Megan Arrowsmith
we do not just have a watch , we have a communication device , a fitness tracker , a game , all on our wrist . “ Wearable media sits midway between media you carry … and media you become ” ( Pederson , 2013 , p . 4 ). Wearable technology is not yet as dystopian as science fiction would want us to believe , with the likes of Iron Man ( Favreau , 2008 ) in mass media , but it is becoming more and more common . Humans have become consumed with the idea of ‘ reality shifting ’, being able to augment their world to how they want , and wearable technology enables them to do this . This can be done as simply as using an iPod to listen to music , or more extremely with wearable tech items like the Google Glass ( Pederson , 2013 ).
While the initial reception to projects like Google Glass were mostly positive , people believing we would finally be living in the future that science fiction promised us , there are those who feel that these inventions have held back human capacity , and are “ ready to cut us off from a retrospectively idyllic traditional lifestyle ” ( Zekany , 2016 , p . 2 ). The Google Glass specifically has been responsible for user feeling like they are functioning at a higher level and having more confidence socially . Yet , as with McLuhan ’ s ( 1994 , cited in
SOTA Anthology 19 / 20
Richardson and Locks , 2014 , p . 97 ) extensions and amputations , “ the act … must be a dual operation in order to maintain a state of equilibrium within man ” ( Zekany , 2016 , p . 3 ); this leads to addiction , and sans device , addicts struggle maintaining eye contact and with their memory ( Zekany , 2016 , p . 4 ); aspects of their life which were not issues beforehand , and have effectively ‘ amputated ’ this part of themselves .
The Google Glass causing these effects on people is an example of the great dependency humans have grown to have on their technology . Richardson and Locks ( 2014 , p . 95 ), explain that some people have grown so dependent on mobile phones that when without it , they feel something similar to a ‘ phantom limb ’ the syndrome experienced by people who have suffered the loss of a body part . The distinction between human and computer is growing slimmer . They also describe how computers learn so much about us that websites like Amazon and Google seem to suggest exactly what we want to buy or look at next – sometimes before we realise it ourselves .
The idea that humans are becoming cyborgs is undeniable , whether it is positive or negative