no point really

A Semi-Critics Guide to Human Interaction

Guest posting by Jonathan H. (Pennsylvania)

It’s 8:30am and your bluetooth rings; “Hey I’ll be there in five minutes can you cover for me with the boss? I know I’m running late traffice seems bad let me see if I can gps my way out of this traffic jam using my Blackberry. Goodbye.” Instantaneously as you hang up, your smart phone beeps with that annoying sound you set for when your boss shoots you a quick text as to why you’re not at your desk yet. Upon arriving to work you scramble to check your emails from the previous day on your work commissioned laptop that you aren’t allowed to access from home. Fifteen minutes later you finish all return email correspondence that you missed after you had left the office the previous day. Yep, its your morning routine, every morning and throughout the day technology keeps you up to the minute on news, work alerts, missed assignments and appointments, your schedule for the day, and the ever so popular “How many times my heart has beat so far today” app that you just couldn’t resist downloading…

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to be connected via technology 24/7, I’m just saying that sometimes technology ushers us into a state of being that is more humanoid than human, Human 2.0 if you will. With the onset of a vast high speed wireless lifestyle comes a great responsibility for us who have chosen to wield the awesome powers of technology to preserve the ancient fleeting art of “face to face human interaction.” Holding a position in an industry that still requires constant interaction with non-conformers, I have begun to notice that we tech acolytes have alienated ourselves from those who refuse to adopt a techno-centric lifestyle.

Human polity is at an all time low and we are the ones to blame. In order to convey a somewhat worthy point (yet no point really) let me voice a few grievances from the other side of the firewall. Standing in line on the phone: Ok, I know this is an old one but still a valid grievance. We stand in line with a hurried pace while carrying on a conversation on our mobile phone. The technology illiterate cashier says her mandatory “Hi how are you today” only to get a disapproving nod from us as we show our irritation for the interruption. Is it the cashier’s fault we are on an “important” phone call as we hold them captive to serve us as we move along ignoring their very existence? Probably not but hey we are the techno-centric afterall. Using 1,337 terms in conversation: One of my favorites; how many non-techno-centric individuals do you know who actually know the meaning of the ‘phrase’ “lol”? Not many; I have heard quips such as “lol” and “hold on I gotta tweet” and “its on my Facebook” bring conversations to a screeching standstill. Why do we communicate these sentiments to the over 35 crowd?

Most of the time our technology centered speech contributes to an ever increasing generation gap between us and the middle aged/geriatric crowd. Texting with individuals in close proximity to us: “Secrets, secrets are no fun, secrets, secrets can hurt someone.” Ever want to say something funny to someone in a room about someone else in the same room? Whatever happened to good ol’e fashioned whispering? Not in the days of mobile devices. In today’s world you can’t properly make fun of someone if you aren’t wireless enabled. All in all I love technology, I can’t get enough of it in fact. I just want to say that not everyone shares our sentiments of the technology dominated lifestyle. If its not for them that’s ok but we who are tech savvy must also use care when interacting with such individuals. Be courteous, be personable, and most of all be understanding and tolerant of the lifestyle they choose to live. If we can just walk a mile in their shoes (without using a mobile enabled gps) we will find that it can be challenging to keep up in such a fast paced world without a certain level of technological know-how. It can be downright terrifying.

Jonathan’s non-Point: Humans are people too!

This guest post was made by Nathaniel’s good friend, Jonathan (one of the many Jonathans Nathaniel knows). Jonathan lives with his wife Heather and cat Bagheera, in southwestern Pennsylvania.