Technology Part 2
I gave myself some time to think about it, and of course technology has some strong points going for it: indoor plumbing is a big plus, automobiles, telephones, electricity has its advantages, to name a few. I enjoy these things, and they have made life easier. I remember as a very young child being terrified of the wringer type washing machine. I remember my grandmother and mother snapping at me when I wanted to stand on a box to try and wring some of the clothes through it. "Be careful, child! Do you want to lose a hand?" I imagined it to be a dragon just waiting to crush and flatten my arm, in order to be able to easily eat it. I remember feeling relief when my dad bought my mom a new "automatic" washer; he saved me from a ghastly death.
I guess my point really is what has technology freed us from? Slavery from the drudgery of manual labor? Have we become slaves to the very technology that was to free us? I look around and I see people in cars on the phone. I remember there was a year in my life a mere 30 years ago when I had no phone. A whole year without a phone! Now people are glued to them. I have one, but I don't want to be a slave to it. If it rings, and I am free, I'll answer it. If not the caller can leave a message. When I walk into Starbucks or a Barnes and Noble, I always see people with laptops on. There may be five or six people at a table, but each one has a laptop that engages them, so how are they communicating with each other? Facebook keeps people busy, but do they ever actually sit and visit with the "friends" they spy on? Odd choice of words? I know people who keep tabs on people they don't really like, just to see what they are up to, and if they disapprove of something, they let them have it both barrels. Is that friendship?
When was the last time, we took a walk in the park with family or friends and just visited? Play any board games with anyone lately? Sit and talk with the children about what goes in their lives? Laugh or cry with someone over a cup of hot chocolate? Eat a meal with family without a television blaring, a laptop running, or text message coming in? Could any of us last a week, let alone a month without any of the stuff that consumes so much of our time? Just asking.
I guess my point really is what has technology freed us from? Slavery from the drudgery of manual labor? Have we become slaves to the very technology that was to free us? I look around and I see people in cars on the phone. I remember there was a year in my life a mere 30 years ago when I had no phone. A whole year without a phone! Now people are glued to them. I have one, but I don't want to be a slave to it. If it rings, and I am free, I'll answer it. If not the caller can leave a message. When I walk into Starbucks or a Barnes and Noble, I always see people with laptops on. There may be five or six people at a table, but each one has a laptop that engages them, so how are they communicating with each other? Facebook keeps people busy, but do they ever actually sit and visit with the "friends" they spy on? Odd choice of words? I know people who keep tabs on people they don't really like, just to see what they are up to, and if they disapprove of something, they let them have it both barrels. Is that friendship?
When was the last time, we took a walk in the park with family or friends and just visited? Play any board games with anyone lately? Sit and talk with the children about what goes in their lives? Laugh or cry with someone over a cup of hot chocolate? Eat a meal with family without a television blaring, a laptop running, or text message coming in? Could any of us last a week, let alone a month without any of the stuff that consumes so much of our time? Just asking.
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