Hyperstimulated Activity

Though the Habermas reading wasn't my favorite, I liked our class discussion on hyperstimulation. I can't even imagine the criticism Habermas would have if he was around to see what our world is like today. He may have ended up like Benjamin. I was driving to the Millennia Mall to meet up with a friend of mine. As I got off the exit, I couldn't find my phone in my bag, which of course I was rummaging through while trying to make a left turn. I wasn't slightly panicking because my Jeep tires were being a little iffy, but more because I had no idea how I was supposed to find my friend without calling her. At that moment my phone rang, right when I braked and my purse flew to the floor of the passenger seat. There was no way I was going to get my phone- but I was so concerned that whoever was calling me wasn't going to get ahold of me in the first second they wanted to. And so now I'm trying to figure out what it would be like to not have cell phones. What changes would we all have to go through? We would have to PLAN everything- and try harder to be on time. With texting we have an innumerable amount of excuses, and whoever is waiting for us can know that they'll have to wait. We probably wouldn't be so antsy when someone doesn't call or text. Relationships would have a higher amount of trust- anyone can easily hack an email account or guess a phone password and read messages that aren't for their eyes. So now I'm trying to put myself in that situation. I'd call from a home phone to my friend's work phone, assuming I would know she is there. I'd have to say, "let's meet in the food court at 5:30 next to the Panda Express." But what if something happened? What if my car broke down on the way there? What would I do without being able to get ahold of AAA? And meanwhile, I have someone relying on me to show up. I get more anxious trying to figure out what I would do without my portable technology. I try not to abuse it, but the easiest thing to pass time or the best way to get myself out of a weird situation is to just look down and type a message. There are so many things to take into account, but I don't think the majority of people would know how to function without my email, cell or computer. Habermas and I would not be friends.