We recently had houseguests for five days and it was delightful. Our house is not usually home to anyone with two legs under the age of forty. The two children, ages 15 and 7, were charmingly well-mannered, polite and thoughtful and we love the parents, too.
The weekend days were spent at our cabin. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in a room looking out at the Hiwassee, a designated American Scenic River, sat the father, the mother, the son and the daughter. Each was staring into a laptop, a phone or a video game as the television loudly broadcast The Disney Channel and something entitled “iCarly,” which, other than being too loud, seems to be a decent bit of programming for young people.
Staring at the four of them unobserved, I realized two things: 1. I am now officially an old person who cannot endure a blaring television and 2. America’s all-Web-all-the-time obsession is transforming our lives in a manner that is not entirely positive.
As I have personally discovered in the workplace, some individuals who are great at texting (or “Sexting” if you are discussing the allegations about Brett Favre) are not always skillful in conversing face-to-face with other people. They don’t understand that some messages are not meant to be delivered via IM or e-mail, but should be delivered face-to-face.
The instant message phenomenon has also led to an impaired sense of timing for some people. It is not advisable to send a text message to your boss that you are going to miss work five minutes before you are supposed to be there. Your friends on Facebook or Foursquare may want to know what you are doing every second, but how about planning ahead to call in sick?
Here are some pointers from a person who was working before they even had personal computers in offices. When calling in “sick,” make an attempt to speak to a real person. Do you think none of us oldsters never stayed out drinking all night and were too hung-over to report to work? The proper method is to lie on your back and hang your head upside down while phoning your boss. The disorientation of viewing the room upside down will make you sound “funny,” like you really aren’t well. You may hold your nose if you really want to sound like you have acute sinusitis or a mysterious, 24-hour “bug.”
Isn’t it ironic that the same devices which give us so many benefits are, in some cases, eroding the quality of our personal and professional relationships? I beg you: set aside some time to turn off your devices, even if it is only during meals with your family. Tell your children that there is to be no texting at the table!
Personally, I think the new measure of exclusivity will be when people are “not available.” You might even consider having someone answer the phone for you to tell them you are “not available.” This might start a trend. People might begin to conceive of a world where not every single thing that happens to an individual is shared with all members of our universe.
The glorious future lies ahead. How utterly blissful it will be to be disconnected. But, here and now, please don’t turn off your iPad until you have read my latest blog or my latest tweet. Thank you very much.