TOW #25: "The End of the Hangup", Ian Bogost

Goals:

Have effective transition sentences

Use devices that I have not used in the past

Read an essay from a new source

Many would think that the technology of today would put us at an advantage to those who lived in the past, except when it comes to hanging up the phone. Ian Bogost, writer for The Atlantic believes today's phones put us at disadvantage when it comes to being able to purposefully hang up the phone. In his essay, “The End of the Hangup”, he uses onomatopoeia and a commanding tone to prove how today's technology prevents people from being able to meaningfully hang up the phone.

Bogost uses onomatopoeia to show the power of hanging up an old phone. He describes his experience as a kid watching his dad hang up his families Western Electric model 554 phone, “An inbound wrong number dialed twice in a row, or an unwelcome solicitor. Clang! The handset's solid mass crashed down on the hook, the bell assembly whimpering from the impact.” The use of the descriptive action words to bring life to the scene enables the reader to understand the frustration that his father had with the phone call. In the past, people were able to take their emotions out on the phone by fiercely hanging it up, and the person on the other end feeling the wrath. Unfortunately, people can no longer release their anger by hanging up the phone because calls can be ended by the simple pressing of the end button. Bogost’s use of onomatopoeia allows him to show the loss of emotion involved in today's phones that used to be present in older phones.

Bogost also uses a commanding tone to allow the reader to picture the scenario that he describes. Bogost writes, [...] try to hang up your iPhone or your Samsung Galaxy. I don't mean just ending a call, but hanging up for real, as if you meant it. For a moment you might consider throwing the handset against a wall before remembering that you shelled out three, four, five hundred dollars or more for the device [...].” The commanding tone of these sentences causes the reader to imagine themselves performing these tasks. After imagining completing the task, the reader can understand the loss that today's technology has when it comes to hanging up the phone. Because hanging up the phone can be assumed as a dropped call or an accidental pressing of the end button, there is no longer a purposeful meaning to ending a call. Bogost’s use of a commanding tone allows the reader to feel a personal loss when it come to not being able to end a call with meaning.

Although many would choose to possess a phone adapted with today's technology, Bogost proves the limit that today's phones have when it comes to hanging up a phone call with an emotional meaning. To achieve this purpose, Bogost uses onomatopoeia and a commanding tone. Bogost puts into a perspective of how today's technology is taking away human qualities and actions that were present in the past.