PopMatters: Geeks, Chihuahuas, and Our Obsessions With iPhones

THE GEEK'S CHIHUAHUA (by Ian Bogost) makes clear that Apple and iPhones are changing us in ways we might not realize. Here's how.

The Geek's Chihuahua by Ian BogostThe Bible attributes an apple as being the source of both human wisdom and original sin. The tech version may not be much different, suggests a new book by media studies and interactive computing professor Ian Bogost.The Geek’s Chihuahua: Living with Apple reveals some of the consequences that our complicated relationship with Apple is having on us as individuals and, perhaps, as societies as well. He’s not opposed to technological development, but he is opposed to denying its effects: “The future isn’t even here yet, and it’s already exhausted us in advance.”

Indeed, ‘future shock’ has been replaced by ‘future ennui’. In a series of ten short, witty, and erudite essays that address the social impact of Apple technology (several of which appeared previously in The Atlantic) he provokes us to admit the honest truth of our relationship with Apple, and sometimes that truth ain’t pretty. Here are a few of the lessons he offers.

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Published in: PopMatters
By: Hans Rollman