Reading Response 2

Chapter 1 of Smart Mobs

In Chapter one I learned how Rheingold and his associates derived information from people. They ask. So simple. Some of the answers they get from people sounds completely rational and other quite off. One statistic was completely comprehendable. To me at least. Perhaps not to other un savvy persons. Or an out of touch person like my father who has no idea about texting. But anyway, an 18 year old man told them he "sent and received a few dozen messages everyday" (Rheingold 3). Now this is probably a pretty cool kid, because I send and receive probably 15-20 a day. But girls, girls man. They are very into texting. I personally know people that can have a conversation that takes up 100 texts. Can you believe that?

The most ridiculous thing is on the following page where a motorcycle gang was formed through texting. Apparently one of the members wanted to leave the gang so she could study abroad. The leader didnt like this and ordered 4 of the members to beat her up. This ended in arrests. First of all which is so ridiculous on so many levels because are you being serious? How did you not expect to get caught? You are using a traceable means and secondly "REALLY??!!" I mean these people never even met before. I found it funny that a few of the members didnt even own a motorcycle. Such a joke.

One thing I agree with is : "Getting a mobile phone grants teenagers a degree privacy and right of assembly previously unavailable, which they use to construct a networked alternative space that is available from where ever they are" (5).

An idea i completely disagree with is that cell phones have ANYTHING to do with social tardiness. They attack the issue of teenagers being more tardy to social events and this being linked to celluar phones. The writer is under this delusion that people feel "there" because they are talking to the people at the event through texting. This is crazy. People are late because of social norms. The norm use to be "be on time." Now it is the opposite. If a party starts at 9 you get there at 10:30, 11:00 earliest. If we it is a formal event, maybe a half hour. So 8 o'clock, they arrive at 8:30. It is because you are presenting the illusion you are cool and have somewhere better to be. This event isnt THAT important. It's the whole playing hard to get, having the power thing. It has NOTHING to do with texting lol. Our generation is changing from people older than us, and the norms adjust.