I've been on a fair number of planes since I was a little kid. On this last flight, I noticed some things that have changed. I used to be afraid of using electronic devices on planes because in my head- keep in mind I was young- I thought it had something to do with how the plane was flying and operating. I found out that it is actually just the radar. In fact, the airline we took offered free Wi-Fi on the plane. To me that indicates that some people cannot last the duration of a flight without needing the Internet. We rely on the Internet for almost everything now, and most restaurants and fast food places offer Wi-Fi to their customers. Wi-Fi is like air to us now; it's everywhere and it's becoming something that is vital to everyone to live comfortably.
When I was young I remember the flight attendants asking the passengers to shut off their cell phones. Then it was electronic devices. Now, after a somewhat long list of items that needed to be shut off (they specifically said cell phones, iPods, laptops, iPads, cameras, and handheld gaming devices) the flight attendants told the passengers to shut off "anything with an off switch." The definition of things that need to be shut off during take-off and landing has broadened significantly since I was a little kid questioning whether I needed to shut off my GameBoy.
The photograph below is one that I captured while in the airport. I took this photo for this post because I wanted to show the dependence on technology that we as a society have developed. These recharge stations were everywhere in the terminal, indicating to me that people cannot go the duration of a flight and cannot wait in an airport without using their electronics.
Times Square is something that everyone knows about. It is one of the biggest tourist spots in New York City and a place where advertising runs the show. But this advertising is not normal advertising, such as billboards or signs. This advertising consists of giant outdoor TV screens that are the size of buildings. The picture to the left is an advertisement for the TV show American Horror Story on one of those giant TV screens. It is actually one big screen, but for some advertisements the pictures are broken up so that it looks like several TV screens. Technology plays a large part in advertising because the more ways that technology advances, the more ways advertisements can appear. Advertisements will always be first to jump on a new piece of technology, and no matter how new something is advertisements will be there. This is also a sign of the times, because 50 years ago, Times Square's advertisements were billboards and not giant screens.
There is something to say even in the type of parking garages that exist in New York City. Because the city is so jam packed with buildings, there is barely any room for cars to park. Parking lots exist minimally there in the way that we are all accustomed to. People who live in Manhattan in particular are known to rarely drive themselves anywhere. When people do, the parking garages are a little bit different. These parking garages use technology to park cars on top of each other, like shelving. I have been to New York City 4 times and still have yet to see one of these parking garages in action, so I am very curious as to what it looks like when someone needs their car from the top level and how fast or slow the machine gets their car.
This last picture below was also captured in Times Square, but in a different area. It depicts an advertisement for the new smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S3, under the phrase "The Next Best Thing is Already Here." This showcases society's need for the next big thing. Samsung used this phrase in their advertisement because they know that people want what's new. Everyone wants "the next best thing." Companies are constantly upgrading things and putting out new versions of their products. Apple is on the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3. This is a newer version of the Samsung Galaxy. What was "new" even last year is "old" now and people feel like they need to have the new products that come out.
New York City is a place that is constantly changing. It is always first to have the newest technology, such as pay pass and debit machines in taxis. Therefore, it is a good example to use when describing the advanced state our society is in regarding technology.
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