Wireless Tribalism

A few days ago, I encountered Philip Carl Salzman's new book, Culture and Conflict in the Middle East, in which he asserts convincingly that it is tribalism, and not Islam, which is the primary determinate of the modern society and culture of the Middle East. Serendipitous then that from the newest issue of the The Economist comes the suggestion of a return to tribalism for all of us. This neo-tribalism will not be laced together through bonds of blood, but rather through wireless networks.


"My TomTom says veer left, camel!

As the article notes, the "car was not just a faster horse," and indeed the advent of the wireless phone, laptop (and toaster) are not just speedier editions of the same. That the wireless world is a "revolution" is cliched through use and familiarity, so that we have forgotten just how strange it is to be able to walk down the streets of DC chatting to a friend in Paris. Or how revolutionary it is to be able to tap a few commands into the touch screen of your iPhone to Google a restaurant review, book a reservation, and then MapQuest your way there.

Culturally, the wireless revolution has reversed many of the fruits of the automobile revolution. Whereas the car--and the suburb--separated the temporal spaces of "work" and "home," wireless technology has squashed them together again. Don't believe it? Try to go on vacation without checking your email.


"God, this Blackberry outage is killing me..."

The ability to access people and information everywhere gives you more freedom, but also imposes a sort of slavery. A slavery I've alluded to with the "Facebook Panopticon" here earlier. There is no excuse now not to constantly be within email and mobile phone contact. Not answering your phone is now an intentional act, with social repercussions. Organizations--colleges, businesses, and even governments--consider email a legal form of communication, and are increasingly under a de facto requirement that you check your email daily, if not hourly. Again, failure to respond is intentional and has social, and even legal, repercussions.

This is the slavery of constant connectivity. Like a Brittany fleeing from the paparazzi, you can never escape the surveillance of friends, family, coworkers, bosses, and even strangers. You are now a member of a wireless tribe. Not rooted in clan or space, but tied inextricably to each other the world over.

Like all tribes, it imposes upon its members rigid standards and mores of behavior and identity. One wireless misstep: one accidentally forwarded email, unanswered text message or phone faux paux can reverberate throughout the clan, causing gossip, heartbreak, unrest, war and exile.

Think you've fooled your boss by taking out sick? Thanks to your cell phone's GPS, he knows you were at the golf course instead. Maybe you'll think twice before you take your mistress out to dinner when there are thousands of citizen journalists armed with cell phone cameras. Or perhaps you'd better password protect your wireless network at home, before a sidewalk dweller leeches that sex tape from your hard drive. Only a matter of time before those little RFID chips gain access to your very thoughts...