Blog #8

I am interested in Pierre Bordieu's idea of habitus and how that concept relates to our increasingly technology-laden world. Habitus refers to those parts of culture which manifest physically in our bodies. For instance, the fact that I am a dancer manifests in my body through the athletic tape I have to wear on my knees, ankles, and toes, even when I am not dancing. I also walk in a certain way that makes it clear I do ballet every morning, and regularly wear dance clothes outside the studio. These behaviors are all normal and, in fact, expected for the social group I belong to as a dancer at the university. My body has been physically marked with cultural symbols that show I belong in that group.

I believe technology like the iPhone has marked our bodies as a part of a certain generation. At this point in history in this country, a phone is truly seen as an extension of the body. It qualifies as an element of habitus because it forces a physical change upon bodies which belong to a certain cultural group. An American between the ages of 16 and 35 without a smart phone constantly by their side is seen as an absolute cultural outlier, and it is easy to make this distinction because the possession of a phone is a physical trait which is easy to spot. It's not so easy to tell at a glance whether someone belongs to a certain political party, or whether they are married or not, because these facts are not necessarily physically manifested. One can easily tell whether a person "belongs" as a young person in 2018 America simply by looking at them because of the obvious presence of a phone.

Our phones mark our bodies in more ways than one. We physically carry them with us, yes, but we also carry the evidence of their existence at all times. Many people's posture has changed due to constantly looking down at a phone. Our fingers have gained the ability to quickly type blindly on tiny screens. We have habits of patting our pockets before we leave a location to be sure our phones are with us.

 Our phones have even changed the way we deal with situations. When we are feeling uncomfortable or need to fill time, the automatic reflex is to start scrolling through one's phone. Instead of looking around or even just sitting and thinking, we have developed this need to fill the dead space with the simple activity of a scrolling finger. I got a phone later than most people my age, and spent every summer without using it at all for at least a month, so I think this effect is less pronounced in me than in others who I have watched. Even so, I notice myself reaching for my phone when I'm feeling especially uncomfortable or nervous. Phones have managed to change the way we as humans cope with our feelings, which I find to be both fascinating and frightening.