Technologic

As I sit at this work study desk in the English Department, looking outside, I’m struck by the number of people passing by with cell phones or IPods in hand. Eyes fixated on tiny screens held inches away from their faces as they walk awkwardly down the treacherous walkways composed of potholes and ice, aka Hawthorn Street.

What could be so important to deem it worth twisting your ankle in order to read that text message at that exact moment? Why not wait until a later time, preferably while sitting or at stand still?

Or even more dangerous, texting up and down the Jonas Clark building stairs? That must take quite a feat of coordination and dual-focus in order to pull that off!

A lot of people criticize technology in that they believe it encourages isolation. Classic example? A bunch of people in a room, all playing on their phones and not speaking to one another.
Yet, of course the counter-argument to this lies in the fact that these people might be texting family and friends or facebooking individuals who are hundreds of miles away. Technology could be used as a fast and efficient way to break this barrier, thus encourage communication! Not isolation.

But for some of us, technology can become a crutch. This is something we’ve all done before: You espy someone you’d rather avoid or not get in a conversation with, so you pull out your cell phone and act as if you are texting. Perhaps they will think you are busy and won’t notice that you don’t want to confront them.

And isn’t that what technology is all about? Getting rid of confrontations. These days you can email or text someone, rather than actually speaking to them. You don’t need to personally confront someone in order to reach them. Being impersonal gets the job done just as well!

How many people these days are not afraid to sit in the dining hall by themselves? If you are hungry, do you go to the dining hall and risk the fact that you might sit at a table by yourself? Or do you text people to make sure they will be there first? And if you do end up sitting by yourself, are you content to sit there alone, or do you pull out your cell phone and text people?

Maybe technology isn’t about isolation, but rather the fear of confronting it.