The Spaces Between Technology and Ourselves

January 30th, 2014
The Spaces Between Technology and Ourselves

By Naomi Dolin-Aubertin

I spend a lot of time talking about the latest gadget, the shiny new app, and the latest and greatest in IT solutions, but I wanted to take a step back today and talk about the spaces that exist between us and our technology.

It's no secret that we live in a fast-paced, technology-dependent society that glorifies the newest model and fad. I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all; take away my smartphone and my laptop and I would hit a brick wall of withdrawal in a big way. However, some reflection on why we interact with technology the way we do wouldn't go amiss.

For instance, it isn't often that we stop and think about where our technology comes from, how many hands it passes through in the form of raw materials, factory cut and assembled pieces, and how it eventually arrives in our lives. To the left is a macBook in one of its many incarnations. "...a MacBook casing passes through 85 different machines before it’s ready to delight and be bought by consumers." [1] 

A new exhibit at the Design Museum in London examines 24 different products part-way through their manufacturing process. They are products many of us know from daily interaction, stripped down to something intimate and novel. Like Michelangelo's unfinished statues, the pieces are startlingly beautiful and arresting in their familiar, yet ambiguous way. 

Share Your Silence is the name of a project hosted by the Museum of Modern Art. It is a map that hosts moments of silence from around the world, striking more for the small, everyday noises than an absolute silence: birdsong, the crunch of snow underfoot, the puff of air against the speaker, the whir of a bus motor. "...silence usually has a shape and texture. It tells stories and asks questions, if you listen closely enough. For most of us, it’s rare that we get to engage with our silences..." [2] 
It's wonderful when technology actually attunes our senses to the world around us, forcing us to experience the world beyond the glowing screen. Each one of these individuals set out to record a moment of stillness in their lives. And as is often the case, no two person's silence sounded the same. 

Volunteer trainer Karen Coville and student Ruby Lester work with Ruby's new iPad.The best use for technology is when it becomes a gateway that erases the spaces between ourselves and others. As a member of the Millennial generation, I can tell you, technology is just another constant in my life. Social media is almost as natural an idea. The internet connects me to far-flung friends, family and an incredible multitude of information.

This technology reliance isn't natural to everyone and so it is a good thing that programs like Connecting to Community exist, training low-income seniors to navigate and connect on the web.

James Reese, 69, is a poster child for the pilot program. He's using his iPad to find some old friends — even childhood sweethearts..."I even twit now — I'm on Twitter," Reese says and laughs. The tools he's learned to use here, he says, fill "a lot of void that was in my life, you know, that I used to do when I was young." [3]  

And when it comes down to it, that is why we are all out here anyway. Technology can make bridging the spaces easier and faster, but I think it is important to remember that it is not the technology itself that matters, but the people and experiences behind it.


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