(4/4) Douglas Rushkoff’s Program or Be Programmed?

Firstly, I was struck by how Internet in its infancy stages, or simply just a few decades ago, was described by Rushkoff as a totally different platform as we view it today. Connecting via a phone line feels like such an antiquated memory, and to call going online “an intentional act” (4) is counterintuitive with the way we live presently—always online. While Rushkoff refers to deeply considering what we say as a luxury, I tend to think that part of the charm and appeal of the internet is that there is a lack of deliberation and consideration. For instance, most people today can type and text faster than they can handwrite with a pen on paper. This increased speed allows for free flow thought without censorship and pause. This may be frowned upon as ‘word vomit’ for a more formal setting such as school or work, but for communication with friends and family, it is a valid and valuable mode of authentic self expression.

On the flip side, I do agree with Rushkoff that there are absolutely negative impacts of this increased speed of communication. His point that our human nervous system lives in the present, but technology is timeless, making it impossible to keep up, resonates with me.(29) 

While Internet didn’t change from asynchronous to synchronous, it still exits outside of time, but our response today is different: we get affected, and because of the increasingly high speed, it causes anxiety. Personally, I do believe we can still retain our autonomy by being selective in when to use our phones or laptops, and who to respond to. Rushkoff argues that we are unable to do so as our culture and society has grown accustomed to always being connected. I think that studying the millennials and recent generations will provide an alternative contrast. For them, they do not know a lifestyle of not being connected, and perhaps they will not feel this anxiety and need for adjustment and to go offline. I’m curious to read more on the role of technology with regards to children who were born into a world where Internet always existed.