FORUM: Digital innovations bring us wonders, but also rob us of

0 Comments | New Haven Register, Jul 1, 2010 | by Barth Keck

BEFORE returning from Philadelphia while on a family vacation, I needed accurate directions to the New Jersey Turnpike from the western side of the city. I consulted the usual map sources on the Internet:Google Maps, Mapquest, Yahoo Maps.

Two directed me eastward through downtown, while the other suggested traveling north and around the city.

Decisions, decisions. What to do?

I didn’t take any of those routes. Instead, our hosts recommended we go south of the city and pick up the turnpike to avoid the typical traffic jams in metro Philly. Our trip was speedy and uneventful.

No doubt, many people have similar stories about how Internet map sources have provided more problems than solutions. But, my intent is not to badmouth Mapquest. Rather, I share this story to highlight a phenomenon I have found increasingly prevalent as society transitions from a slower, analog existence to a digital one:the loss of context.

While the Internet offered me quick, step-bystep instructions for traveling near Philadelphia, it failed to provide background- traffic patterns, specific road characteristics, local shortcuts – that only human beings who live in the area can provide. And that’s the way it is with almost all new technology:For every advancement offered, something is lost. With the Internet, it is context that is disappearing.

Here are more examples:

– Global positioning systems are like map websites on steroids. Provide your starting point and destination, and GPS talks you through a route as you drive. What could be better? Well, how about paper maps, the ones that used to fill our glove compartments?

The best thing about a map is that you can chart your entire course on it, noting key crossroads and milestones. You can look at the map at any time to discern your location in the context of your overall trip. In short, maps always give you a sense of where you are at any given time – something that GPS, with its one-step-at-a- time directives, can’t provide.

Maps just make me feel more in control because I know where I am, and I know where I’m going.

– Remember vinyl records? Remember their big cardboard sleeves? Sure, those covers were cumbersome, but they were often a treasure trove of information about the albums they contained. Song lyrics, band photographs, biographical information and more, right at your fingertips as your disc played on the phonograph. Today, we download music onto iPods and MP3 players, minus any bulky containers.

Simple and convenient, right? Yes, today’s music is much less of a hassle to purchase, transport and play. But, we lose context again. I could search for lyrics or discographies on the Web as I’m listening to a downloaded song, but how many people bother? Music these days is simply for one’s personal, individual listening pleasure; few people care to seek additional information because the songs didn’t come with any in the first place.

Moreover, much of the music purchased today is one song at a time, rendering the album itself almost obsolete. The form of today’s music – digitized and downloaded, an isolated song at a time – precludes context.

– As newspapers move increasingly toward an Internet platform, the experience of the reader has changed radically. Think about reading a traditional newspaper:You thumb through it, section by section, and read articles whose headlines grab your attention. Sometimes, you happen upon unexpected news nuggets. The entire process can be described as both leisurely and comprehensive.

Reading a newspaper online is quite different. Typically, you scan headlines on the home page, selecting any that may be of interest. Also, you likely have favorite sections or columnists that you find directly. You read what you choose, and then you log off. What’s so different?

First, the process is streamlined, enabling you to spend less time “reading the newspaper.” Second, the Web format does not lend itself to finding serendipitous news items often discovered when paging through an actual newspaper.

In the end, you are less informed – at least that’s how I feel as I compare my former experience of reading a daily newspaper to my current one of scanning its website. Stated plainly, individual news stories are read now in a sort of online vacuum, devoid of any larger news context.

What is the upshot of all this digital technology? Is everything good gone? Of course not, but the world now feels more compartmental and less comprehensive. Whether we’re seeking driving directions, purchasing music, or reading a newspaper, technology has changed the nature of the experience
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