No one talks anymore. Literally. You can have an entire relationship with a person without ever actually hearing their voice. I think it is crazy that people have gotten married or been in long term relationships with people that they met on the Internet and have never actually spent any real live human time with. Webcam chats do not count as hang outs, thank you very much. I can understand meeting someone and then entering into something long distance and that being the only source of communication for a while, but to strictly know someone only through electronic means? Strange, very strange.
I remember being in middle school and really wanting that cute boy from math class to call me. It was such a traumatic experience regardless of if he called or not, because if he did call you had to put yourself out there and carry on a conversation. I feel like now with text messages you don't have to be vulnerable, no one can really sense your emotion because all they have is typed out words. I think it was in the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" where the character had a similar rant. Lately, this boy from home and I have been texting. We have known each other since high school and we always sort of get to this point. A few weeks of flirty text messages and then the novelty wears off. I can't really asses whether I like him or if I just like the attention because all I have to go off of are impersonal text messages.
I think I feel the same way about text messages as I feel about electronic readers. Are we really so lazy that we cannot turn the pages of our books anymore? Some of my most treasured pieces are books that my grandmother gave to me for my birthday where she had written a message to me. You certainly won't get that from a Kindle. And what about bookshelves? No one is going to need those anymore. And now they have the e-readers for kids, are you kidding? No more Bring Your Favorite Book to School Day. Obviously there have been some great advances in technology over the years, but do we really need to automate every single detail of our lives? This coming from the girl that majored in Computer Science, but really I think we are getting to the point of insanity. I don't know a single person that really NEEDS an iPad.
ETA: I know that most of what we do in this bloggy world is create friendships with people we may never actually speak to, but I like you all so much that you are exempt from this philosophy :)
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4 years ago
Love the new blog layout, and am glad you’re back to blogging regularly!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you to an extent on the texting thing. I think it’s a convenient mode of communication and that ease can help communication, but in no way does it make up for or replace actual time together. Anyone who thinks it does is fooling themselves.
I say this being married to someone I met on the internet. It was very much a “You’ve Got Mail” sort of thing, back in 1998. But we spent HOURS talking or IM’ing every single evening and then we finally were in the same city and we spent months getting to know each other in person after that. When you’ve only got the phone/IM/whatever and can’t physically be together you can cover a lot of territory, provided you’re both being honest. But there is no substitute for chemistry. Sadly, a lot of people seem to like the fun and adventure of flirtatious texting, never intending it to go any farther. They’re depriving themselves of meaningful relationships, and in some cases using it as a form of emotional infidelity. Believe me, I know about this first hand, too.
Regarding the Kindle: I have one and love it. No, it doesn’t replace actual books. I have more than I can store on bookshelves and most of those are the ones I can’t give away – the ones with handwriting inscriptions, or my own notations in them. But I do like my Kindle for travel and to keep in my briefcase. I like to read when I have some down time, or over lunch. I like to be able to get a new book in a matter of seconds. So I enjoy both forms of reading, even though I never thought I’d like the Kindle. I was wrong.
If a guy really likes you he will call. I guess it may be a little different if it is a previous relationship and you all are long distance. Maybe like keeping you there, but scared to get to close because of the distance?
ReplyDeleteAs for the Kindle. I did NOT want to get one. But, was given it to me as a gift. I love it. When you are lugging crap all over the city on subways and buses it is much easier because of it's weight. I used to not buy heavy books so I didn't have to carry them!!!
I hear you. Loud and clear. However, I absolutely hate talking on the phone :( I would much rather text and then meet up! I get that long distance makes that really tough. But I just can't stand talking on the phone. Period. Probably why I've never had a long distace relationship?
ReplyDeleteNow about these Kindles or whatever....I will NEVER have one. Now I know they say "never say never", but I will NEVER have one :) My poor kids will be toting their favorite book to school too, even if everyone else brings a Kindle.