Rhetoric 3371 Questions

In the Ryan Kim article I thought the idea of social rules for talking on a land line being replaced by cell phones interesting. It made me wonder what sort of rules we followed because we were attached to the wall. I also liked that some of the surveys looked at other uses for cell phones, like using tha backlight as a flashlight. Although I don't think the need to be able to use the phone as a phone justifies any of that... I've never carried a flashlight... it just happens to be convienent to have some light every once in awhile. I like the comeback of some social rules involving cell phones, and I was suprised by some of the earlier survey results, but I wonder if that's because EVERYONE has one, and rules didn't need to be so established for the rich business people who had them to begin with.

the first thing i would like to say is "telephony"? that sounds like a word i would make up at like 2:30 in the morning with my firends. he never really explains why he chose it either. But onward, i think mr. de vries makes some good points. he makes the arguement that we have beens striving through technology to reach some sort of communication nirvana. We wish for some sort of collective. He compares it to godliness. this is an interesting point. we associate godliness with what we percieve as mastery over time and space. the goal he says is to be able to communicate with any one at any time perfectly and instantaneously. thats insane. that reminds me more of an insect colony than godliness. if we were to reach this point i couldn't see it happening as we exist now. an interesting question i think is, why do we strive for this? where does our desire to transcend time and space come from. we are very much an individualistic species but for some reason we seem to aim for these things that are collective.
One quick thing, this whole climatic end point thing kind of bugs me out. i can't think of a single climatic endpoint that happens besides biological things.

While in higschool, about 5 years a ago, I heard a cell phone provider state that in the next ten years most people will completely eliminate their home phone and use only their cell phones as means of phone conversations. I remember thinking that this man is crazy and he must just be saying this because he is a cell phone provider. Looking back on that now I realize that I was just completely ignorant to what this technology was. I sit here today wondering why people still have home phones, in fact I ask my mother why she still has a home line everytime I go home. To me it doesn't make sense to own a home phone and I will never have one as a cell phone is not only a home phone but it is a business phone as well as a pay phone. It can go nearly anywhere you go! It is crazy to think that it has progress this much over the last five years and totally revolutionized the way and eaze of communication.
I liked the part of Kim's article stating uses other than just phone calls and text messages through the cell phone. It does come in handy for many other things. I have used it numerous times for locating things in the dark, in fact my last phone had a feature that by pressing and holding a side button the phone would illuminate the flash used for the camera (it was a camera phone) for about ten seconds so that you could locate things. Along with that option, phones are not only camera phones with up to 10 megapiel capabilites but they are also: ipods (mp3 players), emailers, organizers/date planners, well basically computers!

In Kim’s article, he states that there are over 2 billion cell phones around the world. One thought that I had when he talks about the affect that cell phones have on our culture… What about other cultures? How do other cultures perceive cell phone use? Are they more liberal or conservative about its usage than Americans are? I also agree with many of the surveys supporting his ideas. I feel lost if I leave the house forgetting my cell phone, almost like I am disconnected from my normal daily life. I can’t imagine a time like you see on older “college” movies. How in the dorms they had one pay phone in the hall and that is what you would use to call home! I couldn’t imagine! Then I think how pathetic I am that the average person 18- 24 spends almost a full day on the phone a month. I’m curious how much time people spent on their phones ten years ago compared to today.

The Ryan Kim article brings up the argument that it is mostly the older generations, the people that are attached to old technology (land lines), that are enforcing the strict social norms of limited cell phone use in public. But I don't think these opinions account for all of the recent developments in cell phone limits. It seems that all people, regardless of age, have their grievances about listening to others talk on the phone in public. So while I can see social norms fluctuating as time goes on, I doubt that the conservativeness of these norms will drastically lessen. I feel like we will always be annoyed by the cell phone conversations of others. Which, when I think about it, is kind of odd considering we are typically ok with listening to two people converse, an equally noisy act. Is the annoyance due to an inability to effectively eavesdrop? This is probably true to some extent, but I wonder if there are other reasons for this irritation.

The other article had the prevailing theme of trying to achieve a utopic version of communication, moving from one technology to another in an attempt to do so. But it hardly seems that people want to find just one perfect technology to communicate with. Personally, I love having multiple communication modes at my disposal, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I like being able to pick between the phone and e-mail, text messaging or instant messaging, depending on the message that is being delivered. Perhaps this could be the way we finally achieve any sort of communication utopia - through the development of multiple useful technologies rather than a single flawless one.

There is one fact about Imar de Vries article that gives it full credibility: none of the contributors for the article are American. It's been no surprise that America has been behind in the cell phone revolution. The per-capita cell phone ownership in Sweden and the Netherlands, for example, sky-rocketed years ago. The short phone number text messages "Text JOKE to 45454" is the latest craze in American telephony; the practice was used years prior in other countries.

Telephony is a not a new word. It's been an industry buzz word for YEARS. "Modem telephony" was big when Windows 95 first came out: the first computer-integrated speaker phone system for the masses. Mobile telephony emerges from the PC desktop and into the palm of our hands.

One point highlighted by deVries was how large corporations forced a "monopoly" of sorts on the radio/television bandwidth: commercialize the airwaves and don't let anyone else become a broadcaster.

Sorry, big corporate America--I am licensed by the Federal Communication Commission as an Amateur Radio Technician ("HAM"). I have a call sign (kcØunv). I can transmit up to 1500w of power in specific frequency ranges.

The role of HAMs has silently been integrated into American policy. After Hurricane Katrina, emergency communications were faciliated by HAM radio operators. In times of severe weather, a HAM network is set up to link storm spotters directly to the National Weather Service.

I gave up my cell phone. I don't want to be connected all day long. No one calls me. I don't call anyone. A land-line and a calling card to call my parents long-distance is all I need. I'd prefer to stop frying my brain due to cell phone radio waves.

What's next? Video cell phones? Sure, phones have cameras, but it's kinda weird to hold your camera to your face while you talk. Verizon lets you V-cast television. All three major TV networks are offering their shows as podcasts. MP3 players and cell phones are already being combined.

The change that needs to happen is that members of society need to learn how to separate the message from the carrier. Wi-fi for computers will soon be flooded with Wi-Fi iPods. I attribute most of my success in technology to my ability to delineate between the message being sent (or received) and the technology which carries that message. A laptop. A pda. A cell phone. Point A to Point B. It all seems the same to me. I just grow tired of the media hype. If I never have to hear another class presentation about MySpace again, I would be happy. Oh wait; MySpace is the topic in the next week or two. :|

Interrupting SEX to answer a cell phone call? This alone makes it clear how far cellular phones have penetrated our lives. I fully understand what people meant about not being able to live without their cell phones. I forgot to charge my phone over the weekend and it died on my yesterday. Though I didn’t need it for anything yesterday, I still felt strange knowing that it was off and people were unable to reach me for most of the day. Cell phones have definitely changed our lives a great deal. Possibly my favorite feature of cell phones is the backlight—I thought it was interesting how that was mentioned in Ryan Kim’s article. This line describes it well… “it is an intrinsic human desire to bridge all chasms by realizing angelic communication, making it possible to share one’s thoughts or be present in each other’s company at any time and any place.” This is the true realization of cellular technology—we can communicate with anyone anywhere at anytime. Why is this such an INTRINSIC human desire to always be available?

It is mind boggling to think that if I was studying at this campus ten years ago, I would need to find a payphone, or use my house phone, to reach my friends and set up a meeting place and time. What if my friends decided to go somewhere else? What if I couldn’t pick them up? There’d be no way to reach them while away from home. Even if I found a payphone, I wouldn’t know where to call them. Another hassle would be to have to carry around an address book with me everywhere I went! Thank God for the cell phone. I definitely can’t survive (comfortably) without it, and apparently neither can 2 billion other people. I don’t think this is utopian, because I imagine utopia to be a state/place where we rid ourselves of our unnatural and material possessions. This is just the incomprehensible and amazing power of humans. We will all soon just become one entity?

Imagine some distance future where angelic communication is realised. I think that connecting utopia with this realization is interesting. Of course, it wouldn't be sufficient to develop a technology that would transmit our words and speech to anyone at anytime at the simple movement of our will. No, speech is pretty imperfect too. The disparity between the subjective state that rises up in me and the verbal output is something one resigns his or herself to. Even with the best writers, we're at a loss to pin down exactly what they meant to say. Even still, the remaining seperateness that would reside even after such an amazingly imperfect realization would create some astounding civilization. However I think that because the seperateness left over, the unbridgeable assymetry between the spoken and the felt, maintains the fact that certain classes can live obliviously happier than others, the advent of such an amazing technology would do little more than complicate the social structures that pre-existed it.

Imagine that angelic communication does become possible. Say an enormous network is built, and amazing utopian neuro-science coupled with dazzling computer science develops a chip that converts our subjective states into digital signals. The result being that over time the world population implants these chips into everyone's mind at birth and voila - at any time, anywhere, the inner contents of one's mind can be perfectly conveyed to any one simply by willing it. Would utopia result from this?

Perhaps. Social inequalties are obviated. The weakest member can beam the strongest his specific feeling about the matter, and everyone works together intimately without representation and distortion.

But perhaps not, say the incoming thoughts from all over drive me wild. I don't want to think about the horrible thoughts and prank calls coming from Zanzibar. Or perhaps, even worse, people become conditioned to the the influx of this perfect information. The temptation to retain exploitative hierarchies and such is great enough to tune out the anguishing cries of those being squashed.

Either way, I think that my amateur speculative fiction agrees with Imar de Vries conlusion that technilogical progress cannot achieve utopia. I myself think that this is because techonology is subservient to cultural ideals, and is developed to serve the structure that pre-exists it.

I just saw the latest comment come in about the idea that we all might become one entity, and was intrigued because that exact sentiment ran throughout the post I nearly silmutaneously posted. Wierd, huh? Perhaps we're on our way.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement with Kim’s article about the cell phone. Cell phones have become a huge part of everyday life. Whether I use my phone for personal or business, it is difficult to imagine a day without my phone. It almost feels as if I am lost without it. It is my calendar, alarm, camera, clock and of course my main mode of communication. In a way though, cell phones have made us too reliant on its technology. Before having a cell phone I used to have my close friend’s phone numbers memorized. Currently, all I do is scroll through my phonebook on my cell phone to call my close friends. I don’t think I have a single person’s cell phone number memorized. Cell phones also take away the intimacy and importance away from calling on a land line. Conversations are shorter and less personal with cell phones.

I have to start by saying I absolutely do not understand how cell phones and computers and many other forms of communication can possibly work. It just seems miraculous to me. Beyond that, I think about the expense of technology. I pay for a telephone land line and fast speed internet and I think that’s expensive. I can’t imagine adding the cost of a cell phone, cable TV and some of the other technologies offered. It adds up fast and I guess I’m just cheap. I also worry about the loss of the boundary between private and public mentioned in “Telephony.” When I have a conversation I do not want everyone listening in and I do not appreciate being forced to listen in on others. I think the “older generation” had a much different sense of self and privacy than is exhibited now. This shows up in many areas of life. I also agree with the idea presented that cell phone use is communication to satisfy wants rather than the desire to know one another. The cell phone itself is a useful convenience, but there are so many other issues surrounding it.

My roommate just walked in talking on his cell phone, what a tool. Doesn't even say hi to me, just continues talking to his ex-girlfriend, interrupting my homework, not realizing that he's the loudest person ever. Another example of ignorant cell phone use. Just like those people who talk on the bus, you know the people I'm talking about...half of you take the campus connecter to St. Paul for this class and you hear the dumb girl on her cellphone saying things like "oh my god, Chad got so drunk last night, he drank like a whole bottle of tequila then he started to...I've seriously heard many inappropriate things from cell phone users on the way to this class. All formality has been lost with the cell phone, just like with email. The traditional letter format has been replaced by slacker emailing, and the unwritten rules of telephone usage have been replaced by irresponsible cell phone users. Tomorrow I'm going to eavesdrop on someones cell phone conversation on the bus, and see if I can sneak my way in to the conversation. That would be equally as rude as them talking loudly in front of me on their phone.

Ryan Kim’s article struck a cord with me when it mentioned how common place it is to see people texting away on their cell phones in public settings, and how it has become the norm. I unfortunately have been sucked into working in nightclubs until I graduate from school and have been happening upon the strangest sites in the past year or so. If I remember correctly it was about two years ago that literally everyone started having text messaging available on their phone, before then many people did but it was not nearly as common place as today. Where I am going is that I counted 11 people Saturday night in a very small area of the bar I work at texting on their phone around 1:15 AM. They were not only texting, but immersed in intense text message “conversations?” back and forth, texting franticly, awaiting the reply, then promptly responding. A few of the people I saw were at tables with each other, both texting someone else! Wow it freaked me out; I actually started laughing out loud because it was such a strange sight, music, noise, booze, and people everywhere dotting the floor plugged into their little electronic devices writing to each other. I’m assuming some were in text arguments with their significant others, some were setting up booty calls, and others were maybe drunk texting (modern form of the drunk dial). Either way it was bizarre. The latest thing I saw was just last night, there was a guy texting his friend about a girl he was sitting next to, inquiring about if he knew if she had a boyfriend or not. This odd ball was one of my friends, I promptly told him I found what he was doing to be a bit creepy and maybe he could just ask her instead of doing a covert text opp.

In 10th grade I was wholly against cell phones. I never wanted one; I never wanted to be part of that subculture that I seemed to hate so much. I like my land phone. But when I was a freshman at college I finally got one. I started feeling out of the loop because it finally came to the point where all my friends had one. Then, they would only call people in their contacts to do something with. I felt very ostracized, so I bought a cell phone. And, I don’t like being reachable all the time. I am sure we all may have that person who calls and will not hang up. For me it’s a kid who calls me and does not stop talking for about an hour. I don’t know what to do, so I usually just hang up and he calls back. I hate being able to be reached 24/7. Here is the most interesting quote I found “cell phone use is upending existing social rules and creating a new culture that worships mobility and modifying many long-held social rules.” Worship is the operative word here. We do worship this technology. It gives us freedom and keeps us constrained at the same time. It’s all very confusing…maybe someday we won’t even have the freedom of filtering our calls. Maybe we’ll have brain chips that automatically answer our phone and talk for us. Who knows.

Also, do you think more men or women pick up the phone during sex?

Cell phones, cell phones, cell phones. It just seems as though every year there is an extra accessory that tops the year before. Once we renew our contract (which we must patiently wait 2 years for) and update to the latest and greatest phone… a week late something like The Razor comes out! It’s hard to keep up with technology these days. Not only have we become so dependent that we now experience feelings of being lost when we don’t have our phones, but we are also striving keep up with the Jones‘. I have watched so many of my friends literally freak out if they leave their phones while they go to the store! And because of that, I purposely leave my phone behind sometimes because I hate feeling like I wouldn’t be able to survive without it (like SOME people we know). Even though “telephony’s” were a phenomenal invention, I’m starting to think that we have gone to far. What happened to a telephone just being a telephone? Not a super thin, picture taking, text messaging, mp3 playing, high speed internet connecting, video taping, little black book replacing, device that plays a song when someone is calling you instead of RINGING? Seriously, is this all necessary?

Ryan Kim's article on cell phones really 'rang' home for me. Sorry that was bad. But seriously, I could totally see where he was coming from when he said that we "worship mobility". The ability to call someone whenever, wherever has revolutionized everything. When I went to the state fair this year I actually thought about this. I wondered how on earth before cell phones that people found each other. If you didn't arrive to the state fair with the person you wanted to be with I don't know how you would find them, and if you arranged a place to meet that could mean some serious down time for waiting. I thought it was interesting that people hate but can't live without the cell phone. I guess I'm not the only one. I reject all the gizmos and gadgets that are getting placed on the phone, like the things Julie commented on, because I just want my phone to take calls and that's it. My wallet doesn't seem to mind but that is something I don't understand why we have to complicate things so much. It seems the as my phone gets more complex I get more poorer reception and more dropped calls. Coincidence? I do strongly dislike cell phones, but I do admit I could not live without it. It is so important it is part of my three point check whenever I leave someplace: wallet, keys, and cell phone. If all are present, rock and roll. Random question: will cell phones every go totally hands free?

It seems that for every technology we’ve been discussing, there are always negative ideas behind each one. I’ve agreed with most of them: trains sped up the pace of life, industrialization hurt the environment, and dams are controversial… but cell phones? I have no problem with cell phones. Inconclusive studies of brain cancer haven’t scared anyone, and people don’t care enough to not answer when they’re driving. Other than these “threats,” I can’t think of anything bad about cell phones. They’re accessible and convenient and efficient. The only thing that bothers me is obnoxious top-40’s ringtones. These people are worthless. As for myself and many people I know, we do not even have a land line. Everyone has their own cell phone, and that is the end of it.

Ryan Kim's article is so true! It's scary. I like to think that I am functional without my cell phone, but I was at work for six hours today and left my apartment without my cell phone. I didn't notice that I had left my cell phone in my jacket pocket until I needed to make a call. In the six hours that I was at work today I probably needed my cell phone about ten times to either call someone, get a number, add a number, add an event on the calender, and text a classmate. CRAZY! If I knew it was going to make my life THAT much of a hassle I would have left work durring my lunch hour to run and grab my cell phone. It's funny too. I was just talking to a friend of mine and he was saying how he had lost his cell phone and needed to call me for something, but did not have my number because it was in his cell phone. Do you guys remember the days when we had to MEMORIZE all of our friends' home numbers AND, if they had cell phones, their cell phone numbers too? Wow, what did we do with all that brain space? And just a little side comment, I work at a dormatory on campus and there was a girl who asked one of my co-workers how to put a stamp on a letter...WHAT?! And not to sound stupid, but sometimes I pick up a landline phone and for some reason for a split second (only a split second!) I kind of forget how to use it. You know...you have to press a ONE first if you are dialing outside the area code and if it's a local number you do not need the area code at all. Sometimes I forget. Anyone else out there do the same thing? Are these convenient electronics making us dumber as a generation?

I found all the references to utopia and angelic communication interesting notions albeit unrealistic because neither is attainable. Utopia, an ideally perfect place, is a stupid idea. What is perfect for one person may be hell for another person. Angelic communication where you can communicate exactly your thoughts could not exist due to the limitations of communication. Just try to communicate exactly something as simple as your house to someone and you will find it is not possible. This is because even physical objects like a house cannot be described exactly due to the amount of pure information needed to convey what the object is to another person. I think that the “grand direction” media technologies are headed in is just to make peoples lives easier by improving upon past technologies or creating ones that can do what no others could do in the past. A technology which will not be invented in my lifetime, or ever, that would help us transcend time and distance faster would be teleportation. Straight out of sci-fi movies this technology would allow us to be able to see, hear, feel, etc. events and other things of interest to us instantly. This would overcome the limitations of all previous technologies by allowing us to be anywhere we want whenever we want. Even if this hypothetical situation happened we still could not be everywhere at once so it still wouldn’t be perfect now would it. Oh, also I like mobile phones and a common fact often overlooked by complainers is that you can shut them off if you don’t want to be reached.

After reading Imar de Vries chapter 1 “Mobile Telephony” the ideal angelic communication that society seeks to bridge by introducing new technologies is provoked by social, political, and economic barriers. As Vries states, “Media evolution can be viewed as the continuing search for an ideal medium, which in the end has to comply with all the demands that the idea of ideal communication imposes on its characteristics.” Each new technology that is introduced does not destroy the old technology, but seeks to reach the ideal angelic communication by improving upon the disadvantages and problems from the previous technologies. Likewise new media become superior to the latter: the television is an extension of the radio; the radio is the extension of the telephone etc., all seeking to reach the ideal angelic communication. Is this a never ending process? Is this leading to transparent immediacy?

After reading Imar de Vries chapter 1 “Mobile Telephony” the ideal angelic communication that society seeks to bridge by introducing new technologies is provoked by social, political, and economic barriers. As Vries states, “Media evolution can be viewed as the continuing search for an ideal medium, which in the end has to comply with all the demands that the idea of ideal communication imposes on its characteristics.” Each new technology that is introduced does not destroy the old technology, but seeks to reach the ideal angelic communication by improving upon the disadvantages and problems from the previous technologies. Likewise new media become superior to the latter: the television is an extension of the radio; the radio is the extension of the telephone etc., all seeking to reach the ideal angelic communication. Is this a never ending process? Is this leading to transparent immediacy?

As many people have discussed, I was one of those who almost refused to join, what I called "the revolution." A couple years back, I felt that cell-phones were this unnecessary technology. Everyone person I knew who had one relied upon it for too much. They constantly used it to be up to date on what the plans for the evening were, used it to not be alone when there was time to kill, and they used it to play games to distract themselves from classroom discussions. When I finally did get one, I was happy (and still am) but I feel like something is lost. I think it is an element of trust or responsibility. No longer do you have to trust that the plans you made previously are still on, in fact you almost need to verify that they are still going on if too much time has passed without discussing them with all parties involved. As far as responsibility, no longer are you responsible for remembering every piece of information because you can always get a hold of someone quickly to make sure you are correct.
I don't know if anyone else has done this, but I am often in a situation where I think "what the hell did we do before cell phones?" It boggles my mind how much my cell-phone effects my life.

Text messaging has surely changed the way people communicate. I use to have text messaging on my own phone but decided that it was a waste of money. Normally I would text like 5 messages to get a single point across to another person and answer some simple questions. It would take me about 5 or 10 minutes to get the conversation done with. A simple phone call would have been cheaper and way faster. But to some people it seems that it is very exciting to sit and wait and see what the person on the other phone will say back. Sometimes a person will be more open in a text message than in a phone call. I think people that text message now will find it hard to ever give up the option on their cell phones. The cell phone has definitly changed communication and it will continue to change in new ways.

This article was very interesting and I agreed with many aspects of it. The biggest thing I notice when I have my cell phone is how dependent I am upon it. I use it as a clock, occasionally as a flashlight, date book, instant messaging system, and, of course, a phone. I remember once this summer I was pushed into a pool while my cell phone was on me. Obviously, my phone was destroyed and I was unable to get a new one for a week. I felt so unconnected. I did not have any of my friends numbers memorized and trying to track them down to see what everyone was doing was a chore. I notice how I always take my cell phone for granted but every time I run out of battery or break my phone I feel isolated.

I believe that land lines will not be completely phased out for at least 20 years because there are so many businesses that use them, and it is always nice to have a land line at home in case of emergency. Your cell phone cant always be charged. There are several positives to land lines also. Land lines dont have dropped calls (usually), they always work, you know where to locate them most of the time, they are cheaper, and everyone can use the same phone. In developing countries such as third world countries, cell phones have taken the back seat in priority to other technologies such as modes of transportation, or even computers. Why have a cell phone when you can chat online, or communicate via e-mail. It just seems like an extra expense. But for some people it is comforting to hear the other persons voice on the other end of a call. One can detect certain e-motions such as sarcaism or sadness in ones voice that is not always easy to pick up in written text.
Just speculating, I believe that third world countries will start to see the prevelence of cell phones and their use within the next 50 years, but these countries will never see or experience the use and number of people that utilize the cell phone like the US does. Who knows something new may develop and in 50 years cell phones may be in the same position that land lines are in right now. Where do you think blackberry's will be in the future, will everyone and their mother own them? How long will it be untill they are as cheap as older technologies are right now such as portable cd players?

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