Technology. Impressive yet depressing. I was hesitant to write this blog for fear of sounding like a technophobe or just an old lady, but I've decided I'm willing to take that risk. Prepare yourselves.
It appears to have become an absolute necessity to have the world at your fingertips. Let me start with the Blackberry. Originally designed for the workaholic or hardcore businessman who 'needed' immediate access to his emails (you know the type), the Blackberry seems to now be in demand from even my 14 year old cousin. Why? The main reason seems to be Facebook. It seems we need it on the go 24/7. It couldn't possibly be an option to switch on the laptop when you get home. No, we need to see the uploaded pictures from last night, and we need to see them NOW. We also need to tell the world exactly where we are and what we're doing. I wouldn't mind if it was remotely exciting but to be frank, it seems some people have zero creativity when it comes to the Facebook status. I have on occasion read 'on the bus', 'bored' 'tired' to name just a few. Yes, I'm including myself in this stalker activity, although still holding out on the Blackberry I'm proud to say.
And what is the point in BBM? Are there not enough modes of communication in the world already? Though this one does have a slight twist: the sender can see when the receiver has read their text. Wonderful. So even if you wanted to politely avoid someone, they would know about it. They may as well hold a sharp instrument to your throat and force you to speak to them.
And even with all these modes of communication, life doesn't seem to get any easier. If anything we have become more analytical, starting to ask questions like 'so what does one 'x' at the end of the text mean?' It's exhausting. I miss the days of the phone call, which provided no room for ambiguity. Yes, you could hear from the pitch, tone and manner of speaking exactly what is said and how it was meant. And then you could happily (or unhappily) continue with your day, without giving it a second thought. But no, living in the 21st century means that even if they didn't call, you should check your BBM, Hotmail or Facebook wall.
The world, with myself included, has been sucked into this frenzied over-communication. It makes me question why anyone even bothers getting out of bed when you can just see your friends on Skype. Have you ever wondered how many people you would actually talk to if we just had the phone call? If we had to make the effort to pick up the phone, dial the digits and have something constructive to say without the 'like' application or poking war? I'm sure your 'friends' would decrease considerably.
Yes, I am aware that having a Facebook account makes me a slight hypocrite. But if you can't beat them, join them right? And now Facebook's worth over £25 billion, the chances of me winning are a little unlikely. But I do make a concerted effort to have as many face-to-face conversations as possible in my day, even if it's just distracting people from BBM.
Having said all this, I do have respect for Skype. Being able to see and talk to people from a different continent is quite amazing. But talking to your flatmates on Facebook chat is just plain lazy. I'm not asking you to abandon your Blackberry and deactivate your Facebook (God forbid). No, I'm just saying I would prefer a normal conversation where you can witness facial expressions without the 'smiley' and actually hear someone laugh without them having to write 'haha.' Wouldn't that be refreshing? And if that makes me sound like an old lady, then so be it.
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