Are We Too Connected?

[crazydeep74]

Well the question that was on my mind is, are we too connected? Could this back fire on us. With us being nerds/geeks (which ever you fancy), we are walking cyborgs basically. For example, myself I always have my IPOD, Windows PDA, Linux/Windows PDA, Cell Phone, portable hard disk, thumb drive and 2600 magazines on me. Plus a stack of network cards on me (PCMCIA/USB...WIFI/Ethernet/3G).

[Firehed]

You keep a lot of crap on you...

I just have my iPod and cell phone unless I know I'll need something else. And those will very likely combine into an iPhone in a couple months.

I don't see how it could backfire (without pulling in some sort of weird conspiracy theory, anyways), but I'm careful about who I give my contact info so I'm not getting pestered all day long.

[The_Beast]

all I carry on me is my Ipod, my cell, and money

I'm not too important that the gov would want to track me

[Techno-Dann]

You carry a lot of stuff, crazydeep...

I guess I'm a bit of a rebel against the portable technology wave. When I'm not carrying my bookbag (which also holds my laptop), all I have on me is the ancient 64 meg thumb drive that I bought four years ago or so.

I think overconnectivity has already come back to bite us. When was the last time you were walking (or driving, riding, or other appropriate verb) and enjoying the day/walk/drive/whatever, just to be interrupted by your cell phone? The main problem I see with overconnectivity is loss of time to one's self- there's always the possibility for someone to bother you, whatever you happen to be doing at the time.

No, I'm not a luddite, I appreciate a shiny MP3 player or cell phone as much as the next geek, I've just never really wanted one for myself.

[crazybob]

I don't think I'm overconnected. I carry a cell phone, but I'll ignore it regularly if I don't feel like I'm in an appropriate place to be using it.

The real problem is addiction. I moved out of my apartment just recently and I had to live there for two days after the internet had been shut off. I want you to think very carefully about what you'd do in that situation. I've always been content to read for fun, but my roommates were both a bit restless as they had absolutely nothing to occupy their time.

[Gravemind123]

All I carry with is a cell phone that I don't answer if I don't want to, and that's really it. No other tech on me at all times, i do have a flashdrive or mp3 player sometimes, but not always.

[R_H]

I carry around a cell phone (strictly for phoning), an MP3 player and occaisionally a PDA that I use as an eBook reader.

[Lorquis]

Whilst trying to limit the amount of sheer chav bait I have about my person, I'm normally carrying iPod, a phone (just a cheapy, or an indestructable one if going out out) some kind of smartphone Vario II, I have a thumbdrive on my keychain, not a lot else really... there is the rare occasion I drag my powerbook with me, but I prefere not to as it's heavy (well it is compared to not taking it) so it limits my running away from chavs-ability

[Nath]

I usually just have my (old and battered) Nokia 6610 in a pocket and occasionally my iRiver too, but imho carrying a load of crap like PDAs around is just unnecessary. It can backfire on you if you a) get mugged for the thousands of pounds of equipment you have on you, or b) are humiliated in public when the veritable geek arsenal you have pulls your trousers down. Neither situation is ideal really, but it's important to be able to get rid of gadgets while remaining sociable. No one wants to talk to the guy who's checking his phone every 5 seconds, it's important just to detach from the "zomg electronics!!!11" attitude every now and then.

[DarkLord7854]

Nokia 6600 (extremely battered and battle-weary), wallet, pack of gum, and cheap thumb drive

[Malfoleo]

I have to agree that everybody is becoming far too attached to their techy garbage. All the time I see people needlessly using devices that they have no idea how to operate to their fullest extent ("Hey, what does Push While Ringing do?")

Hell, I'll take it a step further: CARS. Dirty, disgusting, expensive, and useless (in certain circumstances).

OK, let me explain. You've got these large, polluting, extremely hazardous vehicles going at an extremely high velocity very close to each other, piloted by complete morons (most of the time anyway) who you wouldn't trust to make your burger at mcdonalds.

We make these huge path-ways just so that one guy in a 2000lbs vehicle can drive the 10-20 blocks to get to work/school/shopping centre/ect. Does any of this seem just a little off to anybody else? Because now with everybody having the option to go large distances quickly, our cities are becoming larger and larger, forcing less and less of a community feel, and people in general are becoming less interconnected where they are, and more connected to where they are not.

Think about it: how often do you see people more than once? Most everybody you will walk by today you will never see again. How can anybody form any kind of relationship or feelings for their community when they can't even pick out two people they've ever even seen before at their local super-market? But yet, how many people do you have in your phonebook on your cell?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.



But anyway, enough of that ranting... Monday through friday I have my cell turned on and within 5 feet of me at all times. Mostly because I am paranoid and most likely have OCD, but there is also the fact that I need to be reachable all the time. Partly because I am a manager where I work, and partly because of "other things" that I've gotten my hands into. I’ll let you guess on that one

But saturday and sunday? The phone/watch/time keeping devices in general get left at home. Typically I'll spend anywhere from 3-10 hours per day on any given weekend on one of my bikes, getting all muddy like.



So I guess in answer to the thread starters’ question: yes, I do disconnect. It all just gets too much at times.




Also: vehicles (I’m talking about the typical internal-combustion type here) do serve a purpose, just not taking your lazy ass to where you work.

[ou7blaze]

I don't agree with the Cars part but Malf, that sums up EXACTLY what I think is the problem in todays society.

You think that's a problem come to a bigass city, anyone like Hong Kong, I don't think I've ever known more than 1 neighbour in my LIFE, and yet I have seen them on more than 1 occassion. Technology in a way is affecting this.

[Tulatin]

For me, the only real places that cars aren't appropriate are when you can EASILY pop around via public transit. Living in the 'burbs, it would be a 10 minute drive, or well over an hour of bussing... yeah, screw it. But downtown? It takes me a whole 10 minutes to get across the city via subway, a route that's damn impossible by car.

As to what i carry - a wallet, keys, and a lighter. Don't want to worry about my equipment getting soaked or ganked

[Ramble]

No, all I carry with me are a pen and calculator (and books and stuff).
Even online I'm likely to block a friend if you try and talk to me, it's better if they just tell me in person.

[Dayains]

Personally I just carry my phone on me and occasionally an mp3 player.

Originally Posted by Ramble

Even online I'm likely to block a friend if you try and talk to me, it's better if they just tell me in person.

What's the point in having any kind of IM if you block people if they try to talk to you?

[antiHero]

I have always a recordbag with me, mostly becouse i never know where i find a good record but also becouse i have my phone, ipod, keys, wallet, bubblegum a notebook/pen and a random asortment of stuff which found his way into my bag over the years like screwdrivers, penblowtorch ......

I just always want to be prepared

I think i watched to much mcgyver as a kid

[specofdust]

Well I reckon the connectedness is great. I want more integration, not less. The risk of course is that we all become very cliquey, connected to the people we know and like and shut everyone else out. I don't reckon life will make that all that possible though, you're always going to have to work with people who you don't know, or whatever.

I agree the the gadget overload thing is annoying, with a phone and an ipod in my pockets I already feel weighed down with gadgets(so, doesn't take much). But as these things shrink and combine successfully(some phones are starting to be fairly decent mid-capacity MP3 players) I reckon that problem will dissapear.

[atanum141]

I donno.

I still prefer things to be separate. Personally a MP3 player is a MP3 player and a phone is a phone. The gadgets that combine these items usually end up a mess and you get sub-par performance on both tasks.

Personally i have my ipod and phone and i don't really feel bogged down even tho i use Senheizer phones on the ipod.

What really disturbs me is when im coming home from a hard days work i just crash on the tube home and listen to my tunes, but i see these people who cant seem to put their blackberry's down for some reason. They aren't at work anymore so why read thru your emails? and also i always have the mentality that work is work and home is where i chill.

I don't like or ever willingly bring my work home with me. I find it sad that these people don't have enough conviction to stop being in work mode when they are getting home from work. its just sad.

[specofdust]

Dude, unless you work in the financial industry you pretty much can do that whole "work is work, home is play" thing. In the FS industry though they pretty much can't do that, a lot of the workers need to be working every minute they can, which means not wasting an hour on the tube everyday doing nothing, but rather using it to get some extra work done in order that they have time to eat dinner with their family that night.

It's not about lack of conviction, it's about doing the job. They're paid to get the job done, regardless of official hours. You could be in that business and work 9-5, but you wouldn't get anywhere and you'd probably be fired fairly quickly for simply not getting work done on time. The upside is 6 figure salaries.

[gbeeby]

a good locknife is allways handy to pocket