Hello all!
On this lovely Saturday, I am going go talk about mobile phones. So, I found it only fitting to type this on my mobile phone while sitting on the beach. I am currently reading the first chapter of Networked which has sparked a myriad of ideas. I will try to keep this as organized as possible.
First off, the authors, Lee Raine and Barry Wellman are talking a lot about individualism and how over the past few years, it has really come to the forefront. They talk about three revolutions: social network, the internet, and the mobile revolutions. I am going to talk about the mobile part. One thing that I am sure that all of us thought when mobile phones started to take off was about how landlines would start to become obsolete. If everyone has their own mobile phone, then why need a designated house landline? I know that some households still have them for important reasons, but overall, the takeover of mobile phones versus landlines has strengthened this idea of individualism.
Mobile smart phones have almost eliminated the need to physically talk for most people because of the ability to text and use social networks. I have a lot of friends that loathe talking on the phone. They would rather text or interact on a social media site.
As I sit here at the beach, I look around and see so many people on their phones and wonder what they are doing. I myself am writing this blog post. What are other people doing? Are they texting? Interacting with friends and strangers on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? Using the snapmap (see previous blog post) to catch up on what friends and strangers are doing around the world? Or maybe answering important work emails? The possibilities are endless and it really is fascinating.
I have found myself lately doing a lot of things from my phone. I have the Blackboard and Canvas apps to keep up with class. I have the Google drive app to keep up with any documents I may be working on with peers. I have voicethread to interact with peers. I have all of my social media apps to keep up with friends. I almost do not need a physical computer (although for big projects I would never give it up). So as I finish up here, I would encourage all of you reading to think about what apps you use on a daily basis that 5 years ago you would have never imagined existing.
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