I have been thinking lately about our reliance on portable gadgets to provide distraction and entertainment in situations where a decade or two ago people would have had none. I am talking about the moments on the move perhaps, or on public transport, where we plug in our iPods for a bit of music, or get some handheld device or other out to do a bit of work - or play the odd game.
Now this is nothing new - it’s many years since the Nintendo Gameboy made handheld entertainment a very everyday thing. And Walkmans have provided us with music on the move for even longer. The nature of today’s handheld device is different only in terms of the specs and capabilities. Arguably we have had access to entertainment technology on the move for a long time.
However, in recent years the extent to which we use such items has increased drastically - and so too the degree to which this use is habitualised in our everyday routines. I for one have noticed myself instinctively plugging in my iPod for example nearly every time I sit down on a train - only to realise that I am doing it as much out of habit as from particularly wanting to listen to anything…
Indeed it seems pretty clear that if one steps onto the tube today there will be far more iPods and handheld devices in use (for entertainment/work/or whatever else) than would have been the case a decade ago - even though the actual concept is nothing new.
Perhaps it is that more people now own some sort of handheld device and so an increase in such gadget use is inevitable. It does also seem pretty logical that, when crammed on a packed commuter train, we choose to use the time for something productive or fun, rather than just to sit and wait.
Despite this I have been wondering if maybe we are becoming less accustomed to using free moments such as these for a bit of internal thought or contemplation, and instead are almost automatically closing ourselves off from the scene around us with headphones or a computer game etc.
Personally I am going to make a deliberate effort to break this gadget routine - whether it involves driving with the radio off, or leaving the iPod or laptop at home for the odd train journey. Some might baulk at the wastefulness of doing ‘nothing’ in these situations, but I personally think it can’t hurt to switch off (technologically speaking) for a few minutes of the day at least.
Not to say you might not see me sitting on the bus doing a little work on my phone or listening to few mp3s on my iPod every now and then - just that it will be from a conscious decision to do so - rather than a habit of simply plugging in during every spare moment I have. After all, lest all these shiny gadgets make us forget; sometimes it can be quite nice to just sit and ponder…
Dejan Levi