Rules of the Phone

            In JJ’s blog about the effects of technology, he focuses on how technology can be beneficial to certain individuals, such as the biker who was paralyzed.  At the end of his post, JJ posed the question of at what point will technology start becoming harmful, and this got me wondering if we are already at that point.

            I did some research online about this subject and found an interesting article from the New York Times called “Step Away From the Phone!” 
(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/fashion/step-away-from-the-phone.html?pagewanted=1&src=me).  
The author, Caroline Tell, explains how phones are now getting in the way of family time and that they are alienating people from each other.  She even quotes a woman who says that we are becoming more uncivilized as a result of cell phones.

            Beyond taking away time from families, it is amazing how much time we waste on our phones and just how obsessed we are with the devices.  I have a friend who sent 6,000 texts in the month of June.  Although this may seem like a lot, it’s actually not that absurd for kids our age. An article from the Huffington Post used a stat from the Pew Internet & American Life Project showing that the Average American teen sends over 3,000 texts a month!  In order to send 3,000 texts, one has to devote a ton of time to texting, and generally that time is going to take away from studies and family time.

 

            Another reason I was inspired to blog about this issue was that I was at Old Orchard one day this weekend and I happened to walk by the Apple store.  The line was absolutely insane!!  It went out the doors of the store and started wrapping around the side. I think I can say that pretty much everyone there was waiting to get the new iPhone 5S.  The incredible part is that its not like these customers don’t have phones (I saw many of them on their phones!!); they just want the latest and greatest edition of Apple’s iPhone, even if it is exactly the same as the last model, apart from a few tweaks.  This just shows how obsessed America is with technology – it controls our lives! Also, if we’re willing to spend three hours waiting in line to get a phone that is essentially the same as the one we have, that implies an obsession with the newest gadget beyond pure functionality.

iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 5S

            The bottom line is that Americans (especially teens) spend far too much time on their phones, and much of this time takes away from family time, sleeping, studying, athletics, and just conversing with people in general.  In fact, I believe that texting as an alternative to talking hurts public speaking skills and conversational skills.  In addition, if students are texting instead of studying and sleeping it will definitely hurt their grades and they won’t be able to concentrate as well.

In Caroline Tell’s article, she discusses methods used to eliminate phone usage during family time.  Many families have a “phone curfew”, meaning you can’t text after a certain time.  Others simply put phones into a basket during dinner so that they are not a distraction.  While phones are very useful and make life easier, I think there is a limit to how much they should be used and when they should be used, and I think there should be some sort of texting limit.  What do you guys think?  And what do you think of the rules presented in Tell’s article?  Are there any other ideas you have that could help the issue?  Also, how will texting change social interaction in America?

From Mashed Potatoes to Yabba Dabba Doo!

            Thursday in class we were talking about word connotations, and that led to a discussion of how over time, words can be born or change meaning.  One example Mr. Bolos gave was the word “google” and how it is now commonly accepted as a verb that is synonymous with “online search”.

            Similarly, while I was watching the BMW Championship (a golf tournament that is being played at a golf course in Lake Forest) on TV today, I heard a man scream out “MASHED POTATOES” just after Tiger Woods hit a shot. In the golf world, this term has become synonymous with “get in the hole” – don’t ask me how that translation works, though, because frankly I have no clue.  But annoying fans shouting obnoxious phrases like this have become a huge problem in professional golf.

            As Golf Channel’s Jason Sobel explains in his article “Unmasking golf's screamers; can they be stopped?” (http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/unmasking-golfs-infamous-shouters-can-they-be-stopped/), the whole thing started about two years ago when Andrew Widmar randomly shouted “MASHED POTATOES” on the 18^th tee-box at Sherwood Country Club.  Since then, more phrases have come about, such as “Light the Candle!” “Yabba Dabba Doo!” or “Baba Booey!,” and it is becoming more and more common to hear a fan yell something like this.  A video of Andrew Widmar yelling “mashed potatoes!” can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xMyqTsB3FE.

            Almost all the exclamations have come from young people, and it is really changing a sport that had always prided itself on being known as a refined, gentlemens’ activity, where manners and graciousness were still expected. I believe these verbal outbursts illustrate the immaturity, as well as the lack of respect for manners, common in many young Americans.  It is really distracting and very inconsiderate to the golfers when a person does something like this, and it is also disrespectful to the other spectators.   

            Some might argue that it’s just enthusiastic fans expressing themselves, adding fun and liveliness to an otherwise rather subdued, stuffy sporting event.  Do you agree with this, or do you think that this behavior compromises the somewhat unique atmosphere of sophistication that golf has had in the past?  What, if anything, do u think these outbursts say about America?

A Cleaner America

Walking to school today, my friend looked down the street and then turned back towards me.  “What type of car is that?  I want one!!” he said.  I looked in the direction he pointed and saw a silver Tesla Model S, one of the hottest (and in my opinion one of the coolest) cars on the market today.  I’m sure you all have seen Teslas being driven around – they’re everywhere!

Tesla Model S (left) and Model X (right)

Alan Onsman explains in his article “Tesla unveils gull-wing electric SUV: Model X” (http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Tesla-unveils-gull-wing-electric-SUV-Model-X-3263048.php) how the car company Tesla recently revealed their new Model X SUV.  Deliveries for the car will begin at the end of 2013 and are expected to skyrocket in 2014, just like demand for their Model S sedan did in late 2012 and 2013.  Currently, the Model S is sold out through March of 2014.  Both the Model S and Model X are electric cars and need no gas at all.  The Tesla sedan is capable of traveling for 300 miles on a fully charged lithium-ion battery.

As I’m sure many of you know, we Americans tend to be very wasteful and do not usually treat the environment as well as we should.  For example, in an article titled “11 Facts about Pollution,” the author states that “Americans make up an estimated 5% of the world’s population. However, the U.S. produces an estimated 30% of the world’s waste and uses 25% of the world’s resources.”  This shows just how wasteful we are as a country, and I believe that our careless disregard for the environment is one of the main problems in America that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.  It should be a top priority.

However, many people have started to take initiative.  Tesla owners, although perhaps not the best at saving their money, do show concern for their environment and have taken the first step to a more environmental-friendly America by purchasing these new cars.  Pollution created by cars could be completely eliminated if everyone had electric cars like the Tesla.

Even though Tesla’s cars are very expensive (generally 50,000-100,000 dollars), there are cheaper electric cars on the market.  Just one example is the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which generally sells for about 20,000 dollars.  Because electric cars are not much more expensive than regular cars and because they are so much better for the environment, I don’t think it is that far of a stretch for me to say that there should be some sort of law that only allows people in the United States to buy electric cars from now on.  What do you think?  Please respond with comments.