So I am sitting here pondering just what would be a good first entry in this, my very first blog. What I should be doing is coming up with a hypothesis for the effect of a forest fire on snow pack, but this just seems so much more inviting, and less troublesome. Besides, blogging is probably one of the best examples of free-form, stream-of-conscious writing, and really doesn't take that much brain power, does it?
My conjecture is that as more and more of our lives are consumed and intertwined with technology, (i.e. cell phones, e-mail, text messages, chat, etc.), less time is left in our day to actually have face to face interactions, and to some degree, friendships. Walk around a college campus sometime, like for instance, the University of Arizona. You will be astounded to see that people just don't make eye contact, are oblivious to their surroundings because they are ALWAYS on their cell phones, and avoid any type of interaction with people, unless they already know them. I remember vividly seeing a cute girl on a bicycle, riding one handed while trying to text someone on her phone, and crashing into a group of students that were walking to class. I had to wonder what text was made that was so damn important, that she just could not wait until, a- she stopped her bicycle, or b- she reached her destination. That is just one example, but I literally have hundreds more. My point is that these students have their friends that they are comfortable with, and therefore they don't need to interact with the rest of the world, unless they want something; even then, the probability of them suspending their conversations long enough to appear polite is nearly non-existent. I'm sure most of you have different ideas on when we should or should not be on our cell phones, but I'm guessing that we would mostly agree that a meeting with the dean is more important than sorority gossip. This isn't always the case, and I have witnessed it first hand.
So how do you handle rude people that are on their cellphones all of the time? If I take time out of my day to go to lunch with someone, face to face, not these web lunches I hear about, unless it is an emergency, they better not waste a minute of my time texting someone else, or taking another conversation. It is like 'call waiting', but on a more personal level. That text message is nowhere near as important as face-to-face contact with another human being. How about when 'dad' takes his kid to lunch, and is on the phone for 20 minutes sorting out some work problem. What kind of message is he sending his son? That infuriates me more than these other idiots, combined.
Where and when does technology fit into a civil society?
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