ONline-Lazy or In-touch

Mary and I have Facebook pages. As a result we have been in touch with people who we have not heard from in quiet a few years. In my case it has even helped me keep up with my sister and now my mother is onboard. Personally I think she’s onboard to keep the fusing and fighting down between my sister and I (LOL). So over all it's been a great experience.

Having said that I have also noticed that some people are on it all day long. Some of those cases maybe because of vacations or maybe unemployment or even health issues, but either way it has something to do with a person’s preference at the moment. However I believe there is more to this than what meets the eyes.

Allow me to state up front that I believe what I am about to say has possibly been said about every part of technology ever invented regarding communication. I promise toward end you will want to read how all of this unfolds. So while I am being serious I want to have a little fun with it as well.

Being online or being connected is popular however it has some specific issues which come with it.

First, I think that it has the possibilities of enhancing communications between people. But I have also seen it do the exact opposite. In some situations people have ignore their families, friends and even employers for the sake of “being connected.” We bark and yell about children being neglected as a result of drugs, alcohol and being sexually promiscuous (is that a term anymore?), but never ask about the addiction of “being connected.” I enjoy seeing what my friends are up to and knowing how their lives are going, but there is a danger. One of those dangers law enforcement is telling us about is with giving too much information out about were we are at the moment. There has been a small rise in crime on people’s homes who have broadcast were they are at the moment. This is the reason I will generally wait and tell were I went while not telling where I am going.

Second, it becomes an excuse not to make a phone call or write a letter or send a card. Mary and I are continuing to make it a practice to do this since so many people rather e-mail or congratulate online. While there is nothing wrong with doing this the problem is that the personable contact is lost. I was contacted by a very good friend who I had not heard from in years through Facebook. We exchanged e-mail addresses then phone numbers. I called him one time while he was busy. He said he would call back. (Do you hear those crickets?) Just before he hung up he states, “If I don’t call you back we can contact each other on Facebook.” Humph! I don’t want to see an e-mail that took twenty seconds, I want to talk about life and hear a voice.

Third, it stretches the community. What I mean by this is that the community which once was strengthened by interpersonal ties is now thinned out by small, quick typos in a swift moment. It really does give the appeal of connecting with the person, but in reality I believe, that most of the time, it is just a quick fix to help our conscience stay in the clear. While some studies show that the internet can be positive in regards to socialization (www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m6836/is_4_49/ai_n25120984/) I personally think that it is not a well grounded socialization where children hear the pain or joy from an actual voice.

While all of this has been an ongoing argument in the past, I think it has more to do with how it is used than if it is being used. Allow me to give a case in point, you are reading this on the internet. Case closed! Right!? Not really. Just like anything else we need to be careful about how much of something we eat, read or do. Eating is good for me. However in 2006 I discovered that eating the wrong things can lead to high cholesterol. Reading helps me learn and grow, but life without experience and exercise can lead to laziness and disconnect. Exercise is good for me, but too much for too long can lead to exhaustion and even death. The same is true of the internet and things like Facebook. If we limit our intake to a healthy level then we are fine. These personal pages can help us to stay in contact and find out how people are doing. But if we cross that barrier then we find ourselves disconnected from reality and putting more important things on hold which call for our attention.

NOW for the fun! Let’s say we lived 10,000 years ago. We talk and communicate in very vocal understandable sounds (I know I just ripped the evolutionist into a tizzy [big deal]). Everything’s find until Junior starts drawing pictures on the wall. All day long he does this, telling about the great adventures we have been having during the day hunting or the dangers of a storm or something like that. Now the family counsel committee gets together to talk about how all the children are doing this. They discuss the impact on culture, the socialization aspect and the possible harm it will bring morally through pornographic images. But noting can be done to stop this and time passes.

Finally, about a thousand years pass and people start caring around large stones and drawing more detailed pictures on them. They do basically the same thing as the wall drawings but they have depth to them and may even be in color. A study is done on the harmful effects of chiseling into hard rock and that carrying around large stones have on a person. Soon there are some issues discovered, but nobody is able to do anything about it and time passes.

Another three thousand years pass and people stop drawing and start using symbols to convey words. Stories which were drawn out and then told over the years by a people who can change the story is becoming a thing of the past. No, now they are written in explicit details. A citizens action committee is put together to discuss the implication of this writing. Time moves on, and nothing can be done about it.

Four thousand more years pass and three of things are discovered: the quill pen, ink and papyri. No longer do people carry heavy stones around or have to kill an animal for its skin to write on. Now this is getting personal. The National Business Men Society for Skinning Animals (NBMSSA) forms as a protest to this newest wave of communication. In its effort to debunk this newest trend they keep prices high on the products and allow few people the opportunity to learn to write. Basically, nothing is done to stop it and time passes by.

Now paper is plentiful, ink is cheap and the feather of any roaster will work. People are learning to read and write left and right. Schools are being formed and education is moving forward. Then comes Benjamin Franklin and the US Postal Service. Now people really scream. People won’t come to visit anymore. They won’t want to talk anymore. Socialization will come to a bear minimum. The world will end. The same was possibly said with the invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio and television.

While my timeline is off a great deal I think you can see, these arguments have always existed. So as you enjoy your Facebook account, chatting with you friends and making you comments, pick up a pen and paper and send a letter. Or better yet pick up the phone or e-mail them and schedule a lunch or dinner and visit. Nothing is wrong with the technology as long as a personal touch is given with it along the way.

Let me know what you think,

Steven Swaim