Monday, June 2, 2008

Speechless. Technology killed Convo.

It was an incredible weekend. Plenty to do, beautiful weather in New York City, but I noticed a strange fact....I was on my blackberry non-stop for four days, but I only actually spoke (used my mouth) to people IN PERSON. Sounds normal right? It's not.

From the moment my plane touched down. I ping'd friends to let them know I had landed. My sister texted where she was, my husband texted good night, I was IMing jokes about Bill Murray's divorce with a co-worker. Nonstop.

People cry foul that we are in an era of instant gratification, and I agree.... But I think it is more than that. If all these people are available to look down from whatever they were doing and type on tiny keys of a blackberry or sidekick, or (gasp) flip phone...why can't we chat for two seconds? THAT is instant. I hate to say it, but I MISS hearing my friends voices.

I think its actually a matter of inconvenience and laziness. It's far easier to type and text and banter about nothing and feel guilt-free. Who is going to sit on the phone and talk the way we text? Take for example, Saturday night. Thanks to LDiva (Divaliciousblog) we were enjoying the ubercool vibe at GoldBar.

A place where 6 foot models are a dime a dozen, drummers and musicians sit around to the best music track I have ever heard in a bar. No cameras allowed, golden skulls lined the wall, and it is so small that no matter where you are, you can see everybody.This is the same place Jonathan Ames wrote a SPIN Magazine article about Lenny Kravitz, when John Mayer, Cameron Diaz and Zach Braff were sitting around. Funny, how fast my life can switch scenes. I'm writing this sitting next to a 3 yr old watching "Handy Manny" now....


We perched our pretty little butts on the same VIP couches as who-knows-who and enjoyed our cocktails. But suddenly, we were on our phones...texting and planning for the next step. There was NO way we could get any of our other friends into this place, so we needed to leave to meet others somewhere...uh...less cool. I looked around and EVERYONE had a blue LED light casted on their faces from some type of phone.

I get it. The friend I was trying to meet up with and I went back and forth until 3:00am texting: "where r u now?" I see why that would be annoying on a phone. It seems less invasive as 4 syllables on a screen. The revolution of IM/Text/social networking and instant grat-communication is full steam ahead. Honestly, if you don't jump on board you will be left with silence. Shite, I am straddling the caboose of it, and I still can barely remember what my friends voices sound like!


Soon, we wont even have to type, someone will figure out how to read our minds and transmit that. Which I hope never happens because I will need a BIG HONKING SELF-EDIT button. Think about all those times you type a text and then shake your head and hit back space rapidly: "I want to eat your lips and lick your ears" (wait, no delete, delete, delete). "Hey, how are you?"

I know we can't disconnect completely...but for the love of Mack can you pick up a PHONE!?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well, if this is the way it has to be these days, THANK GOD we look so cute in the cast of blue LED light... I mean, of all the colors, blue is arguably universally flattering. It's really just a shame our friends on the other end couldn't see us, let alone hear us ;)