Slashdot Mirror
'Pushback': Resisting the Life of Constant Connectivity
vinces99 writes "Researchers at the University of Washington have studied and named a trend lots of people can identify with: the desire to resist constant connectivity and step back from the online world. They call it 'pushback.' The researchers looked closely at instances of pushback against technology, reviewing 73 sources divided equally among three areas of online expression: personal blogs and websites, popular media sources and academic conferences and journals. Co-author Ricardo Gomez said they thought they'd find frustration with devices, costs or learning new technologies as key pushback motivations. Instead, the reasons were more emotionally based, with 'dissatisfaction' — the thought that users' needs are not really being met by technology — most often expressed, followed by political, religious or moral concerns. Other motivations were the wish to regain control of time and energy and fear of addiction to the technology. Among the least-often reported objections were worries about loss of privacy."
Hopefully 'pushback' starts more so behind the wheel of a car.
Last post!
These people have something to hide. We should plant bugs in their houses and track their locations.
I call it 'get a life'
Let Go!
I didn't have a phone for 13 years, land or cell, and only got one when I had a severe injury that left me bedridden for a few months. I got a pre-paid dumb phone that I still have but leave it off 95% of the time and usually don't carry it. I just want a period of time where I'm not staring at an LCD device, lord knows I stare at the screen too much as it is. What I will sometimes do in the summer is have a "technology-free" weekend I know that everything is a technology of sorts but let's go with that term. From Friday afternoon until Monday morning, nothing electric will be used. No lights, no food from the fridge, no cars. I read books by candlelight, eat fruit/raw veggies/nuts/bread, ride my bike, take walks, if the phone rings...let it ring (no one is going to need an emergency kidney transplant). It's really quite relaxing just to disconnect from it even if you're surrounded by it all in a city. Somehow, you survive being disconnected and it really is a refreshing change to "pushback"
Pushback starts by not reading Slashdot.
The real cost of this is people who allow constant connectivity to take over their whole lives. The most obvious example I can think of right now is the mainstream media, which fell in love with Twitter a long time ago. It shapes their thoughts and they can't even think any more without applying a hashtag. The idea that there might be a world beyond is a foreign, strange idea.
Others stay glued to their phones and computers all day long and blithely use slang and jargon from whatever site they use most frequently in public. Nobody else can understand them, they can't figure out that it only makes sense in context. Nope, the whole world uses that slang, and if you don't understand, then how can you really be a person?
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
No, Luddites were complaining about their livelihoods being taken away by industrial machinery. The supposed trend of pushback isn't about being anti-technology, just not being plugged into it every waking moment. You may miss some vapid messages. Is that a bad thing?
I see no reason to chase the mystery trend any more now than I did when I started working with computers in 1962.
It is not "technology," nor is it being a "luddite;" it is just being sensible about your life.
"19th-century English textile artisans" "identified with: the desire to resist constant connectivity and step back from the online world."?
I can't but praise their forward thinking and foretelling skill.
consumer choice, the active and willful decision to use or not to use a specific product or service, or even none at all, is what its called. To brand it as 'pushback' is condescending and offensive as it implies im somehow inappropriately stubborn, or creating an inconvenience or disservice to others in the pursuit of things like consumer capitalism.
Speaking as a member of the 'pushback' community, If you'd like to use facebook, gmail, google plus, and twitter, by all means do so. If the only way you can start your day is with a fresh stream of "news" from the blogosphere, or an instagram of your cat, then I've nothing for which to lambast you. The internet is an open technology and as such everyones entitled to use it differently as they see fit, or not use part or all of it at all. Extend to me a likewise courtesy though, and dont bitch piss and moan when I cant be found on linkedin or your favourite social spheres. Give me a call, or a text, or an email, or come right over some time and hang out. if its too grand an inconvenience to leave the laptop though, we need to reconsider our relationship.
Why as a "pushback" troglodite am i refusing your utopia? Because its offered at the price of my freedom, which isnt for sale. Its alabaster wall is a prison in which the inmates scrawl their wishes and dreams, announce their likes and disklikes, and pass the time with games and witty reparte while a recumbent warden looks on intently. Constant connectivity is its chain gang. misery is the road it paves alongside the convicted who shall be Sentenced to a lifetime of free trials, free updates, introductory offers, limited events, and great deals.
Good people go to bed earlier.
We are not Luddites. Luddites believed that technology was taking work from them. We believe that technology is increasing our workload.
You spend your life on call. I'll be enjoying myself.
Can't be worried about losing something you've already lost.
Hey, use it.
"...divided equally among three areas of online expression: personal blogs and websites, popular media sources and academic conferences and journals."
FTFY
Maybe if you didn't waste your time on Slashdot, you'd get some work done.
wow...about 9 months ago after a particularly inane SN issue, I realized that this shit has gone from being interesting and useful to being mindless and high-schooly...in fact it all seems pretty much like an lifelong extension of high school nowadays.
I had no real clue that I wasn't basically the only one who was experiencing this, much less that the phenomenon has been labeled and studied already.
FTA..." Instead, the reasons were more emotionally based, with “dissatisfaction” — the thought that users’ needs are not really being met by technology "
nail meet hammer.
never bring a twinkie to a food fight.
You may miss some vapid messages. Is that a bad thing?
No, indeed. And even when we are "plugged in", far too many websites have a ridiculously high-frequency autorefresh (via scripts that I haven't found a way to disable) that serve up exactly the same inane drivel that we were foolishly attempting to read in the first place. Serves us right, I suppose... :-|
My own push back against some technology, particularly things like smart phones or photo sharing sites, is just a lack of interest. I'm all for technology that is interesting or useful or just plain cool. Much of today's popular tech does not seem to fit into those categories. At least not from my point of view. I don't feel the need to tweet or share photos of what I eat. I don't game enough to justify a dedicated console. My dumb phone makes calls, stores contacts, sends/receives text messages. It's not that I have anything against photo blogs, vlogging, smart phones, Twitter.... It's just that I do not have a use for them, they do not provide a creative outlet I need, I do not find them entertaining, they are not a tool I have a need for.
Personally I get excited for ZFS or Steam, technologies I feel can be useful or entertain me. But a lot of mainstream tech just does not tickle my fancy.
if they are messages from work, and your boss, then its a good thing.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Common Rage-inducing Incident:
Web site viewed on mobile device. Get about halfway through the article. Screen refreshes, returning to top of display, with text of interest out of sight. Insult to injury #1: CSS is set up so that you then cannot scroll back down to where you were interrupted. Insult to injury #2: Refresh rate is so high that if you can scroll down, by the time you get there, the while cycle repeats and you're back at the top.
Some really big-name websites do this, dammit.
Dude, or shall I say, typical wanker.
He posted here at 22:49, not exactly working hours.
Gawd, I hate dicks like you who say, "well waste your time here", well, hello, even during working hours, when I take a big SHIT, I still like to view slashdot. It makes the shit come out nicer.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Much of the new technology, especially when discussing the internet, is no longer about the user - at least, it's not about doing something for our on line experience. Current technology trends are about user data, not the user. More precisely, how the company can harvest and profit from user data. As facebook changes its policies weekly to sell more and more of you there by reducing your privacy, Zuckerberg buys houses around his property to give himself more privacy. The browser in IOs7 removed the URL direct entry and everything is now a recorded search. By doing so attempting to track your intent (and sell it) rather than allow you to do it yourself. I believe in profit and capitalism. However, what happened to actually caring about someone else? gone. You think that paparazzi today would respect FDR and not take or publish pictures of him in a wheel chair or falling down? Nope. Those scum would be hiding in the bushing looking for the golden shot of the President falling. That's the core of push back.
I am a Computer Scientist and believe me, I am not hiding anything, I am only trying to regain inner peace without being constantly barraged by emails, cell phone calls and social media notifications. The emails and phone calls are part of my work and I accept them. The other stuff is just not important in the overall picture. My relationships with my friends and family are important to me, however, it appears that the relationships I have on social media are shallow and meaningless.
Ever hear of Pavlov's dogs? Most people have become the dog willingly. The phone is the tether that's connected to me and I have observed an obsession in myself that was not there five years ago. The question ultimately comes down to what is important in life. Peace and inner harmony is important to me.
Why should I let my boss take over my free time?
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Will the "pushbackianism" be a mental disease some day or will it be among those behavioral (antisocial, phobic) disorders?
It was nice, 5 days of no interruptions and the feeling i was back in charge of my life. I also try to vacation in places where there is no coverage ergo no intrusions. If cell phones wouldn't be so useful for emergencies and job searches I would ditch them in a minute.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
I'll open by repeating what others have said: this isn't being a Luddite, not by any means. If there's a tech toy / tool that makes my life easier, I'm all for it, whether it be physical goods or software.
But, similar to the "i love me" websites of the early days of the web, Twitter and Facebook, to me, are just another kind of dancing cat / hamster / chilli pepper: Utterly superfluous. I actively reject them, I have no FB or TW account. I don't want to know what my friends are doing 24x7. I don't want the world to know that I just had six blonde Oreos and two cups of non-name-brand non-trendy coffee that is still awesome due to careful preparation.
I'm sure this view is incomprehensible to some. To them I say: It's ok to sell yourself, if you don't mind being treated like a whore -- kept around only as long as you have value to the people "giving" you the serivce for "free." Myself, I'll make "them" work for their money: If you want my $, then you should make things that interest me. I'll hear about them, ads or no ads.
But to those making targeting decisions / algorithms with data obtained from my mere mousing around, I say "fuck off." I took off your logo'd t-shirts and polo shirts a decade ago. I stopped listening to your drivel on TV a decade ago. I block ads and do a few other interesting things, just so I don't have to see / hear your unrelenting patter.
Maybe y'all should look at it from that point of view: To them, your body is a billboard to display their ads, you are data, not a person. Deny them the use of your body, deny them the use of your data. Most everytime you click somewhere you just either made someone a fraction of a penny, or gave data to someone who will eventually make a mint aggregating your data to a massive data mine from which they "target" ads (or lately, as it turns out, "target" people directly)
Resistance to always-on isn't being a luddite, it's about being yourself, and keeping that self as private as possible. It's about not being a slave to the phone, but having the phone as a toy / tool: there for your use or amusement, not the other way 'round.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Merely being opposed to certain uses of a technology does not make one a Luddite.
Ignorance is a choice
this is comment
I am pretty sure he means missing the messages is a good thing. Which I (and apparently you) agree with.
It's called being a luddite.
Luddites had specifically economic motives, and were concerned with the technological changes in the means of production. This is about people with psychological motives concerned with technological changes largely outside of work (though I'm sure that people who realize that they weren't issued a company blackberry for their benefit probably count as well). Two totally different things.
It's only 'your free time' in the sense that those pens you stole from the supply closet are 'your free pens'. Also, HR wants a word with you.
Well, we now use "Luddite" more generally to refer to a person who opposes various, to use a politically neutral term, "updates" to our lifestyle. A Luddite by no means has to oppose everything modern (they might let the odd medical breakthrough off the hook), just enough so that people see them as being at odds with current trends.
"Luddite", as a word, has evolved beyond its original meaning, in much the same way we now use the word "irony" to mean something other than the rhetorical device of pretending to be ignorant in order to illicit an explanation from your opponent that proves them wrong. I think the term fits here.
You know, there is a difference between trolling and pointing out the flaws in your reasoning. Just saying.
My wife and I set aside several hours every day as "zero-technology" times. We use this time to read, play with our dogs, have meals together, work on hobbies, and hang out with friends and neighbors.
Everything gets powered down - no phones ringing, no "notification" sounds, no nothing. It's pretty amazing how it feels to be disconnected - like the old days before constant connection invaded and took over society.
The most annoying part are the phone calls about "OMG where have you been!?!?!?" that inevitably come after things get turned back on.
Resistance isn't just being a luddite, it is managing the technology, and not having it manage you. It is 100% healthy for the phone to be powered off at times.
It is an addiction for some. When RV-ing, a RV park could be perfect in every way, but if they don't have a good Wi-Fi signal, they get one-starred. Sometimes it is good to leave the devices in the car and actually do something that doesn't consist of using a computer HID, be it a touch screen, mouse, keyboard, or Siri.
For me, information, learning, and technology are hobbies. I guess people have different hobbies that don't involve gadgets, which is fine. I was into gadgets long before most; it just seems like smart phones brought technology to more people. Eventually the trend will shift to something else.
Well, we now use "Luddite" more generally to refer to a person who opposes various, to use a politically neutral term, [technology related] "updates" to our lifestyle.
That's me. I love the irony of being a Luddite engineer.
Sure it does. See TheVelvetFlamebait's explanation of the evolution of the English language (above). I say we techies should embrace our inner Luddites!
So you're saying "Everything in moderation"? Gee, let me write that down somewhere...
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
How some people get anything done, I know several people I can't have a 5 minute conversation with them with out there phone chirping, and that chirp, it's like Pavlov's bell, or perhaps a Pavlovian Gong be cause *nothing* is more important than the phone.
The worst part of this is when my phone chirps in the car I have this immediate desire to answer right then, really took me a while to learn how to just relax and wait.
It's odd but sometimes people that are always on their phones seem like the phones bitch.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
The part about feeling a loss of "connection" in the article intrigued me. I've been struggling to understand the underlying cause behind behavior like demanding organic food over GMO's, urban chicken farming, environmentalism, being a boho, etc. To me, the term "pushback" could be applied to all the environmentalist/vegetarian-vegan/bicycle culture/anti-GMO/anti-globalism movements. Every cause that pushes back against modern society, but why? What is the underlying cause of that kind of rebellion? What if people choose organic produce over regular, or get into chicken farming, or become ardent environmentalists because adopting such a cause fulfills a need for connection? What if, for some people, being a citizen in today's society is a completely meaningless, bland existence that's only ameliorated through adopting causes and crusades that directly attack it?
I personally have a hard time imagining it, because I enjoy our society. I like feeling like a wandering soul looking at all the spectacle and taking in all the sights of what we can do--good and bad. But after reading TFA, I think I'm getting a glimmer of what people do when they cannot connect, and the lengths to which they'll go to do it.
Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
Have gnu, will travel.
-- I don't like to be leashed. I don't even like my cell phone. I find calling someone on a phone to be very demanding. When I hear the phone ring, I hear "TALK TO ME, TALK TO ME!" which would be appropriate if it extremely important to do so, but it rarely is. I prefer a text message to which I can respond when the time is appropriate or an email through which I can convey well-thought-out messages.
-- I am not an exhibitionist. I value my privacy and, more accurately, the intimacy of being able to be vulnerable in one-on-one communication. I hold particular disdain for people who feel they must be the frequent/consistent center of attention and envy.
-- I am not a voyeur. I am not particularly interested by the day-to-day happenings of people. I usually don't care about what you ate for lunch unless you've eaten for a week at a restaurant that's new to you and you think that I would personally enjoy eating at the same place. And if that's the case, send me a message-- don't tag me on your Facebook wall so that I have to visit the shrine you've built to your exhibitionist self.
-- I don't like being subject to the constant turn-over and "hard sale". So much of the portable, connected device industry is massive marketing/advertising, and and utterly temporary in lifespan. One cannot expect to buy a smartphone today and be allowed to keep it for 2 years unmolested by the massive disposable device marketing machine. (I currently keep my dumbphone for 2+ years at a time rather comfortably because no one is bothering to sell me a new one.) One cannot expect buy a tablet today with the option of upgrading any component for extend its workable life.
-- I don't like the focus of the smartphone. The smartphone, in my opinion, should be first and foremost a phone. With the billions of dollars put into R&D and infrastructure, one would think that a cell phone call would be at least as clear as talking on an intercom... but that's far from the case. Instead, cellular voice tech has taken back seat to video media quality so that you can watch really high quality Netflix videos in your palm, but you can't talk to someone in the same confidence of communication that could by using a 40-year old telephone.
This list can go on forever. Or I can simply list what I want of a device that would convince me to be a little more connected:
A high quality phone
A customizable MP3/media player
A good camera
A calendar application
Very long battery life
The option to modify the UI (I hate the cartoony feel of iDevices and don't want to waste battery power facilitating it)
Give me all of that and I will consider getting a smartphone. Until then, cons will outweigh the pros.
yes, they were complaining about their livelihoods being taken away by industrial machinery >.>
It's not a push back against tech, but a push toward living in the moment. I've got plenty of technology, wouldn't want to live without it. There's such a thing as being overstimulated though, and also being too distracted. I reserve certain times for going online (i.e. whenever I want) but I'm not looking stuff up on Wikipedia and imdb every 5 minutes either, and when I put my tablet down I don't have notifitions on so it doesn't keep calling me after I decided I was done with it. I don't get texts but I have a phone, and I check my email once a day. It's called moderation.
I know at least one person though who if you tell them anything they are already turning their eyes to their device, looking it up and trying to inform themselves and also me about it. That's great but I bet you'll forget 5 minutes later when you're looking up the next thing, and also I'm trying to relate to you here by the way, not cram trivia in my short term memory. Or they're texting all during break and when they go back to work they're just IMing anyway on their work computer, what's the point of the break? They looked intense when they were texting and I bet they never got to relax.
Twinstiq, game news
I routinely turn off my gadgets when I'm spending time with my family. I don't want to be distracted during the small amount of time my work schedule allows me to focus on non-work life. When I'm with my family, the only people who legitimately need to be able to reach me in an emergency are right there with me.
I had my iPhone on Airplane mode so nobody would bug me while I was studying. ... now, what were you saying?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
if they are messages from work, and your boss, then its a good thing.
Wait, we're getting massages at work?
Cool!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Does it count that I still rock a katana flip phone (much to the annoyance of my carrier)? I mean that seems to cut down on the majority of bloops and beeps when I am not on a PC.. I think I am pushing back!