So, yesterday I had to return the old starter from my car that I replaced on the weekend and decided while I was going right past a place that sells tires, I would see about getting mine replaced before the long drive back to Maine coming up in a short while.
I parked and entered through the main doors. I was pleasantly surprised to be immediately greeted by a salesman. I told him what I was after. He gave me some options. I told him what I wanted and he wrote up a work order. While he was filling out the paperwork, I glanced around, taking particular notice of the glass wall to my left that looked out onto the work area. Not very busy it seemed.
After finishing up the order and handing over the car keys, I moved toward the glass. As near as I could tell, there were about 4 employees and two of them were sitting down on something with their cellphones out. Hmmm.
I turned and went back to the sitting area. On the way, I passed what appeared to be the office. The door was open and two men, including the one that waited on me, had their cellphones stuck in their faces. Hmmm.
I got to the sitting area where I found 3 people waiting for their cars to be serviced. Guess what? All three had cellphones crammed into their faces. I made it a point to say, “Hello, there!” Crickets. Hmmm.
At one point a service man approached the sitting area calling out someone’s name. It was not my name. Nobody responded, because they had their cellphones shoved into their faces. It took several attempts before somebody awakened from their zombie trance and claimed to be the owner of the car waiting outside.
It was not that many years ago that under similar circumstances, you could meet and engage with someone else in a waiting area. It made the time pass and it was interesting who some of the people were that you might meet. No longer.
It would be my biggest fantasy to one day, before it’s too late, to see every cellphone on the planet destroyed. But you keep convincing yourself just how “important” those devices are.
A Generation of Idiots? Zombies for Certain
I received an email today, one that has been around the Internet for at least a couple of years. In that email it quotes Albert Einstein as saying, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Along with this quote are pictures of young people, the majority of whom are engaged with their cellphones and not the people they are with. The photos are below.
It is doubtful that Albert Einstein ever made such a quote, although some believe that he may have made something resembling this and as is the case in today’s Internet circus, someone(s) have taken it upon themselves to edit quotes, or simply make them up in order to stir the emotions of people.
Regardless of if or what Albert Einstein might have said, I’ll steal the quote, change it a bit and present it as an observed fact and my own perception of things, rather than some bit of social prophecy. The day is now hear that technology has surpassed our human interaction. The world has a generation of non thinking, technology-absorbed zombies whose entire lives are controlled by a small piece of electronic gadgetry. It has become the god of choice.
For those that know me well, know that I despise cellphones and basically all mobile devices. Not for what they can do in positive ways, which is very little, but how it has destroyed us as a society. Where once valued, the ability to successfully interact with other humans, to understand their personalities and characters, is a lost and seemingly unimportant and unnecessary part of existence. I pity the person who believes this technology is an equal or better replacement for natural human interaction and interpersonal communication.
A Day at the Beach
Cheering on Your Team
Dinner Out with Friends
An Intimate Date
Having Conversation with Best Friend
A Visit to the Museum
Enjoying the Sights