A technological love affair.

Today was lovely. I am at home for the moment, and oh how nice it is to peer outside my window at the spectacular views and crawl into my comfy warm queen size bed and hide from all my worry :) Chilling out reading Novembers Australian Vogue, I came across an interesting article on technology. Essentially it is saying that there are many people are now not just running their lives through technology, but are being run by it.

For me, my day will consist of at least 1-5 hours on the internet, at least a quarter of that time will be on facebook. All my research is done on the internet, and in fact other to use the internet in the library, I have not been in there this year.  I have stopped writing in a diary and started blogging instead. I check my phone constantly and receive somewhere between 10-20 messages per day, not including emails. I listen to my ipod when I exercise in order to block everything else out, and I will listen to it whenever I go somewhere, whether it be to uni or the shops or even just for a walk.  There is no doubt about it. I am completely addicted. I also do not think I am anywhere near what would be considered an extreme technology junkie.

Road tripping around New Zealand at the beginning of this year, a lot of the time we spent in the car, was spent watching movies on our computers. When the batteries ran out, out came the nintendos. Who cares about the snow capped mountains or the beautiful clear watered lakes. Eye spy is dead.

  I only ever speak to some of my friends on MSN or facebook because I never really have time to see them in person and all my photos from the last 4 or so years are in a folder on my computer somewhere because why print them out when I can look at them anytime anyway?

All this really got me thinking, that this is just plain sad. What happened to reading a book? Going for a walk and listening to the birds and the bees? Being self motivated while running and not motivated by the presets blasting full volume at your ear drums? What happened to playing handball and going bike riding when you are bored as opposed to doing all that on a games console in the lounge chair? Surely people can't be enjoying this laziness?

Technology leaves me with a jumble of feelings. Sad, excited, curious, loved, bored... the list goes on. I appreciate the upsides, but perhaps I am just being a little old fashioned, despite my love affair with technology, in being able to see through the pixilated haze, and appreciate that my best life experiences so far have been so far from anything battery operated, that the only thing being turned on within coo-ee of anything in those moments, was me.

"Could this be the thin end of the wedge, the beginning of some futuristic dystopian nightmare where connectivity actually makes us less connected?"

I dare you to not check your email today, and to write a letter and post it. Go on. Do it. Could even be fun!