New Gadgets

This morning my wife was walking up the stairs to her office area and her cell phone dropped out of her pocket.  The phone looked fine.  No scratches. No broken screens.  Nothing.  She made a call to my phone and everything worked perfectly.  Then she text me.  The letters didn't work.  She couldn't text.  After trying to reset the phone a few times, it was apparent that her phone was broken and couldn't be fixed.  Text is important to us because of the distance between us on the weekdays.  Within 20 minutes we were on the way to the Verizon store.

I had to chuckle a little because we felt we couldn't be without "texting".  It is absolutely amazing how technology is advancing so quickly. And it seems everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.  From babies having their own Facebook pages to great-grandparents having their own blogs, it seems as though we are wired electronically from beginning to end.  Only 5% of every family in the United States is not on-line. 

I think technology is a "double-edged sword".  I love that I can blog, and text, and Skype while I am away from my family on business.  It helps me feel connected.  It makes me feel like I am still a part of their lives even when I am away.  Last night, I had a conversation with my brother.  He commented that he reads the blog everyday and it brings back memories for him and sometimes makes him think.  We had a great conversation.  It was a conversation we probably wouldn't have had if it wasn't for the blog.  I hung up the phone and thought about how enjoyable it was to be able to talk about some of the blog topics. (Hi Matt!)

On the other hand, all of this new technology can take away from the human contact and conversation that we desperately need to have. "Dinnertime tends to be a much more harried affair," says Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA, in Psychology Today.  "If there is a time to have a family dinner, many family members eat quickly and run back to their own computer or other digital activity." And if you think it is just the teens who can't cut the cord, think again: Mealtimes are disrupted more often by adults being online or on cell phones than by their children.  On average, adults spend 5 hours online at home everyday.  1 in 16 children under the age of 5 has a Facebook page.  78% of people online have admitted to losing track of time on the computer and staying up until the very early hours of the morning.

So, I must confess that I am old-fashioned.  All of this stuff seems so "James Bond 007" to me.  In comparison to those old James Bond movies, truth (or reality) is now definitely stranger than fiction.  I love technology and how I can stay in contact with my family when I am away.  But given the choice, there is no contest between technology and good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation.  It's what memories are made of.  Nothing can ever replace putting up the Christmas tree with Shirl.  Nothing can replace watching the interaction of the "Aggravation" games played at my grandparents house.  A text message pales in comparison to sitting around the table and having a meal and conversation with loved ones. Often times I will call a loved one from someplace special when traveling, like Mount St. Helens or Mackinac Island.  But to have my loved ones share the experience with me is so much more satisfying, so much more memorable.

And I believe that is the way we were created.  I think we were made to share places, and times, and things together.  I think we were made to laugh together, and be there to hold one's hand when going through a struggle.  Yes, technology is awesome, but for me, nothing comes close to sharing life's experiences side-by-side, hand-in-hand..