Technology's Taking Over

I heard a segment on NPR today about texting and how people are doing more of that than talking on the phone these days. The theory is that people want to know just the basic information they need to know rather than bothering with small talk. One college student talked about how she only communicated with friends far away by texting, and that it's actually considered intrusive to call someone.

Intrusive? So weird.

Technology is an issue for sure. I have become such a quick typer that any journal writing I do now is not written at all but typed. I write much slower, but when I write, it forces my brain to slow down as well, which I think it a good thing. I think the words I write down are probably different than the ones I type. Somehow, I feel like the way the information is recorded could actually effect what information is recorded. Like your brain operates slightly differently depending on how I'm recording them.

On a broader and much more important scale, I know that many school's are no longer teaching cursive to their students because of computers. They feel that people have no use for cursive anymore. I suspect that penmanship in general comes in last place when it comes to school subjects. I think it's such a shame. There is something to be said for the ability to hand-write a nice note. If I have kids someday, they will learn to write thank you notes. Snail mail thank yous, not ones made on some website and sent to the recipient.

As technology advances, we are becoming more and more insular as people. We go out into the world and wander it with our heads down, checking our PDAs and texting people. We may not be in need of new friends, but we wouldn't know how to make them if given the opportunity, because we have learned to communicate by text and not by talking. Regular everyday human interaction will be minimized.

The personal check out counters at the grocery store are a perfect example. I use them all the time. I feel like it's faster now that I have become so accustomed to how they work. But, it's yet another way I am failing to connect with another human being, even if only for a split second.

It's very sad to think that we will learn to simply keep to ourselves in every possible way as a result of modern conveniences. These modern advances take us to technology and away from humanity.