[nabs-l] Interesting discussion: Is Technology Turning into Our Enemy?

[Jorge Paez]

Bridgit:

I too do that.

Even though I don't listen to vinal records, I still listen to CDs.
I have an iPod, and an iPhone which I use to listen to the music collection I've put on there but there are still CDs in my room.

And I use a note taker too.

Think its faster in many ways to a computer--braille 2 contractions are usable as a pose to writing everything out grade one, despite the fact I'm quite fast at both.

And yes, I won't mention names, but I knew a friend who spent all her time on the phone, then Skype/Clango, and Twitter.

Just to feel connected, and she used to just talk to random people from around the net.
Not only is that bad, but in this case unsafe.

And yes, as far as old tech, I've always used a brailler--its the only tool my Vision Teacher allows for Math which I happen to like,
because it keeps all the equations at my fingertips without having to go back and forth from braille display lines.


By the way: do you have a plain phone for AT&T?

All I need is to be able to text and take calls.
Maybe put some music on it.

Reason I'm asking is because I mostly use my iPhone for that--calls and ocational texts,
and the iPod feature.

I only use the internet for email, and even so I never type emails on the touch keyboard.

(preferibly if it has a quorty keyboard for texting)

Thanks,

Jorge




On Apr 9, 2011, at 12:58 AM, Bridgit Pollpeter wrote:

> Hey,
> 
> First, for those of you looking for a mobile with no bells and whistles,
> check out the Samsung Haven.  It is a fully accessible mobile out of the
> package, but it only does the basic functions.  You can text with it,
> but otherwise it is a simple phone.
> 
> I bring this up purely for the sake of discussion.  Based on this
> current dialogue about social security, is it fair that blind people
> qualify for government assistance just for being blind?  No disabled
> people have to live in this economy too, and many of them do not qualify
> for these benefits.  Is it fair that disabled people struggling
> automatically qualify for SSI and SSDI?
> 
> Technology-- social media, email, portable devices-- can be great and
> serve a purpose, but when we rely on them to the point that we can't
> survive without them, this is not healthy and scares me.
> 
> I am only 30, and I remember when having a computer and internet
> connection were the things we thought so cool and could not wait to
> have.  Now, our world relies on computers and internet for everything.
> 
> I will admit that I would love to have an I-phone, but I also abhor our
> inability to cope without technology.
> 
> I know for blind people, technology has opened doors, but for some, it
> has not enhanced their lives by seeking education, employment and
> reaching their full potential.  Current technology just replaces the old
> for some to feel connected and productive, but really they are just
> perpetuating perceptions and stereotypes.  More often than naught, we
> are our own worse enemy.
> 
> This is not just a problem for the blind, though we currently have more
> to lose at this point.
> 
> Most public schools are completely replacing hand writing with keyboard
> classes.  Kindergartners through second grade spend class time working
> on Leapster devices.  Graduating high school seniors have no clue how to
> construct a sentence let alone an academic paper.
> 
> People think I am a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but for anyone who
> enjoys science fiction, many of these things once considered fiction
> have now come true.  Anyone ever read Fahrenheit 451?  It is eerie some
> of the similarities in that book to our current world.
> 
> There is a scene in the book where the main characters wife spends her
> time in a room with a large screen on each wall.  Strangers are up on
> each screen in their own four screen room, and they interact with one
> another.
> 
> Sound like anything familiar?  Skype?  Laptops with cameras?  Video
> phones?
> 
> We've given ourselves a sense of socialization because we have 300
> Facebook friends, and 2000 Twitter followers, and we Skype to people
> from all around the world.  What we're really doing is sitting at home
> numbing ourselves to a real existence.  Will the day come when physical
> interaction seems weird to us?
> 
> I don't want to be all gloom and doom.  Like I said, this technology can
> serve a purpose, but we have to learn to not abuse it.  Especially as
> blind people.  Those before us fought so we could join society and
> become equals.  Not for us to sit at home pretending to be plugged into
> life.
> 
> I'm really not as crazy as I sound.  *smile*  I just like a good
> discussion.
> 
> Bridgit
> 
> 
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