Our love/ hate relationship with our mobile devices

Today’s New York Times article in the “Sunday Review” section explained the conflicting feelings many of us have about our iphone or other mobile devices.     On the one hand, some of us constantly check our mobile devices with great hope or expectation– perhaps the important work message I have been waiting for all week has arrived, or, even better, perhaps this time when I check my messages there will be some sort of life-altering communication!  (Just like when you go to collect your snail mail and think that perhaps this is the day that you will find some unexpected gift–  a large check made out to you?!).       But, then there are the times when we just feel overwhelmed by our email in-boxes, and we feel compelled to go through our messages on our iphones to re-gain control.    Sometimes we need to delete the inundation of messages that are not relevant anymore  so that we have enough time to devote to the important messages that are left.      And with a mobile device that we carry around with us, it is even harder to escape this tension.  Today’s NYT article discusses the broader context of actually falling in love with technology, as referenced in Spike Jonze’s recent film, “Her.”     Read the article, and let us know what you think– because the Hampshire College Library is still filled with actual humans who may be able to help you more than Siri can….