Turn it Off

If you spend any time with me at all, you know that I still have a flip phone. It has no camera, no internet, no apps, and has a T9 keypad that I can use without looking. I've come close to following the crowd in joining 21st century technology, but really, my phone does everything I need. If you know me, you also know that I tend not to answer my phone and I communicate primarily through text. I despise small talk, uncomfortable silences, and pointlessness, all of which most phone calls seem to have. Text gets the job done, plans made, information relayed, etc. I'd rather have a face-to-face conversation if we're going to talk about anything real. But much like handwritten letters, the art of conversation has been sacrificed to the god of technology.

Having drinks with some old friends last night reminded me of how satisfying it is to actually sit down with people and look them in the eye, to truly hear them and have them hear you, and talk about what's really going on in your lives. This is part of the reason why I initially got off facebook. People thought something was wrong and I even got a few frantic texts and phone calls asking if I was ok, all because it seemed so inconceivable that someone would disconnect in that way. In reality, I was just sitting there one night, mindlessly bored, reading people's posts, and I just got fed up. It seemed that so many people were using it to try to prove how great their lives were, air their drama and dirty laundry, or, frankly, just posting idiotic garbage. All of the sudden the whole thing seemed like the most gigantic waste of time that I could possibly conceive of, and I made the snap decision to be rid of it. I'm sure I sound self-righteous, but if you notice, I'm now back on it.

...Yes, I couldn't stay away. After a few weeks, I started to miss hearing some of the updates on friends that I don't necessarily get to see all the time. I've heard people say that social networks like facebook are stupid because if you really wanted to stay in touch with someone, you would have in the first place. In fact, this is something I used to say myself before joining. But after making some of the connections and reconnections I've made through FB, I've realized its value.

Although I do miss the days of getting handwritten letters in the mail, the spontaneity of not knowing who's calling when the phone rings, and the excitement of rushing home to check the machine to see if you got that phone call you were waiting for, technology has also made it possible to connect and reconnect with people that you otherwise might not have. Not because you didn't want to, or didn't care about them, but because as we get older, our lives get busier, more complicated, and more compartmentalized. We have to pare things down. We can't spend hours on the phone with the person we just left an hour ago like we did in junior high. And we don't want to or need to, but we do need to stay connected even if some of us have to fight our hermit natures to do so :) Bearing that in mind, however, technology can also disconnect us from each other. Please heed Stevie's plea to "turn it off" once in a while and also enjoy hearing her call Bob Dylan a crazy person.