" with him.
A student we asked said that technology takes up more than half of his day because it makes him "happy". He says that without it, "it's not me." But that without it, he'll probably be doing more sports and hanging out with friends.
A valet we interviewed was stumped by our first question. And it was a simple "What do you think about technology?" He responds by telling us he never really thought about it. Hmm.. neither does the rest of society apparently. "It's a good and a bad thing. IPods and cellphones are good." Technology is a "way of life," and we especially need it because "New York is always on the run. We need to have a phone. It's the only way to communicate." This goes to show how the faster societies are always being associated with technology. His phone is his life and number one on his list of digital devices, but only because he needs it for his job. His iPod is his second. He thinks one hour of technology is "fine" but anything more is too much. Even I have to say that one hour is too short a time for me. He says "I don't believe in videogames" and that "you gotta be active." So I guess there's one person who haven't been sucked too much into the digital frenzy ..yet.
The second valet, his friend, believes that technology "shows improvement in our society" and it's what "proves that we are advanced." He has a cellphone but he says he isn't addicted (although the first valet claimed he talks on the phone more than a girl does loll). He says technology is needed for jobs and for networking. When we first asked him how many hours he spent a day using something digital he said 2-3 hours. Then he says "No, that's a lot. I don't use it that much." But his friend says "Stop lying." And he changes his answer to include even more hours this time: "4 to 5 hours." I don't know if he purposely lied in the beginning or if he really didn't realize that was how much time he spends using his phone, computer, ipod etc. He agrees that teens are too addicted to technology, but if he had a child he wouldn't be telling them what or what not to do because "they're not babies anymore." He also says that he used to be addicted to videogames but now he is over them. But if he was restricted to its use as a child, he would probably be all over them as an adult.
Our last interviewee, like our first was walking her dog too. She believes that some of the positive effects of technology is our advancement in the sciences. But the negatives include computers and machines taking away jobs and making the general public lazy because everything they want is done with a "push of a button," such as "ordering online." She says that experiences online is different from your outside experiences. For example, if someone is trying to sell you something upfront, "they have the skills to explain to you and give you information about the object," but if you're shopping online, you're "looking at images" and all you're doing is "looking and guessing and assuming what the thing has to offer." She says that when you're on a computer, you end up sitting the entire time and that "you got to put in the effort to do stuff." She says she has a child that play games online already and that the games online are surprisingly "amazing" considering that they're free. I guess the point that she's trying to make is that digitalization has really went the extra mile for everything, where even free games are hooking little kids in. She also adds on that technology makes "you lose track of the things you're doing." She says she finds it funny when people say they can't write an essay because their computer isn't working. "You can always take out a pen and write an essay on paper. People forget that you can do things without technology like writing." Then we ask "But what if we had to post an assignment online?" to which she goes "Exactly. That's what I mean. Everybody's moving that way" where even homework is being asked to be done online nowadays. She hates technology but admits that "we have to use it."
Interviewing Best Friend
itsCARRiExp (22:08:37) : so what's your take on technology?
mwahsitsemily (22:08:44) : I LOVE IT
mwahsitsemily (22:08:50) : WE'RE GONNA HAVE FLYING CARS
itsCARRiExp (22:08:53) : rofll
mwahsitsemily (22:08:56) : haha
mwahsitsemily (22:09:10) : technology's getting advanceddddd everyday !
mwahsitsemily (22:09:18) : but it's spoiling us and making us lazy
itsCARRiExp (22:10:19) : so do u think you're one of those victims?
mwahsitsemily (22:10:44) : yessirr
itsCARRiExp (22:11:09) : in terms of what specifically?
mwahsitsemily (22:11:38) : well these entertainments makes me not wanna do hw
mwahsitsemily (22:11:39) : ;(
mwahsitsemily (22:11:42) : like right now
mwahsitsemily (22:11:43) : LOl
itsCARRiExp (22:12:24) : lols so you don't think you can control your habits?
mwahsitsemily (22:12:35) : not really
mwahsitsemily (22:12:37) : depends on the person
itsCARRiExp (22:19:15) : how do you think things such as iming, fbing, and emailing have changed the way we communicate with each other
itsCARRiExp (22:19:22) : as opposed to talking face to face?
mwahsitsemily (22:20:03) : iming fbing and emailing makes it easier for us to say things we might not say to people face to face because it behind computers
mwahsitsemily (22:20:17) : we're more expressive online
itsCARRiExp (22:27:38) : do you feel like you can develop a real connection through these devices ?
itsCARRiExp (22:28:41) : or would you say that a relationship (friendship or bf/gf etc.) would be more real when experiences and words are exchanged face to face instead?
mwahsitsemily (22:29:34) : it's easy to lie online because you can't tell, so if you're developing a relationship with someone it might not be real
mwahsitsemily (22:29:56) : experiences face to face are def more real
itsCARRiExp (22:30:37) : would you say most of your relationships develop online or offline?
mwahsitsemily (22:30:47) : offline
itsCARRiExp (22:31:40) : would you be able to survive if i took away all your technology for a period of time?
mwahsitsemily (22:33:41) : yes but it'll be very hard
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