I often get asked to define a Spime. The definition is simple “Space + Time” but the implications are deeper than most people have time to think about. That’s one reason that Wranglers are needed. But the fundamental attribute of a spime is that it is hyperconnected and it is doing something with its connections. By documenting or publishing where it was made, by whom, where it has traveled, or how long it has been “on” (or another attribute that can be detected by the object), our objects are developing memory. Ironically, for humans, being hyperconnected may work differently.
In a series on the Read Write Web portal, Alicia Eler is exploring the hyperconnected life. The first piece she posted, How Hyperconnectivity Effects Young People, summarizes the results of a study on American Millennials and consequences of having an “always on” life. The Pew’s study of the impacts of always being connected to the Internet on the brains of youth is both qualitative and quantitative. Well worth a scan if not more of your time. Here are a few of the highlights I found particularly relevant:
- relying on the Internet as our “external brain,” saves room in our “wet brains” for different kinds of thinking (no surprise here). 55% of those surveyed believe that the always on youth will have positive impacts on the world as a result of finding information more quickly and thinking in less structured ways, “thinking out of the box.” 42% of those surveyed feared the result would be negative.
- always being connected tends to build a desire for instant gratification (no surprise here), and the increased chances of making “quick, shallow choices.”
- Education reform is much needed to meet the requirements of these “new” and hyperconnected and mobile students. This really dovetails well with the outcomes of the Mobile Youth Congress held last week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The iStudent Initiative suggests that learning should be more self-directed and the classroom will be where students report what they’ve learned.
Then, in a second post entitled, Introducing Your Hyperconnected Online-Offline Identity, Alicia explored the subject of fragmented identity. The premise is that our identities are fractured because we can be different people in different places and in response to those around us who are different (home, business, sports, entertainment/hobbies).
“The real self is saddled somewhere in the overlap between these three circles. These ideas of the self apply in both an online and offline context. This abstraction, explains ScepticGeek, may come at least partially from Carl Rogers.
“Online, we battle with the same conflicts, plus a few other quirks. We are a Facebook identity (or two), a Twitter account, a LinkedIn oh-so-professional account and maybe even Google+ (plus search your world, no less). Each online identity is in and of itself an identity. Maintaining them is hard, often times treacherous work. We must slog through the Internet-addled identity quagmire.”
In another paradox, I think that when “things” are connected, even via a social network such as facebook, we (humans) truly have the opportunity to know the objects or places better, with a richer and deeper understanding because we think there’s more information, less subjective and more quantitative data on which we can base our opinions.
I wonder if there will also be ways for Spimes to have different personae, to project themselves in unique ways to different audiences. Perhaps it will be simpler because inanimate objects don’t have the need or desire to reconcile all their identities in the “self.” But it will always remain the responsibility of the wrangler to manage those identities. Job security is what I call that!