“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave”
~Frederick Douglass
Today one cannot glance around a street corner without seeing someone talking, playing a game, texting or simply conspicuously holding their phone in their hand. Some are walking with their phones at their ears, some are scrolling through a page of some document or webpage holding the phone at a distance, or some people even sit around the park with their phones. Smartphones are everywhere, even where they are least expected to be, including office meetings. Cellphones are the gateway to endless hours of touching a screen or having a conversation with someone miles away. One might argue that cellphones avail means of communication, and they can save our lives in case we need to make a call in an emergency, and they would be right, but if they were to be true to themselves, they would know that they themselves or the people around them use cellphones for purposes other then what they were originally intended. Cellphones are metaphorically a form of modern-day slavery and while they may have drastic differences, there are still extremely noticeable similarities.

Many wonder how cellphones can possibly be related to the slavery experience of Frederick Douglass, yet once pondering this question, one may find the simple answer. In the past, slaves were forced to spend all their time working for their slave owners; now people spend all their time on their cellphones. Not only do people today and slaves of the past spend all their time on the cellphone or obeying slave owner, but also they are trapped due to various reasons. Not only is time spent on both forms of slavery, but pain comes from forms, the current, and the past. For example, when there was American slavery when African Americans were enslaved slave owners would physically injure slaves by whipping them inflicting physical pain, yet now emotional pain is inflicted upon people by “cyber bullying” or bullying over text and/or social media. The horrific detail that makes cyber bullying so painful is that it is unescapable, anyone has access to the internet on their smart phone and therefore everyone has access to the cause of the bullying, allowing more and more people to bully the subject. In fact, 20% of kids cyberbullied think about suicide, and 1 in 10 attempt it according to the cyber bully hotline. American slavery was abolished as people gained knowledge. The quote, “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave,” from Douglass shows that awareness is the key to ending any form of slavery. It relates to both slavery in the past and modern day slavery since in the past if a slave received education they would know that there is better and they would revolt, today if one is aware of their obsession and knows how to put an end to their addiction then they could learn terminate the matter. Even though there may be differences on how the people are enslaved now and in the past, one cannot escape their “owner” whether metaphorical or physical.

While the similarities of the two forms of slavery may be difficult to grasp the differences are simpler in comparison. Obviously people want phones or have bought them for themselves. Today people purchase their own enslavement as a choice, either because they want the cellphone or because they feel as though in order to be accepted into society one must possess such a device. Today in society children receive smartphones as early as 3rd grade. Knowing this, children beg their parents for their own phone, and when some children receive one, they almost instantaneously become obsessive. Smartphones have become a privation for the people of today, yet on the other hand African American slaves lacked simple necessities such as food and clothing. Not only do parents know that children want smartphones, but they also know their child will be debased if they do not have one in their possession. Most people become obsessed when they come to own a cellphone whether or not they wanted a cellphone, In fact, the New York Daily News states that 84% of people worldwide believe they couldn’t go a day without their cellphone at hand and they feel as though whatever they do it is an immutable fact. Earth’s citizens have become so attached to smartphones that there is hardly ever a cellphone in idle. The gadgets, smartphones specifically, have become a dissipation of the outside world. Without a doubt todays people are impertinent compared to our elders due to lack of communication skills because of the obsession of constant virtual communication. People are ensnared within their enslavement because they aren’t fighting to escape, but they are embracing the enslavement to their smartphones with ineffable joy.

While people of the present day are accepting their enslavement as a newborn accepts its mother, the people of the past, when educated, constantly fought for their freedom either by educating others or attempting to escape or sabotage their owner’s profits. Not only did the slaves fight off their enslavement, but they would never elect to remain a slave out of desperation for “fitting in,” they were born and bound to slavery by law. The people of the present day have a choice, but they don’t want to abandon the option of constant communication. Not only are the people of the present day embracing their enslavement, but they do not mind that it is lessening their intellectual capabilities as it weakens their writing due to the fact that people send notes to one another virtually in jargon such as “lol” or “I <3 you.”

Imagine a day where there was no electronics, people talked face to face in a relaxing atmosphere. There was not the constant ringing of cellphones, the humming of voices in their different conversations and the cameras and lights. Imagine a world where people were all treated equally no matter what traits they received at birth or acquired during their time on Earth. While the old form of slavery was much more severe and painful physically, cellphone slavery is affecting the current generation mentally and emotionally. Cellphones are metaphorically modern-day slavery and while they may have drastic differences, there are still extremely noticeable similarities. Slavery of every kind must be abolished, but first one must be educated on the topic as “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave” of any kind.

“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave”



Sources:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/addicted-phones-84-worldwide-couldn-single-day-mobile-device-hand-article-1.1137811
http://www.cyberbullyhotline.com/07-10-12-scourge.html