Exterminate:Communicate

The more 'modern' and technologically saturated our society becomes the more I think we need to build certain 'glitches' or inefficiencies into our daily life. One only need look at the plethora of forms of interpersonal communication we have today: snail mail, email, telephone, cellphone, fax, twitter, facebook, and even blogging...The list could go on, but you get my point. We are in my opinion, simply overwhelmed by forms of communication.

The introduction of new cellphone applications like 'google lattitude' which enables you to track your friend's movements via google maps is an even more intrusive development that is making it evermore difficult to escape to, dare I say it, "be by oneself".

I am curious to know what psychological effects such technological 'developments' are having on our society. I think it is pretty safe to say that: 1) dependency issues are on the rise; 2) people are becoming more self-obsessed and egotistical; and 3) people are becoming increasingly apathetic to 'important issues' (whatever they are?) as their capacity for 'information' is exhausted by the sheer magnitude of innane interpersonal communication.

While I know that the most common argument against what I am saying is that the individual has the power to turn off their cellphone or not reply to emails. And yes, they do. However, the problem as I see it is that as the potential for contact becomes possible 24/7, so too does the expectation.

I am sure we have all sent a message by one form of communication or another and become exceptionally frustrated by the failure of the recipient to respond. My fear is that interpersonal communications' etiquette will become such that it is simply unacceptable to ignore the nagging beeps of one's cellphone or to turn it off while one enjoys a family dinner.

The pressure to be able to be contacted at all times coupled with the inflated sense of self importance that is perpetuated by facebook shrines to the self means that the individual will become convinced of the need to be contactable all day every day. Surely there is no better way to affirm one's self-importance than the ability to field another person's request of oneself instantaneously. What I mean by this is that regardless of the content of the text/email/tweet, it is the fact that another person believes that you have to know immediately what it is that this person has to communicate to you that in turn makes you feel important.

While I am not saying that I am completely innocent of this crime - I do, after all, write a blog! - my point is that we need to build inefficiencies into the systems of technology that swamp us: glitches that make it possible (and acceptable) to step outside the constant stream of information that comes our way.

This could be as easy as developing a culture that actively encourages people not to have cellphones, or, simply, to become more accepting of people's privacy and their desire to be out of contact. And yes, this is already possible. My concern however, is that as new generations are born with cellphones and facebook, they may never fully appreciate the importance of being by oneself.