DATE: 03/25/2008 21:19:43 / MOOD: other
The information superhighway. A series of tubes. Teh interwebs. A
place to share porn. All synonyms for the place we inhabit called the
internet. And maybe making the internet a habitat for humanity is where
the problem lies.
The internet brought the world plenty
of great innovations, but there is one aspect that has been a focus of
mine lately. The ability to communicate in the digital age with another
human. The majority of people, at least in North America, have in the
last 10 years used some or all forms of new age communication; email,
instant messengers, social networking sites, forums, bulletin boards,
cell phones, text messages. A lot of people do not even keep land line
telephones thanks to the relatively cheap and efficient cell phones.
So
with all of these new ones to get in touch with someone, why does it
seem harder than ever to just hold a conversation and really get to
know someone? Going back to when I first was getting online with
Prodigy if someone wanted to talk, you just gave them a call. Sure, you
might be worried that the apple of your eye's father might pick up and
tell you not to call past 9:00PM, but eventually you got on the phone
and talked all night. Or if you wanted to go play basketball with your
friends you made the calls, picked a time, and everyone got together.
But
now? Well the girl might send you a text or an email letting you know
to call around 7, because they'll be able to talk then...but oh sorry,
they're running late, can't talk...but why oh why do you keep texting
me to chat? Just wait and call me! If you want to set up something with
a group of friends on a Friday night it would be best to send everyone
a message on Myspace, then send out a text with a link to a map to the
bar you're going to meet at. But no one is going to call and talk to
everyone about meeting up.
The worst is dating in this
digital age. I've found it damn near impossible to just give a girl a
call, get a straight answer, and be able to chat for a little while.
Instead it's "let me IM you after my shower" or "I'll text you after
dinner with my folks" or some other forum of digital communication.
Then it ends up we never get a chance to get to know each other. Sure,
we go to dinner, have drinks, hang out at each other's place, but then
we are both basically running off physical attraction, and not much of
substance is ever said. Sure, I love a roll in the sheets as much as
the next guy, but eventually I'd love to talk to the girl about more
than where she wants to grab breakfast.
So, with all
these new digital ways to get in touch with each other, why does it
seem that so many people have trouble connecting? Is it a generational
issue, where many more people are just looking for a ride and then to
scoot out the door? Sure, this generation might be more liberal
sexually, but I can't believe that such a great number wants to avoid
emotional contact.
Perhaps it is a generation issue. Most of us spent our final high school years and all of college working with the internet, and blazing the trail for the uses of these new forms of communication. Maybe we are just so poor at talking face to face (or even on the phone) that we use all these digital layers to try and prevent looking bad for whatever reason. I hope to come across someone that can eschew all these new forms of communication and just give me a call. Even on my cell phone.
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DATE: 03/25/2008 21:15:59 / MOOD: other
The information superhighway. A series of tubes. Teh interwebs. A place to share porn. All synonyms for the place we inhabit called the internet. And maybe making the internet a habitat for humanity is where the problem lies.
The internet brought the world plenty of great innovations, but there is one aspect that has been a focus of mine lately. The ability to communicate in the digital age with another human. The majority of people, at least in North America, have in the last 10 years used some or all forms of new age communication; email, instant messengers, social networking sites, forums, bulletin boards, cell phones, text messages. A lot of people do not even keep land line telephones thanks to the relatively cheap and efficient cell phones.
So with all of these new ones to get in touch with someone, why does it seem harder than ever to just hold a conversation and really get to know someone? Going back to when I first was getting online with Prodigy if someone wanted to talk, you just gave them a call. Sure, you might be worried that the apple of your eye's father might pick up and tell you not to call past 9:00PM, but eventually you got on the phone and talked all night. Or if you wanted to go play basketball with your friends you made the calls, picked a time, and everyone got together.
But now? Well the girl might send you a text or an email letting you know to call around 7, because they'll be able to talk then...but oh sorry, they're running late, can't talk...but why oh why do you keep texting me to chat? Just wait and call me! If you want to set up something with a group of friends on a Friday night it would be best to send everyone a message on Myspace, then send out a text with a link to a map to the bar you're going to meet at. But no one is going to call and talk to everyone about meeting up.
The worst is dating in this digital age. I've found it damn near impossible to just give a girl a call, get a straight answer, and be able to chat for a little while. Instead it's "let me IM you after my shower" or "I'll text you after dinner with my folks" or some other forum of digital communication. Then it ends up we never get a chance to get to know each other. Sure, we go to dinner, have drinks, hang out at each other's place, but then we are both basically running off physical attraction, and not much of substance is ever said. Sure, I love a roll in the sheets as much as the next guy, but eventually I'd love to talk to the girl about more than where she wants to grab breakfast.
So, with all these new digital ways to get in touch with each other, why does it seem that so many people have trouble connecting? Is it a generational issue, where many more people are just looking for a ride and then to scoot out the door? Sure, this generation might be more liberal sexually, but I can't believe that such a great number wants to avoid emotional contact.
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