Topic discussion: Who are we in today's digital age?

[Culture_Vulture]

Your question honestly isn't anywhere specific enough to actually generate anything that would constitute as a debate; in fact, it's not even possible for people to take sides given the parameters of "who we are". Philosophers have a hard enough time answering that without the introduction of digital technology.

[Sid Vicious]

advantages: porn

[Nocardia]

I just went travelling around Iceland for a while and my buddy had his iphone with him. Everywhere we went that there was wifi, he was on it. It is nice to have at times to email family and friends but I think his experience was different than mine.

With his technology at his fingertips, you miss the human experience. We did the same things, saw the same things but we didn't talk to the same people. Because a lot of our downtown was in busy areas, I would talk with people whereas he played a game called angry birds (or something) or checked his fb.

Personally, I think the iphone/smartphones are one of the worst things to happen to society in recent times.

Thoughts?

[Culture_Vulture]

Originally Posted by Nocardia

I just went travelling around Iceland for a while and my buddy had his iphone with him. Everywhere we went that there was wifi, he was on it. It is nice to have at times to email family and friends but I think his experience was different than mine.

With his technology at his fingertips, you miss the human experience. We did the same things, saw the same things but we didn't talk to the same people. Because a lot of our downtown was in busy areas, I would talk with people whereas he played a game called angry birds (or something) or checked his fb.

Personally, I think the iphone/smartphones are one of the worst things to happen to society in recent times.

Thoughts?

Disagree. At least not in the way you put it.

It's one thing that smartphones make people numb to the real world and the real world living experience, but another completely to say that they've degraded society because of that.

I've been using smartphones for a couple of years now, and I don't feel the constant urge to check my Facebook whenever I'm out. I'd doodle around on an iPhone app or browse the net on my phone once in a while when I'm sitting at school waiting for a class or something of the like, but that doesn't mean I'm missing out on any real action.
It really just comes down to people believing that the make-belief digital world simulates what they want in their every day lives. I mean, if your friend really put his mind to it, he could well have brought his laptop everywhere instead, and we would blame technology for making Facebook so popular.

[jack3d]

I'm an iHuman