Experiments in art : digital : life

We just got word that we’ll be presenting a performative talk at PSi #16 Performing Publics in Toronto, 9-13 June 2010.

The talk will focus on our life in the Fishbowl – if you’re up north, hope to see you there!

We were babysitting my 12 (soon to be 13) year old niece this weekend, and I couldn’t help but watch and wonder at her communication forms and habits. She was generally texting and on facebook at the same time, but she only used the telephone as a phone (a live voice transmittal device) twice: once to ask her babysitter for the week if there was more baloney, and once to let her friend know that she was leaving the house and would see her in about 5 minutes (said friend lives about 3 blks away).

Anyhow, it’s got me to thinking a lot about the way that we will communicate in the future – will any of our communication be technologically unassisted? Is a voice-conversation turning into a nostalgic event? (This is also something we’re exploring as part of the UPP) Anyway, here’s a quote from an interesting article in the NYT:

“But the children, teenagers and young adults who are passing through this cauldron of technological change will also have a lot in common. They’ll think nothing of sharing the minutiae of their lives online, staying connected to their friends at all times, buying virtual goods, and owning one über-device that does it all…”

Read the full article here.