"Really?"

As I started to prepare for this week’s blog, the new Windows phone commercial was playing in the background as I was watching the game.  The commercial illustrates how addicted some of us have become to our cell phones and the extremes we go to use them.  Please check out the commercial at the following YouTube link -  
The commercial really does illustrate some of the points in the “Going Mobile” and “The People We Become” chapters from Always On by Naomi S. Baron.

Both articles illustrate how we use technology, specifically cell phones, to communicate and socialize while analyzing the positive and negative outcomes of these more popular/current ways to communicate.  I really connected with the cognitive consequences discussed in the “The People We Become’ chapter, because as an instructor we are constantly challenged with these issues.  With the increased demand of online courses, how can we truly validate the work submitted to verify that the actual student taking the course really did the work?  The information presented on multitasking, shakes me to my core. I feel like I have to multitask 24/7 to survive. It is difficult to believe that after all the multitasking techniques modern business and education are built on, we may have to examine whether or not it is actually affective? However, I can totally relate to a lack of concentration when trying to multi-task on the computer and ‘CrazyBusy’.  What long-term effects will be the results of all this connectedness?

On a certain level, there is a false sense of connectedness with the ‘Always On’ approach.  Even though we can connect with ‘friends’ in a plethora of ways, there often is social isolation or representation of one’s self behind the technology when communicating. The “Going Mobile” chapter took this examination one step further when examining the cultural-specific mobile usage. It offered a window into the world-wide approach and acceptance of cell phone use. The article did lose some appeal when it compared women to office fixtures; however, as a nation of typists and how we have shaped the text-driven, electronically driven communications especially in our education system over the last decade it was enlightening.

Lastly, I would like to come back to the technology and the new multitasking technology etiquette rules out there. The Ishii article spoke to a how Japanese young people tend to avoid direct communication. Why? If their ultimate goal is to stay connected? I was recently at a meeting where everyone including me brought their laptops, in theory to stay connected; but everyone was on them trying to multitask their way through the meeting updates. My question – is this acceptable, survival, or rude?