In the August 14th All Things Considered, commentator Peter Sagal chimes in with his thoughts on his addiction to always-on Internet connectivity, titled “Wake Up Neo.” He describes his repetitive checking of e-mail accounts, texts, and blog comments and that all-too-familiar feeling of dissatisfaction once they reveal themselves to be mundane. He clouds the issue a bit by suggesting that ultimately he’s waiting for the Bat Signal. Then, to make sure all the nerd memes are covered, references the Justice League as well. Neo? Bat Signal? Justice League? Perhaps Mr. Sagal needs to visit Comic-Con.
Mr. Sagal shrugs off his addiction as no big deal. Who doesn’t share this Internet addiction these days, he asks? MediaSapien couldn’t agree more. This is yet another example of how the human-machine hybridity of modern culture has become mainstream. It demonstrates how people from every facet of society are becoming more comfortable with their identities living semi-autonomous lives through networked digital technology and allowing those diverse identities to inform their whole being. Soon society will be filled with mediasapiens, gargoyles, transhumans, and forms of human-machine hybrids not yet known.
The MediaSapien 