Cultural Artifacts

The smartphone.

A cultural artifact has important significance because it brings to light more insight and depth about a certain subject. The first artifact that came to mind, the smartphone. It’s become an addiction; the smartphone is more of a way of life now than anything else. The smartphone not only deals with appearance, which is constantly changing to a modern feel but also it encompasses a wide range of ages from two years old all the way up to mid 80’s or beyond, and for that reason this artifact is something worth looking further into and how it affects our lives as humans.

I grew up with not having a smartphone, no electronic device that allowed me to be in contact with others that were not around me. It’s hard to put yourself into those shoes again after this artifact has become part of our daily life. In doing this assignment, I have seriously tried to put myself back into those days when life existed of that moment and you enjoyed what was happened at that time, not texting to make plans, checking your bank account or talking to someone. How did we do it? What changed? Is life really better with these electronic devices? So I tried it, one day without using my cell phone and boy was it hard. I found myself thinking a lot about what my family was doing, because I usually text them regularly. I also found myself thinking about the news a lot, even though I could just turn on the television or read a newspaper to find out that information. So I have come to the realization in my one-day without the phone, it definitely is an addiction but more than that we have become lazy. Its convenience of having one little machine control us in every avenue that we need to get by in one given day.

Convenience that is the key. Being a photography teacher I have a love and hate relationship with the smartphone. However, its hard to argue with a student anymore about not using a real functioning camera with an aperture, manual shutter that they have to control when there are smartphones out there that have higher pixels than the cameras we have to lend out to the students. Also the convenience of having the phone with you already and being at the right place at the right time for that shot. This is what students always say to me, Mrs. Kirby I already have my phone with me so just let us use the device we have so we don’t have to lug more items with us. The smartphone every year is coming out with a better camera, a camera especially the Apple iPhone that I as a teacher can print and enlarge to an 18x24 photograph and have no pixel damage. That is very impressive and to think we have come so far from the camera obscura back in the 1800’s. So with that being said convenience on an art perspective is hard to argue because it is true, the cameras in these smartphones are better a lot of times than point and shoot cameras.

Relationships are another key point to discuss with the smartphone. Many of relationships have been torn and broken apart because of this electronic device. For example, I witnessed the other day at the restaurant a Mother and Son having lunch together and the son played on his smartphone the whole time and the Mother texted the whole lunch. There was no interaction between the Mother and Son, I just thought to myself how can anyone that is in love, especially the love between a mother and son be overshadowed by a phone. It is insane for me to even somewhat digest that thought. Besides witnessing that situation I have encountered a few friends that have found their spouses or significant others cheating on them by investigating on their phones. The easy line of contact from one person to another is in your face and at your hands at any moment, because of this it allows for more adultery to happen unfortunately. A lot of times people think, because this is mine no one will see it or I will delete it later and what ends up happening is a quick swipe and bam its in your face. Finally, the relationship between the smartphone and the human that owns it. We find ourselves so involved with the phone all day every day that we start to gain a relationship with our phone. We find ourselves holding it like we would that of a hand that of a person we are in love with or have to take care of. Being extra careful with this device at all times because we don’t want anything to happen to it, our lives would change instantly.

Knowledge I feel has changed too. Having this phone with you at all times you grab it to look information up that before the cell phone was invented you would have to go to a library and look it up manually. The convenience factor is definitely key, however the knowledge that we as humans have is more or less our phone. Another example, in my Advanced placement art history class, I would have to have the students turn in their phones prior to the tests because their own self knowledge on that one chapter we were studying could have been helped by smartphone during the test, allowing me as the teacher to not have an accurate test being taken by the students. I once asked a student about cheating and cell phones and she said it happens all the time, teachers don’t pay attention and because of that students take advantage Google the answer without them knowing. Our own knowledge on subjects is being helped in a not good way by the smartphone. Also, another item to make being a teacher tougher than ever before.

In doing this research and asking students, friends, family and myself I have really looked at the smartphone in such different ways than I have ever before. Our society always changes, I know this, but it is changing too fast with this one cultural artifact. Stated before every year something bigger/smaller and better comes out and not at a cheap price, very expensive leaving a mark for a social status especially amongst teenagers. I see this on a daily basis, I hear talk when the new iPhone comes out because students will literally be watching the unveiling of the iPhone during their free periods. It’s a shame, that we have this addiction in our society and it is only getting worse. If we just for one day did what I did and put the phone down and see that life is about engagement with other human beings, loving others and not always have this device up in our face or attached to our hands, things would be valued a lot differently.

More Sites that I found very interesting in doing this research:

http://www.govtech.com/products/How-Smartphones-Revolutionized-Society-in-Less-than-a-Decade.html

http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/the-effects-of-smartphones-on-society/

References:

• Keifer-Boyd, K., Amburgy, P. M., & Knight, W. B. (2007). Unpacking privilege: Memory, culture, gender, race, and power in visual culture. Art Education, 60(3), 19–24.

• Goodman, B. (Producer & Director), & Dretzin, R. (Producer & Writer). (2001). The merchants of cool. Frontline co-production with 10/20 Productions. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation.