For many of those much more
passionate conspiracy theorists, those who claim Snowden is an American Hero (now seeking refuge in Russia), and that the NSA is evidence that the end is nigh, it may seem that Orwell's ominous prediction has come to pass. And while all of this is true, and some Special Agent may be currently surfing through my browser history looking for evidence of terrorism, the majority of Americans are not enslaved by the idea that Big Brother is watching us.
(Unless they are on the TV show, Big Brother, of course.) No, our every move is not controlled by some ominous figure head, we are controlled by something much more tangible, and much scarier.
Our cellphones.
Everywhere you go now a days there will inevitably be someone on their cellphone. In fact, I am currently writing this on my phone, sitting in the stands at a water polo game, and I am not the only one paying more attention to my hand held device than the final quarter of the game, ( albiet the game isn't very entertaining, the score is 12-4). No one seems able to break their eyes away from the hypnotic glow of the screen. Even out with friends people spend more time on their phones than communicating to the person next to them. When confronted, they'll give some lame excuse about how their being social "with other people", but then what was the point of spending time with
these people?
In any matter, the evidence is clear, we as a people are plagued by this strange addiction. It is clear to me that while Orwell's prediction still lurks somewhere off over the horizion, this much greater evil has already taken hold, and we have failed to notice.
So before we lock ourselves away in fallout shelters to hide from our abusive government, we should first address the most prominent concern, and look up from our screens.
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ReplyDeleteI did find this post well-written. However, I did wish you could elaborate a bit more on the harm cell phone addiction can have. I also thought adding more concessions and rebuttals (other than the ones you already have of course) would enhance your post. Other than that, you did a good job trying to show that Orwell's vision has little relevance in America.
ReplyDeleteAnya, I like how you stated that the prevalence of cell-phone use is a much more tangible form of oppression than a Big Brother entity. It's also interesting that you note this is a self-inflicted form of oppression and that all we need to do to break its bonds is to look up from our screens. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHaha it's pretty ironic how screens were the medium of controlling people in 1984 to themselves controlling us in the present. I agree that we are voluntarily giving up our self-control nowadays, and it is a problem that many simply dismiss as being insignificant. Good job with the post.
ReplyDeleteAnya I really like this post. I very strongly agree with you that cellphones and technology in general are taking over our lives and consuming the precious time we have with life and other people. Anywhere one goes, you can always find someone glued to their phone and ignoring the whole world around them. Although phones do need to be controlled and separated from our eyes, they are helpful in certain situations and actually benefit people greatly. I think this was a well written post, good job.
ReplyDeleteHey Anya! I liked how you transitioned from the Orwellian prediction to cellphones, emphasizing their harmfulness. Also, since cellphones, something we love, is destroying us, this post connected strongly with our discussion in class in which we mostly agreed that Huxley's vision was closer to being realized than Orwell's. Nice post!!
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