more thoughts on technology

Funny how things can change in a week.  I now have a smartphone (the first cell phone I have ever paid anything for) - "Welcome to the 21st century" is what one of my siblings said :-)  - and I also received a Kindle Fire as a Christmas gift (quite a surprise).  I will be the first to say that I am already super-impressed by what both are able to do . . . so much info now available at my fingertips and at almost any time and in any location!  And I now know what Angry Birds is ;-)

That said, if you know me at all, you know about my hesitancy when it comes to some aspects of technology and social media, etc.  Like anything, there are pro's and con's - potential for really good things (staying connected to people I care about, learning new things, entertainment, online purchases that save me time, etc). - but also potential for not-so-good things.  So as I've seen already how easy it is to run a Google search the minute a thought pops in my brain or to end up surfing the Web for an hour without realizing it, I am reminded of how much I want to be sure that technology is a tool that is helping me live my life well - and not something that is running my life.  I do not want to be one of those people who can't focus on a conversation or eat a meal or be silent and still because of an ever-present need to check their phone!  As one of my friends articulated several years ago, I want to live an "embodied life" - one in which I am engaged with others in a very present way.  Can technology & social media help me accomplish that?  Definitely.  But I also see ways in my own life where they just as easily hinder it.

So why blog about this?  Partly to process the thoughts in my head - but also as a measure of accountability!  And maybe even as a way to starting thinking about how I can use these new gadgets as tools in a helpful way . . . instead of just going on auto-pilot and using them just because I have them - or using them just the way most people around me do.

I read an article this morning that relates to all this: Why In-Person Socializing is a Mandatory To-Do Item. (Complete with a reference to the "third place" concept, which I was introduced to by the now-classic "You've Got Mail" . . . )  The title is a bit depressing (are we seriously to the point that we have to think about in-person interaction as something on our daily agendas??) - but it's a quick read, and one that makes some points worth considering.