In “How the Internet Enables
Intimacy”, Stefana Broadbent argues that, while some researchers
are dismayed by the fact that we are not using social media to
connect with a wider range of people, she, rather, is intrigued by
the discovery that users of social media tend to use it to strengthen
relationships with usually no more than five people. What makes
social media great, Broadbent argues, is that these relationship
interactions are no longer restricted by time or space, as social
media allows for instant communication, no matter where the two
people are located.
Broadbent also brings to our attention
that those in power are trying to limit us from communicating freely
with others. Businesses try to keep their employees focused on their
work, schools try to keep students focused on their studies, etc. Our
lives are dictated more and more by those in power. Now, in some
situations, I believe the rule to not use a cellphone or other
communication device is important and, in fact common sense. If
you're being paid to complete certain tasks at a desk job, and you
are efficiently and competently completing those tasks, I believe
that it is perfectly acceptable to field the occasional call from
home or answer a text once in a while, just so long as it doesn't
interfere with the work you contracted to do. Some jobs are simply
not conducive to this. If you are are “board-opping” at a radio
station, you know when you have a time to answer a text, and when you
shouldn't because you need to focus making sure the upcoming
commercial break gets played. You are on company time and company
money, so make sure you do your job well. If you can answer a couple
texts as well, great! If not, then don't complain as if you are an
oppressed minority suffering a social injustice, because you are not.
There are some jobs where no cell phone use while working is
mandatory. I've worked two of these types of jobs, one paid, and one
volunteer. One such position is where appearance and attentiveness
are part of the job requirements. If you're working as an usher at a
football game, you don't pull out your phone and start texting. You
are paid to stand their, answer questions, be courteous, and look
professional. Part of looking
professional in such a setting is being alert, smiling, welcoming
guests, and being concerned that they have a good time at the game
that they paid money to buy tickets for. The company is not paying
you to send texts to your buddy about what you want to do that
weekend. If that kind of job sounds impossible to you, then don't
apply for it.
The other kind of job that may wisely
restrict social media use is a dangerous job where alertness is
required at all times. Railroad work is one such example. There was a
train collision several years ago where the engineer of a passenger
train was texting on his cell phone, missed a red signal, and plowed
his train into the rear of a freight train a few minutes later. Since
then, the Federal Railroad Administration banned the use of cell
phones and other hand-held electronic devices not issued to employees
by the railroad. This rule is one that I have to follow, even on the
5 mile long heritage railway where I volunteer as train crew. When I
am on train crew, my phone is stowed away in my grip, only to be
turned on and used in case of emergency. For everyone on and off the
train to remain safe, I need to be fully alert and ready to act, and
a cell phone would only prove to be a distraction.
We must remember, however, that getting
to use our devices at work at all is quite a privilege, for there are
many people who work in other countries where they spend most of
their lives doing nothing but making the devices we long to use. In
Sophia Cheng's article The
Deadly Labor Behind Our Phones, Laptops and Consumer Gadgets, we
are told of a factory where people work long hours, standing the
entire time, making less than a dollar each day, sleeping when their
shift is done, only to do it over again when they wake up. Of course,
in such a brutal environment, the only phones or other gadgets
allowed at work are those that they are building; the same gadgets
that we buy and then complain about not being allowed to use while we
are at work.
I don't want the moral of this talk to
be “life is never so bad that it can never get get worse”, but I
do think we should realize that by demanding to have uninterrupted
contact with our friends and family, no matter where we are or who is
paying us for our time, other people on these other countries are
suffering because of it, because of the few in power who see the need
to make money as paramount. I do not want to demonize technology.
Burning cell phones is not going to do anyone (or anyone's lungs) any
good. However, I do want to suggest that we start looking critically
at how we use our technology. Why do we, both as individuals and as a
people, buy into the lie that we always need newer, faster machines.
Why do we we need to use these machines 24/7? Why is their little to
no demand that companies build more dependable, longer lasting
machines with legacy support programs? What really makes these new
gadgets “better”?
We have fallen for a sales pitch, and
people on other countries are paying for it.
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