Assignment 2: How would Thoreau react to today’s more complex, phantasmagorical technological advancements and social media? Are these further-encroaching “shadows and delusions” that we esteem for soundest of truths?

Life nowadays is fast. It is so fast that sometimes we forget to take a deep breath and just enjoy its beauty. With the abundance of all the materialistic things surrounding us it is difficult to focus on what is really happening in our lives. A great example for this is the behavior of people at concerts. While not too long ago it was normal to go to a concert, fully surrender to the music, dance, and have fun, all you see these days is a huge number of smartphones in the air. Where there used to be the desire to enjoy the artist and his music, there is now the desire to record videos, then upload them on instagram or facebook and get as many “likes” as possible. I am not saying people never used cameras to capture moments 30 years ago or that nobody truly enjoys the music at concerts anymore; however, a big change has taken place and it is constantly moving forward. We do not know where it might take us and we have to ask ourselves: What does it mean to be ‘us’? To be ‘human’? Is it our fate to take part in this change? Do we want to? And if we don’t, are we strong enough to go against the grain?

                Answers to these types of questions can be found in “Walden”, written by Henry David Thoreau. In this book, which was first published in 1854, Thoreau tells the reader about the two years and two months, in which he lived in a cabin in the woods, trying to find the deeper meaning of life. In the second chapter “Where I lived, and what I lived for”, he fiercely criticizes the superficiality of most people and their lack of sensitivity to the real and natural world they live in. Thoreau emphasizes that the main problem is that these people are blind to reality and falsely consider artificial things as their own reality. According to the author, it is of big importance that they learn to look at reality with a clear mind, not distracted by any external influences. They are supposed to acquire the ability of living to the fullest extent possible.

                To understand Thoreau’s remarks, the year of publication needs to be taken into consideration. In 1854, there were no televisions and no telephones. So what kind of external influences does the author mean? The answer to this is not easy to find but what he means remotely, are nearly all the things that do not help to enhance our mindset. He propagates self-reliance and the education of the mind.

                These implementations make us wonder how Henry David Thoreau would like the recent technological advancements and the novelty of social media on the internet. In “Walden”, he opines that to acquire full consciousness of reality and wisdom about life, it is essential to cut down all unnecessary things around you and focus on yourself, by yourself. In our everyday lives, right now in 2013, we hardly ever focus on just one thing.

Multi-tasking has become the normal thing to do. The other day I saw a woman pushing a stroller in a crowded area; in front of her on the stroller there was an iPad, on which she probably had been reading. In addition to that, she was talking on the phone. Even though she didn’t seem stressed out, it was clear that she was not paying attention to her surroundings whatsoever, which led to people having to dodge her. While this example might seem extreme, it illustrates how society has altered. Most people are always in a rush, nothing can ever be fast enough for them and the only time they truly rest with themselves is when they go to sleep at night. This is probably the worst case scenario for Thoreau. If he could see, how our minds are distracted 24/7, he would probably think the entire world population has lost track of reality.