On why I think I’m over technology?

Once, I had a friend who, when asked if she had any upcoming nights free, would flippantly respond – “I don’t know. Check my Google calendar!”

I found that to be incredibly rude.

Granted, I don’t know my schedule without my planner in front of me, but I’m not going to force you to go to my purse, pull out my planner, look up next week, and find a date I’m free. Are you Britney Spears? Is your schedule so intense you need handlers? No? Then look at your own damn Google Calendar.

I’m getting over technology. Or rather, I’m not over technology, but I’m over the disconnect from people it seems to create.

If you’re having a party, telling me to check facebook for the details is annoying. Really? Sure, I’ll head home right now, boot up my computer, log in to facebook, dig around for your page, find the invite, and read it. I have nothing better to do than to spend my time doing that.

Lately, I’ve come to the realization that I haven’t actually spoken to many of my friends at length in forever, though through the aid of gchat, facebook, and other forms of digital communication, it feels like I have.

It was 11:00 the other evening, and I was home alone and wanted someone to talk to – and realized, when it comes down to it, without getting online, there was no one to talk to. The people I thought about calling would think something was wrong if I called them at 11pm, not that I was simply bored and wanted to talk.

Perhaps that’s why I feel Aleisha is my closest friend. Though we’re facebook and gchat friends, most of our communication is done via phone, so at least there’s a human connection there, even though it’s still in a digital form. (She lives in another state, so coffeeshop meetings aren’t possible.) Since leaving POC, my only communication with any members of the company has been strictly digital, which makes it feel like an aside. When I lived with Brent, that was always an easy connection, but now that we don’t see each other for 10 hours a day every day even we are reduced to mainly a gchat relationship. I’m merely stating a fact by saying that 75% or more of Bob and my friendship is thanks to gchat. Even my Mom has gotten into it – I used to be able to call either the house phone or her cell phone and talk to her, but now I don’t get a response unless I text.

Facebook is an awesome tool. I’m not going to lie. I’m as addicted as anyone else of my generation, but I think it has it’s dangerous side. Not dangerous in a physical sense (though I can see how stalking is made a million times easier with the aid of it) but dangerous in a futuristic, humans-losing-the-ability-to-speak-in-person, kind of way. I hate nothing more than when someone sends me a link to something on facebook, or tells me to check facebook for something, and I have to go through the logging in process and dig around to find something that could have probably been easier explained.

I can’t deal with twitter – I had an account, but I feel like very few people are actually interesting enough to have twitter. I can’t think of one person who I would follow on twitter who I don’t already feel like follow through gchat and facebook. It’s unnecessary. Even for celebrities. I probably don’t care about your opinions, or what club you’re partying at tonight, famous people – or at least people who want to get more famous. I don’t see Brad Pitt twittering. George Clooney, I’m pretty sure, doesn’t Twit. Nope, it’s douches like Ashton Kutcher and those fake morons from The Hills who twitter non-stop. (Which just SCREAMS “Pay attention to me! Me! MEEEE!”)

No, I don’t want a Kindle. Books might be cumbersome, but I already carry a cell phone and an ipod with me everywhere I go. I don’t need another cloying piece of technology to worry about breaking or getting stolen as well.

It’s information overload. And, you know what, I don’t retain every single piece of info, every status update, every photo added, etc. (And don’t get me started on quizzes. No matter how much I love you, I do not care what city you should be living in, what disco song is your mantra, what character from Twilight you are, which zodiac sign your soulmate is, or what kind of sports superstar you’re destined to be. Really.)

Maybe this is coming because I’m a receptionist and alone (or with visitors who I don’t know or care to know) for 8 hours a day, and digital is the only communication I have with the outside world, but I just miss the days of people, you know?

Even this – I’m blogging in place of having this discussion with someone in reality.

GAH!

It never ends. Is it just me?

Doesn’t anyone want to hang out in person anymore?

I miss people.