Does our technology isolate us?

Four girls, sitting in a booth in Wendy’s. Biggie Size drinks dominating the tables, wrappers in a pile, the meal was done. But they weren’t talking about boys, fashion or school. It was… silent.

They all wore earbuds plugged into iPods, while they were tapping text messages into their cell phones. Zero interaction. It was quite a sight. Four girls together — and so far apart from each other.


I remember my brother and I camped out in front of the television, watching Gilligan’s Island for the 440th time watching the same drama of rescue so close, and yet so far away. Mom would turn off the television and march us outside to the sunshine. There, we would play, and imagine and create. We built things out of mud and threw baseballs. We burned ants with magnifying glasses and read Bazooka Joe cartoons. We rode bikes until the darkness chased us in and played tackle football with the neighborhood boys — and girls.

We didn’t need technology. We had each other.

Photo by Vladimir Nikulin via Flikr

My phone contract expires in October. I have an old flip phone that takes and makes calls. It used to take photos until I scratched the lens. It has an alarm, a calendar and can send text messages. Would a smart phone be a good move? I am jealous of my friends with their cool devices in the palms of their hands. Should I join them?

While I love technology,  I wonder about the affect it has on our society. I wonder what it is doing to me, my friends and family. I think about the simple life and long for those days.

Care to comment?

Bonnie, over at Faith Barisa asks, “How can we keep it fresh?”  I’m thinking for me, the answer is stay simple in my faith and my life. Read other posts here.

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