Disconnected Urbanism Final Paper

   From a historical standpoint, most of our greatest inventions of the past were simply implemented to decrease our own work load: when we couldn't outrun a deer we invented the spear, when we couldn't carry a heavy load all at once we invented the wheel. And when we grew too far apart from one another, we needed to invent a way to be able to communicate with each other in a reasonable amount of time. Finally after many variations in communication technology we have arrived in the age of the cell phone. There are approximately over 4.6 billion cell phone subscribers in the world today and this simple machine has drastically shaped not only our ability to communicate with others, but how we view the world. As  Paul Goldberger argues in the article "Disconnected Urbanism," the cell phone is taking away the individuality and sense of connection to others as expressed in other forms of communication in the past. But it is not just Goldberger who have refused to accept this fate of becoming part of a symmetrical world; "The New Yorker" has been proclaiming the downfalls with technology in the sociological sense for over 80 years and much of their arguments come down to their magazine's cover art.
  
   Text messaging and calling have forced us to connect in a very similar matter to the rest of the world and denies us the ability to express ourselves like within a letter or while verbally communicating with someone face to face. But this should not come as a great surprise, as the more heavily reliant on technology we become the more we become disconnected with society and those around us whom we share our lives with claims Goldberger. We now spend more time on our little pieces of plastic then we ever have in the past and in many cases more time then with actual people. This new age based around the rise of apps and Internet capabilities, what's the point of waiting weeks for a letter or having an actually face to face conversation when you can just Facebook chat? These little devices have slowly made their way to become the focal point of both our personal lives and our daily careers; without a cell phone to constantly update some people's lifes with e-mails, texts, and notifications they won't be able to function. They couldn't even read a newspaper without a phone in many cases as the digital revolution is destroying the paperback industry. 

Throughout it's history, the New Yorker has been exploring this connection between the lost of personal communication and technological interference through their fascinating cover art. Within every generation that experiences a new form of technological advancement, the younger members of society will easily adapt to it while the older members will cautiously warn others of it's apparent shortcomings. Like in this particular cover from 1937, we see this struggle of man and technology play out as a couple is stranded out at sea with a broken a engine. As the man desperately attempts to repair their motor, his date/spouse looks longingly out to sea with a look of almost disappointment and sadness. With the man's back turned to her, I believe it's almost a metaphor for how our obsession with technology is keep us from spending that precious time with our friends and family. Instead of enjoying the day together, they are hopelessly letting their technology control and dictate their behavior towards one another. But it's not just in the sense of losing connections to family that the New Yorker explores.

While the detachment from our emotional surroundings and family/friends is a serious issue expressed, another more serious option explored is how it affects us in a spiritual sense. Like in this cover from 1971, a monk is seen strolling through the plaza of a monastery while listening to what appears to be a radio. The life of a monk is often taken with a vow of silence in order to help distance themselves from the problems of society, while devoting themselves completely to the Lord. This may seem like a harmless and rather comical representation that a monk, who supposedly is not allowed to contact the outside world, is actually breaking his vows to connect with the world outside his brotherhood's domain, but does this mean for the future of religion in a world dominated by technology? We are increasing living in an age where people are relying more on their phone then their God. Where once millions of people would express their beliefs with their neighbors every Sabbath for guidance on real world problems, now adays people are staring at their GPS as their only source of direction. This characteristic lack of individuality is sadly missing from people today; making the possible holy men of tomorrow alittle bit less devoted to God and more to the phone.

  

   This brings us to the most recent cover art I have selected to express this conflict in socialization and technology. This cover from 2007 shows a small child holding a cell phone while taking a picture of his parents in their bed. Apart from the fact that this not only deeply disturbing, that a child would take a picture of this kind of intimate behavior of his parents, but it is interesting to me that this child can operate a phone so well while being so young. In this little boy's childhood, it is not only normal but expected for most of your socialization to take place online in this new generation of Aim, texting, and Facebook. In my family, we have almost always set aside dinner as our "family time" where we could diccuss our days events and share news with one another. It was a great time to talk, tell stories, and make jokes, all true merits of socialization and key aspects that a child must learn growing up. But now, we have replaced this critical lesson with people texting and making phone calls with others possibly hundreds of miles away instead of talking with one another right in front of you. Lessons like this are already being taught to children at such a young age and by their family none the less; how will these future adults be able to grow up without a phone in their hands texting away? Truly in a society like this, even childhood individuality is a memory of the past.

   Each person's own life experiences are what make us who we are and none of us are exactly alike. Our opinions, personality, and childhood are the defining traits that shape the mold of our future selves, but these traits are being thrown aside by the new defining factor in our lifes. Today's more modern smart phones may have been around for only a couple of years, but the impact they have left on our society has been mind-blowing and frightening; they have become the new central tool for most of our generations social interaction and left a gaping void where human contact should be taking place. Goldberger was right in the sense that the cell phone is disconnecting from each other, just as the New Yorker has warned us of how each new gadget throughout history has been slowly destroying the next generation's sense of personal expression. As Goldberger quoted: "...the phone they are the same. Every place is exactly the same as every other place. They are all just nodes on a network—and so, increasingly, are we."