Futsie
Future Shock
From Wikipedia:
Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time".
Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a "super-industrial society". This change overwhelms people. He believed the accelerated rate of technological and social change left people disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation"-future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he popularized the term "information overload."
His analysis of the phenomenon of information overload is continued in his later publications, especially The Third Wave and Powershift.
In the introduction to an essay entitled "Future Shlock" in his book, Conscientious Objections, Neil Postman wrote:
"Sometime about the middle of 1963, my colleague Charles Weingartner and I delivered in tandem an address to the National Council of Teachers of English. In that address we used the phrase "future shock" as a way of describing the social paralysis induced by rapid technological change. To my knowledge, Weingartner and I were the first people ever to use it in a public forum. Of course, neither Weingartner nor I had the brains to write a book called Future Shock, and all due credit goes to Alvin Toffler for having recognized a good phrase when one came along"
The 2000AD comic has published a series of short stories called "Future Shocks" for a number of years. In the Judge Dredd strip, victims of Future Shock were referred to as "Futsies". A futsie was a term to refer to a resident of the 21st and 22nd century who suffered from Future Shock: violent insanity brought on by the stress of mega-city life. Any random factor could trigger it. The term always amused me whenever the business news came on the TV and they talked about the FTSE index. I imagined it referred to the amount of people suffering from future shock.
I'm sure that when 2000ad brought the term into popular comic culture they probably thought that future shock would be something to do with robots and flying cars and while that future hasn't come about (yet), I do think that future shock is a real thing and I think it is partly to blame for my mental health.
There can be no doubt that the internet, computers and smart phones have changed the way and speed with which we can access data. Whenever a sustained period of waiting must be endured in modern life, we no longer have to stare into space and lost in thought when we can check on social media, send a text or play a quick mobile app game. The amount of distractions available to us have increased as much as the time we spend exercising our imaginations has diminished. Instead of losing contact with friends, we can now monitor their every thought and meal through various social media platforms. We might not actually interact with them or say hi but we can 'like' the heck out of their posts.
When I was in school, I had a major crush on a girl in another class. So much so that when he picture appeared in the local paper, I cut it out and kept it as it was the only way I could get a picture of her. Nowadays you friend a girl on Facebook and see all sorts of pictures. i don't mean that in a salacious way but growing up without computers meant that as soon as the school finished, you had no idea what the rest of your classmates got up to or how the opposite sex spent their time with their friends. Now it's easy to see them on shopping trips, playing games or pulling duckfaces on sleepovers. People are more accessible than ever. So is porn. As more and more young - mainly boys- access porn, there is more of an expectation that porn is the way to conduct your affairs with girls (I'm keeping this simple BTW which is why I'm not exploring the LGBT angle). When I was a kid, you'd be lucky to get to second base under the jumper. Now it seems that teenage boys expect to cum over a girl's face because that's how most porn concludes. Maybe this is an exaggeration but I do believe the expectation is there and I feel sorry for the girls who feel obliged to er, receive if that's what it takes to keep a boyfriend (or so the guy has told her).
The way modern life conducts itself is the thing that gives me future shock. Everything from the destruction of the music industry by TV talent shows who dominate the Christmas No.1 slot with instantly forgettable pop ballads instead of fun Christmas songs to the ruthless pursuit of fame by people who think that by simply wanting it hard enough will make up for their lack of any discernable talent. The over-sensitivity of people on social media, the sharing of links designed to outrage those who casually click on them. The eroding of the petition of useful political tool to something used for drunken laughs to get enough people to say they want Pancake Day to be a national holiday with free pancakes for all or something. Everything is becoming more trivial and shallower. TV is full of programs telling us how cool it was in the 80s or 90s because nothing exciting has happened since the 21st Century began. The use of modern standards of morality to judge the actions of societies from the past. How far do you want to take that? Do we want to get the monarchy to apologise for condoning child exploitation during the industrial revolution? How do we know that the things we do now won't be judged harshly by the society of the future when moral codes have changed yet again?
I look around at the world I live in and it frustrates me so much that I want to scream. It makes me want to check out. It makes me think the world is on a downward spiral and soon we won't be able to say or do anything. I don't mean that in a 'loony left' or 'big brother' kind of way. It's just that for every person who believes passionately in something there is someone who passionately believes the opposite and what happens when those people stumble over each other's social media post and mobilise their friends and followers into a flame war? if you have a point of view you should be expected to be able to defend it but what get's me is the amount of people who declare they are outraged and offended instead of engaging in reasoned debate. Oh and let's not forget all the daytime TV adverts encouraging us to sue someone for accidents or claim PPI that we are entitled to, mostly so we can donate £3 a month to provide clean water to help save snow donkeys. Entitlement - that's the by-word for the cause of a lot of problems these days.
So far this millennium it's not the robots or the zombies or the technology that's causing future shock but the changes in society certainly exacerbate mine. I feel like I can't live in this world any more.
From Wikipedia:
Future Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time".
Toffler argued that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a "super-industrial society". This change overwhelms people. He believed the accelerated rate of technological and social change left people disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation"-future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he popularized the term "information overload."
His analysis of the phenomenon of information overload is continued in his later publications, especially The Third Wave and Powershift.
In the introduction to an essay entitled "Future Shlock" in his book, Conscientious Objections, Neil Postman wrote:
"Sometime about the middle of 1963, my colleague Charles Weingartner and I delivered in tandem an address to the National Council of Teachers of English. In that address we used the phrase "future shock" as a way of describing the social paralysis induced by rapid technological change. To my knowledge, Weingartner and I were the first people ever to use it in a public forum. Of course, neither Weingartner nor I had the brains to write a book called Future Shock, and all due credit goes to Alvin Toffler for having recognized a good phrase when one came along"
The 2000AD comic has published a series of short stories called "Future Shocks" for a number of years. In the Judge Dredd strip, victims of Future Shock were referred to as "Futsies". A futsie was a term to refer to a resident of the 21st and 22nd century who suffered from Future Shock: violent insanity brought on by the stress of mega-city life. Any random factor could trigger it. The term always amused me whenever the business news came on the TV and they talked about the FTSE index. I imagined it referred to the amount of people suffering from future shock.
I'm sure that when 2000ad brought the term into popular comic culture they probably thought that future shock would be something to do with robots and flying cars and while that future hasn't come about (yet), I do think that future shock is a real thing and I think it is partly to blame for my mental health.
There can be no doubt that the internet, computers and smart phones have changed the way and speed with which we can access data. Whenever a sustained period of waiting must be endured in modern life, we no longer have to stare into space and lost in thought when we can check on social media, send a text or play a quick mobile app game. The amount of distractions available to us have increased as much as the time we spend exercising our imaginations has diminished. Instead of losing contact with friends, we can now monitor their every thought and meal through various social media platforms. We might not actually interact with them or say hi but we can 'like' the heck out of their posts.
When I was in school, I had a major crush on a girl in another class. So much so that when he picture appeared in the local paper, I cut it out and kept it as it was the only way I could get a picture of her. Nowadays you friend a girl on Facebook and see all sorts of pictures. i don't mean that in a salacious way but growing up without computers meant that as soon as the school finished, you had no idea what the rest of your classmates got up to or how the opposite sex spent their time with their friends. Now it's easy to see them on shopping trips, playing games or pulling duckfaces on sleepovers. People are more accessible than ever. So is porn. As more and more young - mainly boys- access porn, there is more of an expectation that porn is the way to conduct your affairs with girls (I'm keeping this simple BTW which is why I'm not exploring the LGBT angle). When I was a kid, you'd be lucky to get to second base under the jumper. Now it seems that teenage boys expect to cum over a girl's face because that's how most porn concludes. Maybe this is an exaggeration but I do believe the expectation is there and I feel sorry for the girls who feel obliged to er, receive if that's what it takes to keep a boyfriend (or so the guy has told her).
The way modern life conducts itself is the thing that gives me future shock. Everything from the destruction of the music industry by TV talent shows who dominate the Christmas No.1 slot with instantly forgettable pop ballads instead of fun Christmas songs to the ruthless pursuit of fame by people who think that by simply wanting it hard enough will make up for their lack of any discernable talent. The over-sensitivity of people on social media, the sharing of links designed to outrage those who casually click on them. The eroding of the petition of useful political tool to something used for drunken laughs to get enough people to say they want Pancake Day to be a national holiday with free pancakes for all or something. Everything is becoming more trivial and shallower. TV is full of programs telling us how cool it was in the 80s or 90s because nothing exciting has happened since the 21st Century began. The use of modern standards of morality to judge the actions of societies from the past. How far do you want to take that? Do we want to get the monarchy to apologise for condoning child exploitation during the industrial revolution? How do we know that the things we do now won't be judged harshly by the society of the future when moral codes have changed yet again?
I look around at the world I live in and it frustrates me so much that I want to scream. It makes me want to check out. It makes me think the world is on a downward spiral and soon we won't be able to say or do anything. I don't mean that in a 'loony left' or 'big brother' kind of way. It's just that for every person who believes passionately in something there is someone who passionately believes the opposite and what happens when those people stumble over each other's social media post and mobilise their friends and followers into a flame war? if you have a point of view you should be expected to be able to defend it but what get's me is the amount of people who declare they are outraged and offended instead of engaging in reasoned debate. Oh and let's not forget all the daytime TV adverts encouraging us to sue someone for accidents or claim PPI that we are entitled to, mostly so we can donate £3 a month to provide clean water to help save snow donkeys. Entitlement - that's the by-word for the cause of a lot of problems these days.
So far this millennium it's not the robots or the zombies or the technology that's causing future shock but the changes in society certainly exacerbate mine. I feel like I can't live in this world any more.