The End Of Society Analysis

Upon reading “IPod World. The End of Society” by Andrew Sullivan, I felt even more strongly than I had before about this issue. Sullivan states that everyone he saw, while in NY, were “vacant eyed” and “in their own little musical world.” He brings to light something I have been thinking a lot lately. The fact that iPods and Social Media have separated us, humans, from each other. Isolating us in our own “bubble.” When the smart phone became available to the masses, it was a jump forward for technology and a jump back for society. All of a sudden we all had a phone, iPod and mini-computer with us everywhere we went. Never a dull moment, never forced to have awkward elevator conversations, never overhearing funny conversations. Total
Now that we had Facebook in our hands at all times we could read our feed constantly, respond instantly, feel even more connected while actually being alone. Smart phones are addictive. Everywhere you look you see people staring into those little screens. Even when they are at dinner or in a club. Why talk to anyone, just keep checking your phone to see what all of your other friends are doing, with total disregard for the friends you are actually with at the moment. Talking on the phone while with company in the past was considered rude, now it is a social norm.
They have turned us into a society that cannot stand to wait for information. We get news the second it happens. Anytime someone starts to say “I wonder when,” they or the closest friend will already be “googling” the information. Why wonder at all?
Then there is the addictive attachment to our smart phone. Just as Sullivan describes his panic at leaving his phone behind, we have all had that moment where we dump out our bag or pat all of our pockets with alarm, fear and terror. What will we do without this electronic appendage? How will we function? What if we need to text a friend for the fiftieth time today with frivolous