I was considering this weekend the wonders that electronic communications provide. It is truly a marvel, the things that we can accomplish with the help of our phones, computers and the like. I can see images of my brother's experience in Europe, hear stories of friend's travels across one of the many "'Stans" of Central Asia and can talk with my grandmother who I don't get to see often enough. All great and wonderful things. That being said, this technology can also serve as an excuse not to connect more directly. This opportunity was not lost on corporations as the self-checkout at the grocery store and the ATM at the bank will attest. Suddenly we can avoid personal contact. Employers can avoid employing (as many as they would otherwise). More and more, technology seems to be about us doing more for ourselves. In and of itself, that's not such a bad thing. But, when it undermines our social interactions, I'm not so keen. I love that I can know all about the brand new addition to some friend's family (a baby, not a motorcycle) through their blog but saddened to a point that "catching-up" means reading through the archives rather than chatting over a nice cool drink on a patio. Mmmm, cool drink. Mmmm, patio.
P.S. The Kingston Buskers Rendezvous was this weekend. I posted some of my pics to my Flickr site. If you're in town, Ottawa's Buskerfest 2006 is on the first weekend of August.
1 comment:
I'm disappointed we're not able to connect and catch up in real life. I suppose reading your updates will have to do.
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