A piece of technology
that has changed and shaped me is Facetime. I have been using Facetime because
I got into a relationship back home in San Diego, and since starting this
spring semester, I have been speaking to my partner over this app, and I am
able to see him everyday. Facetime has shaped my body because of how my
roommates now associate me with my phone; they see me walking around with my
phone in front of me, talking through the app. So my phone has now become an
extension of me in this way. Just as I have a relationship through Facetime, I
have a relationship now with my phone: I am caught smooching and saying
words of love to a screen, and I have “dinner” and fall asleep with my phone as
though my partner were right there with me. So I have a relationship that
exists through my phone and that I value more than the ones I have in real life
as long as I’m in Minneapolis.
One could even go as far as to say how I exist through a
phone because of how Facetime has changed the way I situate myself literally.
There is now a part of me “living” in San Diego because my partner “takes me”
to his school and to the store, so I get the change to accompany him throughout
his day. In a way, my body does not exist solely in Minneapolis—it can be
anywhere.
Ultimately, I find myself being able to love through
Facetime, whereas this would have never been possible before during which you
could not have portable, easy access to your partner in moving and talking
images in real time. This has changed the way I think about long-distance
relationships because, though the physical distance is indeed large, I know
that the virtual distance is not, which makes the separation more bearable and
makes me feel much less cynical of the term “long distance.”
I like how you describe your long relationship through a phone, but in reality is a relationship you have with your phone. Technology is a very useful tool that we have to communicate with our loved ones and friends that aren't always near us. But thinking about it, technology has shaped everyone in our society and has become part of us in our daily lives. If we are away from our phones for a couple of hours we feel like our life is miserable and we tend to be impatient. We do not realized when technology takes over our lives, and the moment we realize it, we already are part of it.
ReplyDeleteI am also in a long distance relationship and was actually going to write about this same topic, but if I were to have done that I would of had nothing to add because you covered it all. My phone serves as an extension of me for this purpose and without Facetime my relationship would be undoubtedly strained as a phone call cannot substitute for actually seeing your significant others face. The line of your post that resonated with me the most was "I find myself being able to love through Facetime". Beautiful and I couldn't agree more in regards to my relationship.
ReplyDeleteAnd immediately I thought about the Background Report on 'virtual girlfriends.'
ReplyDelete