When I got on the bus for my three and a half hour ride, I was prepared for boredom. I had my ipod, but I knew it wasn't charged up enough to make it the whole trip. I didn't want to text too much because I needed my phone to be alive so I could find my family at the airport. The internet was just out of the question.
Then I saw a magical sign. Free Wi-Fi.
It really amazes me how much time our generation spends on the internet or hooked up to some form of technology. I can't even begin to imagine what sorts of crazy gadgets our children and grandchildren will have that will totally baffle us in the future.
Have you ever found yourself logging into Facebook, then logging right back off because you're not quite sure why you logged on in the first place? I do that all the time. I'm beginning to view it as a nasty habit.
I have yet to give in to signing up for Twitter, but I'm sure it is inevitable. What is so great about Twitter, anyway? It's just like a Facebook status, without all the other useless Facebook applications to go along with it. If anyone uses their Twitter for a useful purpose, please let me know. Maybe you will convert me.
Being consumed by technology is not necessarily a bad thing. It's the new face of communication. At the same time, however, I would never want communication through technology to replace personal communication. Then we would all end up like the people on the space station in Wall-E, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you should go watch the movie.
Now, if only the internet connection would stop timing out evertime we went under a bridge.
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That's incredible - what will they think of next?!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I'm on my laptop and log on the Internet, I have a list of bookmarks that I go through: G-Mail (I have my UIUC e-mail forwarded there), Yahoo e-mail, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, and now that baseball season has resumed, I have to check in on my fantasy team. This routine has gotten out of control!
My two cents on Twitter: I update it, but so far, I feel silly doing it. I do have a list of who's-who in media, though, that I "follow." Getting breaking news updates from the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, The Guardian, Drudge Report, ABC7-Chicago, etc. feeds my journalism nerdy-ness, but essentially I have set up my own personal news feed.
Secretly, though, I can't wait for the first week of summer - I am going to attempt to disconnect for a WHOLE week!
This is so true!
ReplyDeleteI think that we all have become so consumed by technology that many of us have forgotten how to communicate with one another. It's almost like we are on a time line of technology: It started with talking in person and writing letters back and forth, which then led to cell phones, E-mail and instant messaging, and now we're at a point of not even being able to write an e-mail! Instead, we contact our friends through posting a message on Facebook or sending a text full of jumbled words and crazy codes.
Even though I'm definitely more of a traditionalist and try to limit texts and Facebook as a means of communication, I too have been sucked into the convenience and accessibility of new technology. It's hard not to.