The digital divide

It began as an occasional twinge... "I'd love to get an iphone - so much "gadget-liciousness" in the palm of my hand is sure to feel delicious!" Then it became a more particular sense of mourning... "if I had an iphone I could even take pictures and download them easily - for my blog, for painting inspirations..." And today, the final step in the process - panic at not being connected enough!!!: "If I had an iphone I could send an email to this person who's mobile phone I don't have on mine, and who I was supposed to meet 20 min. ago - has she texted me to cancel thinking I have a blackberry?!"

Such is the way in 21st century life and socializing. What begins as a cool gadget for the eternally busy is so quickly absorbed into the mainstream that within a question of months you feel like a complete looser if you are not in on it too. Still, I will try to stick to my experiment of - how long can you go without an iphone (and this is only partly due to the fact that I still don't have enough points to get it for free). I rebel against that sense of emergency that now permeates all of society.

The "twitterification" of our attention span, time management capacity, social skills is accelerating at warp speed. There are more adult instances of ADD than ever before in history.

Having a blackberry or an iphone does not mean you are free to think everyone should be at the other end hanging on your every word, your every desire as if you were the center of the universe. The technology of instant connection / gratification is turning our society into a society of narcissists of the worst kind. These instruments should allow us to be more flexible, they should not enslave us to others, be they high-handed clients, needy friends or greedy gossips! There are very few things which are truelly urgent in life.

So get a grip people!!

Try disconnecting for a couple of hours and read a book. Something by Alexander McCall Smith will help your heart rate simmer down, your brain relax and your soul remember that life is more beautiful when you stop to enjoy spring's lovely blooms. Feels good, doesn't it?