As I lay in bed contemplating the next day’s post, absentmindedly checking my email via the dimly lit screen of my iPhone, it occurs to me: Are so busy trying to keep up with technology we no longer have time for warm-blooded, real live relationships?
-
I roll out of bed; I check my email (delete, delete, delete) and get coffee
-
I blog, I tweet, I post on Facebook
-
I log on, I link(ed)in, and I Diggit
-
I look at Facebook and I check to see if anyone has responded to my blog or retweeted my tweet
My friend calls for lunch, but I don’t have time. Too much to do.
- I listen to voicemail, I check my email (delete, delete, delete) and respond to texts
- I add something to eBay, I update Craig’s list, I google my name and decide it’s time to update my website
- I bank online, I shop on Amazon, and then research publishing my novel as an e-book.
We are becoming more and more like hermits with a portal to the outside world. Looking out, but staying in. Multitasking, but going nowhere. Googled by thousands, but known by few.
- I blog, I hit enter, I pick up the phone and call my friend…
- “Let’s have lunch!”
What’s better, two friends using 50% of your available time or 50 friends using two percent of your available time? Clearly there is a time and a place for both. There is a high value attributable to having “options.” Nice to know that we can focus one day and divert another, as required. In the past, there was no option, except face to face. It’s scary the world has become so small, but it’s also exciting.
Apparently, we may not have this choice for long. Check this out: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9020059.stm