Technology – the robot generation

Technology - it's everywhere in case you haven't heard. But more specifically communication technology is what I have been thinking about this week.

We have so many insane ways to talk to each other now, blue tooth, blackberry, regular cell phones, e mail, texting, blogs, MySpace, your space, our space but who wants' all this space when you don't actually talk to someone?

It all sickens me, although I am part of the heard, but I haven't dived in head first to the river of technological madness. In fact, I hate technology, maybe because it scares me, but I think for the most part it makes us all systematic robots. I don't own a cell phone... seriously I used to have one but I gave it up. I don't need it now that I work from home. I have what they now call a "land line." Which sounds like something out of World War II, but in all actuality, a land line is just a fucking phone like we have had for 100 years now. But that is antiquated. I can't text on it, I can't look up scores of sporting events, or send ridiculous smiley icons to friends and lord knows I can't take it with me in my pocket or in my car. But you know what? I am perfectly fine with that. I am not a slave to technology.

I am not a social butterfly. In fact you could say I am a wallflower. I work from home and frankly I work my ass off. So I am always here. If you can't find me via my "land line" or by e mail, maybe I don't want you to find me, maybe I just don't want to talk to you or anyone at the moment. Do I always have to be in contact with people 24/7? I am not a doctor or lawyer so no I doubt that I do. I am a writer and that still is weird for me to say. But yes I am a writer. I get paid to write about porn and rock and roll. Not a bad gig if you can get it, but just don't expect to be rolling in a big SVU, which you can't even afford gas for anyway or sporting a Rolex from accomplishments of money you may have to have to prove your worth, because frankly freelance writing isn't a big money maker. But I get paid to write and I pay bills and I live pretty damn well for what I do I think.

I have never been a materialistic person so I don't need a lot to be happy. Just my friends, my music, porn and the ability to be myself. So I don't have a cell phone big deal. You can't call me when I am driving 80 M.P.H. down the highway, who's the smarter one now? I don't have a TiVo or DVR to record television shows, because those are time sucking machines. I watch a show and I watch it when it's on. I watch maybe a handful of shows at best, usually criminal shows like Law & Order, SVU, Criminal Minds, CSI NY.... Oh and Dirty Jobs, but there is nothing criminal about that, just maybe the grossness. But you got to admit it is fucking funny and it makes you appreciate your job more, well unless you are shoveling shit in a 100 degree sewer all day.

So yeah I am a dork or whatever you call me. But don't you think it is funny, not in a haha way, but in a sad way really that with all this technology, we lose touch with friends?? What the fuck is that all about. This week I contacted three friends, by e mail no less, because I don't have their phone numbers, so I guess it's justified in this rant. I haven't talked to these people in several months and I missed them. I missed a lot of people I haven't talked to in a couple of months because I got wrapped up in my own little world of work. Although let me clarify I don't consider what I do work. I did this as a hobby and somehow parlayed it into "career." So I contacted these friends and it was nice to hear back from them.

E-mails seem so impersonal however. But if you don't have a phone number or an address it is about your only way of communication.  So we got that going for us. However I used to write, I mean actually write hand written letters all the time. I loved to do that, it is a lost art indeed. Where you actually have to think to write and you can't use lame ass cute little abbreviations like R U 2 LMAO, etc. etc. As a society, we have gotten so fucking lazy with our language and communication it makes me want to toss this computer out my window into the rain.

Last year I lost a my Great Aunt, who happened to be 101 years old And even at that age she would occasionally write me hand written letters and be so sincere. She would tell me amazing stories of the early 1900s when life was so much harder, but also simpler in a way. I would always write her pack on plain white paper with blue pen and my chicken scratch hand writing. But when she passed away I didn't have anyone to actually write to, like write on paper and mail it. I think maybe my love for that was kind of lost when she passed away.

My biggest qualm about the communication using this elaborate technology is that the progression of it all was supposed to give us more free time from work to spend with friends and family. And now we just use that extra free time we made with technology to work more.

No one seems to talk anymore, like really sit down and talk unless it is about work or they talk in choppy key punched sentences filled with one-letter abbreviations and undesirable icons making me believe, we have actually reached the robot generation.