After our last class, and discussing Habermas’ “Modernity -
An Incomplete Project,” I felt that many connections could be made between our
modern tendencies with technologies with the “the cult of the new,” (99) and
“hyperstimulated sensitivity” (101).
I felt that
the cult of the new was very relatable to American society today, especially
among my generation who is constantly craving the next new phone, upgrade, car,
tablet, laptop, headphones, TV’s, speakers etc. As a whole my generation never
seems to be satisfied with the current, always eager and looking ahead -
waiting for the release date of the next thing. For example, this past week Apple
released the new IPhone 5s and 5c, and broke records with selling 9 million in the
first week alone. Apples CEO said, “The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and while
we've sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5s, stores continue to receive
new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone's patience and are
working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone."
Apple
also released their new mobile operating system iOS 7 around the same time in
which over 200 million devises have already upgraded to the software which Apple
stated was the “fastest software upgrade in history.” The pure speed at which
consumers take in, and are so excited about these new products exemplifies the
cult of the new that we’re living in.
I believe we, as a generation of
millennials, are also overly stimulated in which the media helps to perpetuate
this cycle. They are always informing
us of the masses of people that are jumping on board to get this new said
technology and are helping to create a bandwagon effect. They glorify the “newness”
of upcoming technology and expensive consumer products by running their campaigns
and then proceeding to create their own headlines about them.
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