BLOG 1- I am not a cyborg.

Looking today at society, one might think that most humans are cyborgs, part man part
machine. You get on a subway and unlike thirty years ago everyone is not reading a
newspaper, but instead listening to an iPod or texting on their cell phone. The majority
of the people I run into have some form of technology that they just cannot be without. I
admit to using this current technology but would not label myself a cyborg, since unlike
most people, my life will not change if they are taken away.
Technology is a great thing and simplifies certain tasks to the point where the
“old way” of doing things can be eliminated. I moved into an apartment about 6 months
ago and debated whether to get a house phone. After much deliberation I just figured it
was something I needed to have. My parents had a house phone since I was born and
they still use it, but now that I have mine it has rang about twice. There is no need for a
phone that can only go a certain distance when you have one that can store numbers,
send pictures, and text messages. Plus why would I hand out a number to a phone I
am most likely not going to answer because I am out.
This might label me as a cyborg to some but I knew it could not be about two
weeks ago. I accidentally dropped my phone into a cup of coffee, frying the screen to
the point where it could no longer be used. I wanted to get a new phone but was more
interested to see how I would be able to survive without one. I have not had a cell
phone in my pocket for two weeks now and it is a lot easier that it would have at first
seemed. I find that I just get more things done when I do not have to reach into my
pocket every minute or two to reply to some text message that I really could have
covered in a one minute conversation. Additionally I managed to receive any pertinent
information I needed to, and got bothered a lot less by things that made no difference. I
have survived thus far, and do not believe that my life has been altered in any way at
this point due to the loss of a major technology that I have been using for five years.
However the iPod addiction I feel is worse than the cell phone epidemic. The few
times I do end up riding the subway 8 out of 10 people have their iPod on. I like music
and although it took me a while to upgrade to an iPod from my single compact disc
player I found this made it significantly easier to have all of my music on one source.
But after going through 3 iPods every 4-6 months, not from my mistreatment of them,
but from their lack of reliability, this was another technology that my life would be a lot
less stressful and cheaper without. Since I got rid of it I find myself having a lot more
extra time and a lot more money not spent on iPods.
While I believe that the majority of the human race is turning into cyborgs, I would
not label myself as one, as I do not need any of these technologies to continue my
existence. Too many people become too dependent on items like this to the point
where they cannot live on without them. For me, a life without technology is not a life
that cannot go on, but instead a life with more emphasis put on the simpler, less
advanced forms of communication and entertainment.