You Need an Upgrade

Technology has enhanced our lives in so many ways. My cell phone, for instance, in addition to being a phone, is a camera, video recorder, social networker, e-book reader, birthday reminder, newspaper(s), barcode scanner, instant emailer, video game player, cheap gas finder, gps with voice turn by turn driving directions, map, compass, MTA subway map, mp3 player/music downloader, movie reviewer/player, translator, instant messenger (on all the platforms), shopper, art gallery, sports score displayer, parking assistant, store locator, bathroom finder, tip calculator and more.

I can post something on Facebook and all my friends and family know what I am up to. The problem is we all became virtual in the process. We don't meet in person to go shopping anymore, we email each other the latest store coupons and sales. And then we update our FaceBook status "Just got a great deal on sweaters at Ann Taylor.com!!!!!".

We don't meet up for drinks, we send each other e-drinks. We ring bells on FB to let people know we were thinking of them rather than stopping by their house. We send ecards for peoples birthdays and evites to invite people to our kids parties. We email our coworkers rather than calling or stepping into their cubes/offices. I don't even have to step foot in a supermarket anymore, a few clicks and food will arrive at my door.

When we are in the airport, on a bus or train, we are listening to our iPods, reading our Kindles and playing games on our DS, PSP or iPhone. Have we so little to say to each other that every second must be filled with entertainment?

We don't use the phone anymore! When I am going to actually meet a friend in person, everything is set up through email, if one of us is late there is an obligatory text. As a teenager, you couldn't get me OFF the phone. I would talk on the phone for hours to a friend I saw everyday; it was a lot of fun, sharing and laughing together. Once I started IMming, I never went back. Now I can log onto Meebo and talk to 10 people at once, and eat or work on a spreadsheet all at the same time. I think I became an expert multitasker, but really, what did we do before computers? Were we really that much less productive?

I don't mind communicating this way, but I worry about the future. Soon we will all be more concerned with what our avatars look like. We won't get family pets we will just take care of our animals in Farmville. We won't cook actual meals when we can make em in Cafe World. We will stop looking for new friends and instead look for new sisters in Sorority Life, where- we can also go shopping and have virtual relationships.

I can't wait for 3D tvs, cars that drive themselves with some simple input commands, the capacity to order take out from our cable boxes, and the day we will all be able to work at home attending conference calls with our avatars on the screen. But i dread technology overtaking our privacy and individuality more than it already has.

Love, Mii