How does it work in your life?
So often we hear a chorus of “Put down your phone and communicate with the world.” Our friends and parents tell us that person-to-person contact is of the utmost importance, and if we stop doing this and start texting, the world could explode.
Last week, poets flooded the University of Guelph courtyard stage to share some spoken word poetry. In attendance was Evie T, Eitan, and KT Job, among others. They were the first three to grace the stage, and each of them had a few stanzaz or more about social media, technology or the effects of digital communication. They took some time to speak about their views with me for this article. First a few lines from a poem that was presented by Eitan:
“… home. That’s where we sit and feel the warm glow. Of our TV tubes. Computer screen and cellphones. Hell, no eye-to-eye communication. I want to hear your voice, no mistaking what you’re saying…”
The idea of three poets speaking for all in their craft is a sweeping idea, but the trio, who took some time to talk, expressed a spectrum of thought on the topic. To begin with, none of them were living off the grid, cursing the day social media was born. However, none of them left to take a call, sent a message or checked Yik Yak throughout the entire 20-minute conversation. A small victory perhaps, but definitely a telling sign.
“In terms of life and technology, I think most people would agree we are very dependent on our devices,” said Eitan. “We have lots of different devices, way too many devices.”
On a practical level, some poets use technology to write and transcribe their words, but there are some who stick to paper. Eitan stated that it would be a great transition to use a computer to write his work, but he hasn’t been able to do that.
“…I’m still using the old fashioned pen-and-paper,” said Eitan. “I find it helps with inspiration. I feel really connected with the words, a little more connected than if I was to type them in a computer.”
The savvy KT Job had the most business-orientated cellphone on the market, a large-screen BlackBerry Passport. She never checked a message, but had the device in sight. Turns out, it’s one of her poetry-related tools.
“One of the reasons I like BlackBerry is the external keys, first of all…because I do write a significant amount of poetry right on this thing,” said Job. “I no longer walk around with a giant notebook shedding pages or shoving pieces of paper into it. […] There are whole poems that have never left this device…from start to finish, I have conceptualized, written, and published chat books straight from this device that never hit a computer.”
Evie T, who is a graduate from the University of Guelph, uses a plethora of mediums including paper, keyboard, and even once her cellphone to write a poem.
“[Technology] allows for me to be a really messy and not-organized person, but still allows me to make all of my meetings,” said Evie T.
Of the three poets, Evie T had the most to say on the topic of how social media can affect your life. The poem she presented earlier in the afternoon had a strong theme about the curated life one casts through social media and how that can be damaging.
“People get all sorts of attached to this media that took seconds to create, but you can watch it again and again and again and create that obsession. It’s really enhancing a lot of mental illnesses and that’s something I really disagree with,” said Evie T, in regards to her own thoughts and a study she read.
Curation was a technological idea that all three could agree on. You create the image that you want the world to see on your social media channels. Any marketing student can tell you that we are our own brands, but is knowing a brand enough to say you know someone?
“You get this mistaken sense that you know someone based on watching these things over and over again… If you see someone all the time you get the sense that you know them,” said Evie T. “The fact that we see them [entirely] online and in media, rather than having face-to-face interactions with them, we don’t know them.”
Once the poets stepped off the stage, the intensity that flamed against the social media and technology turned down to an advisory simmer: live in the real world and use technology as a tool, but only if you want to.