In order to fully participate in American culture in the year 2013, individuals must be willing to embrace the latest technologies from mobile devices to online RSS aggregators. Whether we are talking about iOS devices, Androids, computer software, apps, online RSS aggregator script etc., it is impossible to be a socially active American and be “Ludditesque” at the same time.
Actually, this is not to say that one cannot participate in society at all while relying on a “dumbphone,” it is just that people will miss out on quite a lot if they choose to remain in the dark, technologically speaking. But when office water cooler conversation turns toward an argument about which is the best Cyborg Lifeline App for iOS or best RSS aggregator, you are going to feel mightily left out. Actually, you will feel more in the dark than the United States feels about the Snowden debacle.
Of course, those uncomfortable moments of ignorance can arise out of any topic, whether it be film, television, a new restaurant, WordPress RSS aggregators etc. The difference with technology, though, has to do with the fact that it is actually useful. Technology makes our lives faster, easier, and more convenient. And given our shrinking tolerance for inconvenience, when something hampers the progress of our lives, if only for a few, brief seconds, frustration is often the result. At the end of the day, the term “technology” is virtually synonymous with “convenience.”
That being said, when it comes to making life convenient for web users, an online RSS aggregator can save them hours of time each week. Think about it. When the latest news and updates from their favorite feeds are put into syndication, web users will receive that information instantly, from a single, convenient location. The bottom line is that getting the latest news does not get any faster, easier, or more convenient than that!
Whether you view the speed at which technology continues to advance as a detriment to society, or a natural evolution toward the Ultimate Truth, the fact of the matter is that your reluctance will make you feel like a cultural outcast. You will feel as though you have been shunned by society, and cast into a perpetual exile on the shadowy margins of society, before finally being launched into oblivion. And as you fiddle with the bunny ears of your trusty transistor radio, there will be no one to blame but yourself.