I love technology (except e-readers). I’m constantly fascinated by all the amazing things at our fingertips. We don’t ask for directions anymore, we stand in lines less, we have this vast amount of information and resources that we carry around in our pockets or purses all day. The world around us is changing at fascinating speeds. At times everything feels so connected. But is it really?
I read a comment on this blog today that really made me start to think about how real our connections formed and maintained in the online universe are. Do you really know what is going on in a person’s life based on their Facebook status updates, know their thoughts based on a tweet, know where they are headed in life based on “check ins”? Do you know the soul of what’s important to a person based on what they “pin” on Pinterest or if someone isn’t online do they not enter your thoughts?
I’m not saying by any means that all of this is bad. It’s great to keep up with old friends and even new ones without having to pick up the phone or make any effort really at all. I love to look at collections of funny pictures or beautiful places from all over. I feel that being able to find out interesting things about people who you otherwise wouldn’t have known has some real value. Just don’t let it replace the live connections in your life. I will check-in at restaurants and cool places on vacation, but you cannot feel the happiness in holding my husband’s hand on the way to get there from any post that I can put online and that is closer to the soul of who I am than anything I can find to “pin.”
Photo courtesy of wpr.org Brought to you by Mills Properties