Speaking of extensions of the body....I think I will take it upon myself to create my own saying. My cell phone is the extension of my hand.
Marshall McLuhan once said that "The wheel...is an extension of the foot. The book is an extension of the eye... Clothing, an extension of the skin...Electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system"1. This exaggeration was used to explain how media devices are simply an extension of a man’s body, we are expanding on our senses. My cell phone is an extension of my senses, and I have unintentionally morphed its purpose into the guilty function that it currently possesses.
My cell phone gives shape to my daily routine because it is involved in almost every activity I take part in. For example, the alarm clock within the phone wakes me up in the morning, it gives me the option of asking what my friends are doing for lunch without even having to use my voice box. It gives me access to my family, located two hours away, without having to pay a cent. My cell phone counts the days down for major due dates, the Pacman and Brick Breaker keep me occupied in the boring lectures. It EVEN tells me what time it is in Tokyo just in case I for some reason need to be aware of that.
The impact my cell phone has on mediating my behaviour and/or environment is large. My cell phone has become a necessity in my daily routine, and I am not proud to announce that. What would I do if I didn’t have one? How did my parents grow up without them? My environment is constantly being mediated because I constantly have my phone within reach. My behaviour is mediated because I depend on my phone. If I for some reason forgot it, or lost it, my uneasiness would show through my behaviour.
Believe me, I am not proud of the role I have given my cell phone, but in this fast paced, mediated world, I do not stand out as a result.
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