Are Americans Addicted to Technology? 359
jomammy writes "According to a recent Wired article, the majority of Americans are becoming increasingly dependant on their gadgets. High speed internet seems to be the one most determined to be a 'necessity'. A third of the country is said to pay more than $200.00 a month for their addiction, where 4 out of 10 pay between $100.00 and $150.00 a month. Other items in this list of 'gadgets' include, mp3 players, dvd players, laptops, handhelds, etc." How addicted are we? How addicted are you?
Yes, yes we are. (Score:3, Interesting)
You say it like it's a bad thing... (Score:3, Interesting)
Bah. We're a buncha luddites. (Score:5, Interesting)
When it comes to technology obsession, the High Street in London and the Akihabara in Tokyo are where it's at.
SoupIsGood Food
drive 5 miles to use a pay phone???? (Score:5, Interesting)
But his daughter, who has doesn't even know what a television is, is very wise for her age (i.e. 7 yrs). Here, I make a distinction between knowledge and wisdom. She may not have all the knowledge, but she is certainly wiser then other kids of her age or even some grown ups.
Would you do something like this? Would you make such a daring move for you children's sake?
A necessity as well as an addiction (Score:4, Interesting)
However, for many of us, the dependence is more than just a regular old physical/psychological addiction. My marks at school, for example, depend on my being able to get on a computer and access the internet on a regular basis. Many assignments are made available solely through a class website or WebCT, and in two of my classes this past term, every single assignment had to be handed in via the Unix handin command (or the web-based Windows equivalent). Admittedly, I am a computer science student, but there aren't all that many courses in which computers or other forms of technology are completely absent -- even arts students are expected to write essays, and few professors will accept handwritten submissions these days.
Well it gets worse (Score:3, Interesting)
How about that whole 'it costs $200 per month to pay for this addiction' crap.
Just buying 1 laptop could account for an entire year. Is buying 1 laptop an addiction nowadays?
Guys it is a slow newsday. This reporter needed his christmas bonus so he put in a small non-article with a nice headline that while at the same time being properly alarmist is also nice and safe not to ruin the giftmas feeling.
It also got iPod in it wich is always good.
Bleh.
Re:Yes, yes we are. (Score:3, Interesting)
People can say all they like about technology causing people to slack off, but there is no reason why it shouldn't. Why build things that can make work easier when we can build things that remove the need for work? They say that modern civilization is only possible because we have an abundance of food and can spend our time on other endeavors. We are now experiencing what will turn into an abundance of time. After enough time passes we will eventually reach a level of advancement where we won't need to work anymore, and will have developed safe guards so that we don't have to worry about losing our technology. This, of course, is assuming that we don't blow ourselves up first.
Re:Pfft (Score:3, Interesting)
That's seems to be the pervading theme in our (US) culture. I work for a multi-national, and I can say that my contemporaries in Europe and SA don't have the same attitude. I'm not saying they do bad work or don't work hard. It's simply they seem to view work as a means to an end, where the US seems to view work as that end.
Steps backwards (Score:5, Interesting)
My vetenarian was complaining today that she used to have a system which used Ricochet, a dumb terminal in her truck, and a Xenix server in her office to access horse medical records remotely. This provided a 38Kb/s connection. Since Ricochet went out of business, that's no longer possible. Data over cellular is less available, slower, harder to set up, and more expensive. Yes, you can set up a VPN, and "web enable" the server, but it's more trouble than it is worth.
Re:Pfft (Score:4, Interesting)
You know what? I didn't mind one bit. No withdrawl symptoms. Strand me in a city in the US though, and I'd start to feel the pain. It seems like it's partly a function of the environment.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Pfft (Score:3, Interesting)
As yes. Results. Like in the private sector. If Jack is only playing so that he can work better then he isn't really playing is he?
Forest people (Score:5, Interesting)
Get real... (Score:2, Interesting)
You really forgot Japan this time! American's suck at technology in most cases. Half og you don't know how to program your VCR. The other half never knew anything about SMS either. The people who are really 'into' technology knowledge are the Finnish/Swedes/Dutch. The people who have successfully ingrained technology into their lifestyle are the Japanese.
Get your head outta your ass, there is more to the world than the US and by no means are you the ideal standard.
Re:Bah. We're a buncha luddites. (Score:3, Interesting)
In Europe, they've been forced to conserve ressources. People will expect stuff to last for 10+ years, and the stuff most of the time does.
First time I had a good look at an european washing machine (when a friend asked me to fix it) I was totally flabberghasted. It was more than 15 years ago, yet I never had dreamed I could see a microprocessor-controlled washing machine (fortunately, the trouble was just a dirty position sensor). I was able to get to the trouble spot with only a screwdriver and I did not have to move the machine: all components were near the top or the front and were accessible by removing the front or top panel. Plus the machine could take a full load, yet it was only 40 centimeter wide: the tub is set on it's side, with an axis parallel to the front.
Americans are on the "if it ain't broke, don't improve it" mode, and when it comes to shrinking ressources, they are always caught with their pants down. Witness how the US automotive industry is in a tailspin since gas prices soared. Just like 30 years ago.
Not a recent thing (Score:2, Interesting)
Denial of the addiction (Score:2, Interesting)
According to wikipedia , addiction is a compulsion to repeat a behavior regardless of its consequences.
I know a bunch of people who are trully addicted to e-mail. They feel the need to check it during the whole day. They 'll use it as their sole way to communicate with other people. They 'll even send mails to the guy/girl sitting next to him/her rather than talk to them.
And as a result they loose their ability to normaly communicate and socially interract with people. They'll feel lost and cut off from the world when they don't have access to their email. I would say this is typical compulsary behavior regardless of its consequences. However while many people start
falling in that catagory, few are going to admit it.
red.
Dude, this is the 21st century (Score:3, Interesting)