Wouldn’t it be neat if you could walk around and do all your Smartphone’s distracting things without even pulling it out?
Google is developing something called Google Glass. It’s a fancy name for a contraption that can do almost anything a Smartphone can. And it can be worn on an unfortunate looking band resembling glasses frames.
Although not much information has been released about Project Glass, the idea has brought significant excitement to technology lovers since it was first introduced in April 2012. Since introducing the project, Google has released several demonstrative videos and photos illustrating what the glasses would enable their user to do. Features include Bluetooth, a video and picture camera as well as the ability to listen to music without ear buds. Someone using Google Glasses could use the gadget to do various things while performing a variety of daily activities, and those observing a Google Glasses user would never know.
Has social interaction come to the point where people try to avoid conversation? Teenagers can’t go five minutes without pulling out some device.
Although not having to pull out your smart phone if you want to look at the most recent scandal in your digital world seems convenient, are people really this lazy? Smartphones have already taken away the necessity of committing things to memory because almost anything can be looked up.
If these glasses have the capabilities of a Smartphone, people’s knowledge will be entirely based on the capabilities of their Smartphones. People can’t do things as simple as memorize a phone number because of speed dial. My dad doesn’t even know his own son’s phone number.
The distribution of these products poses a potential problem in schools. There are already kids in my classes who can’t endure three minutes of a class without whipping out their phones and checking up on their moderately exciting lives.
Cheating on tests would be easy. Sometimes I wish I could be just a little more stealthy to just pull out my phone and look up that equation that no one could possibly remember. But thanks to Google, I can just ask my face protector!
People walk into things enough just looking down at their phones. With Google Glasses, they’ll have image display right in front of their eyes, which will be even more distracting. Maybe Google should consider including a detector that will alert wearers when there’s someone right in front of them like those new cars have for when you’re backing up.
Another great feature of Google Glasses is that it almost resembles head gear that you see on dorky girls in movies from awhile back.
That’s a look that really needs to come back.
A version of this article appeared in print on 20 February 2013, on page 6 of the Shakerite.
