Tuesday, August 20, 2013

My Relationship to the 21st Century.

Ok Ok Ok...I have been M I A for a minute. I have had to gather my thoughts. This has been a bit of a trying time for me. So this post will focus on my relationship with the world. I never knew how alone I was feeling until a few days ago. Don't get me wrong, I am in a wonderful relationship, it's just that I have always felt like no one understands me. It's inbred, I guess. For so long it's been me for everybody and no one for me and that's a lonely feeling.

Well, I now know that I am not alone, but my relationship with the world is still on shaky ground. It seems that for some reason, I am considered a miscreant because I am not willing to conform to the rigid rules that are set forth by a puritanical society filled with hypocrites. The crazy part is that I am finding other people are feeling the same way. So it can't be just me.

So I guess that it's now time to ask have I lost touch with the world, or has the world lost touch with me? It seems that the only way to connect with anyone is through social media and to some extent that is good. Over the course of the last few days I have met several new friends, but does that take the place of meeting someone in person and say, having coffee or drinks. I think not. So media has it's advantages, but it does not replace human interaction.

I miss those days when a conversation was not interrupted by the chiming of the cell phone. I miss those days when you could go to the store and did not have to hear someone's one-sided conversation over nonsense. We made it for almost a hundred years without all of these technological advances and we were, in my opinion, better off for it.

The flip side of that, we would lose so much. But if it's not advancing society as a whole, then does it really serving a purpose? I would so much so like to say yes, with the madness I see posted across social media, I am inclined to believe that it's at a point where it's becoming deleterious to society because no one is implementing any controls. Children are filming themselves doing things that should know better than. Adults are doing things that is reminiscent of adolescents. Where are the boundaries? How can we make this medium that we have all become so accustomed to more educational and use it to advance our society instead of putting forth wretchedness?

I am saddened by the lack of anything that remotely relates to parental oversight. I am saddened by the ability of adults to utilize their "smart phone" for such "DUMB STUFF". I am flabbergasted at the number of parents I see give their kids tablets and smart phones, not for educational purposes, but to keep them busy. It's a travesty. I have no answers for this. I can see no way out.