In Todd Glitlin’s book, Media Unlimited, he brings to light how the constant interaction with media is changing our society and how it affects our culture.
Right now I'm drinking Raspberry tea from Trader Joe’s. As I take my tea bag out, even the paper tag is screaming Trader Joe’s Raspberry tea! Which I don’t understand because I know where I bought it and I took it out of the box that says the flavor. Even though I am questioning this advertising, this only comes after reading Glitlin’s book. “...in the 1970’s it became almost impossible to buy an unbranded polo shirt.” (pg70) In today's society I feel as though everything is branded. Looking around me I see that my cellphone has two brands on it and my alarm clock is made by a company that I’ve never heard of. The majority of the population buys name brands. The same goes for clothing, food, cosmetics, etc. When buying anything, most people buy the name brand because they believe that they are getting a higher quality item above generic brands.
Glitlin also talks about how humans are tempted by the “self-sufficiency” and freedom which is given by new technologies. This allows us to “carry [our] private current anywhere.” (pg53) Humans seem to always be connected into little screens that plug us into “the world”. However, I feel as though it disconnects us from real life. People cling to their blackberrys and iPhones waiting to be contacted. But always being connected allows us to be contacted by even those who we would rather be disconnected from. Essentially, we are always being interrupted by the thing that we cling to the most.
I’d like to try leaving my phone at home one day and see how that would feel. I wonder how disconnected I’d feel or if I’d even notice. Because of how connected we are to technology, I wonder if we will ever become a part of it. One day we may have little computer chips in our minds, then we can truly say that we are always connected to the media.
