Growing up in the 1900’s was an era of technological mastery, and it has further accelerated at exponential rates with the launch of the new millenium. These days junior high students are running around with blackberries and iPhones. Texting during class is a huge concern for older teachers, and acceptable by some of the newer teachers. Children have laptops that executives used to dream of owning, and the speed at which data travels makes way for new data management services to pop up all over the world. People can hardly keep up with their own e-mail accounts let alone the rest of their lives and the papers that still invade their homes and offices. Does this have an impact on human relations as a whole? You better believe it! Some families are segregated, managed through favorites lists, and parents are finding out what their children are up to by what they read on their facebook walls… Is this dangerous? In many ways it is. Communication is essential in every persons life, with co-workers, service providers, friends and family. Marriages end and children are left to televisions, texting, facebook and forums. When there is a question many children are more likely to ‘google it’ than ask their parents, and some of those google answers are more than eyebrow raising.
Yes, it is important to ‘keep up with the times’, but it is also important to maintain healthy communication in every facet of life. We text our doctors, parents, spouses, and tweet our inner most thoughts. Make sure to spend a little time everyday placing limits on your devices, your cell/pda, your computer and your television, movies and video games. Turn the tv off, read a paper, a book, go for a walk with the kids, talk to each other at a dinner table. Call a friend. Have a games night, yes, and even karaoke can be fun with no cell phone ringtone interruptions. Everyone is experiencing a degree of strife with this new age communication jumble.
Apple released their new Ipad this week. It was highly anticipated and people are grabbing it up in the USA at a breathtaking pace. Admittedly it does everything your iPhone does, and less, but people are adding it to their repertoire of technological data and communication devices. More time to set up yet another device, be intrigued by a new toy and wait for the initial honeymoon phase to be over, but as soon as it is coming to an end (if not before) the next GREAT is released… 3-d tv’s, 3-d gaming consoles and the list goes on and on…..
Yes one word: BOUNDARIES.
Set some healthy habits in your life and be a healthy communicator with those around you, you will find some peace and calmness and the joy of just being a person again instead of a piece of text or an avatar.
