Is it possible to be invited to a dinner party - know what to bring, when to arrive, how to get there, who else is going to be there, and what time the event will end without ever talking to the hosts? Yes. People send e-vites or create Facebook events for everything from christenings to bachelor parties to wakes. And, one can get the vital information, mapquest directions, and arrive on time (or fashionably late) without ever talking to anyone else planning to attend. Very convenient. How much easier could the whole thing be? Well, we could all just skype a party and not ever have to leave our own homes. That's probably been done, but unless you live across the world from your entire social network, I don't want to know about it.
A commercial for one of the for-profit colleges boasts, "You can go to college in your pajamas!" Great. How valuable is that? The best part of college was just removed from the equation. Well, if you can get a degree in your pjs, why not attend social gatherings, conferences, or even funerals via our monitors? It certainly would take the pressure off - the never ending questions of what to wear, how to tactfully leave when the host's neighbor turns boorish, and how to navigate the twisty-turny subdivision roads are all eliminated if we can just pop up our laptop screens.
Jeans or a skirt? Just put on a nice top and focus your camera correctly, and you can have sweats and bunny slippers on from waist down. Mort's drunk too much again? Just fake an internet snafu; then, pop in a movie and order a pizza online. Too hard to drive 20 minutes to socialize? No problem - you can attend from your living room. Heck, you can even be in bed.
About two months ago AJ was writing a scholarship essay that asked what the greatest difference between his generation and my generation is. He pondered for a while, and ended up with a paragraph that asserted that his generation does not know how to communicate well or effectively face-to-face. They can type, text, and email until the cows come home, but meaningful human-based communication is being marginalized, and may eventually lead to a generation of socially inept, even socially panicked human beings.
Apocolyptic? Perhaps. But, there is some truth here. Events in the past month have had students texting me (ah, the irony!) about how to deal with death and helping their friends deal with it. In essence, the great equalizer called the cyber-hermits out into the sunshine of face-to-tear-streaked-face communication. To everyone's credit, they did wonderfully when crying together, comforting each other, and holding hands. Perhaps these skills are not learned, but actually hard-wired into human beings?
I'd like to think so. But, I would like to see more face-to-face events, communication, and hand-holding. Doesn't it mean so much more to have a friend say to you, "I love you," rather than sending <3 over a text? I don't consider myself a troglodyte - as evidenced by this blog, as well as my Facebook page and smart phone. I do think, however, that those of us over the age of, say 35, have an obligation to teach those that come after us the ways of the human world. Let them choose our ringtones and desktop backgrounds, and we can show them how to comfort a friend, throw a party without Facebook, take a hike without a GPS for directions, and give a hug that is more than {{}}.
It's spring time - get out there and meet people. Have a picnic with no phones or ipods. One of my friends had this by her Facebook profile picture (yes, I appreciate the irony of this reference): "Quit staring at my picture and get out there and live your life."
So, let's all live our lives - use our computers, sync our ipods - but never forget that the most important things in life are not things that have a battery life of 6-10 hours.
A commercial for one of the for-profit colleges boasts, "You can go to college in your pajamas!" Great. How valuable is that? The best part of college was just removed from the equation. Well, if you can get a degree in your pjs, why not attend social gatherings, conferences, or even funerals via our monitors? It certainly would take the pressure off - the never ending questions of what to wear, how to tactfully leave when the host's neighbor turns boorish, and how to navigate the twisty-turny subdivision roads are all eliminated if we can just pop up our laptop screens.
Jeans or a skirt? Just put on a nice top and focus your camera correctly, and you can have sweats and bunny slippers on from waist down. Mort's drunk too much again? Just fake an internet snafu; then, pop in a movie and order a pizza online. Too hard to drive 20 minutes to socialize? No problem - you can attend from your living room. Heck, you can even be in bed.
About two months ago AJ was writing a scholarship essay that asked what the greatest difference between his generation and my generation is. He pondered for a while, and ended up with a paragraph that asserted that his generation does not know how to communicate well or effectively face-to-face. They can type, text, and email until the cows come home, but meaningful human-based communication is being marginalized, and may eventually lead to a generation of socially inept, even socially panicked human beings.
Apocolyptic? Perhaps. But, there is some truth here. Events in the past month have had students texting me (ah, the irony!) about how to deal with death and helping their friends deal with it. In essence, the great equalizer called the cyber-hermits out into the sunshine of face-to-tear-streaked-face communication. To everyone's credit, they did wonderfully when crying together, comforting each other, and holding hands. Perhaps these skills are not learned, but actually hard-wired into human beings?
I'd like to think so. But, I would like to see more face-to-face events, communication, and hand-holding. Doesn't it mean so much more to have a friend say to you, "I love you," rather than sending <3 over a text? I don't consider myself a troglodyte - as evidenced by this blog, as well as my Facebook page and smart phone. I do think, however, that those of us over the age of, say 35, have an obligation to teach those that come after us the ways of the human world. Let them choose our ringtones and desktop backgrounds, and we can show them how to comfort a friend, throw a party without Facebook, take a hike without a GPS for directions, and give a hug that is more than {{}}.
It's spring time - get out there and meet people. Have a picnic with no phones or ipods. One of my friends had this by her Facebook profile picture (yes, I appreciate the irony of this reference): "Quit staring at my picture and get out there and live your life."
So, let's all live our lives - use our computers, sync our ipods - but never forget that the most important things in life are not things that have a battery life of 6-10 hours.
