Gotta Share!

Last thursday, Prof. Hayden addressed a question 'What is the effect of technology?" just before the break which I don't think answered yet (or it did and I missed it..) well anyway, my point is, I'm always impressed by the way technology changing our lives. My first encounter with technology as far as I can remember was getting a new SONY betamax video player (at that time, tube tv was already considered ordinary). Soon after that, my family's watching habit was changing. We began to rent video movie at least twice a week. We started to have options on what movies to watch. (It was around 1985-86. Indonesia only had 1 state-owned tv station. Can you imagined what was it like?) And then around 1990, laser disc started booming around South East Asia. Then people began to shift from the square black, red, blue or green box thing to a slimmer one--a laser disc.

Not only movies, new inventions also can be found in video games. Back then, I was so happy playing with Atari, then Nintendo came along, followed by Sega, Game Boy, Play Station, Super Nintendo, Xbox, and cetera (I started to lose track after Nintendo). And the entertainment technology keep inventing new ways in order to simplify our life or perhaps they are exist simply just to change our lives (Well, God always has a funny way to make us excited).

And if my memory serves me well, new technology has been always so dynamic and has becoming part of my life up until now. To answer Prof. Hayden, technology has been changing everything. It changes the way we communicate with others. It changes family's priority. It changes the way family members communicate. It changes the industry. It changes a company's culture. It changes every aspects of our live today. I was ok back then without cell phone, now I'm addicted to it. I cannot go out without it. I'd feel 'lost', insecure, uncomfortable without it. Technology should be liberating, but now I feel as if I'm giving up part of my freedom. Technology is indeed making our life better, but no one told me that I'd have to sacrifice my freedom.

I found this video last night while searching for the latest flashmob agenda around DC. Perhaps most of you have seen it, but I encourage you to watch it again. It is an illustration of how we're so connected and inseparable from social media technology nowadays. Its a perfect picture of most of us. (http://youtu.be/soAk3F0wX9s)

One last thing, there's a joke in Indonesia after the spread of Blackberry, they say "Blackberry, shorting the distance, making wall to the closer ones." I hope you get the irony, since I'm not confident with my translation :)

Happy halloween guys!