New technologies are a commodity that we might take for granted, but at the same time it has changed our sense of space. Since the creation of smart phones with GPS chips in them, personally I feel the world has become a smaller place. The advantage of course is that we may get to learn about places we'd never be able to go, however with technologies like GPS, digital photography, etc., these places seem too familiar. For example, I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights in person, but it has become so easy with technology to be able to witness the crazy sight on a computer with live streaming or pictures, which I feel can sometimes take away from uniqueness. As far as personal space, it has become too easy for others to be able to follow you, especially when involved in talks about big brother/always being watched.
If I were at a bar one night and introduced myself to somebody as Derek, a Temple student, it has become to easy for that person to be able to find me on sites like Facebook, and eventually find out all this other information about me. The scariest part becomes when people use the GPS chips in their phone to "check-in" at locations. For an odd reason, these sorts of technologies have become like a friend us, in which we (now subconsciously?) share information with, sometimes not thinking of exactly how many people might be able to see that "Derek has checked in at home"... with my complete address and conveniently a little map showing exactly where that is.
New technologies have made personal and private space more scarce, of course for those who want it. For others, it can be a way to get attention. A friend I used to work with constantly fills up my Facebook newsfeed whenever I log on, checking it at every single location she goes to, and even though people will comment and ask her nicely to stop, she takes advantage of it as a way to meet new people or get attention from those able to see the information. Needless to say, not only Facebook and GPS chips are to blame for this, as any new technology always seems to change communities, more specifically the ways people communicate, or watch, with one-another.
Derek Applegate
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