Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Changing Techno-Face of Society

I remember a time, not so very long ago when people went to a bar tavern or restaurant to socialize with their friends. Now they come with their I pads and I phones and the like so that they can sit amongst other people and play their private games in public. This is confusing to me. The other day I asked a friend what they were doing all of the time with their smart phone. She told me that she used it to check on the weather. Really, let me see, we have had over 80 days this summer over 100 degrees, yesterday was 106, the day before was 104 and they need to check the weather. It's fucking hot, it's been fucking hot and will probably stay hot with a chance for cooler temperatures as the fall and winter set in. For this you need a smart phone to check the weather. Well you must be pretty fucking dumb. Another friend constantly complains about his I-Phone and what it is costing him per month. I asked him why doesn't he just get a cheaper old school 'dumb' cell phone? He replied that he likes to use the navigation ap when he goes out of town. Then I pointed out that he hasn't been out of town in over a year so he was spending over $1200.00 per year in connection fees to own a several hundred dollar phone to use an application that only applies to him going out of town which he never does. The real answer is image control. Everyone wants everyone else to think that they are state of the art even if they have no use for the gadget. A year ago, my wife and I bought a new 'used pickup truck, it doesn't have GPS or WiFi or cruise control or power windows. We have to know were we are going, or not really care, we have no use for WiFi in our truck or anywhere else for that matter. If we want to cruise down the highway, we put our foot down on the accelerator and leave it there and if we want to roll down the window, we don't push a button, we use a crank. Now I realize that I am using technology to vent my feeling out into cyberland but I am using a three year old computer and as I don't have voice recognition software, I am still typing my thoughts out on a computer. The next time you go out to a bar or restaurant, try leaving technology behind and try talking to someone before we all forget how.