My part (dystopic/determinist arguments to be later rebutted): As Stephanie just mentioned, weve interpreted our data to form a utopic argument from the perspective of social constructionism. However, as is often the case, the data could be interpreted in more than one way. Some of our experiences and observations could be used to support arguments for dystopic and perhaps even determinist view points. Im certain that some of you had similar observations, and perhaps some of you even assumed one of these views for your project. Id like to spend a moment or two to shed some light on a few of these observations. Other members of my group will later rebut these points, effectively strengthening our argument. Point 1) Feeling vulnerable or naked. Isolation from our phones and the internet left most of us with a sweeping sense of vulnerability (perhaps even anxiety). We worried that we would suddenly need to make an important call, or that someone else would need to contact us urgently, and that would be impossible. To a lesser extent, we worried that we might miss an important email, text message, or Facebook notification. A proponent of the dystopic/determinist view might use this point to argue that we are, in a way, addicted to constant connectivity -- and our phones have caused us to require that connectivity in order to feel complete. [potential utopic SCOT rebuttal for Jon: the fact that we feel incomplete without these technologies helps illustrate how central and useful theyve become in everyday life. It isnt particularly surprising or terrible that we feel isolated when removed from an immensely popular and useful communication medium.] Point 2) Difficulties with prolonged face-to-face interaction. Several people in our group indicated that they struggled to keep verbal conversations going with others who kept retreating to their cell phones. The problem was two-fold: First, we were used to checking our phones when the conversation dried up in order to avoid the awkward silence, and losing that crutch meant that we had to try to keep it rolling instead - and we werent used to attempting this! Second, even though we were willing to try to keep the conversation going, others werent; they were more interested in their non-awkward digital conversations. A dystopic determinist might argue that our constant and compulsive cellphone use is to blame for this decline in interpersonal interaction skills. [potential utopic SCOT rebuttal for Jon: it is human nature to seek an escape from awkward conversations. The cell phone has adapted to fulfill that desire, and it facilitates a medium of conversation in which periods of silence (or a complete lack of response) are acceptable instead of unpleasant.] I can make a third point about diminished social capital if you folks want me to, but I feel like Ill be talking too long already.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 19:05:11 +0000
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