Comment 40096

By Robert D (anonymous) | Posted April 23, 2010 at 11:11:28

Jenny,

As someone who is a little above average in the techncial saavy department (I can assemble and troubleshoot a computer.) I nevertheless agree with you 100% about the use of technology in moderation.

I don't have a fancy cellphone that plays videos and music, in fact, I don't even have a cellphone. The number of times that I've wished I had one have been minimal, and in most cases there are pefectly acceptable alternatives in place. My opposition to them is not some kind of opposition to technology in general, as I've mentioned I'm very tech saavy. However, I don't want technology to intrude on my life in a way that will impact negatively on the quality of that life. I have a telephone and an answering machine. If people want to get in contact with me, that's not an issue. I don't believe there is anything time sensitive enough that it can't wait until I get home. Same with e-mail - I don't need a blackberry to check it, I'll look at my messages at the end of the day and get back to you then.

Technology can truly invade your life and make you a slave to the device. You see people with bluetooth enabled blackberries who HAVE to check it at every slightest beep and rumble, so much so that I've seen people checking it at every traffic light in their car. While theoretically these devices can increase the speed of communication, all too often they're used to just distribute unnecessary communication. Things that would not warrant a phone call suddenly become text-worthy. As a society we're generating an obscene amount of information - and most of it is trivial and not worth our time.

People wonder how we ever got along without cellphones and blackberries? It was by limiting communication to the truly important things, and not being copied in on useless e-mails or texted meaningless messages.

We may have been less connected, but when we did choose to pick up the phone or send a letter, the connections were much more meaningful.

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