A terminal illness that kills leisure time
 |
|
Dr
Ranjbar: his survey of Sydneysiders found that people who
use computers a lot have less time for leisure activities.
|
Ever since that ubiquitous machine we call the computer made its
triumphant and much talked about foray into households, it has made
itself at home, ousting much beloved hobbies in its wake.
Today, the computer has secured an important place in homes and
attained much fame and notoriety with its dramatic progress in capacity,
capability, application, portability, and user-friendliness. It
has also given rise to problems like technological dependency, social
isolation, impersonal communication and computer addiction.
And all for what? Mainly because it saves time... or does it?
According to Macquarie University PhD research, it doesn't.
Dr M Ranjbar's PhD thesis was titled The use of computer-based
technology and its effects on daily life in the home: a Sydney survey.
His research was carried out within Macquarie's Department of Sociology.
Ranjbar says that computers don't save time because the time you
save in the first place is sucked up by the computer once again.
Ranjbar surveyed 225 Sydneysiders to study the use of computer-based
technology and its effects on daily life at home. The study, which
selected people randomly from shopping centres, beaches and other
public spaces concludes that people who use IT have less time for
outdoor leisure activities and less time in general.
"While IT might save people some time, it also costs people more
time, in learning, fixing, updating and maintaining the technology,"
Ranjbar says.
However, a life without computers is unthinkable for many. This
attitude, according to Ranjbar, has been sustained in part by huge
marketing campaigns, propaganda and special interest groups.
IT has replaced spending time with the family and while the motive
for most people is learning or study, they actually use the PC mainly
for entertainment, in particular playing games and surfing the Internet.
Importantly, the study reveals that males use their home computers
for leisure activities almost four times more than females. A fairly
large proportion of women indicated their reluctance to play computer
games because they contain violence and aggression.
So, has the computer been of much use?
"Advocates of IT say that if you don't have one, you are going
to lag behind - it has become a commodity that everyone should have.
It is easy to be mystified by it because most people don't know
much about the structure and design of the computer. They don't
understand how it works," Ranjbar points out.
The study also came up with the finding that those who don't use
IT regularly spend more time with each other even if they were just
watching TV because they could still physically interact and communicate
with each other. However, those who used IT were found to be more
isolated from each other.
Not surprising, when you consider the many forms of impersonal,
remote, communication that deprive people of seeing and hearing
each other. Most of the people in Ranjbar's study said they would
like to talk face to face with people they do business with and
see and touch what they buy. Households that are dependent on electronic
technologies are more susceptible to the shortcomings or failures
of these technologies.
Interestingly, when those surveyed were given a list of technology
items commonly used in homes (including the telephone, dishwasher,
computer and microwave oven) and asked to pick their least favourite
item, all the respondents picked the computer!
"Out of all IT tools, people hated the computer the most. I think
the major reason for this is what we call, terminal panic", says
Ranjbar. "The fast-changing pace of technology makes it difficult
for people to adapt to. And because it is faster, it is going to
have a negative influence. People are going to have less time and
will spend less time together face to face. They will also indulge
in fewer physical activities because they are going to lock themselves
at the terminal."
While most people will assert that it is their choice to be hammering
away at the keyboard or surfing the Internet, Ranjbar contends otherwise.
"In a Western democracy, people somehow believe that whatever they
do is merely their choice. This is the main attraction of a Western
democracy. But the fact is that these choices have been moulded
by the system, be it government or multi-national organisations.
People are bombarded by propaganda and advertisement from computer
companies."
Significantly, Australia has the largest proportion of households
with a computer after the USA, Germany and the UK. Australians are
also among the highest Internet users.
According to Ranjbar's findings, 65 per cent of those interviewed
said they felt somehow pressurised to buy a computer. They attributed
this to pressure from their children, peer group, media and to a
fear of lagging behind. In the study, 17 per cent of participants
reported fear in confronting the computer.
There is also the widening gap between the technological haves
and have-nots that does not bode well for society on the whole.
Widely trumpeted as a democratising medium and a powerhouse of the
Information Age, Ranjbar's results indicate that computer technology
hasn't achieved what was promised.
Story by Manju Mathew
Photo by Michelle Wilson
|
