"We grew up in a whirlwind of text messages, custom cell phone rings,
wall posts and e-mails; we've matured in a dizzying blitz of Web
surfing, IM back-and-forths, viral videos and Web memes.
There's been, for the past 10 years, a nonstop storm of information and communication.
Recently,
in particular, daily existence has been at once shrunken and
accelerated. Everything and everyone is a click or scroll away,
accessed with minimal energy and maximum speed.
Haven't heard
that song-download it. Haven't seen that episode-grab it on iTunes.
Haven't watched that "hilarious" homemade video-troll YouTube.
And
check DrudgeReport, too. Check Digg. Check PerezHilton and Gawker.
Check your friend's blog (it's boring, but there's no friendship
without duty).
Send an instant message. Update your away status. "Friend" the kid you met last weekend.
More and more often, it seems "killing our televisions" might not
be nearly enough. Imagine killing our computers ("But how would we
learn?"), our iPods ("But how would we endure the gym?"), our cell
phones ("But how would we talk?").
Kill Your Television, If You Even Have One Anymore
Any luddities longing for a simpler age when technology didn't corrupt the human spirit are having a tough time these days. As this writer points out, digital online media provides many more targets for technophobic rage than the good old fashioned boob tube.
