Solitary Confinement

Depravation is not often a word I have much familiarity with s a young American. It seems that I, along with everyone else that I know, am stockpiled with an arsenal of personal technology from a laptop to a cell phone.

I figured that the easiest day to take on this Media Depravation assignment would be Thanksgiving itself, a day on which I figured could engage my stomach more than my cell phone. I used the assignment to justify letting myself sleep until one in the afternoon. The first thing I did was turn off my cell phone which hit me with unexpected feelings of anxiety. My mind jumped to all tie possible ways I could possibly need my cell phone over the course of the day. Next I got into my car to go to my parents’ house for the Thanksgiving meal. The ride turned out to be silent and contemplative, although my mind kept slipping back to the thought of my cell phone being off and who may be trying to call me(which in all honestly would probably be no one). Stuffing my face conveniently required no technology at all.

Afterwards, I headed back to my dorm room, again in silence. Without TV, music, internet, and cell phone I felt isolated and alone. I could not stop thinking about all the people I had to call and all the assignments I had to do for my classes. The odd thing was that even if the technology was available to me I would have done none of those things, and would not have been anymore productive, but I would have felt better.

Overall, what struck me about this assignment was the amount of anxiety it provoked. It seems that as we continue to acquire this plethora of technology we feel safer and more secure. Humans are social beings. TV, radio, the internet, and cell phones among other things make us feel more connected and in sync with the world around us. Losing these connections is not only uncomfortable, it becomes downright eerie to be so uncharacteristically cut-off from the world.

Postman and Paglia’s debate was a far reaching conversation by two people who embody the concept of a scholar. It veered into territory I had little familiarity with, like their ruminations on the biblical relationship to the history of worshipping idols. Paglia seemed to be the more youthful voice of the two, advocating for the importance of advertisements in the mass media. Postman feels more that advertisements cheapen certain symbols that are utilized to sell things like hotdogs. Growing up, TV commercials familiarize us with certain symbols of cultural significance, like Uncle Sam. We would be much less accustomed to these symbols without the constant exposure that advertisements provide.

Postman argues that jumping from the news of genocide to a Windex commercial renders a lack of sensitivity and emotion to impactful events. However, Paglia argues that life is at once monumental and subtle, varied and unpredictable, and that this representation in the media is only a natural reflection of reality. As Paglia says, “There’s no way we can extend our compassion to 5,000 dead people. By juxtapositioning such jarring images, TV is creating a picture of the world that is simply true to life.”

Perhaps I would perceive their arguments differently if I could hear the inflection in their voices or see the subtleties of their facial expressions. Would I be put off by Paglia’s dominance of the conversation? On paper, I agree more often with Paglia’s points. In any other medium, who knows?