The iPad and the iWorld

Quote

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?" 

Steve Jobs of Apple, in recruiting John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola in 1983.

News

Apple's newest creation, the iPad, was released for sale in USA on Easter Saturday, selling 300,000 units on the first day.  Billed as a new type of device that's a hybrid between a smartphone and a laptop, the iPad is designed for multimedia consumption, capable of supporting games, videos, electronic books and magazines, as well as regular internet browsing.  

Over the years, Apple's products, including Macintosh computers, iPods, the iPhone and now the iPad, have become industry leaders with their unique blend of aesthetic design, cutting edge technology and an intuitive user interface.  Part of their success is the way Apple products meet the postmodern culture's emphasis on fashionable brands to identify with and also for maximising freedom of individual choice and expression. 

Yet the iPad and similar technologies might have a more profound impact on society, if they accelerate the trend towards video based news media, at the expense of the written word and a more careful analysis of current affairs.  The increased access to a vast range of sources (hundreds of news applications are available for the iPhone) may make it harder for people to know which ones to rely on.  Trevor McDonald, for many years anchorman for ITN’s News at Ten, was voted the most trusted man in Britain; whom will we look to for accuracy and reliability when each consumer effectively becomes their own news editor?

Read on...
One of Relationships Global’s international collaborators is politics lecturer and pastor Dale Kuehne.  His recent book, “Sex and the iWorld: Rethinking Relationship beyond an Age of Individualism” alludes to Apple products as icons of individualism.  His far-reaching analysis explores current issues around sexuality and considers the kind of world we are creating.  For an introduction to this challenging book, read the Amazon review here http://www.amazon.com/Sex-iWorld-Rethinking-Relationship-Individualism/dp/0801035872

Walk the talk 

Our challenge is to retain a critical awareness of the way that digital gadgets of all kinds affect the way we interact with the world, and relate to other people.  It’s all too easy to view the latest Apple product as a “must have” item, without thinking through how it might subtly influence our relationships.  Why not take stock of your current use of digital gadgets by asking a person close to you what they feel about the way you use your computer, music player, or mobile phone?   

The last word

From the Bible, a verse on responding to the news – Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”