Back in the 80’s (the 1980’s) MTV played music videos (I promise they did – I was there). One of the first regular shows they offered toward the end of the decade was a series called “Unplugged”.
(Lage & McCarthy, 1991)
It was a way to feature musical artists in a more intimate setting without amplifiers – hence the title. Today, unplugged has a somewhat different meaning. Unplugging is a broad way of saying that an individual is not connected to media – television, smart phone, internet, tablet, radio, etc. Often when someone says they are unplugged, they are met with a certain amount of derision or scant looks. Why would you do that?
Asking someone to turn off their phone or not access the internet for even just one hour over dinner seems to be a huge undertaking in today’s climate. We see memes pop up on our newsfeeds every day of people sitting right next to each other – sending text messages to each other! Students are gaining access to personal electronic devices at younger and younger ages. Even the baby monitors that new parents use to monitor their newborns are media devices that children are exposed to from the moment they spend their first night at home. What impact does this type of access have on youngsters? On adults? On the fabric of the family? On self-esteem/self-image?
Research completed in the last ten years shows that there is a negative relationship between viewing pro-anorexia website and the self-esteem/self-efficacy of the viewers (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007). The participants in the study viewed the website for a mere 25 minutes! In the time it takes most people to view an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” on their DVR, women that viewed a fictional pro-anorexia website felt worse about themselves than they did prior. Put that into perspective. If one website viewing of 25 minutes can change a person’s self-image, what would viewing other websites do to other people? And since people rarely spend less than 25 minutes per day on media sources of all varieties, the messages that we are collectively being inundated with each day have a great impact on how we interact with each other and how we feel about ourselves.
Children born in the 21st century don’t know a world without “Google”. Their access to information has been instantaneous for their entire lives. When they don’t know something, they can “just Google it”. They are never stumped trying to remember the name of the capital of Wyoming (Cheyenne) or who played Han Solo in the movie “Star Wars” (Harrison Ford). These same individuals have become so accustomed to interacting virtually through their home gaming systems and text messages that their interpersonal skills in real-time situations are lacking. I have no children of my own, but I see it in some of the children of my friends as well as in restaurants and other public places. The art of making eye-contact and interacting conversationally is virtually non-existent. What I think of as “typical teenage sulking” is now magnified into grunts, head nods, averted eyes and numerous shoulder shrugs. I get it. Virtual interactions are safer. You risk less because there’s an air of anonymity that comes with texting or playing online games. It’s easy to be brave on the end of a game controller or behind a keyboard. You can say things there that you might not be able to say in person out of concern for the reaction you would receive. Unfortunately, this leads to consequence-free actions and a lack of accountability. As an adult, this saddens me.
It’s our duty as a society to find balance. When we were children and received a new toy, we tended to play with it all the time. Once the shine wore off, we would put it away and revert back to our old favorites. The internet is like the new toy, but it is as shiny as ever. We can’t wait for it to fade. It is our responsibility to remind everyone of the old favorites and that it’s ok to put down the new toy every now and then.
Bardone-Cone, A. M., & Cass, K. M. (2007). What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 537-548.
Lage, M., & McCarthy, B. (Directors). (1991). MTV Unplugged – The Cure [Motion Picture].
Tags: constant contact, MTV, self-efficacy, self-esteem, social media, socialization, The Cure, unplugged
What a great blog post and I am not just saying that because I too can attest to the fact that MTV actually played music videos and the fact you have The Cure playing! I too am guilty of rarely unplugging, and therefore unlike my electronic devices I don’t feel recharged by life itself, like one should for their mental well-being! Between work, school, and social aspects I am almost always plugged in to one device or another. When my step children were younger, we had a rule for the entire family (myself included) and that was no phones at dinner. We were considered the “strict parents” but that was okay, because it left them with only one option, and that was being present. We also collected phones at night, because through trial and error we learned they too can find it hard to pry themselves away and get sleep. I actually wish someone would do that for me once in a while. As a realtor I must be plugged in 24/7 for my clients.
What moved me the most about your post is when you said how the anonymity available to youths” leads to consequence-free actions and a lack of accountability”. This is frightening, because I believe that these cognitions carry over into young adulthood and have become problematic in our society. One only needs to watch to news to see the violence being committed by youths of all backgrounds. Unfortunately, because technology is always changing I don’t believe it will lose its shine anytime soon.
Hey,
Millennials do have a different under of what words and situations mean, but is that not part of each generation? How things change with the access of technology and information? I agree that we should be able to remember things rather than look them up all the time. I use to be able to remember phone numbers, back in Germany, cell phone numbers were distinguished from regular numbers because they had 16 digits. You had to remember all 16 in order to call someone’s cell. Land lines were only 4 digits, unless you had to call someone long distance and then there were 8 digits(with area code). Now, I can’t even remember my mom’s number, because I have programed in my phone and never have to actually dial her number. If my phone doesn’t have battery or resection, I may be out of luck calling her.
Is the balance, to sometimes manually enter her number into my phone? Should I use someone else’s phone to call her, so I can’t cheat?(She may not pick up if she don’ts know who it is-different issue)
I am a firm believer that the times before me were good times, but the times that I live in are also good times, they come with ups and downs, they come with too much and too little, but we have to make the best of it. I also think about what 30 years from now people will say about the way we use technology.
Thanks,
Gabriel