At PSFK, Dan Gould posts about Evan Baden, who photographs
people entranced by their electronic gadgets. Baden writes,
“More and more, we are bathed in a silent, soft, and heavenly
blue glow. It is as if we carry divinity in our pockets and
purses.” Baden makes much of the technological innovation of
gadgets and the “wealth of knowledge and communication” they
allow, but it’s worth remembering that the 18th century had the
same reaction to the technological innovation of the day, books.
The site hosting Baden’s work poses this ominous question:
“Their faces, made cadaverous by the artificial light, are
expressionless, suggesting that, as we become more connected by
our electronics, we become less connected to our immediate
surroundings. This leaves us to wonder: do we own our
electronics, or do they own us?” This echoes the society-wide
fears of reading in the 18th century, primarily of women being
preoccupied with books, which were seen as dangerous threats to
their autonomy and education and their presumed