It would be impossible to contact anyone on this planet because most of the inhabitants are already floating somewhere out there in cyberspace. Their eyes are transfixed on computer screens while their cell phones are embedded deep inside the ear canal next to the brain!The people of the 21 century are enslaved by cyber technology and from the neck up they are becoming computerized robots. They have abandon their inherent physical and spiritual strengths for the mechanical beast, but not without a price to pay. I would like to believe we are still sensitive, interactive and intelligent life forms and that we haven't substituted the uniqueness of our individual characteristics to be an Apple or a Blackberry!
When was the last time you looked at a sunset, (excluding the one on your screen saver) had a conversation with a person face to face (not using your computer, cellphone or texting) and do you remember the last time you went for a walk with no alterier motives? Times have changed in the last 30 years and it’s whirling around like the clocks in Alice and Wonderland.
Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to those days when life was much simpler? Do you remember how time dragged by when you were young? If there were 24 days until Christmas it felt like 24 light years to another planet. Everything appeared to be evolving in slow motion and in reality, I believe time was on our side. We demanded our privacy and enjoyed our freedom... in the good old days when we were the master of our soul.
People seemed more laid back and content. Computer technology was no where in sight and in someways we might have been a little better off without it. We worked an 8 hour shift and not a minute later; no one wanted to pay overtime and when the work day was done, it was, “hit the road Jack!” And your boss would never think of calling you at home after hours, unless the office building had burned down or you were fired! It was important to keep the personal life separated from the professional life and we managed to do it without a hitch!
Resting in the palm of our hand was usually the hand of a loved one, not a cellphone. If someone called on the home phone while preoccupied, nine times out of ten we would have said, “I am busy, take a message and I’ll call them back later.”
Our children had fingers they used for something more productive than texting. They playing the piano, loading the dishwasher, cleaned their rooms, took out the trash, mowed the lawn and even scratched their own heads. They also knew how to tell time on a traditional clock and count change using real dollar bills and coins; these abilities are becoming obsolete. (A few weeks ago, I had to assist a sales lady in counting my change when her digital register shut down.) Hello, is anyone in there?
Our society believes that computers, cellphones, iPods, Touch Pads, gadgets and widgets are the greatest innovations of all times. We were told the computerized generation would free up precious time by allowing us to be more productive during working hours, thus providing more quality time to spend with our families or our private lives.
Wrong Captain Cyberspace, this generation was taken prisoner in the 1970s by the Darth Vader of computerized technology and the inhabitants of Earth are being held captive according to their free will. Earthlings now resemble zombies similar to those in the movie The Night of the Living Dead, but the facts conclude that this technology came like a thief in the night! It crept in slowly like the body snatchers, stealing the souls of our loved ones and leaving us with someone we hardly recognize!
All the valuable time we dreamed of spending with our families in the privacy of our homes was really just a dream. The average person spends 4 to 6 hours on the computer daily, 1440 minutes on their cellphones, and texting has surpassed all those figures.
I was siting in the airport trying to have a moment of peace and there were several cellphone conversations going on around me at the same time, bouncing off my ear drums (which was so frustrating because everyone was trying desperately to have a conversation 50 decibels above all the others)!
The average daily work hours have increased considerably because of the cyber world in which we live. People work in airports, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and even their automobiles. They sacrifice their personal time and late nights at home to complete work related business.
I was siting in the airport trying to have a moment of peace and there were several cellphone conversations going on around me at the same time, bouncing off my ear drums (which was so frustrating because everyone was trying desperately to have a conversation 50 decibels above all the others)!
The average daily work hours have increased considerably because of the cyber world in which we live. People work in airports, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and even their automobiles. They sacrifice their personal time and late nights at home to complete work related business.
When cellphones first came out, I resisted getting one for years; I wanted to preserve my anonymity. One fine day when I was at my daughters home visiting, she left me one of their cellphones while she went to run some errands. She wasn’t gone too long when I heard it ringing somewhere in the living room. I quickly grabbed what I thought was a cellphone, pushed the green power button and placed it to my ear. My 9 year old grandson said, “Grandma, that’s the channel changer.” That's when I realized I was inept and had to get with the times.
Now, I have become a product of the environment and today I am striving to catch up with technology as it whirls by at the speed of sound. As a writer, I have my computer running at least 8 to 14 hours a day and my cellphone is always next to me. Most nights, I sleep with it by my pillow just in case there is an emergency. A few mornings I have found the button imprints on the side of my face.
I truly miss the days when we worked less and played more, when a control panel operated the USS Enterprise, a disk was an Unidentified Flying Object, a download was a long time in the bathroom, an upload was hitting the fridge around midnight, a floppy was a bad hair day or a worn out brassiere, a hard drive was when I wrecked my dad’s car, icons were The Beatles, Paul Newman and Elvis, the Scroll Bar was on the corner of 5th & Main Street, the server was the waitress at the Scroll Bar, a boot was what you got if your spouse caught you at the Scroll Bar, user friendly was someone with a bad reputation, a megabyte was the mistake of sharing your pizza with a big brother, and a memory was something we all had when we were young!
Time is the gift of life and must be spent wisely, it cannot be duplicated or replaced! We cannot kill time, but time can kill us! We are blessed to have the time to choose, the time to love and the time to live.
Time is the gift of life and must be spent wisely, it cannot be duplicated or replaced! We cannot kill time, but time can kill us! We are blessed to have the time to choose, the time to love and the time to live.
by, Linda Sumner Urza, One fine day
I want to thank everyone who has supported my blog and shared it with friends and family. I love creative writing and enjoy sharing my bizarre experiences and craziness with others. I believe laughter is the best medicine and second best would be sharing a box of chocolates with your best friend. Thanks everyone, you brighten my days!
