We need technology and it needs us

So David Cronenberg's film eXistenZ (1999), another of the cyberpunk films of the 1990s, which like most, expresses "Great ambivalence over the transformation of human experience". (Hotchkiss, 18) The films express both an interest in the new technologies available and new forms of communication however they also fear them. Yes, its the same old matrix theme again...'so we need the machines and they need us...we could smash them to pieces but then Zion would not survive.' (The Matrix Reloaded, Wachowski Brothers 2003) While these films are based in sci-fi, the concept still holds true today. Technology requires humans to develop, grow, expand and function and on the same scale, humans require technology for everything from electricity to medicine, and even for pleasure (such as the pleasure of playing videogames, or for some people, writing a film blog online).

But while we need machines we must also be wary of seperating the real from the uncanny world of VR, gaming, and even television; the 2 former being the most problematic. It is ridiculous how individuals become lost in the gaming and Vr worlds of today, especially with role playing online games such as Diablo, World of Warcraft, and even the smalltime 'mafia wars' available to us on facebook, individuals become obsessive with their characters. This leads me to wonder how humans shifted and transgressed from the real world into the world of the Matrix? Or in the case of eXistenZ, how Allegra and Ted were able to decifer the difference between the game, the game within the game, and reality.

Back to the gaming. There has not been enough psychological academia or research to define what the possible negative effects gaming has on an individual who spends upwards of 10-12 hours per day playing video games, simply due to the fact that the technology is still relatively new to us. However what is scary and concerning ihow much the games begin to control individuals lives. Family 'board game night' like I had as a child is now being marketed as family 'videogame night' such as the xbox commercial we saw in class.

Other videos, such as the one below, depict the devastating effects that removing the game entirely from an individuals life can affect them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YersIyzsOpc

While it may be a hoax, I can also understand the effects that removing or failure at the game can affect an individual from personal experiences with friends.

Will it eventually come to a point where instead of the commercials telling us to help our friends who are addicted to online gambling become commercials telling us to help friends addicted to video games? I would have to say yes with the numerous problems gaming is having on our social lives. Watching people play on their laptops in lecture, the library, people (including my roommates) staying in to play xBox instead of coming out for dinner or to the pub and so on.

So technolgy needs us to grow and develop and function however their may soon come a time when there are technologies we do not need, that only cause us harm and control our everyday lives. And while there is not threat of a Matrix or Terminator, machine ruled world, there still is a threat of a machine ruled life, which impacts numerous individuals of all ages around the globe.