Cognitive Surplus Reflection

As I began thinking about writing this reflection, I thought about Shirky’s book as a whole and how it rang true in my own life, I was really amazed at the amount of my free time I spend using various technological devices. Here I find myself just a few hours before this reflection is due and I am still working on it. I ask myself why? I started reading the book almost a month ago and I just had four days off from school. What did I do with all my spare time? How much of my spare time was consumed with technology?

After reading Shirky’s book, I began to look at the answers to these questions in a slightly different way. In what ways did I use technology in my free time? Looking back over the past few weeks, I would have to say that my technology use was split between self-amusement and actual work. There were times during the past few weeks when I felt that I just needed a “brain break” and I pulled out my Smartphone for a game or two (but usually ended up playing several more). There were also times when I found myself searching for information for school activities (good websites, online books, etc.) as well as for my projects for this class. (PowerPoint is pretty new to me – I am amazed at all of the PowerPoint activities out there.) Additionally, there were several times throughout the past few weeks when I found myself using technology at random times throughout the day, when prior to owning a Smartphone, I would not have been able to do: online shopping while my husband was driving or ending a trivial argument between two brother-in-laws. I also recall that while I sat in my deer stand, I’d find myself reading a short section of Shirky’s book only to be lured away to my Smartphone for games, email, Facebook, shopping, etc.

The Human Factor.

We have to remember that even though we are dealing with technology tools, there is still a huge human factor that comes into play. There are humans developing these tools and humans using them. Not every person is going to have the same interests and as Shirky wrote, “all of us have intrinsic motivations, desires to do things because we enjoy them in and of themselves,” (p. 97). For example, I use Facebook quite often, but not for nearly as long of time periods as many people I know. I really don’t have the desire to play Facebook games such as Farmville. I find myself to be more of a “looky-loo” (p. 22). I enjoy reading friends’ posts, but I often login without making my own status update. The same is true for You Tube and VoiceThreads. I enjoy using these tools and helping my students use them, but I would really rather not see my face or hear my own voice.

Diversity and the Human Factor.

Shirky’s book made me more aware of the people around me as well. Is technology uniform across the culture or is it still fairly diverse? Currently I would have to say that it is still pretty diverse. Many of the older generations are still quite content without many technological advancements. I think of my grandpa, who doesn’t own a VCR let alone a DVD player and he’s okay with that. I also think about my dad, who uses computers and email for mostly work purposes. – The word “facebook” makes him cringe and he just recently became able to receive text messages on his cell phone (he has already informed us that he will not be sending any). My dad and my grandpa would both be much happier watching an old black and white movie. As Shirky referenced, that’s what they did, “mostly, they [we] watched TV,” (p. 5). Mom my, on-the-other-hand, grew up during the same era as my dad and she is a Facebook user and a texter.

Another reason that I feel technology is still pretty diverse has to do with the financial aspect. Most of the time, to have technology at your fingertips, you have to have the finances. Recently at a PTO meeting at my school, the District Administrator was talking about the new online services the district was providing. He said that 95 percent of the families in our district have Internet access. We really questioned his findings as we have found that a fairly large number of families in our small school do not have Internet access unless they use the local library, which many of them cannot afford to drive to.

I wonder if someday there will be more uniformity, but I don’t think that it will happen in my lifetime; possibly when a few more generations are born into a world with more technology. There would also need to be changes to our economic system before uniformity could take place.

The Ultimatum Game and the Human Factor.

When Shirky wrote about the Ultimatum Game, he referenced how people “behave as if their relationship matters, even if they are told it doesn’t’, even if they are assured it doesn’t, even if they have only a single interaction with an unknown partner” (p. 107). Generally, people don’t want to hurt other people or have them retaliate.

The Human Factor and Danger.

When you’re dealing with the human factor, there is always a factor of danger. Humans are natural born sinners to varying degrees whether we like to admit it or not. When you post personal information online, there is always a chance that the wrong person will view it. Shirky wrote about the “Brides on Tour,” (p. 167). They posted details about their tour including when they separated and “hitched” alone and their adventure ended in tragedy. On-the-other-hand, when Georgia Merton and Penny Cross traveled using CouchSurfing.com, there was a whole social network behind them (and they stayed together). This also reminds me of a recent story from a friend whose bosses house was robbed while he was on vacation after his wife posted about being gone.

Final Thoughts.

Technology and free time is really what we make of it. When we have the desires and the opportunities, technology can make a huge impact on our lives. Currently we decide how we fill our surplus of time and we decide which ways we will use technology.

Reference:

Shirky, C. (2010). Cognitive surplus: how technology makes consumers into

collaborators. New York, NY: Penguin Books.