Fast forward 500 years. Anthropologists are
at the site of an ancient burial site. The site is on the ruins of what
was an ancient building called a shopping mall. Legend has it that the
mall was destroyed when the aging Star Trek Enterprise crew crashed into it as
they were docking back at their earth station. All the remains were found
clutching small devices with great ferocity. The devices were white,
pink, metallic silver, and all sorts of colors. Some were bedazzled with
jewels and others were encased in a protective cover. Whatever these
little boxes were, they had great importance to their owners.
Anthropologists might be able to learn that the
device that these poor souls were holding at their demise was an I-Phone, but
it might be harder to understand how these small devices became to be such a
vehicle for social connection and status. The I-Phone is a great example
of a pop culture artifact. It speaks to the fact that technology affects
social interaction and in turn the desire (need?) for social interaction drives
the need for more and more technology. This is one pop culture in
action. So what is pop culture? It is the state of being in
which everything around us (music, technology, movies, television, books,
internet, and more) affects our lives. And how we affect these things in
return. If affects everything from the way we talk, how we dress, and
even what we eat!
The I-Phone is also a great example of how pop
culture seeps into the workplace. As more and more people have I-phones
or similar devices, the need to include this fact in strategies of professional
communication has become more important than ever. Whether communicating
with a co-worker on the road, advertising to prospective customers, or even
communicating with a physician about symptoms, I-phones are actively involved
in the process. Because of this, it is important to use how this pop
culture artifact can be of professional benefit.
Over the new several weeks, I will be closely
observing I-Phone users and blogging about what I learn! For much of my
observation, I won’t have to travel much further than the bedroom next
door. My daughter is what you might call an I-phone addict!
Hopefully by the end of this class, I will be able to answer the
question…I-Phone – Friend or Foe??? If you are an I-Phone user, be
sure to tell me what you think about your I-phone (or other similar device) and
what it means to you!
I went through the drive thru the other day and my daughter had my Nook on her lap. A young man that worked there, in his early 20's, saw the Nook and preceded to show me his new phone saying that he has the same thing on his phone now that I had in the Nook. The phones now are becoming little handheld computers and you can do just about anything from these phones. I myself don't have an Iphone, but as soon as my contract is up, I will be getting one. I am guilty of following the current pop culture trends myself - Lisa Mason
ReplyDeleteThe crazy thing about technology is that almost as soon as you buy it, there's is something better out there to make you want to upgrade. Aaahhhhhhhhhh!! I wonder if reading is actually up with electronic readers or if it perhaps might go down? The great thing about a book is that you can hand it off to someone. I'm not sure that is doable with the ERs.
DeleteWhat a great post...and idea. If you look at teens, (and most adults), today, the cell/i-phone acts as an appendage. It is the one thing they would never forget. They can go to school, forget to bring home a book, turn in an assignment, or give you the important papers you needed...last week. But they would NEVER forget their cell phone.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that is lost with this artifact is the ability to have and hold conversations! Kids have forgotten or have not been taught the art of conversation due to the technological society we live in.
Nice post, when they did find this mall, I bet that everyone had a cell with them and probably half had it in hand!
Lisa Toodle
Great point Lisa...in a world where there is SO MUCH communication there is actually SO LITTLE communication. Communication may be up, but I fear relationship building is down. There is so much room to interpret things incorrectly without having the benefit of the inflection of voice or by virture of communicating via brief statements. I also wonder how it affects our ability to communicate in person once we get t work ????
DeleteI possess IPhone and I absolutely love it!!!!! I think it is the best smartphone that was ever created! It has everything: from your normal texting to internet and other application features. I just read a post by Lisa and cannot agree more. We can forget to turn off light in the house or close a garage door, but we can NEVER forget our phones. That happened to me last year - I left my IPhone at home. I was so miserable, but at the same time I was laughing at myself for acting silly without having my phone with me.
ReplyDeleteWait for the day...there will be a car seat to protect our I-phones when we travel. I am definitely not a cell phone addict. I am reformed. In fact it made me crazy that I could be reachd anywhere. I have started setting boundaries and turning my phone off or leaving it behind. Having no time to recharge was making me crazy! Every once in awhile, I can get my daughter to turn her phone off long enough to eat dinner and watch a movie! This is quite an accomplishment, because she gets palpatations if she's away from her phone for too long.
DeleteI love your post. So insightful and funny. These phones, I-phones and smart phones as well have become an appendage for many. I think this is a great popular culture topic. My husband recently got an I-phone and he uses the Siri (?) feature. It makes me laugh, but I begin to question if we can receive all of our answers from one place, how will we know how to survive without a phone that answers all of our questions for us? As a business manager, I have struggled with the use of cell phones with my employees. Asking them to leave their phones in the break room, leaves them looking at me as if I had asked them to place remove your hand and sell it. They can be such a distraction. I am looking forward to reading more about your topic!
ReplyDeleteExcellent point....although there are so many benefits to pop culture into the work place, there are some pretty significant down sides as well. I have also struggled with people on cell phones, facebook, you-tube, games, texting, etc.. Although this is a challenge with people of all ages, I think it is more prevalent with younger people who have always had this technology glued to their arm. Asking them to put it up is like asking for an organ donation. Although you-tube can be a great pattern interruption or source of information, it easily gets out of control in the workplace and the time adds up to loss of productivity.
DeleteThis was a very entertaining post!! Very creative and it kept me very interested. It is unbleievable how dependent we have all became on our smart phones. I have forgotten mine at home a few times and I just cannot work, study, or even think without it. To think that just 15 years ago we actually had to talk to someone on the phone and it was only at our house!! It seems ridiculous now, but I don't think there is any going back. If you take my cell phone go ahead and take my life!!!
ReplyDelete