It's cool to be out of touch

[ASBO]

Our society has a mania for remotely connecting to the herd.

• 24 hour news, blackberries, email, chat, cell phones that people are constantly on without saying anything important, and so on.
• More importantly, they're always trying to tell you what is real and what is cool. They come up with some survey that takes one factor out of a million and compares it after some irrelevant experiment, and then tell you that definitively the two are causally related. Advertising, friends, social groups and media talking heads all tell you what's cool or hip to believe, and they imply that if you're not hip and cool you're regressive and ignorant.
• Then there's stuff that people do to feel in touch and cool. Watch TV and movies. Play video games. Read popular books. Check out the latest magazines. Be on mySpace.

I think there's a value in disconnecting from it all and finding real value in actual utility.

Does this object bring you transcendent joy? Then why waste the time... an Xbox 360 is a paltry comparison to a stable mind.

Does this activity make you feel more powerful? Or are you just feeling... in touch... and now you've got people around you to tell you you're cool, so you never grow up and develop self-esteem on your own.

Hours on movies, video games, TV, etc.

Throw it all out.

I'm not saying "turn off the TV, read a book." I'm saying back away from all of it. Herd-activities are senseless. Do something constructive, creative -or- just enjoy silence in your mind, heart and ears. From that comes the will to know yourself, thus to like yourself, thus to know what to do that makes a full life instead of just a filled-with-crap one.

Junk the plastic activities. Live whole.

[istaros]

regarding the first bullet point, i can't count the number of times i've been in the middle of a big-city crowd, in line at a store, anything, and thought how bizarre it was that nearly everyone seemed to be in a conversation - but not with anyone else in physical proximity. some say the world's getting smaller, others that it's getting larger; the only change i can see is its increasing compartmentalization into individual micro-universes, which could explain both of the previous perspectives. most people appear to be reluctant to disconnect from the rush because it's all they know. it's as if they not only reject the possibility of something existing outside of themselves, but haven't even CONSIDERED the possibility.

[ShitFaced]

City life breeds this activity like no other. I'm definitely considering moving up closer to the mountains over here in Western Washington.

[Heydrich]

The absolute fetishization of cell-phones alone is symptomatic of the collective neurosis of modern society. It's just a goddamned phone...yet now humans can scacely function without one!

I resisted carrying such a device as long as I possibly could and only ultimately relented when it became necessary for professional reasons. I still hate the damned thing despite the admitted convenience it occasionally brings me personally. Now, it is virtually impossible to "get away from it all." I despise the fact that I am now almost a prisoner to this damned little contraption - whether it's a boss, a spouse, or just a friend, everyone seems to have access to you at ALL times and in all places - and they all know it. As a person who values, nay, covets their privacy and peace and quiet, I consider this singular connection to the herd-world alone an abomination.   

Opportunites to "disconnect from it all" as ASBO observed are more precious to me now than ever! 

[istaros]

i don't know how people here feel about louis ck, or comedians in general, but when they're good i find them to be more effective as agents of spreading wake-up-calls than virtually anything else. anyway, this relates to the addictions of being connected: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

[Transilvania]

I live in an metropolitan area, and almost every single pitiful waste of flesh and bones has one of those stupid phones.

Also, they keep on making fun of me when I listen to more stimulating music.
 
Continuing on my post, I do have a cell-phone, which is absolute junk, and I like it that way. I only make a call when it is essential.

[Humanicide]

Funny enough, I actually refused to get a cell phone when I was in high school, even though all of my friends had one. My mother forced me to get one once I started to drive and work, as she deemed it essential in case I were to be stranded on the road somewhere. In that regard, cell phones have some use.

In most other regards, I really don't much see the point of them. Sure there are urgent calls which must be made, but 95% of the time its just people bullshitting and gabbing while annoying everyone around them with one side of their inane conversation. It's made ESPECIALLY irritating when I am sitting in class at my university and some dumbass forgets to turn their phone off or put it on vibrate and we're all treated to the latest top 40 bore ringtone while said dumbass fumbles around their huge pocketbook/backpack full of shit to look for it. Where the hell is common courtesy?

[wEEman33]

There's nothing inherently wrong with technology.

It all comes down to how you use it, or alternatively, how you let it use you.

[Consvming Impvlse]

I like some video games, but I detest gamer culture and won't play anything where a large part of the game means going online against others. Ringtones, on the other hand, must be killed.

[ares]

Never was part of the herd of sheep, never wanted to be. Being "in touch" has always been irrelevant to me. Don't have myspace, don't have a TV, rarely go to the movies, never been apart of a lame social group, etc. People who seek other peoples approvals are just simply pathetic creatures.

[ares]

I do have a cell-phone, which is absolute junk, and I like it that way. I only make a call when it is essential.

Same here.

[Ameera]

I find that the constant use of textual communication has lead to a drop in sociably acceptable manners.
It is now almost natural to be out with a group of friends and texting/IMing/chatting on the phone/etc at the same time. Where did ‘quality time’ with people go?- without constant outside interruptions.
Cell phones, specifically, are used so casually now that what is being said with them is less thought-out, and the focus is really more on saying SOMETHING, rather then the substance of what is being communicated.
Texting, gives people and excuse to be rude, or to say something unimportant in 200 characters or less- but the stupidity goes unnoticed because of the stigma around what can be said through texting.
If you are bored at 2 am, it may be considered too risky or rude to call a friend, as they may be sleeping, but it’s acceptable to text them “because it’s just a text message.”
You cannot see reactions through texting, which leads to some saying things they would not otherwise say. Or to use simple answers such as “lol” or “yeah” within a ‘conversation.’ (Which, I admittedly do often).
We wonder why intelligence levels are below par….

As for value in being disconnected from herd activities, I would like to 'disconnect' eventually. But personally, such things are necessary when trying to establish one self's future. Really I am speaking personally, as college and jobs and everything else one needs to "succeed" (in the general sense) all communicate though emails and IMs.

[ASBO]

As for value in being disconnected from herd activities, I would like to 'disconnect' eventually. But personally, such things are necessary when trying to establish one self's future. Really I am speaking personally, as college and jobs and everything else one needs to "succeed" (in the general sense) all communicate though emails and IMs.

Good points on the lack of sociability. When I say disconnect, I don't mean entirely withdraw from society, but just withdrawing from the behaviors that are degenerate is enough.

[ken]

it is unfortunate but it is neccessary for those of us unfortunate enough to be forced into enduring periods of seperation and immersion in unappealing environments. my mobile is my only option when my loved ones are not here.

Never was part of the herd of sheep, never wanted to be. Being "in touch" has always been irrelevant to me. Don't have myspace, don't have a TV, rarely go to the movies, never been apart of a lame social group, etc. People who seek other peoples approvals are just simply pathetic creatures.

if i didnt have myspace, i would have no friends. once again it is unfortunate but it is neccessary for a period in which circumstances are unchangeable.

-apologies for i do not know how to quote these two pieces.

Industrial Society and its Future

127. A technological advance that appears not to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten it very seriously later on. For example, consider motorized transport. A walking man formerly could go where he pleased, go at his own pace without observing any traffic regulations, and was independent of technological support-systems. When motor vehicles were introduced they appeared to increase man's freedom. They took no freedom away from the walking man, no one had to have an automobile if he didn't want one, and anyone who did choose to buy an automobile could travel much faster than the walking man. But the introduction of motorized transport soon changed society in such a way as to restrict greatly man's freedom of locomotion. When automobiles became numerous, it became necessary to regulate their use extensively. In a car, especially in densely populated areas, one cannot just go where one likes at one's own pace one's movement is governed by the flow of traffic and by various traffic laws. One is tied down by various obligations: license requirements, driver test, renewing registration, insurance, maintenance required for safety, monthly payments on purchase price. Moreover, the use of motorized transport is no longer optional. Since the introduction of motorized transport the arrangement of our cities has changed in such a way that the majority of people no longer live within walking distance of their place of employment, shopping areas and recreational opportunities, so that they HAVE TO depend on the automobile for transportation. Or else they must use public transportation, in which case they have even less control over their own movement than when driving a car. Even the walker's freedom is now greatly restricted. In the city he continually has to stop and wait for traffic lights that are designed mainly to serve auto traffic. In the country, motor traffic makes it dangerous and unpleasant to walk along the highway. (Note the important point we have illustrated with the case of motorized transport: When a new item of technology is introduced as an option that an individual can accept or not as he chooses, it does not necessarily REMAIN optional. In many cases the new technology changes society in such a way that people eventually find themselves FORCED to use it.)



Talon Of Dominion

"Let this stand as a monument to my abandonment and submission to the clutches of consumption. A penance of control for the iniquity of breath. It is irrefutable that we become apostle to mechanism. It is design that orchestrates the perpetuity of tyranny and doctrine of drudgery and toil. Talon of dominion, skewer of empire, as certain as the blackening of another tomorrow."

[ASBO]

if i didnt have myspace, i would have no friends.

You're going to hate me, but: is it not possible to make new friends in whatever situation you find yourself?

Anything remotely resembling self-pity destroys your strength. New conquests increase it.

If all else fails, join a local club for furries. They're glad to find anyone remotely normal.