Okay, I’m gonna be honest. I’m close to feeling that my life /is/ my physical relationship to media. There’s almost always something going to listen to or watch (television, music) at my apartment just to make the place feel alive (though an active tabby cat who likes to watch tv might be another factor). I bring my computer with me wherever I go even if I’m sure I won’t be using it for anything because I feel more comfortable when it’s close. A quick trip to the grocery store can cause my heart to leap and my stomach clench if I suddenly remember that I’ve left my cell phone on my kitchen table. More than just something that somehow enhances or makes my life easier or more fun, without media (tv, music, cell phones, comic books, computer, internet) the stress that would place on my mind and body only serves to indicate that, like an addiction, I am physically dependent on media for my emotion and physical well being.
My physical relationship to technology is one of greater dependence and emotional importance than I’d like. The keyboard feels like an extension of my vocal cords and as I chat with friends my keystrokes become my voice, communicating in a way that pencil and paper never accomplished. I’ve had whole IM conversations with people who were in the same apartment as me. Instead of talking with voices we talked with media.
Granted, it has been a while since I was that involved in online textual production and would be much more likely to actually physically speak with a person if they were physical available, but something of that remains. I would be lost without media (more specifically my computer) both emotionally and physically (as I’ve come to rely on Google Maps to tell me where to go whenever I depart of destinations unknown) and imagine that removing any of my primary media from my life would be similar to removing a non-vial organ. I might not die, but I’d sure feel like I was.
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