Information Overload

Computers and technology are great, ever-changing upgrade and the ability to conduct business transactions, services, and communicate all over the world in a matter of seconds is what the first decade of the 21st century has been all about.

While computers, crackberries, ipads, facebook, tivo and droids can perform what people couldn't even imagine fifty years ago, I think all the technology overload is killing our social skills, relationships, and happiness. 

And this is from a girl who MET and MARRIED a man from eHarmony.  I am not going to say that what technology advances have done for society is all bad, or even half bad; but what I see happening is as humans become increasingly obsessed, immersed, absorbed and dependent on technology, they forget (or are completely unable to) clear their memory, empty trash, and reboot.

Shut the TV off, turn off the cell phone, put down the laptop and read a book, have a conversation, write a LETTER.  Go to Starbucks and see if anyone there is without a laptop, cell phone, or ipod, tuning the world out around them.  I am as guilty of this tech-culture as the next, and admit one of the greatest things about laptops/cell phones is their portability and versatility to adapt with our ever-changing schedules and actively busy lifestyles.   Also, however, these technologies which ware supposed to create accessibility and ease with our lives cause more and more pain, anxiety and heartache.  Anyone who has ever accidentally sent an e-mail (reply all) or text the wrong person, or typed a 20 page paper in college only to have their computer freeze on the closing paragraph knows the pain associated with the technical world.  But could we have it any other way? Not really, I don't think society lets us have that choice anymore. 

The other night, Bryan didn't have his phone, and the last time I spoke with him was 4pm, when we said "I'll see you later."  In between 4pm and "later" a lot of things happened, I went a lot of places, and ended up knowing I was going to be home later than his probably anticipated "later" to mean.  I worried, got a knot in my gut as I tried to figure out a way to get a hold of him to let him know I would be home around 9pm.  Firework show? Smoke Signal? Call a neighbor (oh wait, we don't have our neighbor's phone numbers), call a family member and have them driver over to the house? Wait, I don't even know if he's at the house....these are the thoughts that were rushing around in my head because of no cell phone!

It's amazing, what life must have been like before cell phone! I mean, ever since I have had a CDL there have been cell phones.  And the pace of life just keeps getting faster and faster as technology makes tehse leaps and bounds forward, and us humans are trying to keep up and add more and more lists of things to do into our schedule, BECAUSE WE CAN - in the car, waiting at the doctors office, you can work from anywhere, research anything on the world wide web at any time, and order food online - now you don't even have to call and talk to a person.  And if you called, you probably would have the option to dial it in through your touch tone phone and not even get a real person.

All this to say, the beauty of slowing down and simple heart-felt, non-electronic gestures and activities are truly what I think we need more of in our lives.

Interaction.  Conversation.  Hand-written notes and cards delivered through standard mail.  A lunch uninterrupted by e-mails, pings, texts, and calendar alarms.  But then again, maybe technology will come up with a "DELETE TRASH" pill, or maybe they already have....