Good morning! I hope all those in your circle of love are healthy and happy.
I mentioned last week that people are literally looking down more and more this simply due to the ever-increasing use and need of our cell phones in our lives. Whether walking, on a bike, working out, eating with others or even while driving; we are connected to them.
I just recently started texting. I know how could I function without it? I was the last guy to get a beeper, a pager, a cell phone and yes, the last guy to finally text. I get the benefit; it’s just that I work out of my home a lot so email has always sufficed. I knew when I got my new phone I wanted texting but not the web. I am trying not to be connected twenty four/seven. Many people are. Many people love it. I am not judging. I am just not one of them. The ability to reach anyone, anytime, connect w/ your home computer, your tv, browse, shop, email, text, fb, twitter, take a photo or video and instantly share it with millions of people is amazing… and you never have to look a real person in the eye.
Over the years I have become less and less of a phone type person. Meaning I don’t like chatting on the phone for very long. When I have down time, I usually want to do anything but be on the phone. I have friends in my life that for years we may only speak once a year and that is our friendship. So, the people I do speak with for the sake of just chatting is very few. Now post texting, I am speaking even less. We are now and will forever be connected to everything at any time. There is a ton of positive in that. But with that level of connectivity, there clearly comes with it a certain disconnect, or detachment from people. Which has created the ability to say anything to anyone and not care because you are hitting a send button, not saying it face to face. A friend brought up Cleveland Cavalier’s owner Dan Gilbert and his 14-page email he sent Cav’s fans the day after Lebron’s decision. He went off on Lebron, and that email went around the world. My friend asked if he would have ever done or said any of that to Lebron’s face? That same disconnect, detachment, time and space that we have created by being so “connected all the time” has also created an ability to not have to be accountable for all that we have the ability to say. I have friends that have websites and some of the comments that are left are unbelievably mean and extremely undeserving. I had someone go to my website, went to my old photo site, went to videos and watched one. The comment he left was, & I quote, “I can’t believe you just f-ing wasted 4 minutes of my life!”
How did I do that to him? Again, he didn’t know me, didn’t matter, not a real person so it doesn’t matter, hit send and continue to be unhappy (I’m just assuming he was:)
Let us all remember that a personal, real connection is far better than a million followers. That is why we are blessed and why we always need to have that intimacy in our lives.
Enjoy someone today!
peace & God bless in two thousand & zen
-tjd
