https://archive.org/details/HaveITol1958
The video I chose to watch was a student created short film created in 1958 to highlight the dangers of automation and our dependencies on technology. Throughout the film, there are various pieces of technology featured such as the telephone, tv, radio, etc. The film also follows a family throughout an average day, however, there is virtually no communication between them because this new technology is causing rift between them. A couple scenes in particular that really stuck with me was when the mom checks in on her son to only have his attention focused on the tv in an almost trance-like state. In the next scene as they're eating their dinner, the only sound we hear is the sound of the tv. The son then immediately leaves the dinner table abruptly to go back and watch tv while the mom looks visibly upset about this.
This video is important to show that even advances in technology a long time ago already had the capability of causing a rift in society and families. It wasn't just factory workers that were oppressed during this time because machines were taking their jobs, other people were too because machines were taking their families. Today, we really don't think twice about locking ourselves in our rooms and binge watching our latest guilty pleasure instead of spending quality time with our family. Heck, we even consider watching a movie with our family as spending "quality time" with each other even though we don't speak a word or get closer to each other as a family emotionally or intellectually. Although technological advances are important, we sometimes take for granted the impact they can have on our emotion connections with our loved ones.
The last thing you said really reminds me of notion that as we connect more with social networks we actually distance ourselves from eachother. It's that notion that we are so connected from a piece of technology why leave our comfort of our own house to talk to some one when we do not even have to get off the couch. And that transients as we lose the ability to talk to people and hold conversation. I personally do not like to text people I do not feel I can convey my whole personality through a text message. I'd much rather talk in person where I can show enthusiasm, read you, and try to make you smile. In the end this might just be the evolution of humans like Veysey argument in his article it might just be the way we want it to be. Only time will tell what path we end up taking.
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