This world is an interesting one.
The advent of technology has made our lives better, yet it has also crippled the essential truths of our lives.
We are so completely connected, yet we still keep our distance.
We are so totally visible, yet we still hide behind so much.
We are terribly open, yet we still seize up when someone gets too close.
We reach out, yet are not really touching each other.
These observations came to me full hilt today as I communicated back and forth with someone that I've never met in person, a blog reader from thousands of miles away, but with whom I was being startlingly honest.
I write a blog. I have a Facebook page. I have not one, or two, but three email accounts. I have an instant messenger account with a lengthy buddy list. I have a LinkedIn profile for professional networking. I have three iPods in varying sizes and capacities. I have two laptops, one on each platform. I pay bills online. I have a TiVo and a DVD player. I have a cell phone that is also a Blackberry. I have photo sharing accounts with Picasa, Flickr, Snapfish and Kodak Gallery. I have a Twitter account that I barely understand.
I text. I type. I write. I call. I answer.
I'm always connected, always available, always visible, always communicating, always ready.
Yet, I find myself still dodging the eye contact of strangers in an elevator, for fear that they'll strike up a painfully awkward casual conversation.
Yet, I still wear headphones, connected to a miniature iPod, to drown out the hum of the buses, the vibrations of my own mind, and most importantly, the idle chatter of strangers on the bus.
Yet, I dodge calls when I am unable to make the chatty pleasant conversation that the friend so desperately deserves.
Yet, I read about everyone else's lives, through blogs or Facebook status updates, but don't reach out to actually talk to those that I'm so seemingly interested in.
None of this likely makes me different.
It just makes me sad.
We're so visible, yet desire an invisibility.
We're so in touch, yet often go days without touch.
We're so open, yet live with such closed minds.
We're so starving for relationships, yet we refuse to put ourselves out there.
We're so communicative, yet we don't know how to talk to each other.
We're so free, yet behave so restrictedly.
We're in hiding, aided, supported and facilitated by the very technology that is intended to create a seamless, interconnected, highly transparent world.
We're so connected, yet so afraid to connect.
What kind of technology will it take to get us to be what we should innately know how to be?
What will it take for us to, finally, be in touch?
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6 comments:
The way I see it, we're connected so we're not alone. Which means, when we're in a crowded place, we do what we can to have a little privacy. Technology has twisted our world around, that's for sure.
I never really thought of it that way but you are right. We are used to technology and working with them to communicate that we forget how to live life without them.
Well said!
Melissa
I observed a group of teens in a restaurant before their Homecoming Dance. All dressed up and breathless. Each one of them was texting...possibly the one across the table, and not saying a word to each other. It made me sad.
I agree. Very sad existence we share.
And I think mom is just sad becuase she has had three lessons and still can not text...
Ignoring strangers is not something to be sad or to be ashamed of. You ignore the strangers on the street because it's risky to trust them. When you make conversation, you're putting a small amount of trust in the person. If the person turns out to be crazy, very uptight or very angry, then you've possibly just made an enemy. But if you speak to and make enemies online, what does it matter? You can explore the minds of vagabonds, or make friends with celebrities and never know it.
I really am glad that I do not have to meet these people in face to face, and that I can 'steal' their perspective on life without making the effort and commitment of creating an acquaintance.
If there is someone you're interested in speaking to in face to face life, then do it! But don't be sad that you're closer to strangers online than you are face to face. It's not cold, it's smart and protective.
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