Thinking tonight about how the pace of relationships in our age are so far beyond what they were when I was a teen and coming along. Every detail is practically shared via text / skype / instagram / twitter etc...Our phones/ PC / Tablets have become an extension of who we are; as unique to ourselves as the very clothes we wear and the bodies we inhabit. We are connected down to a factor of +/- 1 hour: meaning that if we don't hear an update in that time frame from our significant other(s) we immediately begin to worry if something has gone wrong. I can remember when that factor was closer to +/- 5-6 hours. Thinking things like "if there was a problem, surely they'll stop, find a payphone and call." Our expectations in a relationship seem almost these days to expect this level of detail and routine check in. Not necessarily saying here that this is a bad thing on most counts but its an interesting observation when compared to the structure and interaction level of relationships 30 years ago.
I recall how when I wanted to get a message to someone important to me that I would have to plan the time to make a call / go by wherever they were or, by hand, write a letter. It intrigues me when I watch a period drama such as Downton Abbey (set in early 20th century aristocratic England) where they'll wait days and weeks to receive a response to a correspondence, Things were more formal then and they did not say things such as OMG and RU kidding.....It sometimes causes me a slight bit of anxiety to consider myself in their day and having to wait and stress over a letter that might not come for 2 more weeks, How absurd by today's standards and seemingly ancient. I daresay that many of us do not have the fortitude it takes to hold steady without hearing from our loved ones for 2 weeks at a time without feeling a bit at least of hardship and stress. Its not what we're accustomed to in our culture.
In my reading I'm at times drawn to the dystopian futuristic novels that share a common element of a bleak, broken remnant of society which has been decimated via some cataclysmic event and further crippled by a too-long dependence on technology that now no longer exists. Weary remaining humans struggling to communicate because there is no more texting / voice call / email / facebook. Where would we be? I often wonder if I were to transport my relationships from today to 30 years ago how would things be different based on the much slower pace and lesser methods of communication that would be available then. Would things be the same or fall apart? How much are we really dependent on technology? Its an interesting physio/psycho/technological study for which I don't know of any quantitative answers.
Perhaps in the future the telepathy gap will finally be bridged and, thanks to an implant of some kind, we will all be able to know each others thoughts and desires simply because all our minds will be connected and acting as a single neural network. There would be no more secrets and the form of humanity would shift and change yet again. The differences in humanity would be more than we could really contemplate from this day and age.
Interesting ideas but for now I'm out of time....
Skype is beeping at me and its been at least an hour since anyone has heard from me so I'd better go !
TTYL
No comments:
Post a Comment