Disconnected in a Technical World

With all the technical devices:  cell phones, iPod Touches, and laptops, why can't we seem to stay in touch more often?  These devices take up our time and keep us busy, but a small get together seems like such an inconveience.  I find it so hard to physically get together with friends and family members.  Everyone in too busy with their own lives for a small visit.  Before this technical life, we would write letters, send cards in the mail, and plan events to see each other.  When we did gather, there would be talk of what was going on, how we were doing, and where life was taking us.  The room would be filled with great food, loud laughter, and fun galore.  Yet now it is hard to have a five minute phone call, since email and texting seem to be the preferred methods of communication.

The more ways to stay connected, the shallower the relationship becomes.  We lose the real meaning behind having a community of friends.  The foundation of the relationship becomes a quick text message instead of an hour-long conversation over coffee.  Where is this generation going?  More information about our lives can be viewed on Facebook than we tell our own parents.  Private lives become public so quickly.  Online communities are taking the place of families.  Young people come home from school and turn to their Facebook friends as they share their challenges of the day.  With more parents working outside the home, there isn't always a caring person to talk to when a teenager arrives home from school.  Without that welcoming face, they turn to the internet for a connection.  We are losing our foundations of family first with all other relationships spun out from it.

Copyright 2010 Tanya Weitzel