Do you own your electronics, or do they own you?
Take a look at this series of photographs. Have you changed your answer?
The artist introduces his work:
In Westernized cultures today, there is a generation that is growing up without the knowledge of what it is to be disconnected. The world in which we are growing up is always on. We are continuously plugged in, and linked up. We take this technology for granted. Not because we are ungrateful, but because we simply don’t know a world without it.
From our earliest memories, there has always been a way to connect with others, whether it is Myspace, Facebook, cell phones, e-mail, or instant messenger. And now, with the Internet, instant messaging, and e-mail in our pocket, right there with our phones, we can always feel as if we are part of a greater whole. These devices grace us with the ability to instantly connect to others, and at the same time, they isolate us from those with whom we are connected. They allow for great freedom, yet so often, we are chained to them. They have become part of who we are and how we identify ourselves. These devices ordain us with a wealth of knowledge and communication that would have been unbelievable a generation ago. More and more, we are bathed in a silent, soft, and heavenly blue glow. It is as if we carry divinity in our pockets and purses.
Does anyone else think it is ironic that we are viewing this exhibit online? Does that fact detract from the artist’s ideas?
My first thought upon viewing the images in the exhibit was that several of the people look nearly dead. Is that what you look like as you sit and read this post? Is that what I look like? I hope not!
The next thing I noticed was that each of the individuals is alone in a dark place. Alone, but not sufficiently self-aware to feel loneliness. That seems at best unhealthy, and possibly very dangerous.
Young people today spend an overwhelming amount of time online. For many, the internet has become not only a means of transmitting information, but also a sort of home. People spend countless hours updating and perfecting online profiles and interacting with online friends. This activity is not in itself bad–you are, after all, reading these thoughts on a blog–but it can become dangerous if it replaces offline friendship and activity. This replacement may easily happen without your realizing it.
Do you still think you own your electronics?
