Being Human In the Age of the Electronic Mob

“Has the Internet seduced us into thinking that we can in fact live in a world without other flesh and blood people, we can just deal with screen people.” Paul Comrie-Thomson

Photo @ illuminati-news.com

The other day I was talking with a friend who commented on how the use of the Internet has made people so impersonal that it’s taking the place of human interaction.

She said that “people are missing out on real pivotal moments in life because they are too plugged in, always stuck in front of the computer.”

After I got off the phone, I called at least 3 people to say hi, not that I don’t call them anyway, but I’m technology dependent, and sending an email hello is “normal”, preferred really.

Instead of picking up the phone to emotionally connect with someone and listening to their voice, phone calls have been replaced by text messaging, emails or tweets.  Technology has made it so that we don’t have to deal with humans if we don’t want to.

A few weeks ago, we had dinner with an elderly family friend, she has to be at least 89 years old, visiting from Virginia.

She passed out her calling card printed with her name, address and phone number on it.  After examining the card for a few seconds and looking on the back side, I said: “Where’s your email address, how am I supposed to contact you?”  She said, “Use the phone number.” ¹  Sometimes a phone call is better because we get to hear emotions and true feelings that we would not get in an email or text message.

I love the Internet, its usefulness, its convenience but life is not the sum of conveniences. In fact, it would probably be less convenient, but it might also be more meaningful, especially when we examine the social and psychological dislocations that it’s caused. ²

How do you stay “human” when technology makes it so easy for us to be emotionally detached.  Does time spent online outweigh the time spent interacting with family and friends?  Has technology affected our thinking and way of life that it is fast becoming, not our servant, but our master?

Additional Reading:
Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob

1.   I hate the phone [↩]
2. social isolation [↩]

Oh, Sense Less One

One thing I dislike about daylight savings time is having to drive home from work in the dark.  Reason being:  I can’t see.  I can’t count the number of times I have driven on the curb thinking it was a driveway or completely missing my turn altogether because I could not find the driveway.¹

If I have to drive at night, with people in the car, in between conversation I work in the occasional “I can’t see” or “I hope nobody steps out in front of the car” or “It sure is dark”, just so they know my last words.

I’m a great driver but sometimes I have to rely on my hearing to guide my way, or listen out for screams when I’m temporarily unable to see.  This got me to thinking would I rather be blind or deaf.  If I had to lose one of these two senses, which one could I live without?  As much as I LOVE music, I would have to give up my hearing because I could still be independent and deaf.

Several years ago, I took a course in ASL (American Sign Language) I never completed, but I’m still a quick finger speller and would have no problem communicating as a deaf person.  If however, I lost my sight….well I get lost with the lights on. I would not be able to cope as well.

Out of curiosity which one would you choose?  Would you rather be blind or deaf and why?

Additional Reading:
Cardiogirl.net - The Book of Questions

1. or exit [↩]

Finger Clicking Good’gaud That Hurts!

A little over a week ago I started feeling a nagging pain in my right index finger, especially around the joint area.  The pain went away and then a few days later it returned.  I thought it was kind of weird for only one of my fingers to be hurting, but okay.

Then I thought, maybe the pain had something to do with the graph below.  I’m not an EntreCard drop master, yet, but do you think the repetitive clicking and scrolling has anything to do with it? ¹

Of course, I can’t tell anyone why my finger really hurts.  The real reason would seem so silly or too embarrassing that it’s just not worthy of the truth.  Surely, I can come up with something a lot more colorful that will leave a crowd of listeners on the edge of their seats.

Here’s my “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it” reason for the soreness: I hit my finger on a tree branch while parachuting out of a plane. Much better.  I’m a brave daredevil not a repetitive mouse clicker.  A sore finger from dropping?  I don’t think so.

Meanwhile, my finger continues to receive lots of TLC, massages and stretching. If that doesn’t work then I still have one more digit that is capable of clicking until I have to use my left hand.

What’s your most unbelievable injury story?  I know it’s funny, so spill it. Did you fess up or did you paint a colorful picture?

1. Can you say class action? [↩]

Answering Comments: Obligation, Optional or Off?

I hate to “beat a dead horse”, but I see movement and would like to know your thoughts. All bloggers love receiving comments on their blog, but as a blog grows, for some, life gets in the way and responding to all comments can take a lot of time.

So what do you do, respond to some and ignore the others? Post less and spend more time interacting with your readers? It might take me a few days, but for now I like responding to each comment.

Comments are like multiple births. I have 6 of a kind, but each one is treated as an individual.

What about turning comments off for certain posts?  This is not a favorite of mine, so I won’t do it here,¹ because I don’t like the feeling of being shut out.  However, some blog posts, like this one, don’t require interaction in the comment section from the blogger. Should you let your readers know you won’t be responding?

I admit, if I leave repeated comments on a blog and the blogger never responds, I lose interest.  I like feeling that I’m talking to a person and not a wall.

How do you feel when a blogger doesn’t respond to your comment?  What if the comments are turned off, are you?  Should a blogger respond to every comment?  What’s the protocol on your blog?

I’ve shared my feelings, so I will leave the comment section open for your thoughts.

Additional Reading and Plug-ins

Is There A Such Thing As Commenters Burnout?
A.S.K. Darren Rowse: How Does a Problogger Deal With Comments
How to get more comments on your blog
Close Old Posts - Closes comments on old posts on the fly, by default it’s 14 days
Comment Time Out - Comment Timeout closes comments on old posts on your blog

1. although I did once, but that post is so buried no one will be able to find it [↩]

breaking up is hard to do

…especially when you find a hair stylist who understands that “cut” does not mean “butcher”.

anywho, i’m happy with my current hair stylist, but since we both moved, it’s no longer convenient¹ for me to travel to her shop. i’ve been doing it myself² because having someone else do my hair feels too much like cheating.  call me crazy, no call me loyal. as if she would know.

however, one friday, the urge hit and i had to have my hair done now.  i ran out of the house like i was late for an appointment, only i didn’t go to my regular salon, i went to where my SIL gets her hair done. maybe it was my job location but i’ve always gone to a dominican hair salon and this place was a dominican hair salon. great.

i walked in and asked for a perm, cut³ trim and a color rinse.  i was told to have a seat and someone would be right with me. uh huh. right.

now in some dominican hair salons, your name is gender based.  if you’re a female, your name is mommy, if you’re a male your name is poppy.  after years of answering to Bah la rie, calling me mommy now is like taking two giant steps backwards in a game of mother may i.

while i wait on the next available stylist i pretend to read and then I hear it, “mommy come”. i know someone is talking to me because i’m the only one who doesn’t have a towel on their head.  i’m so anxious to get started that i want to run and strap myself to the chair and say, “put it in” ⁴, but instead i do the “you talkin’ to me i’m so surprised hand on my chest gesture”.

i calmly walk over to my assigned station and about 25 minutes later i’m moved from the operating chair to the recovery area. the perm was a success, it just needs to be washed out.  the shampoo girl preps me by stuffing towels around my collar and then she drapes a cape around me from the back, only the velcro doesn’t hold.  so she tells me to do the job the velcro won’t and hold the two openings tightly around my neck.

like an obedient fool, i’m holding on to those two ends for dear life and a dry shirt, but i’m slightly gasping for air so i release my death grip and take a few breaths (when she wasn’t looking of course…i’m sure i said something about me being too old to be sneaking oxygen).

so as she’s washing my hair, i’m leaning back in the most uncomfortable position and i realize i’m doing all the work.  she’s not even supporting my head and it’s heavy.  (support the head, support the head). um, my neck gets enough exercise, but after wash no. 4 my head becomes a burden to my neck and i’m ready to drop it.

you want to know how difficult this is?  david blaine won’t even attempt it.  he might be able to hang upside down for 60 hours, but he cannot lean back in a salon chair and hold his head over a sink for 9 straight washes. endurance artist my foot!

9 washes? was my hair really that dirty? with each wash my message was the same: support the head, support the head.  of course, she doesn’t understand english too well so i could have said night of the living dead and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

while she was scrubbing my scalp she was kind enough to say in english, “okay“? from my past experience this means: am i hurting you or am i scrubbing too hard. i’m like no, in fact, if you don’t scrub harder i might hurt you.  of course i don’t say that, but next time, i’ll have to bring my piece of paper that says “please scrub harder” written in spanish with me.

next i was told to go and she pointed in the direction of the operation station.  i’m thinking what happened to my color rinse?  i look into the mirror and there’s more gray hair coming out of my scalp than my black permanent sharpie marker can handle. i don’t mind gray hair, but this time i wanted it colored.

“what happened to my color rinse”?

“let me see your receipt”.

“see, it says right here: you are obligated to wash that gray right outta my hair“.

“come”.

i get up and we go back to the baptismal pool area.  i have to wait on a translator, but i decide to go with my natural hair color, a medium brown rinse, just to fill in the gray.  after she’s done applying the color to my hair, she slaps a plastic bag on my head, nearly covering my eyelids and has me sit under the dryer for about a half-hour.

after my half hour is up, i have to get my hair washed yet again! support the head, support the head. oh forget it!  i slide down in the already too less of a chair to get my neck to rest on that groove in the sink and I use all my quivering neck muscles to hold my head over the sink like a champ.  3 more washes and i come out of the pool looking for my gold medal.  with my glasses off, that outstretched hand could have been anything, instead it was my signal to go.

after the foregoing process, the rest was easy. my hair was trimmed, rolled and dried. 3 hours and 45 minutes later i had cooperative, bouncy hair and i was happy for a first time visit.

do i have a point? oh yeah, my hairdresser.  we have to break up.  i like her because she’s familiar and i like the way she cuts/styles my hair.  i’m just no good at long distant relationships, especially when i found someone who, with training, has real potential in becoming my new hair stylist.  she’s much closer to my home and my job, is less expensive, there’s parking and they are open 7 days a week. that’s a lot to be ignored.

so how do you feel about people who serve you on a regular basis.  your stylist?  your barber?  do you feel a sense of loyalty toward them or are you okay with trying out new people?

Photo of Neon sign by By Shira Golding
Photo of salon chair by VeecoManufacturing.com
Photo of hair dye DrugStore.com

1. i would drive, hop a subway and then walk [↩]
2. and going bald in the process [↩]
3. wait, i don’t know her [↩]
4. the perm! [↩]