The Age of Gadgets - the Fall of Today's Society

If you were born after 1985, chances are you won't remember living without all the thingamajigs we have at our disposal today. There may even be some of you that were born before 1985 that don't remember your world without personal computers (PC), cell phones, electronic organizers just for the simple fact that you depend so heavily on these gadgets in yours everyday life. Can you imagine what your life would be like if you didn't have that cell phone at your waist or that electric car-door opener in your pocket or purse? As a person born way before 1985, I am seriously wondering if all this personal technology is really a good thing or if it gets in the way of people being able to be trusted, to trust anyone else, to genuinely think for himself or herself, or even be mentally well.

The first thing anyone does when they connect to the Internet via the personal computer, laptop, or cell phone is to choose what is called a "user name" and a password for their connection that supposedly is to keep things private. If you truly believe that your information is being kept private while you surf the web, I have some excellent residential property in the middle of the Everglades that I'd sell to you. When I got on the Internet for the first time, I was far from clever about choosing a user name and password but as soon as I found message boards and forums to join, I was almost leading a double life. I made my user name the one I would have picked for myself instead of my actual name. I did the same with the online email site I decided to have as a backup.

Unfortunately, I'm notorious for being truthful so the idea of living a double life just didn't work out for me. I ended telling everyone who thought my name was my user name about how I chose the name and what my real name is. However, most people are not like me. Lying is easy for most people and they have to work at being honest. Cyber space is full of people living fabricated lives telling people through emails, chat rooms, instant messengers, and forums about things happening in their lives that just isn't so. Just look at the movie, "You've Got Mail" with the user names "ShopGirl" and "NY152". Is the Internet creating multiple personal disorders?

The cell phone presents a whole other psychological problem. I'm a fan of the TV show, "Law & Order". When I see Detective Curtis or Detective Green answer their cell phones, politely say, "Excuse me a minute.", and then while walking away say into the phone, "Hello" to whoever it is, I can't help thinking how important the show is making that character look. He is so important that whatever is needed from him at the police station just can't wait. I wonder if people with cell phones in the real world are getting an ego boost every time their cell phone rings. Are cell phones creating a society of people with over inflated egos?

Have you been in a doctor's office lately? If you have, chances are whoever else was in the waiting room was doing what is called text messaging on their cell phone or was updating their electronic organizer. Hey, does anyone know how to read more than two sentences or even write those two sentences out anymore? Sometimes I seriously doubt it. With both the cell phone text-messaging feature and the electronic organizer, knowing how to abbreviate is the key to operating these devices effectively. Is society becoming non-conversant because of technology? Or maybe it's worse. Could the people of today have lost the ability to think without the use of gadgets?

Don't get me wrong. The computer, cell phone, electronic organizer, and any gadgets I haven't mentioned have purposes that can benefit society. But after watching how people act in everyday life these days, I have the opinion that most people misuse the gadgets to the point where they are missing out real life. I consider myself an easy person to know. I'm likely to talk to the person sitting next to me the counter of a local diner just to make conversation, but anymore, there isn't anyone at the counter having a cup of coffee. Everyone is at home still in his or her pajamas seeing who's in a chat room online. In my opinion, we are slowly becoming a society of neurotics. The only thing that will save us is to go out and experience real life for at least few hours on a daily basis without any of the gadgets.