At the beginning of the old 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, already befriended by the Tin Man (who only needed a heart) and the Scarecrow (who only needed a brain) are confronted with a mutual fear. "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My . . ."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NecK4MwOfeI
In many ways the greatest fears of the three oldest generations, the Greatest Generation (born prior to the 1930's), the Baby Boomers (born post-1940's) and the more recent increasingly graying band of Gen-Xer's (born late 1960's thru late 1970's) can be summed up by a similar refrain of "G.P.S., Camcorders, Texting and Touch-Screens Oh-My . . ."
How can a less tech-savvy three oldest generations manage to keep up? When my first computer was a Commodore Vic-20 with 5k, when I actually owned a pong video-game, when I can remember when Mtv actually started then how can a 40 year old with increasing demands on my time, energy and financial resources keep up? Okay, well, G.P.S., no problem. Easy. But, a G.P.S. on my Android phone? Uhh, let me get back to you.
Camcorder? Okay, wasn't that something that was about 18 inches by 5 inches in size for a smaller model in just the late 1990's?
Texting. Okay. That part is easy.
Touch-screen?! Wait, why did I just type "Robert King" as "Rivert Jing" since my fingers always seem to hit the wrong keys while typing on a touch-screen?
Now, all of these devices are on my Android cell-phone?
http://www.techhive.com/product/collection/3286/top-10-android-phones.html
This move towards restructuring and codependency is described aptly by Kelly (2007, December) as an almost inevitable development. What once was thought of as separate machines, built for distinct, independent functions are now all contained in one device. Not only is one device used, but our self-understanding of technology has now changed due to such consolidation, restructuring, and codependency.
As Kevin Kelly described, "First of all, we have all these things in our hands.We think they're all separate devices, but in fact, every screen in the world is looking into the one machine. These are all basically portals into that one machine." (2007, December)
http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html
Umm, okay, when did this rhyme of history occur and why didn't anyone tell me? Yes, I had a Blackberry-style phone with these functions, but let's face it, the quality simply was not the same as owning separate devices. Now, Android phones function as accurately, precisely, quickly and easily as all three former devices, but with a rapid-fire touch-screen also? I can now scroll through 50 names in my contacts list in about 2 - 3 seconds?
Here, three retrievals from human recorded history have been consolidated into one device.
First, navigation is now within the reach of all human beings able to type into a small hand-held device. No longer does one need precise mathematical skills, the ability to read the position of the stars and planets. Just type in your location, where you wish to travel, and one is already 5,000 times more accurate than Christopher Columbus.
Second, recording visual images for posterity is no longer the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, in fact, even the ability to create a short motion picture superior in visual quality to The Wizard of Oz is right in the palm of one's hand. "G.P.S., Camcorders, Texting and Touch-Screens Oh-My . . ."
Finally, the written word is no longer a message sent in a bottle with the hopes of possibly reaching a distant shore. Just text. You know, "O.M.G" or "LOL" or ";-)." That's all it takes. Human written communication is instant, spontaneous, and can take place, again, with the stroke of a few keys, but now with a device that would seem like a futuristic space-age impossibility even in just the 1960's. Thus, especially for the Greatest Generation, even somewhat for the Baby Boomers, and occasionally even affecting we Gen-Xer's, truly this rhyme of history produced by Android phones can only be described with the refrain of mild trepidation, "G.P.S., Camcorders, Texting and Touch-Screens Oh-My . . ."
Reference
Kelly, K. (2007, December). Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of
the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference,
Los Angeles. Retrieved October 11, 2012
fromhttp://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html
