Gone are the days where an awkward elevator ride with a stranger would be filled with eerie silence. Instead, awkward moments like these have been replaced with the fingers-punching-digits click of phone keypads. But choosing your iPhone over a stranger is only the beginning. A coffee date to catch up with an old friend is no longer a sentimental conversation, but rather a series of paused, incomplete sentences, interrupted by an important text or e-mail. In this supposedly advanced century, our lives revolve around technology and texting; e-mail and Facebook make us the most disconnected generation, as simple human pleasures are left by the wayside.
Working at a classy Italian restaurant this summer, I witnessed the degree to which a certain family of three had succumbed to technology’s firm and unforgiving grip. Every Saturday night, the mother and father entered the restaurant with their daughter trailing behind, laptop under her arm and headphones in ears. She sat down at the table, plugged into cyberspace and checked out of the real world. As her parents ate their pasta in silence, she remained fixated on the screen, shoveling food into her mouth without so much as a blink, only occasionally looking up to make sure she hadn’t spilled any tomato sauce on her Macbook. Her parents made no attempt to engage her in conversation, as though they had given up hope of interaction, and had surrendered her to technology’s pull. I couldn’t help but wonder what was so damn important on the computer screen. Was it a photo of Lindsay Lohan’s private business? A new addition to Lolcats.com? Whatever she was looking at was pretty captivating; she didn’t even flinch when our delicious dessert tray rolled by.
But a constant laptop connection isn’t the only techno-heroin drip our generation fiends over. Thanks to the cell phone, we’ll never be alone again. Although it is an admittedly practical accessory, it’s also the reason the text-crazy 10-year-old social butterfly can’t wait until recess to share life issues with her besties, and the cause for couples ‘mdash; no longer defined by spit-swapping ‘mdash; to worry if their PDAs (personal digital assistants) will deliver ‘ILY’ texts.
Even high-school archetypes ‘mdash; like jocks or prom kings ‘mdash;’ are being redefined by telecommunication. Renamed ‘texting kings’ in my high-school friend circle, these Casanovas knew all too well how to make a girl swoon with a smooth, wink-faced emoticon or a nonchalant ‘how you doin’?” text. Forget’ old-fashioned dinner dates: these boys got the job done with a swift button press and lived for their unlimited texting plans. Boy and girl did everything from flirt to fight without ever having to communicate face to face, and when one such king cheated on his girl at a random party, her only option was to text a sad face paired with’ ‘we’re over.’
But, of all the distracting techie toys available, there is one ultimate Web site controlling our social prowess and networking ability: Facebook. It becomes clear times have changed when we no longer see gifts as the physical manifestation of someone’s appreciation wrapped in a bow, but rather a digital balloon appearing a
s one new notification on our news feeds. Bumper stickers are no longer for decorating cars, instead taking the form of Edward Cullen pictures plastered on your wall. And no, I don’t mean your bedroom wall.
Facebook is such a priority that’ choosing the right profile picture takes precedence over a four-page English essay, without question. Even if your relationship status claims you’re single, anyone with the sense to view your wall-to-wall convos knows exactly how you feel about that certain someone. And, most importantly, you know last night wasn’t a success until a photo album has been posted of your drunken adventures.
So the next time you pause from your current, intense text fight and notice there’s an old friend with coffee across from you, please take a step back. Our reliance on what we deem to be the advantages of modernity is diminishing necessary human interaction. The rapid growth of technology is inevitable, but I implore you to remember where we came from. Not so long ago, people had survived for centuries without a wireless Internet connection, and boys still got laid without seductive text messages. So, when you’re done reading this column and you begin typing the Facebook Web address into your laptop browser, shut the computer off and walk away. Go outside or talk to your roommate. Overcoming our addiction to constant social connection takes time, but someday we’ll have to learn how to have a real conversation. And if you don’t make the decision to give your BlackBerry a rest, carpal tunnel will for you.