Week 10 - The Cyborgian Lifestyle

DO  you agree that you are cyborgian in nature?

We are presently living in a world inundated with technology, therefore our dependency on technological devices makes us all cyborgs. The idea of us being cyborgs, half-man, half-machine is when our capacities and capabilities are extended beyond our physical limitations (James, 1996)

Kate Moss as CYBORG

This question takes me to a feature film by Robbin Williams film which I have watched about a decade ago called 'Bicentennial Man'. It was about a robot, acted by Robbin Williams,  who strives hard to be recognized as a human. As a robot, he learn about emotions and other characteristics that a robot can't possibly have including being mortal. Personally when we watched the movie, we sympathize with the robot being for their disabilities to express certain emotions or thoughts. But little do we know that we are also not just a piece of meat, but a piece of machinery in nature as we rely on technological devices as an extension of our self. Therefore stretching ourselves into this technologies makes us all half men, half machine.

A touching scene from the film, Bicentennial Man

 

As technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, we rely on technologies like mobile phones and computers to help us communicate, remember and think for us. We are also living in the era, where we turn to Google when we need answers. Our dependence on mobile phones, computers or our cars make is appear that this machines are augmented to our body to help us perform better in our daily duties. Therefore this machines serves as prosthetics, maintaining and reinforcing our physical bodies (Grenville, 2002). The fact that I am become dependent on eyeglasses to see clearly render me a cyborg as the correct lens is a product of technology Technology replaced the knowledge of how we do things and turn it into physical objects. 

An illustration of how hooked we are on technology

We are also cyborgians because we have multiple digital representation of ourselves through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or MSN Messenger. It replaces the way we communicate and we are more compelled to express ourselves online. To some people, the virtual world is their reality. It allows them to take any form of digital physical representation which the real world could not offer.. The cyberworld is a disembodied experience to some of us and it is a form of escapism and a stimulation of real-world events.

Avator or visual representation of a person in a virtual world or chat

Let us NOT be deceived by pictures on Facebook. Just saying..

 

Technology allows us to carry out tasks with efficiency and speed. But on the downside, technology has invaded our personal space as it deprived us of the warmth of personal contact and reduced physical activity. Children nowadays are technologically literate by the age of five years old. In Brunei Darussalam under the 21 st Century National Education System (SPN 21) the government encourage technology use in classrooms to improve IT literacy among students (Hana, 2010). However during family dinners or outings that I have observed in restaurants, teens nowadays are engrossed or hooked on their cell phones, tablets, game consoles, laptops, smart phones, etc that they missed the monumental family moments. I am equally guilty of regularly checking my I Phone for missed phone call or work e-mail during family or social outing. Although this technology devices keep us productive and entertained, however it risked of creating a generation of young adults who are only able to keep conversations through e-mail or instant messaging due to lack of physical interaction. The technological advances would also ultimately produce a less tolerant, less motivated and lazy society. In addition to that, our constant desire on on technology has also caused unemployment in the world as computer softwares today have the ability to perform administrative duties thus replacing job positions like secretaries and mail messengers among many (Rumberger, 2002)

A comic published on the Borneo Bulletin, dated Oct 28 illustrates how the society is dependent on Google for answers and knowledge 

Our excessive dependent on technology make us members of the cyborg culture. Whether we like it or not, we are part of the phenomenon of rising cyber culture. In this digital age, we would barely survive or rendered incapacitated without our smartphones, laptops, tablets etc just like food, water and shelter. Technology has seeped into aspect of our lives and if we live without it, it would be like ripping away part of ourselves, reinforcing the argument that we are CYBORGS.


References : 

Grenville, B. (2002). The Uncanny : Experiments in cyborg culture. Canada: Arsenal Pulp Press.

Hana, R. (2010, October 19). Devise print, digital literacy programmes. The Brunei Times. Retrieved from http://www.bt.com.bn

James, J. (1996). Thinking in the future tense. Industrial and commercial training. 28(7), 28 – 32.

Rumberger, R. W. (2002). High technology and job loss. Technology in society. 6(4), 263-284.