The unfortunate trend of underestimating the power of a smile, face to face, is nudging us not so slowly towards the end of human interaction.
I think by now we all have sufficiently experienced the "small-world-ness" that the technology age has afforded us. I find people I haven't been in touch with for 30 years. I ask questions, get answers, and find out random information about any subject in a matter of minutes. I play music from something that fits inside my mouth! Amazing as all this progress is, it is also paralyzing the fundamentals of human nature.
Some years ago when my husband first got his Blackberry, he might have been one of the first addicts. I had put it in the silverware drawer in hopes of having his attention for 10 uninterrupted minutes. When there was this obnoxious rattling coming from somewhere near where we were standing, I knew it was going to be a long battle.
While more and more people have Blackberrys; controversy, discussions, public forums, articles, and statistics clearly outline the deterioration of public conduct.
A couple of weeks ago I shamefully became, yet again, another targeted consumer. I was totally sucked into the 'buy 1 Blackberry and get the 2nd one free' campaign. And if that isn't bad enough, the free one went to my 15 year old daughter.
Of course my BB practices will be...aahhhhh NO! I won't even say it. I will not be any better than any other technophile. It's been two weeks, max, and I am so bad. Rude social conduct; from corresponding or searching while someone is talking to me to figuring out any number of "how tos" at a stop light. Yes, definitely shameful.
However, I do have the learning curve in my favor. I am aware of my habits, which does count for something, right? And I am committed to practicing Blackberry etiquette everyday (formerly known as humanity and random acts of kindness).
This brings me to the point of this blog (BTW I realize none of this has anything to do with my business of interior design or three.home). It is really challenging not to explore, play, correspond, zone out, or multi-task when in possession of one of these little, mobile, limitless creations. However, not all exploring, playing, corresponding, zoned-out Blackberry owners intend to disrespect, ignore, or annoy the person with whom they are face to face.
That being said, with my most sincere apologies to all who have experienced this bad behavior in my company, and to all those who undoubtedly will, I am committed to the weighty task of keeping my behavior in check and resisting (mostly) the temptation and the ever captivating lore of my new toy. A new toy that just happens to connect us to the future (and our children).
