Digital Connections and Social Connections

It's a beautiful day. A few wisps of white speckle the sky. Otherwise, there's blue as far as the eye can see ... that is, if anyone was looking up. More and more these days, everywhere you go - the grocery store, the park, walking through a parking lot, and worse yet, driving - people are glued to the screen of some kind of electronic device. The big question is: While we're so busy connecting with our virtual world, are we actually disconnecting from the real world?

Without question, technology makes our lives easier. Instant communication on phones, instant money at ATMs, instant information on the Internet - it's a far cry from the days not so long ago when we had to actually wait for the bank to open to get cash and go to the library and read printed books to get information. Now, we're so used to getting what we want practically instantly, we've become a culture of instant gratification junkies!

But just because something is easier doesn't necessarily make it better. What about real connections? What about face-to-face interactions where we can read facial expressions and body language? What about connecting with others emotionally and not just with words? In fact, not even words - net speak, the abbreviated written language everyone now uses "to connect" because they're in such a hurry to get and receive their instant "fix." It's gotten to the point where it borders on absurd.

Not long ago, my teenage daughter and I were leaving a float building meeting to get ready for her school's homecoming parade. A friend of hers, Shane, was leaving as well, walking not five feet on the other side of us. My daughter pulled out her phone and began texting someone. When I asked her who, since all of her close friends had been at the meeting, she said, "Shane," as if it was perfectly normal to text someone that was standing a few feet away. She actually thought I was the strange one for asking. Do you know why? Because, for teenagers, it is perfectly normal to text instead of talk.

Now I know that each generation has its own "thing." In the '50s, it was poodle skirts, cruising in Chevys, and hanging out at drive-ins. In the '60s, it was tie dye, peace, drugs, and rock and roll. But at least there was more contact with human beings in previous generations than contact with back-lit screens.

Only time will tell the impact this newest "craze" will have on us and future generations. But one thing is for sure. Technology is here to stay, and although that's not necessarily a bad thing (there is some research that says technology actually enhances our social connections), it doesn't mean we can't lift our eyes up every now and then and actually see the sunrise and blue skies. See the real emotions of the people we care enough about to reach out and touch so much through emails, texts, and phone calls. Technology may have made our world much smaller, but that doesn't mean there's not a great, big, beautiful world still out there. It's just waiting for us to look up and click on it.