Another short post tonight, since I'm not sure how long my caffeine buzz is going to hold up my eyelids.
I went on a date with a girl semi-recently, and she had a rather interesting idea about cell phones and texting, namely that she didn't text at all. I'm a mild texter myself. I rarely send out any parent text; instead I reply to whatever I'm sent. If I don't have my cell, I'm a little apprehensive, in case of emergency, but I don't really think about it overly much.
When it comes to IMs and Skype-ing, however, I'm closer to the moderate-serious level. I like sitting up and sending faces to friends, talking about anything and nothing, and basically becoming a vegetable for all intents and purposes to the outside world.
The crux of the matter, which is probably long obvious by now, is whether or not these technologies of ours are hindering our ability for face-to-face associations, or whether they are mere augmentations of our social lives that, otherwise, we wouldn't have. Or even if these things support rather than cripple inter-personal interactions (in RL!), is the e-generation becoming dulled to the finer points of irony, sarcasm (slightly redundant, but for emphasis), inferred meaning, and other such conversational elements that the internet simply doesn't truly capture?
Let's not forget about the strain on relationships that have been "made possible" by the internet. I'm not saying they're impossible or improbable. In fact, I've been able to enjoy a good friendship with someone I've never even met (Hi, Jen!), so an actual man-and-woman-who-love-each-other-very-very-much relationship shouldn't be out of the question at all, under the right circumstances. However, how many have been found awash in the sea of uncertain tone and mistaken meaning that eventually keelhauls the entirety of the relationship, pun unfortunately intended (sorry)?
Anyway, I'm not saying we should chuck our electronic devices and live off the fat of the land far away from civilization. I'm thinking we might consider taking time to say "Hiiiiii!" to the people we know face-to-face every once and awhile. It really makes a difference.
And with that, I'm off to network with my Facebook buddies.
