Checking
the computer constantly a daily chore
Brendan Fitzgibbons
When I get up in the morning, I check my cell phone for missed calls. I put my
cell phone back on the charger, make sure the little green light is on, and walk
over to my roommate’s room. I step over his scattered clothes, broken sunflower
seeds and grimy food remnants to
use his computer to check my e-mail.
I receive hordes of trivial messages, including someone in Africa who needs my
Social Security number and address so I can save his struggling “business.” I’ll
check my e-mail at least 15 more times that day.
I check thefacebook.com to discover I have one new friend, thereby obtaining
a kernel of self-confidence. I check my credit card and bank account to learn
that my net worth still hovers around the $1 mark.
I get ready for school, and check my e-mail again. I turn on the TV and affirm
for the 1,786th consecutive day television sucks. Before I leave, I browse through
my CDs, choose one for my Discman, make sure I have my cell phone, and I’m
off.
Technology is a fundamental aspect of life. Technology helped me produce this
column. Technology even got me a girlfriend and by technology, I mean beer.
But when we as citizens of a larger community become obsessed with technology,
we become disconnected. Our society weakens as a result.
When I was growing up, I used to run home from school, invite three or four of
my best friends over, and play sports in my neighborhood until nightfall. We
would play everything and when we ran out of games, we invented more.
The made-up games usually consisted of creative ways to beat the hell out of
each other. It was great.
As I have grown older, human communities have been replaced by electronic ones.
Watching TV or surfing the Internet has become a substitute for a conversation
or a good game of catch. I see couples, friends, relatives, walking side-by-side,
clutching cell phones, ignoring each other’s company.
In a culture blitzed by iPods, Facebook, Instant Messenger, AOL, Kazaa, text
messaging, blogs, chat rooms, digital cable, digital cameras, online poker, Palm
Pilots, MySpace, online gaming and Fantasy Football, never before has so much
information been so accessible.
With this accessibility comes individuals content with forms of communication
that make everyday relationships seem distant and abstract.
Robert D. Putnam argues in his book “Bowling Alone” that an increase
in technology in the last 25 years has contributed to an overall decline in what
he calls “social networks” or social capital. As a society, we have
experienced a decline in the number of organizations we attend and the number
of petitions we sign. We know little of our neighbors and socialize with our
friends and family less frequently.
In his most recent book, “A Man Without a Country,” author Kurt Vonnegut
says, “We are dancing animals. How beautiful it is to get up and go out
and do something. We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody
tell you any different.”
Lately, I’ve been trying to spend more time on park benches. Park benches
are great places to interact with others — just ask Forrest Gump. Some
days I read, and sometimes I chase away the ducks with a newspaper. Sometimes
I watch the sun reflect off the river.
I hope someday soon, I’ll meet some people to play a game of football or
baseball with. That’s where the real fun is.
Don’t let anybody tell
you any different.
This column originally ran in The Daily Iowan at the University of Iowa.
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