In Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now, Douglass Rushkoff discusses his interpretation of the relationship of society and rapidly evolving technology. He believes that as technology progresses, society becomes increasingly dependent on it and eventually loses touch with the traditional sense of time and reality. Through the book Rushkoff makes several insightful observations about the development of society and how technologies were often the driving force behind these “Present Shocks.”
Rushkoff uses five main ideas to defend his opinion: loosing linearity, digiphrenia, dver-dinding, fractalnoia, and apocolypto. While most people do not consider written language and story telling a technology, Rushkoff argues that evolution of the traditional narrative is a defining societal characteristic. As technology advances, society moves away from the linear, “heroic journey” story structure to “something more like putting together a puzzle by making connections and recognizing patterns” (Rushkoff 34). The loss of linearity produces the subsequent conditions of digiphrenia, over-winding, fractalnoia, and apocolypto. These are all results society’s desire to “capture the slipping moment” (Rushkoff 6) and live in the present. Unfortunately, as Rushkoff argues, this can often lead to “a skewed notion of the real and the immediate” (Rushkoff 6).
I think Present Shock was very well done. Rushkoff blatantly states his argument about technologies effect on our perception of time in the preface, as if to outline his entire idea. He then spends the rest of the book explaining each tier of his idea in detail, leaving almost no stone unturned due to the numerous detailed examples. And, each chapter includes his personal notions o...
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...er for each scenario throughout the book. However, it is not until late in the final section of “Apocalypto” that he offers his solution to the issues that create our present shock. Rushkoff says “the solution, of course, is balance” (Rushkoff 265). He suggests that we, as individuals, find a balance between living our lives truly in the present and our need for technology and media. He describes a pause and un-pause feature in our lives. We need to control our need for technology in order to avoid our technology controlling us. Although the majority of his book describes how we have little control over the developments technology causes in our lives, he believes with moderation we can live in the present both virtually and physically.
Works Cited
Rushkoff, Douglas (2013-03-21). Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now.
Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.
This story observes human relations with technology and warns us of the potential consequences of allowing technology to supplement our self-sufficiency. Varshavsky shows us that we will become indistinguishable from technology, that this technology will eventually demand equality, and that this technology will steal our self-sufficiency while also becoming self-reliant. There are hints at Varshavsky’s imagined human-technology relations in current day. Society’s requirement of computers to function in the economy as laborers and consumers is one example. Another instance of society’s reliance on technology is the use of cameras and security systems to ensure safety. Another different type of technology humans rely on is pesticide to grow food for consumption. None of these examples point to technology as a negative aspect of society. On the contrary, technology has allowed human societies to expand and flourish. However, the most poignant example of Varshavsky’s envisioned human-technology relationship is human reliance on the cellphone. To name a few benefits, cellphones allow people to remember things they would otherwise forget, share their ideas with each other, and communicate with people they would normally have trouble maintaining a relationship. Cellphones are becoming a vital part of consumer culture and human existence. Without them society will digress back to a slower social, cultural, and economic existence. Human reliance on cellphones could be the first steps toward Ilya Varshavsky’s “Perpetual Motion” becoming
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People all around agree that technology is changing how we think, but is it changing us for the better? Clive Thompson definitely thinks so and this book is his collection of why that is. As an avid fiction reader I wasn’t sure this book would captivate me, but the 352 pages seemingly flew past me. The book is a whirlwind of interesting ideas, captivating people, and fascinating thoughts on how technology is changing how we work and think.
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
The change from differing mediums, novel and film, reveal characteristics and possibilities of narratives. Through the advancement of technology, modern writers
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Miller, Derek D Essay: Brave New World and the threat of technological growth Vol 3 2011.Print
The opening paragraph of the novel evokes the consequences of unharnessed technology and contemporary man’s contented refusal to acknowledge the consequences (Watt).
In the simplest form, there is a basic structural pattern to narratives, as expressed through Tzvetan Todorov’s explanation of narrative movement between two equilibriums. A narrative begins in a stable position until something causes disequilibrium, however, by the end of the story, the equilibrium is re-established, though it is different than the beginning (O’Shaughnessy 1999: 268). Joseph Cam...
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Ong, Walter. “Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought.” Writing Material. Ed. Evelyn Tribble. New York. 2003. 315-335.
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