Now : Televisions in every room. The programming runs 24 hours a day, and the proles rarely turn their screens off.
1984 : Telescreens in all public and private places, so the populace could be watched to prevent thoughtcrime.
Now : Surveillance cameras in most buildings (operated by businesses), and in some public streets (operated by police) to prevent crime. Although most of these cameras are operated by private businesses instead of our intrusive government, the end result is the same.From 1984 by George Orwell:
"It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself – anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called. (1.5.65)"
1984 was published in 1949. It isn't the most entertaining of novels, but I am astonished with Orwell's themes, and how they connect to today's society.
Quote from Lewis Beale, Link to his article at CNN.com.
"Comparisons between
Orwell's novel about a tightly controlled totalitarian future ruled by
the ubiquitous Big Brother and today are, in fact, quite apt. Here are a
few of the most obvious ones.
Telescreens --
in the novel, nearly all public and private places have large TV
screens that broadcast government propaganda, news and approved
entertainment. But they are also two-way monitors that spy on citizens'
private lives. Today websites like Facebook track our likes and
dislikes, and governments and private individuals hack into our
computers and find out what they want to know. Then there are the
ever-present surveillance cameras that spy on the average person as they go about their daily routine.
Commodore computers
Pacman game watches
calculator watches
Friday Night Videos
Lawn darts, three wheelers, candy cigarettes...
Ah, growing up in the 1980's.
This list is a start, but I would like to add to it. My memories of the 1980's are included, under the following categories:
Hairstyles: mullet, perm, perm just the back, female mullet, the perm.
Dangerous entertainment: Lawn darts, three wheelers, chemical red goo balloon with straw, candy cigarettes, bubble gum shaped like cigs. Please add to this list under comments!
To quote a parent whom I respect, " I love taking away my kid's phone, tablet, screen, etc. as an incentive for discipline, or sometimes she just dedicates a "no screen or phone zone", or setting, in which her kids aren't allowed to take their (security blanket) aka, electronic device." I commend her parenting actions, and think more parents need to implement this rule. I think these security blankets are harming people's ability to communicate verbally, and I know as a writing teacher it isn't helping their ability to become better writers. I see just the opposite, and although text language is a changing way of speaking, I still want people to know how to spell "are" and "laugh out loud" the correct way, but I digress....
To wax poetic on the subject, I remember daydreaming, watching television, and playing Nintendo as a teen, but none of these things were as ever-present as the cellphone/screen devices of today. I hope people put them down every once in a while, and read the book 1984. LOL; ). I have never been one to excel at multitasking. Picture a lumberjack working an office job, or a dog on a scent trail. I can focus, but not on a bunch of shit all at once. I swear that I know people who can talk to me, text, and post our present conversation, all at the same time, and they do it pretty damn well. Half the time, I am just working on being a better listener. But what about emergencies? Well, if it is important, they will call someone I know (they all have cell phones), and that person will relay the info. to me. If it isn't a EMERGENCY, they can call, but most people just text. So, I figure leaving the phone ringer off, or just turning off the phone, is a refreshing way to tune out, and have a little break from the electronic leash. The irony of this blog post is inherent, as I am typing this, and staring at a screen, totally tuned into my post...might have to change the name to the hypocrite's blog, but what the hell, we are all a little hypocritical.
I really enjoy taking vacations from my phone, and I was impressed with the suggestion by my friend in terms of parenting.
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