In the section "Mind Disorders", in the book Culture Jam, the idea of noise is brought into play. The book talks about how noise can be seen as a mind pollutant. When we think of the noise that surrounds us in our daily lives, most of it comes from the technology that we incorporate into our schedules. Simple things like running, family time, social events are constantly filled with noise.
With new devices like mp3 players and iPods it makes it very easy for us to seclude ourselves from the world we live in. We put our headphones in to distract ourselves from our environments. Personally I use by iPod to distract myself while running and doing other cardio-vascular workouts. I have become so dependent on this technology that I often find myself refusing to do these tasks, like running or jogging, without by iPod. This concept can be tied into to the quote on page 4 “ The kid's sense have become so deadened from disuse they can't touch, taste, smell or see that they are in a marvelous place."
This marvelous place that the book refers to is the natural environment that creates our existence. With televisions being played during dinner time, video games being played while driving to church, and music systems play constantly we are ignoring our environment. We lose the interactions between eachother and we lose the congnizance of our surroundings. In return we have become "drone like" and are only affected by our modern, technology based, world.
We rarely find ourselves in a place where it is completely silent. We have moved from social events where talking was the main noise, to social events where it is awkward if music is not being played in the background. The book mentions that "silence feels foreign to us." I find this to be completely true and have a hard time thinking of a time when I was in a place that was completely silent and I allowed myself to enjoy it. When I read this, it invoked the question of, what would the world be like if more people took the time to put themselves in a silent atmosphere?
Overall our generation is changing and noise has taken a whole new meaning in the era in which we live in. We are constantly surrounded by it and our modern ways are only becoming more exaggerated. We are spacing ourselves from our natural environment and creating our own new one, with our technology. My personal goal is to detach myself from my certain technological advances and see how it impacts my life.
I find it very interesting how you said without music playing, it feels awkward. This seems very true. Who would want to go to a party where no music was played? Also, though I do agree with many of the points you made, I do not believe that this 'noise' is necessarily a bad thing. In my opinion, it all adds to the experience. Some people get 'emotional highs' off there music and when you are running or playing a sport, this can motivate you further.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Christian, and Kris, I'm sure you would agree as well, that people love their music, their distraction--their technology. I think the danger comes into play when we forget how to step back or step out of this "noise" and fail to observe the natural environment around us. I was disturbed by your mention of kids playing video games on the way to church, but then this reminded me of a "mega-church" I once visited that had actual video-game consoles in the Sunday school classrooms. It was ridiculous!
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